Re: baaad Porsche

["Henry Kim" <henry.kim@domain.elided>]

Hoo boy!  Joe, you are doing some mean trolling.

Re: Porsche 356

Actually, the first prototype 356 was mid-engined.  Porsche moved it to
the back to get more cabin space.

When introduced in 1949 it was a total revolution in sports car design.
Integrated fenders and headlamps, air-cooled engine, aerodynamic shape
and the world's first synchromesh transmission in 1951.  

I would say that there were *very* good reasons for this car to be
popular.  Think of the trash coming out of Detroit and England at the
time.

I would say the only real competition for Porsche was the stuff coming
out of Italy.

Re: Porsche 928

An all-time great car?  Maybe in the luxo-GT class which is exactly what
this car was.  AT 3500 pounds, it was no sports car.  Also extremely
complicated and difficult to service.  Check out the resale values on
them and see what the motoring public thinks of the 928.  

> But they
> were wrong on that count, 911s outsold 928s for over a decade and 
> eventually the engineers lost out to the accountants and the 928 
> died, and the 911 lived.  Damn shame.  The majority of Porsche buyers 
> wanted to spend their money on an image rather than a supercar, and 
> that was that

I need to address this specifically.  Who won out?  The engineers,
accountants or the customer?  When the 928 was introduced, it ran up
against a redesigned 911 in the SC.  The SC was and remains a superb car
with new 3.0 engine, galvanized body and improvements in just about
every area.  The public clearly recognised that there was plenty of life
left in 911.  The 911SC was a better sports car in almost every way than
the 928.  As a GT car, the 928 was superior.  

Now, if you're a poseur, what car are you going to prefer, the new sleek
luxo 928 or the retro-design, slightly ugly 911?  Porsche buyers were
*rejecting* image in choosing the 911.

We know Porsche abandoned air cooling in 1998 with the 996 but this was
not due to an "inherent bad design".  It was because market conditions
dictated a heavier, more luxurious car.  Porsche claimed it could not
squeeze any more horsepower out of the air-cooled engines.  Like hell.
I've seen air-cooled 993 3.6 engines put out 710hp at the wheel.

--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided