Automotive

It was touted for a while but finally announced yesterday that Porsche was removed from the Dax stock index of 40 top stocks in Germany. The value dropped by a third over the past months and the delisting there and transfer to MDAX of medium sized companies will likely lead to a further drop in market capitalization, as large investors will offload further stocks. 
Picture from: WebWandtattoo

It used to be you wanted a 911 you could buy a 911 from your dealership. Now it’s these games of dealer mark ups and how many cars have you bought from us? The appeal to Porsche has become less and less for me aside from the ones I have. Plenty of great options out there besides Porsche.

Porsche would find it a lot more challenging at their volumes...

couldn't u say the same thing about most watch ADs?

The difference being that the watch industry as a whole is tiny in comparison to the car industry. I guess the whole industry would be smaller than a medium sized car manfuacturer in annual sales and their investments in R&D and other areas are miniscule in comparison, too - so it is easier to follow this approach (for a while at least).

But the approach has become more challenging indeed. Sadly, the bread and butter is not drawing in enough customers and the volumes are suffering badly. In Europe dealers now proactively chase after customers with double digit discounts (not for the more limited GT cars but for many of the regular fare). But here's the nub, they have lost some of the selling skills during the 'allocation' era. If the Macan and subsequently the new Cayenne are not a success, they will have a dramatic headache to deal with.
The fact that the Macan came out two years later than intended (others are delayed, too) is a real concern. Now they had to do the same thing as Mercedes has done - the proper catastrophe - make a second Macan that looks practically the same as the electric one on a different platform sinking several billion Euros in the process.
Irrespective of that, they most likely still have many years in them but hoping for the Ferarri strategy at a high multiple of the volume was always ambitious...

and I love my entry level Macan. One thing I will say though, personally, I don't think a Porsche and EV should ever appear in the same sentence.

If they were to follow, that would automatically mean a stop as a business entity relatively soon...

And we all miss some fun aspects of the past. I guess it will be similar with ICE cars in the decades to come

Until our generation is around - not sure if it will go on for another one (just like clocks have practically cratered as a category in the last 20 or so years)...

But like other car companies Porsche needs to be a viable business concern. Without electric this will not work in the automotive industry, whether one likes it or not. Even much smaller brands like Ferrari will bring out fully electric cars shortly, so it's just the times

In terms of torque vectoring, control, pivoting, etc. go way beyond what was possible with even the most advanced ICE cars. It will take a little while for all of this to trickle down but they are far away from reducing driving pleasure. Of course one cannot compare apples with oranges - an ID.4 will probably not match your Lotus Elise but will certainly be comparable to a Tiguan from a driving pleasure perspective.

Ever thought of the Air Sapphire for the additional performance and space on offer? 😊🤷🏻‍♂️

Or maybe too neutral to engender much love 🤷🏻‍♂️

But I am old and therefore my thinking may not be relevant to now, when I was growing up in the late 70'-80's a Porsche was a relatively rare sight and inspired awe and desire at its beauty. They were real sports cars that not just anybody could jump behind the wheel and drive one they needed and demanded a level of skill and respect as they would happily spit you off the road without hesitation if not shown the respect they deserved.