The Book of 911

Yummy!

Source: http://www.evo.co.uk/videos/planetevovideos/243343/porsche_gt3_rs.html

A merger made in heaven?

The New York Times relayed and interesting story on Wednesday. Much to my surprise, Porsche and VW have agreed to a merger, rather than an outright acquisition of VW’s available shares. The deal is still several weeks away from finalization due to approval from the German state of Lower Saxony, advisory boards, and additional details, (should they be called disputes?) left to be worked out between Porsche’s chairman Wolfgang Porsche, and his cousin and VW chairman Ferdinand Piëch.

Despite speculation that he was on his way out of the company due to his lack of presence in China for the new Porsche Panamera’s unveiling, CEO Wendelin Wiedeking is set to have a more dominant role with in the merged company of 10 brands. Interesting, Porsche is expected to remain largely independent, thus causing pause in understand the nature of this merger. 

Porsche has acquired more than 50% of the company and had hoped to acquire 75% by the end of the year. It is unknown exactly how much is currently owned. Because of this share acquisition, Porsche now owes US$12,000,000,000, and the NYT reports that debt reduction is another topic of conversation between company leaders.

Brand loyalty = profits!

I was recently reading this article from an organization called TreeFarm Partners. The article describes a theory behind the success of Subaru and MINI in the current economic recession. The article rightly points out that both brands offer somewhat inexpensive and fuel-friendly vehicles. It goes on to point out that the key for both has been high brand loyalty figures, and that this loyalty was leading to profits in an otherwise difficult economic time.

And this got me thinking about Porsche. All things lead to Porsche for me, that much is true, but I have over the years been led to believe that Porsche has among the highest owner retention rates, which is what has allowed the same 911 model to thrive for 45 years now. So I decided to look at the numbers and find out if I have merely been drinking the kool-aid, or if Porsche is undeniably a leader in brand loyalty.

To gather the data, I went to this site: http://www.bizzia.com/brandcurve/brand-loyalty-in-the-car-industry-toyota-still-1/, an article about brand loyalty, published in 2007. The article references JD Power and Associates numbers, and to say the least those numbers raised eyebrows.

According to the report, Toyota had the highest brand loyalty numbers at 68.9%. How odd is it then that Toyota is now posting losses!? Guess who came in second? Hint: it wasn’t Porsche. It was GM, now on the verge of bankruptcy. GM’s retention rate was a whopping 64.7%. BMW was fourth at 56.9%. Subaru was only 6th at 51.2%. MINI wasn’t in the list, probably due to it’s being lumped in to the BMW figure or perhaps because the brand was still quite young in 2007. Porsche by the way was a paltry 41.6%, which put it in 11th place just behind Maserati!

So what of this analysis? How can we explain that some of the highest retaining brands are suffering the most while, Porsche at 11th place is doing “okay” in this recession? Actually, if you reference this 1996 article in the Cornell Chronicle by Margo Hittleman, you will note that new customers mean less profit for the automakers, while existing or retained customers mean a significantly higher profit. Of particular note, Porsche loyalists paid an extra US$4782 per car while Mercedes-Benz loyalists paid an extra US$7410 per car. Stunning results to say the least. So yeah, brand loyalty IS important, but it doesn’t mean financial success, particularly in an economic downturn. Corporate strategy wins the game.

The 2009 911 Cabriolet

LeftLane News has this to say about the new 911 997.5 cabrio:

The 911 Carrera Cabriolet is a true Porsche, from top to bottom. With amazing acceleration, and incredibly grippy brakes, it is the ultimate package for a Porschephile who also happens to be a sun worshipper. Not a car for first-time enthusiasts afraid of its unique handling characteristics, it nonetheless begs to be driven and enjoyed any day of the year.

See the full review here:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/porsche-911-carrera-cabriolet-review.html

Surely, no one can argue that Porsche makes some of the best sports cars around. Indeed, they create some of the most fuel-friendly cars too, including some that reach 30+ miles per gallon, which you have to admit is not so bad considering the Bentley GTC gets a disappointing 7 miles per gallon, a la the LA Time’s Dan Neil.

Porsche has, however decided to go one step further for its Canadian facility, now employing solar power on the roof.

ONTARIO, Calif. — March 19, 2009 – Executives from Porsche Cars North
America (PCNA) were joined today by Ontario, California Mayor Paul S. Leon
along with representatives from HelioPower and Sharp Solar Energy Solutions
Group to unveil an 80 kW urban solar power array at the Porsche Logistics, LLC
facility in Ontario, the first solar power system deployed at any of its U.S.
locations.

The solar power system was designed and installed by HelioPower at 5100 E.
Ontario Mills Parkway , using 372 solar modules from Sharp and will produce
135,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable electricity per year. This commercial-
scale solar power system will avoid the emission of more than 50,000 pounds of
carbon dioxide annually. It represents one of the more significant solar installs in
the Ontario metro area.

“Environmental protection has long been an objective at Porsche – one that we
take very seriously,” said Porsche Cars North America Vice President of
Aftersales, Tim Quinn. “Employing solar power at our Ontario facility is in keeping
with our goal of being good environmental stewards in communities where we
have a presence. We’re also very pleased to be supportive of the City of Ontario
and the Inland Empire’s Green Valley Initiative, which is focused on establishing
this region as a hub for clean technologies.”
A Commitment to Environmental Responsibility
On a broader scale, protecting the environment is one of the key corporate
objectives at PCNA’s parent company in Germany, Porsche AG, where specific
environmental policy and environmental management systems have been in
place for many years. For example, a successful waste-management system
was implemented nearly two decades ago with 99 percent of all waste being
recycled at the company’s production facilities. Just as importantly, Porsche cars
are built from the start to conserve resources for later generations, with 85
percent of their content being completely recyclable. From development to after-
sale service, it is a key objective of Porsche AG to minimize resource
consumption and keep environmental impact as low as possible.
In keeping with this policy, over the past 15 years, Porsche has made successful
changes and undertook a concerted effort to reduce fuel consumption in its
vehicles—a commitment that has yielded 1.7 percent less C02 emissions
annually. By 2012, average fuel consumption – and thereby the CO2 emissions
of all Porsche models – will be reduced by up to 20 percent. Additionally, all
Porsche models since the 2007 model year have been certified to LEVII Low
Emissions Vehicles or better, with the Boxster and Cayenne S models achieving
Ultra Low Emissions certification status.
On the important alternative power front, Porsche has announced plans to offer
a Cayenne with a hybrid engine that will reduce fuel consumption by up to 25
percent when compared to a gas powered version. This same highly advanced
hybrid powerplant will also become available in Porsche’s upcoming Panamera
model—a sporty Gran Turismo with four doors and four passenger seats.
The environmentally-conscious initiatives extend from the company’s
manufacturing facilities to PCNA’s Atlanta-based headquarters and other U.S.
facilities. PCNA implemented the “Green Choice” program giving employees the
motivation and proper tools to make smart and simple environmentally-friendly
choices. Among the continuous efforts, a company-wide recycling program was
put into operation in 2007 to include paper, magazines, books, cans, cardboard
and glass along with the discontinued use of any Styrofoam products. Energy
efficiency is another key component of the program with the installation of energy
efficient light bulbs and low flow aerators in all restroom faucets.
This summer PCNA will open a new Northeast Regional Support Center in
Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley that will receive a Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building
Council. LEED certification is an environmental award that recognizes the
construction and performance of buildings that meet strict environmentally
sensitive criteria which includes site sustainability and efficient use of resources.
Other factors such as the building’s indoor atmospheric quality and innovative
environmental design also are considered.

 

GT3 spy shots...

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