Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Porsche shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Porsche offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Porsche at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Porsche? Wrong! If the Porsche is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Porsche then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Porsche? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Porsche and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Porsche wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Porsche then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Porsche site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Porsche, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Porsche, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox_Company || company_name = Dr Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG| company_logo = | company_type = Public
(Xetra: POR3)
(FWB: POR3)| company_slogan = There Is No Substitute| foundation = 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche and Ferry Porsche| key_people = [Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO and President| num_employees = 11,910 (2005)]| products = Automobiles]7.273 billion (2006), Euro6.57 billion (2005)| homepage = www.porsche.com--> This article is about the auto company. For its design consultancy subsidiary, see Porsche Design Group

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, often shortened to Porsche AG, or just Porsche, is a Germany automaker of automobiles. It was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the Austria engineer who also created the first Volkswagen. The company is located in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. They currently produce sports cars and sport utility vehicles.

Reputation Porsche 997 Carrera SIn a May 2006 survey, Porsche was awarded first place as the most prestigious automobile brand by Luxury Institute, New York; it questioned more than 500 households with a gross annual income of at least US $200,000 and a net worth of at least US $720,000. Porsche press release 5 May 2005 The current Porsche lineup includes sports cars from the Porsche Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the Porsche 911. The Porsche Cayman is a hard top car similar to the Boxster in a slightly higher price range. The Porsche Cayenne is Porsche's mid-size luxury SUV. The Porsche Carrera GT supercar was phased out in May 2006. Future plans include a high performance luxury sedan, the Panamera.

Porsche was awarded the 2006 J.D. Power and Associates award for highest Nameplate Initial Quality Study (IQS) of automobile brands. J.D. Power News Release

As a company, Porsche is known for weathering changing market conditions with great financial stability, while retaining most production in Germany during an age when most other German car manufacturers have moved at least partly to Eastern Europe or overseas. The headquarters and main factory are still in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, but the Cayenne (and formerly the Carrera GT) is manufactured in Leipzig, Germany, the SUV also in Bratislava, Slovakia. Most Boxster and Cayman production is outsourced to Valmet in Finland. The company has been highly successful in recent times, and indeed claims to have the highest profit per unit sold of any car company in the world, although its total profits are significantly lower than Toyota's. Forbes Autos review of Cayman S

Porsche has for many years offered consultancy services to various other car manufacturers. Studebaker, SEAT, Daewoo, Subaru and Yugo have consulted Porsche on engineering for their cars or engines. The Lada Samara Porsche Engineering infowas partly developed by Porsche in 1984. Porsche also helped Harley-Davidson design their new engine in their newer V-Rod motorcycle.

Competitors See also #Auto racing, further down in this article. In racing, Porsche's main rival has traditionally been Scuderia Ferrari, though their production vehicles appeal to quite different personalities, if similar demographics. The rivalry is therefore primarily because of both companies' storied racing heritage and the fact that some of their vehicles are of comparable performance. Porsche has a reputation for offering equal or higher performing cars than the more expensive Ferrari models, while overall Ferrari sells far fewer cars at much higher prices (for example, there are no Ferraris under US $100,000, while several Porsches are priced below that figure).

In the daily-driver marketplace, Porsche's traditional rivals are its fellow German automakers Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW (the Boxster competes directly with the BMW Z4 and the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, for instance), as well as Lotus Cars, Jaguar (car), and Maserati. Ferrari, on the other hand, competes more directly with firms such as Lamborghini, Bugatti and Aston Martin.

History Professor Ferdinand Porsche initially started the company called "Dr. ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1931, with main offices in Königstrasse in the middle of Stuttgart. The company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, and did not initially build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, a "Volkswagen" in German.

The first Porsche, the Porsche 64, was developed in 1939 using many components from the Volkswagen Beetle.

Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car because he could not find an existing one that he would buy. The first models of what was to become the Porsche 356 were built in a small workshop in Gmünd, Austria and had aluminum bodywork. The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production was begun. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. Porsche commissioned Zuffenhausen-based company Reutter Carosseri, which had previously collaborated with Porsche on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. Porsche constructed an assembly plant across the street from Reutter Carosseri; that assembly plant is now known as Porschestrasse. The 356 was road certified in 1948.

Not long afterwards, on January 30, 1951, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke.

In post-war Germany parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle including its internal combustion engine, gearbox, and suspension (vehicle). The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production and many VW parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. The last 356s were powered by entirely Porsche-designed engines. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced.



In 1963, after some success in motor-racing, namely with the Porsche 550, the company launched the Porsche 911 another air-cooled, rear-engined sports car, this time with a 6-cylinder flat engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.). The design phase for the 911 caused internal problems with Erwin Komenda who led the body design department until then. F. A. Porsche complained Komenda made changes to the design not being approved by him. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighbouring body shell manufacturer Reuter bringing the design to the 1963 state. Reuter's workshop was later acquired by Porsche (so-called Werk II). Afterward Reuter became a seat manufacturer, today known as Recaro.

The design group gave sequential numbers to every project (356, 550, etc) but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot's copyrights on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known model, successful on the race-track, in rallying, and in terms of sales. Far more than any other model, the Porsche brand is defined by the 911. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical concept of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupe, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but 356-derived running gear (including its four-cylinder engine), was sold as the 912.

In 1972 the company's legal form was changed from limited partnership to public limited company (AG in German), because Ferry Porsche and his sister, Louise Piëch, felt their generation members did not team up well. This led to the foundation of an executive board whose members came from outside the Porsche family, and a supervisory board consisting mostly of family members. With this change, no family members were in operational charge of the company. F. A. Porsche founded his own design company, Porsche Design Group, which is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles. Ferdinand Piëch, who was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's serial and racing cars, formed his own engineering bureau and developed a 5-cylinder-inline diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz. A short time later he moved to Audi and pursued his career through the entire company, up to and including, the Volkswagen Group boards.

The first CEO of Porsche AG was Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann who had been working in Porsche's engine development. Fuhrmann was responsible for the so-called Fuhrmann-engine used in the 356 Carrera models, as well as the 550 Spyder, having four over-head camshafts instead of a central camshaft as in the Volkswagen-derived serial engines. He planned to cease the 911 during the 70s and replace it with the V8-front engined grand sportswagon Porsche 928. As we know today the 911 outlived the 928 by far. Fuhrmann was replaced in the early 80s by Peter W. Schutz, an American manager and self-proclaimed 911 aficionado. He was replaced in 1988 by the former manager of German computer company Nixdorf Computer AG, Arno Bohn, who made some costly miscalculations that led to his dismissal soon after, along with that of the development director, Dr. Ulrich Bez, who was formerly responsible for BMW's BMW Z1 model and today is CEO of Aston Martin.

In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding with Toyota to learn and benefit from Japanese production methods. Currently Toyota is assisting Porsche with hybrid electric vehicle, rumored to be making its way into a Hybrid Cayenne SUV, as well as the upcoming four-door coupe, the Panamera.

Following the dismissal of Bohn, an interim CEO was appointed, longtime Porsche employee, Heinz Branitzki, who served in that position until Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking became CEO in 1993. Wiedeking took over the chairmanship of the board at a time when Porsche appeared vulnerable to a takeover by a larger company. During his long tenure, Wiedeking has transformed Porsche into a very efficient and profitable company.

Ferdinand Porsche's grandson, Ferdinand Piëch, was chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002. Today he is chairman of the supervisory board. With 12.8 per cent of the Porsche voting shares, he also remains the second largest individual shareholder of Porsche AG after his cousin, F. A. Porsche, (13.6 per cent).

Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility in Leipzig, Free State of Saxony, which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output. The Cayenne Turbo S has the second most powerful production engine in Porsche's history, with the most powerful belonging to the Carrera GT.

