The Expansion of Porsche-ness.(Column)

Byline: Steve Thompson

It has long been understood in the manufacturing world that those who make, propose, but those who buy, dispose. Among the many consequences is that some manufacturers are so successful with a vehicle that subsequent offerings by the carmaker are inevitably and often unfairly compared with the iconic machine, to the detriment of the manufacturer's marketing flexibility. The marque comes to signify something to people who cement its image in society. Thus, when the offerings of the carmaker are significantly different from the iconic vehicle, true believers in the church of marque-identity inevitably raise a ruckus.

Equally inevitably, as I drove a new Porsche Cayenne S through the early fall beauty of rural Pennsylvania and Maryland, what impressed me was how unfortunate it was that so many Porschephiles have so bemoaned the advent of the Porsche SUV. These thoughts were not new to me. When I began road-testing cars for magazines in 1973, the 914 was still considered a vile mutant by the true believers. Then it was the 924, followed by the 928 and the 944. Each new car that was not a variation of the back-motor theme triggered ...