Another Design Crime: Porsche Cayenne

I seriously don’t understand how and why designers come up with such ugly designs. This is the back of 2011 Porsche Cayenne and looks like a cheap Hyundai SUV.

I think this is one of the worst design crimes of the year. This brand needs some respect.
Its obvious that Porsche has a unique and generic style that doesn’t really change over time. But my question, how would they keep up with the greedy SUV buyers without changing the unique-generic shape over years? I would be surprised if there will be 4th generation SUV from Porsche. I don’t think they knew it was coming.

I think Porsche is ruining its reputation. First they entered to SUV market, then 4 door sedan, then what? Porsche mini?
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I saw a ton of Cayennes parked on the sidewalk in Shanghai this week. This car is meant for three groups of people:

  1. American lawyers and financial services industry types
  2. Young rich Chinese
  3. Russian mafia / oligarchs

None of those groups knows anything about Porsche’s heritage, nor do they care. They just know it’s a “Porsche” and that other people will see that and know they have enough money to buy one. It’s the same motivation that drives probably 75%+ of 911 sales too. How many 911s do you think get revved over 6000rpm, or cornered over .5g? Porsche knows their customer very well, and they knew that a 911 was just too small for some of them. The fact that this looks like a Hyundai Santa Fe is irrelevant- none of those people know what a Santa Fe looks like. They certainly don’t seem to realize that they are driving a VW Touareg.

There will definitely be a 4th gen Cayenne. This vehicle makes them an absurd amount of money.

Le’s see, who was it said,

Personally, I’m growing weary of the whole SUV genre, bar none.

Nothing [new] to see here folks … just move along … move along.

Oh yeah… . . . me.

I’ve never understood the Cayenne. But, like Scott said, this vehicle make Porsche an absurd amount of money. How many of these are driven off road and not driven by 40 year old mothers? I’d say low teens, maybe.

I thought the Ford Edge was a good refresh this year. The rear looks almost identical.

I know it’s been said, but I really like where Ford is headed these days.

That exact thinking will be the downfall for any brand. Just sayin’.

I disagree. Even though I find most of them ugly, and don’t like the kind of buyers they seem to attract, I have to admit Porsche actually makes pretty good cars. Even the Cayenne, their most cynical and pointless offering, is quite capable as a vehicle. Very fast (esp. the Turbo), comfortable, handles like a car, and not completely useless off road. The downfall of the brand would come if the thing were a piece of crap. It’s not.

Volkswagen rebadging Chrysler minivans is the kind of thing that kills brands.

That exact thinking will be the downfall for any brand. Just sayin’.

You’re sayin’ one can’t milk the cow and eat it? :wink:
Looks like they’re trying.

At Robert: Should have shown that Ford Edge from the Rear:

I don’t think it’s that close to the Cayenne, but what really got me are the rims. They come from the
same set of forms as this rat mouse from the other thread, did you notice?

Although I certainly don’t know all of the ins and outs of the Cayenne, what you have described makes it barely above being a “me too” car. The downfall of a premium brand happens as soon as it hits the me too level, not when it becomes a piece of crap.

I agree with Scott that the VW minivan rebadging of a Chrysler is by far, the worse thing a brand can do.

Having said that, I think the Cayenne is a short term success that will lead to long term failure. But, Porsche is smart enough that they may kill it before it becomes a burden.

I drive the first gen ford edge. In addition to poor gas mileage, the A-Pillar has incredibly poor visibility when making left turns. I was hoping they would have fixed it but I guess not. The Sync-option with the Ipod is still okay, but it’s reached the point where it doens’t recognize my Ipod and I always have to re-sync.

…in the end, I still can’t complain since it’s only a company car…

Scott wrote:

The downfall of the brand would come if the thing were a piece of crap. It’s not.
Volkswagen rebadging Chrysler minivans is the kind of thing that kills brands.

Well I fancy to disagree, here. Comparing a mistake to a major screw up might deminish the mistake, but
it doesn’t make it shine in the sun. We are not talking short time here. I think VW and Porsche are under
drugs right now. Going for the next shot every month. Will not be long before Porsche starts fleet sales.

Building the 80ies VW Plant in “Westmoreland” was wishful thinking and the location was more than telling…

And they are on the same route again. Both brands are planning with growth figures that are simply unachievable.
That broadening of the product portfolio for mass production will kill off the brand cachet in the long term.

Talking design:

The new Cayenne is not a bad car. The front and interiour are huge steps over the first one. And that was successful
already. But the rear is interesting. The light clusters are totally out of proportion. Why?

I would bet that the Porsche Designer had a close look at the first gen. Infiniti FX 45:

But to cover the tracks they installed that ridiculously huge rear lights:

I bet though, they already plan a mid-cycle “rear-lift”, that might bring in some more “Porscheness”.:
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Oh for the good ol’ days when a few simple bolt-on changes were enough to keep the masses happy while everything under the skin continued to improve. :sunglasses:

1950-60: everything remained fairly constant with the tail light shape and the license plate light…

1961-64: the tail lights got bigger…

1965 -68: and then the license plate light got bigger…

1969 - 72: time for another tail light change… and a new raised bumper (and engine cover was squared off so it could be opened) Oh, and some more louvers.

1973-2003: time for another (and last) tail light change … and ALL the louvers!!!

LMO: You skipped some details. Up to '55, the rear window was a two piece oval. '56-57 was a solid oval. The front window also changed shape (ie got bigger) through the years.

There is also the venting that appears on the front of the super beetle. I think the fenders might have changed too, but I can’t remember. The vents are visible just below the bumper on the sheet metal below the hood.

LMO: You skipped some details. Up to '55, the rear window was a two piece oval. '56-57 was a solid oval. The front window also changed shape (ie got bigger) through the years.

There is also the venting that appears on the front of the super beetle. I think the fenders might have changed too, but I can’t remember. The vents are visible just below the bumper on the sheet metal below the hood.

Correct you are Mr. But those aren’t exactly what I’d classify as “bolt-ons”.

I missed the key “bolt-on” part of your post.