In 2004, production of the 605 horsepower Carrera GT commenced in Leipzig, and at EUR 450,000 ($440,000 in the United States) it was the most expensive production model Porsche ever built.

As of 2005, the extended Porsche and Piech families controlled all of Porsche AG's voting shares. In early October 2005 the company announced acquisition of an 18.53% stake in Volkswagen AG and disclosed intentions to acquire additional VW shares in the future. As of June 2006, the Porsche AG stake in Volkswagen had risen to 25.1%, giving Porsche a blocking minority, whereby Porsche can veto large corporate decisions undertaken by VW.

In mid-2006, after years of the Boxster (and later the Cayenne) as the dominant Porsche in North America, the 911 regained its position as Porsche's backbone in the region. The Cayenne and 911 have cycled as the top-selling model since. In Germany the 911 clearly outsells the Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne. Porsche USA press release 11 September 2006

Relationship with Volkswagen The company has always had a close relationship with Volkswagen, and as noted above, the first Porsche cars used many Volkswagen components. The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make the Porsche 914 whereby the 914-6 had a Porsche engine and the 914 had a Volkswagen engine, in 1976 with the Porsche 912 (USA only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components and was built at an Audi Neckarsulm factory. Most Porsche 944 also were built there although they used far fewer VW components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its entire chassis with VW Touareg, which is built at the factory in Bratislava. Both Audi and Skoda Auto are wholly owned subsidiaries of Volkswagen. In late 2005, Porsche took an 18.65% stake in VW, further cementing their relationship and preventing a takeover of Volkswagen, which was rumored at the time. Speculated suitors included DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and Renault.

On 26 March, 2007 Porsche took its holding of Volkswagen shares to 30.9%, triggering a takeover bid under German law. Porsche formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen (it would set its offer price at the lowest possible legal value), but intended the move to avoid a competitor taking a large stake or to stop hedge funds dismantling VW, which is Porsche's most important partner Porsche triggers VW takeover bid. Porsche's move comes after the European Union moved against a German law that protected VW from takeovers. Under the so-called "Volkswagen Law", any shareholder in VW cannot exercise more than 20% of the firm's voting rights, regardless of their level of stock holding. The European Court of Justice has already indicated that the law probably breaks EU rules, and a full judgment to that effect is expected later in 2007 Top EU court finds against VW law.

Corporate Restructure With the VW stake acquisition, Porsche intends on reforming the company's format, with Dr Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG becoming a subsidiary of a newly formed holding company called Porsche Automobil Holding SE, so as to separate the operating activities from holding activities of the company. There was an Extraordinary General Meeting for Porsche AG shareholders which took place on June 26, 2007 at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany to discuss the change to the company structure. Porsche getting new name

Auto racing Porsche has been successful in many branches of auto racing, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories. Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for various international motor sports events. In 2007, Porsche is expected to construct no fewer than 275 dedicated race cars (7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2 spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles). AutoWeek Porsche Story, Warehouse Shopping, March 7, 2007

Pronunciation of "Porsche" "Porsche", a German proper name, is pronounced correctly as, PORSH-uh (International Phonetic Alphabet ) ().

Some tend to over-vocalize the e, which results in Por-SCHA (). Others mistakenly treat the e as silent, a pronunciation rule that applies to some words in English and French, but not in German, producing the monosyllabic, porsh ().



== Models ==See: :Category:Porsche vehicles

Tractors

Consumer models

NOTE: models in 'bold are current models

North American Sales Charts Monthly (August 2007) {| class="wikitable" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; text-align: center; width: 100%;"|-! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Model! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Sales! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Percent of Total Sales

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche 911 Porsche 997| 1,083| 32%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Boxster| 425| 12%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayman| 661| 19%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayenne| 1,245| 37%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Total| 3,414| -|}

Note: this information is from an official Porsche document and is a record of Porsches sold in the United States and Canada during August 2007.

