Do people really think the 914 is ugly? I never thought so. Options

[scottsilvertt]

Do people really think the 914 is ugly? I never thought so.

I have seen far uglier cars...many of them. Even most cars today are not worth a second look.

I remember it coming out as a kid. So many had poor things to say about the 914. My older brother was Chalon crazy. (he liked the car on his own with no outside influences)
Sadly, I listened to friends and the press...and was too young to form my own opinion.

What had people not liking the car?

what's not to like:
the pop up headlights...about as cool as it can get
the trick removable roof.
the two storage spaces
the engine in the middle? who does that, its amazing.
the simple, never out of style interior.
the lightest seats in the world.
the Italian style door handles. flush and wonderful.

I think of it as another little 904.
a good red one looks like a Ferrari to me.
a friend of mine had a gold, low mileage second gen , angled shaped, Dino (from around 1976). yes, it was neat, but I like the 914 better.

I cannot get enough of the car. I'm more fascinated with it more today than any earlier decade.
I mean the car was incredible at Le Mans.

I knew a guy who said he had over 20 of the cars...and could look at them all day.
what an amazing car that was 50 years ahead of its time.
I can't think of a single high production car, in all history that was more unique, and stayed unique for decades.




spending time with an airplane, and what color is this??


4x4 in the mountains of Europe

[gulf908]

I always thought the front end of the Karmann prototype looked well done but we couldn't have this version looking nicer than a 911,could we ?
just my 0.02c worth . . .

cheers
Dennis (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Superhawk996]

I always thought the front end of the Karmann prototype looked well done but we couldn't have this version looking nicer than a 911,could we ?
just my 0.02c worth . . .

cheers
Dennis (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

This is what’s funny about the subjectivity of styling.

One man’s improvement is another’s degradation. There is no way I’d own a 914 if they had gone with that prototype design.

Often times a great design evokes a Love/Hate polarizing response. As long as the “love” demographic is sufficiently motivated to buy - it can be a successful business case.


Example: PT Cruiser design - evokes a very strong love / hate response. The program was only supposed to be about 40k units annually and it was only supposed to be a 4 year program with a predictable loss of demand toward the end of the 4 years. Program planning and marketing didn’t know what to think about such a quirky design. Was it a car, a truck (it was for CAFE purposes), or a small van sort of thing? By the time it launched, demand was at 200k units, a second assembly line was contracted out of Europe. Ultimately it was in production for 10 years and it was a cash cow for Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, and then Cerberus / Chrysler LLC. Love it or hate it, there were more than enough lovers to make it a wildly successful program.

The 914 was like that - love it or hate it, it outsold 911’s.

[horizontally-opposed]

As long as the “love” demographic is sufficiently motivated to buy - it can be a successful business case.


Example: PT Cruiser design - evokes a very strong love / hate response. The program was only supposed to be about 40k units annually and it was only supposed to be a 4 year program with a predictable loss of demand toward the end of the 4 years. Program planning and marketing didn’t know what to think about such a quirky design. Was it a car, a truck (it was for CAFE purposes), or a small van sort of thing? By the time it launched, demand was at 200k units, a second assembly line was contracted out of Europe. Ultimately it was in production for 10 years and it was a cash cow for Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, and then Cerberus / Chrysler LLC. Love it or hate it, there were more than enough lovers to make it a wildly successful program.

The 914 was like that - love it or hate it, it outsold 911’s.

I once stood at the test track and asked four PAG old-timers if they thought Porsche should do another entry-level sports car, something under the Boxster/Cayman, which by then had become very refined thanks to the progression of 997s and (I think?) 991s.

They looked at me like I was an idiot, smiled, and answered with a resounding "NO." Then laughed. Silly boy.

So I asked, "Why not?"

Their answer was simple: "Bad for the brand."

Which is funny, as the 912, 914, 924, 944, and 986 were all hugely beneficial for the brand…arguably saving it. There are also a lot of us who started with a 914, whether new or well used, and went on to buy used Porsches that need parts and service as well as new Porsches—911s included. In my case, a used 914 made me fall in love with the Porsche way of driving. Trying to remember if that interaction at Weissach was about the time the Macan, a rebadged Audi Q5 and the first Porsche on a chassis not engineered from scratch by Porsche, was either under development or already out—which would eventually be offered with, wait for it, a VW/Audi inline four. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[Superhawk996]

I once stood at the test track and asked four PAG old-timers if they thought Porsche should do another entry-level sports car, something under the Boxster/Cayman, which by then had become very refined thanks to the progression of 997s and (I think?) 991s.

They looked at me like I was an idiot, smiled, and answered with a resounding "NO." Then laughed. Silly boy.

So I asked, "Why not?"

Their answer was simple: "Bad for the brand."

Building SUVs and 4 door sedans is good for the Brand? I have no doubt it has been profitable. But good for the brand? I don’t think so.

Porsche ceased to exist for me when they put out the Cayenne. Glad the gents from PAG have a good grasp on what the brand is (vs. what it was).

[ClayPerrine]

Building SUVs and 4 door sedans is good for the Brand? I have no doubt it has been profitable. But good for the brand? I don’t think so.

Porsche ceased to exist for me when they put out the Cayenne. Glad the gents from PAG have a good grasp on what the brand is (vs. what it was).

While I agree with the poster above, we are considering a Cayenne S to replace the GMC Envoy we currently have for a tow vehicle/grocery getter. It actually is a very good tow vehicle.

And maybe the Porsche purists will cut me some slack if I actually have a Porsche that is something other than a 914. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[kerensky]

While I agree with the poster above, we are considering a Cayenne S to replace the GMC Envoy we currently have for a tow vehicle/grocery getter. It actually is a very good tow vehicle.

And maybe the Porsche purists will cut me some slack if I actually have a Porsche that is something other than a 914. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I save my derision for folks who buy a Porsche so they can be seen driving a Porsche, but don't have any inkling what it *really* means. I'm relatively certain that excludes anyone on this site. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I happen to like the Cayenne (and even the Macan) but I don't think I could bring myself to write that check for 84+ months. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)