The Book of 911

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.

A Porsche Panamera escaped damage during the accident

Car accidents are always tragic, but they carry special meaning when they serve a purpose. February 13 brought much unwelcome news for everyone in the Porsche world when one of it’s most seasoned test drivers was killed in a road accident during testing of the next generation Porsche 911 convertible. 

Apparently the driver lost control of the car at moderate speed on an unregulated portion of the autobahn in Hessen, during damp weather. 

Testing locations vary from location to location. Some are on closed-circuit tracks, others are on high-speed ovals, but a lot of testing is “real-world”. Spy shots abound of nearly ever new models that comes out. Some cars are tested more rigorously, but sports cars tend to receive a lot of test time on road and track. Often the test drivers work in shifts, 24 hours per day, and in various locations ranging from the deserts of Arizona, to above the arctic circle in Sweden.  

Test centers for various manufacturers include:

Pictures from the accident detailing the car’s position in relation to the guardrail are here.

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Well, after years of waiting, and what may be seen another 4-door aggravation for Porsche purists, we have the Porsche Panamera. It represents yet another potential boost to Porsche’s already massive financial “conglomerate”, as we have previously discussed. But what will Porsche do with all of the cash?

ATLANTA – January 5, 2009 —- Porsche AG will present the new Panamera to 

the public for the first time at Auto Shanghai 2009 in China, scheduled from April 

20 to 28, 2009. Porsche’s unique, four-door Gran Turismo will be making its 

world debut at a press conference on April 19 and will be entering the market in 

late summer 2009 with the first models in U.S dealerships in the fall. 

The four-door Panamera will combine a wide range of features seemingly 

contradictory at first sight, and will offer a unique synthesis quite unparalleled in 

the premium segment. The Panamera will come with all the sporting and 

dynamic characteristics of a genuine Porsche combined with a very high 

standard of driving comfort. Despite its extra-low and sleek coupe silhouette, the 

Panamera will offer more than ample space and roominess inside for four 

passengers and variable loading space for a substantial amount of luggage. The 

Panamera will also boast power units offering a high standard of fuel efficiency 

despite the car’s outstanding performance. 

All Panamera power units will be modern V-configuration engines with either six 

or eight cylinders covering a power range from 300 to 500 horsepower and 

featuring Direct Fuel Injection. All engines will provide outstanding power and 

torque, together with very good fuel economy and exhaust emissions reduced to 

a minimum. 

The Panamera will make its debut with a normally aspirated V8 power unit, as 

well as a V8 featuring twin-turbocharger technology. 

In the United States all Panameras will feature Porsche’s new seven-speed 

Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) (Double-Clutch Gearbox). This will give the 

Panamera both a particularly sporting and an extra-comfortable character on the 

road. 

As an option the Panamera will be available with Porsche’s Sports Chrono 

Package, giving the car even more sporting and dynamic engine and gearshift 

characteristics and enhancing its dynamic performance to an even higher level of 

perfection. 

The Panamera S with its normally aspirated V8 engine will come with rear-wheel 

drive as standard. The Panamera 4S and the twin-turbocharged Panamera Turbo 

will feature Porsche Traction Management (PTM) with extra-light, active all- 

wheel drive. In the future Porsche also will bring both a V6 and a hybrid version 

to market. 

In addition to the regular steel suspension featuring variable dampers for a 

sporting but comfortable driving experience, the Panamera also will be available 

with a brand-new optional adaptive air suspension system with additional air 

volume. This system, standard on the Panamera Turbo, will ensure a particularly 

wide range of suspension characteristics with an even higher standard of 

motoring comfort on the one hand and extremely sporting driving dynamics on 

the other. 

In the Sport Plus Mode the air suspension will lower the entire car even further, 

giving the Panamera an even higher standard of aerodynamic efficiency and 

improving its center of gravity and enhancing driving safety and reducing fuel 

consumption. Panamera also will be available with the optional Porsche Dynamic 

Chassis Control (PDCC) system that actively compensates body roll in turns 

while improving the car’s response and smoothness on bumpy roads when 

driving in a straight line. 

Intelligent lightweight technology making appropriate use of high-strength steel, 

light alloys such as aluminum and magnesium, as well as high-tech plastic 

materials will serve to reduce the weight of the car to an appropriately low level 

in its class, benefiting not only fuel economy, but also driving dynamics. 

 

Source: Porsche

There are more than 300 cars that will be rotated around the 80-car display at the new Porsche Museum. The facility itself is immense and visually stunning. Attached is the complete guide to the museum provided by Porsche.

The Porsche Museum Guide

Germany’s car companies seem to be in love with themselves these days. Travelers rejoice: no longer is it a “day out” to go and tour a manufacturing line, after all that would require some extensive travel (Porsche produces some cars in Finland, and BMW produces some in America and South Africa). Instead both BMW and Porsche have built self-serving shrines to themselves in the form of public museums. And these aren’t just any museums. They feature the cutting edge in modern-day architecture and car design.

Porsche has just opened their facility in Zuffenhausen, have a look…

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“Dual front Advanced Airbags and the Porsche Side Impact Protection (POSIP) system surround 911 passengers with added levels of protection. A total of six airbags designed for the unique demands of open-air driving work in tandem with a labyrinth of advanced alloy support beams and auto-deploying supplemental safety bars to satisfy the more stringent safety requirements thou shalt demand. Amen.”

-2008 Porsche 911 Product Guide page 29, paragraph 3