Annual (2006) {| class="wikitable" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; text-align: center; width: 100%;"|-! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Model! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Sales! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Percent of Total Sales

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche 911 Porsche 997| 12,702| 35%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Boxster| 4,850| 13%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayman| 7,313| 20%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayenne| 11,141| 31%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Total| 36,095| -|}

Note: this information is from an official Porsche document and is a record of Porsches sold in the United States and Canada during 2006.

Racing models

Note: models in 'bold are current models

Prototypes and concept cars

Also see

References

External links Official

Associates

Clubs

{{Infobox_Company || company_name = Dr Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG| company_logo = | company_type = Public
(Xetra: POR3)
(FWB: POR3)| company_slogan = There Is No Substitute| foundation = 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche and Ferry Porsche| key_people = [Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO and President| num_employees = 11,910 (2005)]| products = Automobiles]7.273 billion (2006), Euro6.57 billion (2005)| homepage = www.porsche.com--> This article is about the auto company. For its design consultancy subsidiary, see Porsche Design Group

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, often shortened to Porsche AG, or just Porsche, is a Germany automaker of automobiles. It was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the Austria engineer who also created the first Volkswagen. The company is located in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. They currently produce sports cars and sport utility vehicles.

Reputation Porsche 997 Carrera SIn a May 2006 survey, Porsche was awarded first place as the most prestigious automobile brand by Luxury Institute, New York; it questioned more than 500 households with a gross annual income of at least US $200,000 and a net worth of at least US $720,000. Porsche press release 5 May 2005 The current Porsche lineup includes sports cars from the Porsche Boxster roadster to their most famous product, the Porsche 911. The Porsche Cayman is a hard top car similar to the Boxster in a slightly higher price range. The Porsche Cayenne is Porsche's mid-size luxury SUV. The Porsche Carrera GT supercar was phased out in May 2006. Future plans include a high performance luxury sedan, the Panamera.

Porsche was awarded the 2006 J.D. Power and Associates award for highest Nameplate Initial Quality Study (IQS) of automobile brands. J.D. Power News Release

As a company, Porsche is known for weathering changing market conditions with great financial stability, while retaining most production in Germany during an age when most other German car manufacturers have moved at least partly to Eastern Europe or overseas. The headquarters and main factory are still in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, but the Cayenne (and formerly the Carrera GT) is manufactured in Leipzig, Germany, the SUV also in Bratislava, Slovakia. Most Boxster and Cayman production is outsourced to Valmet in Finland. The company has been highly successful in recent times, and indeed claims to have the highest profit per unit sold of any car company in the world, although its total profits are significantly lower than Toyota's. Forbes Autos review of Cayman S

Porsche has for many years offered consultancy services to various other car manufacturers. Studebaker, SEAT, Daewoo, Subaru and Yugo have consulted Porsche on engineering for their cars or engines. The Lada Samara Porsche Engineering infowas partly developed by Porsche in 1984. Porsche also helped Harley-Davidson design their new engine in their newer V-Rod motorcycle.

Competitors See also #Auto racing, further down in this article. In racing, Porsche's main rival has traditionally been Scuderia Ferrari, though their production vehicles appeal to quite different personalities, if similar demographics. The rivalry is therefore primarily because of both companies' storied racing heritage and the fact that some of their vehicles are of comparable performance. Porsche has a reputation for offering equal or higher performing cars than the more expensive Ferrari models, while overall Ferrari sells far fewer cars at much higher prices (for example, there are no Ferraris under US $100,000, while several Porsches are priced below that figure).

In the daily-driver marketplace, Porsche's traditional rivals are its fellow German automakers Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW (the Boxster competes directly with the BMW Z4 and the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class, for instance), as well as Lotus Cars, Jaguar (car), and Maserati. Ferrari, on the other hand, competes more directly with firms such as Lamborghini, Bugatti and Aston Martin.

History Professor Ferdinand Porsche initially started the company called "Dr. ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1931, with main offices in Königstrasse in the middle of Stuttgart. The company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, and did not initially build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, a "Volkswagen" in German.

