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posts about #porschecaymanwagon more → 
Cayman Shooting Brake Confirmed In Forza 3 Screen Shot?
Detroit, 11:27 PM
Sun Dec 6
13 posts in the last 24 hours
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Cayman Shooting Brake Confirmed In Forza 3 Screen Shot? |
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I know it's probably a hoax, but that's the coolest car since the original M Coupe.
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It's not hard to fake either->
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For the longest time I viewed Porsche as building cars for a single purpose, cutting edge of high performance road cars. Then came the Cayenne, and I almost tossed my cookies. How could this symbol of purity and excellence pander to the SUV craze, I was crushed and disenfranchised by a car company that built the dreams of my youth now catering to the undeserving masses.
Then I was encouraged to take a closer look. The Cayenne still embodied everything Porsche stood for, I had just painted them into too small a box. They still exemplified the cutting edge of high performance, but they moved off the road. They didn't half ass the Cayenne, it's at the head of its class both on and off the pavement.
My view of Porsche has changed, the box a little larger now. They've added a little utility with out sacrificing performance. So, while the mini-wagon look doesn't fit with the Porsche of my youth it exemplifies the Porsche of today: giving the people what they want without giving up on what they've always expected from a Porsche.
This shooting brake Cayman is revolutionary, yet it does nothing more than perfectly embody everything Porsche stands for. I, for one, hope this is evidence that it will make it into production.
...I still don't care for the looks though.
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Long ago, you could get a new Model T in any color as long as it was black. There was no "concept car" to gage public sentiment. Just a "here's what you can buy" car.
One of the first concept cars was the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr. After positive feedback, the car was put into production. After that, the concept car craze was on. Manufacturers would show up to auto shows around the world with concept cars -- some of which were meant for production while some were meant to show design direction.
Car companies now regularly use concept cars to gage public sentiment about design cues, potential options, and potential vehicle classes or offerings. These displays are very expensive, often costing hundreds of thoughsands of dollars just for the display, and potentially millions for one off running prototypes. In a shrinking auto market and with financial pressures weighing, many car companies are pulling out of major auto shows.
Porsche is one of those. They were not at the Detroit Auto Show this year, instead choosing to focus their money on shows in Europe and the Middle East where they expect the bulk of their clients to come from.
The danger of this, of course, is fewer people are exposed to your cars and concepts. By putting potential vehicles, even if a final decision has not been made on production, in a video game like this, Porsche can then monitor internet chatter and get the same feedback, from a broader spectrum, that they would have had they gone to every car show in the world.
I say this is brilliant.
07/10/09
But the only reason that Ford remained in business back in the day of the Model T was because there really wasn't anywhere else to turn to for a cheap, practical car.
As long as they had that market to themselves, they could do whatever the hell they wanted. But once they started getting some serious competition, that all changed, hence the advent of concept cars.
The entire idea was for companies to put forth ideas to the consumers, with the assumption being that if the consumers reacted positively, then the vehicle would sell well and ought to be produced. With few exceptions, this is usually the case.
Those concepts that people react negatively too are thrown by the wayside, as there is little point to building a car that people have already told you they don't like when it was still just a concept.
So if Porsche wants to go in the direction of the original Model T business philosophy, let them. I might be willing to take time out of my day to pay my respects at their wake in ten years or so.
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Porsche designers aren't exactly on a winning streak recently (Cayenne, Panamera).
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