3 ms·

This is a good point, but I wonder how many Porsches are actually used as performance vehicles? How many have ever been taken to a track day? I feel like many

This is a good point, but I wonder how many Porsches are actually used as performance vehicles? How many have ever been taken to a track day? I feel like many cars in that category, Porches in particular maybe, are status symbols only and other than driving a bit over the speed limit on a long road every now and again, they're not used in this way. Which then begs the question, should Porsche be designing for the car people envision, or the car people use? Probably the former because that's what sells the cars, but it's a weird state to be in.

dagw 3y ago
Porsche be designing for the car people envision, or the car people use? Porsche is smart enough to do both. They have their top end performance cars that people aspire to, and their normal "daily driver" cars that people actually buy and use. That being said, of all 'high end' sports cars the 911 is by far the one I see most often being used as a daily driver. I never see Ferraris driving down a dirt road to a hiking trail, but I do see 911s.
- danpalmer 3y ago
  Oh no I'm thinking specifically of these being the same car. Many people buy something like a 911 without ever taking it racing. That car needs to be designed for the racing for people to buy it, but at the cost of it being less suitable for driving to golf courses. Making two cars is the easy answer and all brands do it to some extent, but it's a solution for a different group of customers.
lelanthran 3y ago
> Which then begs the question, should Porsche be designing for the car people envision, or the car people use? Presumably none of the above. They are designing the car that people are willing to pay for. PS. "begs the question" does not mean the same thing as "raises the question". Anal? Pedantic? I'm not usually, but it is a minor fault of mine that I get bothered when I see people use "beg the question" wrong :-)
treprinum 3y ago
Porsche is a German company and German highways have no speed limit, so you can see an old lady going back home from a shopping mall at 130mph. Speeds that would be considered super irresponsible or track-only in the US.

dagw 3y ago

Porsche be designing for the car people envision, or the car people use? Porsche is smart enough to do both. They have their top end performance cars that people aspire to, and their normal "daily driver" cars that people actually buy and use. That being said, of all 'high end' sports cars the 911 is by far the one I see most often being used as a daily driver. I never see Ferraris driving down a dirt road to a hiking trail, but I do see 911s.

danpalmer 3y ago
Oh no I'm thinking specifically of these being the same car. Many people buy something like a 911 without ever taking it racing. That car needs to be designed for the racing for people to buy it, but at the cost of it being less suitable for driving to golf courses. Making two cars is the easy answer and all brands do it to some extent, but it's a solution for a different group of customers.

lelanthran 3y ago

> Which then begs the question, should Porsche be designing for the car people envision, or the car people use? Presumably none of the above. They are designing the car that people are willing to pay for. PS. "begs the question" does not mean the same thing as "raises the question". Anal? Pedantic? I'm not usually, but it is a minor fault of mine that I get bothered when I see people use "beg the question" wrong :-)

treprinum 3y ago

Porsche is a German company and German highways have no speed limit, so you can see an old lady going back home from a shopping mall at 130mph. Speeds that would be considered super irresponsible or track-only in the US.