The first Porsche, the Porsche 64, was developed in 1939 using many components from the Volkswagen Beetle.

Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry Porsche, decided to build his own car because he could not find an existing one that he would buy. The first models of what was to become the Porsche 356 were built in a small workshop in Gmünd, Austria and had aluminum bodywork. The prototype car was shown to German auto dealers, and when pre-orders reached a set threshold, production was begun. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company. Porsche commissioned Zuffenhausen-based company Reutter Carosseri, which had previously collaborated with Porsche on Volkswagen Beetle prototypes, to produce the 356's steel body. Porsche constructed an assembly plant across the street from Reutter Carosseri; that assembly plant is now known as Porschestrasse. The 356 was road certified in 1948.

Not long afterwards, on January 30, 1951, Ferdinand Porsche died from complications following a stroke.

In post-war Germany parts were generally in short supply, so the 356 automobile used components from the Volkswagen Beetle including its internal combustion engine, gearbox, and suspension (vehicle). The 356, however, had several evolutionary stages, A, B, and C, while in production and many VW parts were replaced by Porsche-made parts. The last 356s were powered by entirely Porsche-designed engines. The sleek bodywork was designed by Erwin Komenda who also had designed the body of the Beetle. Porsche's signature designs have, from the beginning, featured air-cooled rear-engine configurations (like the Beetle), rare for other car manufacturers, but producing automobiles that are very well balanced.



In 1963, after some success in motor-racing, namely with the Porsche 550, the company launched the Porsche 911 another air-cooled, rear-engined sports car, this time with a 6-cylinder flat engine. The team to lay out the body shell design was led by Ferry Porsche's eldest son, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (F. A.). The design phase for the 911 caused internal problems with Erwin Komenda who led the body design department until then. F. A. Porsche complained Komenda made changes to the design not being approved by him. Company leader Ferry Porsche took his son's drawings to neighbouring body shell manufacturer Reuter bringing the design to the 1963 state. Reuter's workshop was later acquired by Porsche (so-called Werk II). Afterward Reuter became a seat manufacturer, today known as Recaro.

The design group gave sequential numbers to every project (356, 550, etc) but the designated 901 nomenclature contravened Peugeot's copyrights on all 'x0x' names, so it was adjusted to 911. Racing models adhered to the "correct" numbering sequence: 904, 906, 908. The 911 has become Porsche's most well-known model, successful on the race-track, in rallying, and in terms of sales. Far more than any other model, the Porsche brand is defined by the 911. It remains in production; however, after several generations of revision, current-model 911s share only the basic mechanical concept of a rear-engined, six-cylinder coupe, and basic styling cues with the original car. A cost-reduced model with the same body, but 356-derived running gear (including its four-cylinder engine), was sold as the 912.

In 1972 the company's legal form was changed from limited partnership to public limited company (AG in German), because Ferry Porsche and his sister, Louise Piëch, felt their generation members did not team up well. This led to the foundation of an executive board whose members came from outside the Porsche family, and a supervisory board consisting mostly of family members. With this change, no family members were in operational charge of the company. F. A. Porsche founded his own design company, Porsche Design Group, which is renowned for exclusive sunglasses, watches, furniture, and many other luxury articles. Ferdinand Piëch, who was responsible for mechanical development of Porsche's serial and racing cars, formed his own engineering bureau and developed a 5-cylinder-inline diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz. A short time later he moved to Audi and pursued his career through the entire company, up to and including, the Volkswagen Group boards.

The first CEO of Porsche AG was Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann who had been working in Porsche's engine development. Fuhrmann was responsible for the so-called Fuhrmann-engine used in the 356 Carrera models, as well as the 550 Spyder, having four over-head camshafts instead of a central camshaft as in the Volkswagen-derived serial engines. He planned to cease the 911 during the 70s and replace it with the V8-front engined grand sportswagon Porsche 928. As we know today the 911 outlived the 928 by far. Fuhrmann was replaced in the early 80s by Peter W. Schutz, an American manager and self-proclaimed 911 aficionado. He was replaced in 1988 by the former manager of German computer company Nixdorf Computer AG, Arno Bohn, who made some costly miscalculations that led to his dismissal soon after, along with that of the development director, Dr. Ulrich Bez, who was formerly responsible for BMW's BMW Z1 model and today is CEO of Aston Martin.

