Quote:
Originally Posted by Capt Spaulding
This raises an interesting question. Do folks think Porsche COULD (not would, but could) make a car as good as the BRZ for the price of a BRZ?
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They could, but they won't. Not anymore.
For many years Porsche's motto was 'Excellence is expected'. Then when Wendelin Wiedeking became CEO in 1993, he changed Porsche's mission to "To be the most profitable car company in the world". He was the one who spearheaded Porsche's massive cost (and quality) cutting campaign, phased out the air-cooled cars and switched over the lineup to water-cooled. Part of it was driven by the need to meet increasingly stringent emissions standards, but mostly it was to increase profits.
The old air-cooled Porsche 911 was massively over-engineered. It needed regular and complex maintenance, but would last almost forever with proper care. It was built like the proverbial bank vault.
The water cooled models that came afterwards, not so much. Porsches have been stung with many quality control problems ever since the Boxster and water-cooled 911 came out in 1999, including major engine issues (IMS, RMS, porous blocks, scored cylinder walls, just google any of those for eye-opening reads, especially the IMS). Porsche methodically designed the new cars to be built only as good as they minimally needed to be to sell, and no better.
Porsche succeeded in their quest to become the most profitable car company in the world. One look at the options list for any car is testimony to that. You can literally more than double the price of one of their cars with options. They decided long ago there was more money to be made in selling fewer cars at much higher prices to rich people than they could make in volume selling more cars at lower prices (and profit margins). Porsche has said several times that the entry level Porsche is a used one (for anyone brave enough to take on the IMS risk).
Of course Porsches remain fun to drive (at least the Boxster, Cayman, and 911), though I suspect many buyers these days buy them for the image and not performance (which is why so many of even their sports cars now have automatic transmissions). But it comes at a nose-bleed high price, both to buy and in maintenance and repair costs.
Bottom line, they probably could build a BRZ level car, but won't. There's less profit in that then selling fewer six-figure cars. And I also suspect they've long ago lost the knowledge of how to build a quality inexpensive car. The people who designed the 914 were very different than the engineers and accountants who work there today. So even if they decided they were willing to make less money on a cheaper car, I doubt they have the internal expertise to do that anymore.
Sic transit gloria Porsche.