In 1990, Porsche drew up a memorandum of understanding with Toyota to learn and benefit from Japanese production methods. Currently Toyota is assisting Porsche with hybrid electric vehicle, rumored to be making its way into a Hybrid Cayenne SUV, as well as the upcoming four-door coupe, the Panamera.

Following the dismissal of Bohn, an interim CEO was appointed, longtime Porsche employee, Heinz Branitzki, who served in that position until Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking became CEO in 1993. Wiedeking took over the chairmanship of the board at a time when Porsche appeared vulnerable to a takeover by a larger company. During his long tenure, Wiedeking has transformed Porsche into a very efficient and profitable company.

Ferdinand Porsche's grandson, Ferdinand Piëch, was chairman and CEO of the Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002. Today he is chairman of the supervisory board. With 12.8 per cent of the Porsche voting shares, he also remains the second largest individual shareholder of Porsche AG after his cousin, F. A. Porsche, (13.6 per cent).

Porsche's 2002 introduction of the Cayenne also marked the unveiling of a new production facility in Leipzig, Free State of Saxony, which once accounted for nearly half of Porsche's annual output. The Cayenne Turbo S has the second most powerful production engine in Porsche's history, with the most powerful belonging to the Carrera GT.

In 2004, production of the 605 horsepower Carrera GT commenced in Leipzig, and at EUR 450,000 ($440,000 in the United States) it was the most expensive production model Porsche ever built.

As of 2005, the extended Porsche and Piech families controlled all of Porsche AG's voting shares. In early October 2005 the company announced acquisition of an 18.53% stake in Volkswagen AG and disclosed intentions to acquire additional VW shares in the future. As of June 2006, the Porsche AG stake in Volkswagen had risen to 25.1%, giving Porsche a blocking minority, whereby Porsche can veto large corporate decisions undertaken by VW.

In mid-2006, after years of the Boxster (and later the Cayenne) as the dominant Porsche in North America, the 911 regained its position as Porsche's backbone in the region. The Cayenne and 911 have cycled as the top-selling model since. In Germany the 911 clearly outsells the Boxster/Cayman and Cayenne. Porsche USA press release 11 September 2006

Relationship with Volkswagen The company has always had a close relationship with Volkswagen, and as noted above, the first Porsche cars used many Volkswagen components. The two companies collaborated in 1969 to make the Porsche 914 whereby the 914-6 had a Porsche engine and the 914 had a Volkswagen engine, in 1976 with the Porsche 912 (USA only) and the Porsche 924, which used many Audi components and was built at an Audi Neckarsulm factory. Most Porsche 944 also were built there although they used far fewer VW components. The Cayenne, introduced in 2002, shares its entire chassis with VW Touareg, which is built at the factory in Bratislava. Both Audi and Skoda Auto are wholly owned subsidiaries of Volkswagen. In late 2005, Porsche took an 18.65% stake in VW, further cementing their relationship and preventing a takeover of Volkswagen, which was rumored at the time. Speculated suitors included DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and Renault.

On 26 March, 2007 Porsche took its holding of Volkswagen shares to 30.9%, triggering a takeover bid under German law. Porsche formally announced in a press statement that it did not intend to take over Volkswagen (it would set its offer price at the lowest possible legal value), but intended the move to avoid a competitor taking a large stake or to stop hedge funds dismantling VW, which is Porsche's most important partner Porsche triggers VW takeover bid. Porsche's move comes after the European Union moved against a German law that protected VW from takeovers. Under the so-called "Volkswagen Law", any shareholder in VW cannot exercise more than 20% of the firm's voting rights, regardless of their level of stock holding. The European Court of Justice has already indicated that the law probably breaks EU rules, and a full judgment to that effect is expected later in 2007 Top EU court finds against VW law.

Corporate Restructure With the VW stake acquisition, Porsche intends on reforming the company's format, with Dr Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG becoming a subsidiary of a newly formed holding company called Porsche Automobil Holding SE, so as to separate the operating activities from holding activities of the company. There was an Extraordinary General Meeting for Porsche AG shareholders which took place on June 26, 2007 at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany to discuss the change to the company structure. Porsche getting new name

Auto racing Porsche has been successful in many branches of auto racing, scoring a total of more than 28,000 victories. Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. In 2006, Porsche built 195 race cars for various international motor sports events. In 2007, Porsche is expected to construct no fewer than 275 dedicated race cars (7 RS Spyder LMP2 prototypes, 37 GT2 spec 911 GT3-RSRs, and 231 911 GT3 Cup vehicles). AutoWeek Porsche Story, Warehouse Shopping, March 7, 2007

Pronunciation of "Porsche" "Porsche", a German proper name, is pronounced correctly as, PORSH-uh (International Phonetic Alphabet ) ().

Some tend to over-vocalize the e, which results in Por-SCHA (). Others mistakenly treat the e as silent, a pronunciation rule that applies to some words in English and French, but not in German, producing the monosyllabic, porsh ().



== Models ==See: :Category:Porsche vehicles

Tractors

Consumer models

NOTE: models in 'bold are current models

North American Sales Charts Monthly (August 2007) {| class="wikitable" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; text-align: center; width: 100%;"|-! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Model! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Sales! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Percent of Total Sales

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche 911 Porsche 997| 1,083| 32%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Boxster| 425| 12%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayman| 661| 19%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayenne| 1,245| 37%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Total| 3,414| -|}

Note: this information is from an official Porsche document and is a record of Porsches sold in the United States and Canada during August 2007.

Annual (2006) {| class="wikitable" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; text-align: center; width: 100%;"|-! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Model! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Sales! style="width:10%; background: #BBEEFF;" | Percent of Total Sales

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche 911 Porsche 997| 12,702| 35%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Boxster| 4,850| 13%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayman| 7,313| 20%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Porsche Cayenne| 11,141| 31%

|-! style="background: #ececec;" | Total| 36,095| -|}

Note: this information is from an official Porsche document and is a record of Porsches sold in the United States and Canada during 2006.

Racing models

Note: models in 'bold are current models

Prototypes and concept cars

Also see

References

External links Official

Associates

Clubs



Porsche Website
Porsche cars UK website.

Official Porsche Website
The official Porsche site. Provides information about products, services and the company.

Porsche Club Great Britain
Contains member section, events, registers, and download area.

Porsche 911 | History | Buy | Sell | GT2 | Targa | Carrera | Turbo
porsche 911 cars have along history. apply for uk specialist motor insurance, guaranteed car loans, prestige auto hire and find spare parts for classic or newer 911's.

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Taken from Porsche Official "Press Kit" From the 356 to the New 911. While products and technologies designed and created by Porsche now look back at more than 100 years of ...

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E-zine. Features news, editorials, and classifieds.

Porsche 968 sports and high performance cars successor to 944, 968 ...
Offers radar, laser and GPS detectors including Road Angel, Bel, Snooper, Cobra, and Geodesy. Also offering Porsche parts and accessories.

Northway Porsche Specialists -
Northway Porsche has been in the business of servicing, repairing and selling Porsches for over 12 years. ... 996 and Boxster Porsche's latest generation of watercooled 911 & two ...

Porsche - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Porsche SE, or just Porsche, is a German manufacturer of automobiles majority owned by Porsche and Piëch families. Porsche SE holds two chief assets, the first of which is Dr.

porsche 924 owners club
porsche 924 owners porsche club meets tec help ... Hello & thank you for visiting our Club Web Site. If you own a 924 or looking to buy one & need information, you will find ...

 

Porsche



 
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