The $66,000 914-6?



PART ONE

Now, the question always comes up..."How much of a premium do I give a car with low miles for the year produced?" There is a school of thought that says that low mileage example demand an extreme premium Here we're talking about absurdly low miles. Like a early 911 with, say, six thousand miles. Or a 993 Turbo S selling for, what I consider, silly money. I guess the greatest promoter of this is Richard Sloan in Connecticut.

Now, I have mixed feelings about this guy. He has a wonderful assortment of 356's and 911's. Stunning would be the word. But his prices are just as stunning, as in, ridiculous in some cases. Of course, he does have a regular inventory priced reasonably if only slightly high. But you sometimes have to pay a premium for a well-sorted example, hand-chosen by a Porsche guru such as Sloan. I have no problem with this. Hey, I would love to buy a 993 from the guy if it was reasonable. I would trust his taste. But I don't think I can afford what he has on offer, that''s for sure.

Still there are examples of crazy prices here. An '87 Targa Turbo with 24,000 miles for $72,500. I think you're paying for the mileage here, of course, But there's a lot that can go wrong with a 930 that spends more time sitting than doing what it's supposed to do. And an '84 Turbo-look Carrera for $36,900 with 41,000 plus miles. I think we're looking at a 40% premium here.

Gets crazier. A '67 911 with 18,000 miles for $110,000. If it had normal miles for the year, and this was a year ago I would have said under $20,000. If it was in good condition. He has two SC Targas. One ('81) with 63,000 miles for $20,900 (not terribly priced in excellent condition) but another ('79) with 4,175 (?!?) miles for $49,500. More than twice the price. Boy, he puts some premium on mileage!

A '97 Turbo S (what a beautiful car!) but with 12,350 miles and a price tag of $158 grand, a '94 964 Turbo 'Package Edition' with 7, 011 miles for $134 Grand (that's scary), and another '97 Turbo S with under 4,000 miles for $185,000! You could buy a lot of current Porsche performance for that money. There are others just like this, and, of course, other premium-priced 993 4S and '2'S models. But, remember, there are others more reasonably priced so you can't paint the guy as a complete wacko. As I said, he knows his cars, and must know his clientele. Check out www.SloanCars.com.

Ok, that's one dealer. But there others like him. But the funny thing is that there are some UK dealers who are completely off the mark when it comes to prices., Now, I do have to say a common misconception in pricing is thinking that One UK Pound is worth a little over $2. Well, if you were changing money, or importing something from there it is. But in reality, wouldn't the opposite hold true? Couldn't you value Porsches that way if you were buying here from there. Say you want a $30,000 993. Well, a Brit could buy it for that, ship it over, pay the costs and VAT and duties and still save a pretty penny. After all, the same car retails for 27,000 Pounds there. So shouldn't it be worth less if you reversed the shipping. Or is it that the dealers and restorers want the higher prices to justify the prices they charge? Actually I have a theory that the restorers are driving up prices to justify restoring cars that weren't worth restoring previously. Another time..

Actually, if go by the cost of living, say what is cost of bread, or rent, or whatever you see a very different story. Working it out that way you see the pound is worth actually around $1.25 or so. Then things start looking differently.

Plus remember that the Brits are paying a premium for RHD (LHD examples sell for less over there). Plus duties and other expenses (let's not forget gas prices) over there. So equating the exchange rate as a guide to buying American based purchases is a false idea. Sadly, it perpetuated by what was my favorite magazine, Greg Martin's Sports Car Market. It's sort of getting like some of the high end reviews of stereo equipment when some character was extolling the virtues of a high end tube amp costing $50,000 as a 'bargain'.

But you still get Brit dealers such as Export56 selling older, and nice, Porsches for absolutely ridiculous prices. But it still drives those prices up. And we're not even talking 'low miles' here.

A '67 Soft Window Targa S for 60,000 pounds. A '70 'S' for 48 grand in their money. A regular 914-6 from 1970. What do you think? Twenty Thousand dollars, Thirty thou? Nope. 33,000 POUNDS! And we're not talking low mileage here. This had over a 100,000 miles on the odometer. Richard Sloan is looking better to some degree.

Rounding that out is a normal 911T with 70,000 plus miles. What's that worth on ebay? Under twenty thousand bucks. Sure. Here, for you almost 37 Thouand Pounds. You still want to use that $2 per Pound equation? I don't even want to use $1.25!

Well, this is only the wacky side of the story. The next part of this rant covers the pluses and minuses of 'Low Mileage Example".

What do my two favorite companies have in common? Well, actually lots. But I won't get into my whole rant about this, rather, just point out one thing...their stock price is extremely attractive at this point.

Apple, which was over $190 just weeks ago, has tumbled a bit and stands today at mid-160's. Don't you think that it could easily jump back, especially with the holiday buying season upon us, and, supposedly a new sub-notebook being introduced at the main Mac Expo this January and new iPhone in Feb. A nice twenty percent jump might be in the cards, and more coming.

Porsche, whose stock price is approx. 1460 Euros has had a crazy drop. wasn't it around four hundred euros higher less than a month ago?

Part of this drop is part because of slightly slowing sales, part because of the perception that they are having trouble with VW unions, preventing a grab of more VW stock. Personally, I think that unions in Europe are so protective of their position that they are wary of any corporation coming in and reducing the workforce, etc. Maybe rightly so. But, if you ask me, Porsche's involvement in VW will strengthen that brand, and, by doing so, increase share prices for both companies.

I don't know. I think both Apple and Porsche are STRONG brands. And I think the downside is minor compared to the upside. Hey, I did tell my sister to buy Apple years ago at $14. Now with the splits and increases she's done amazingly well.

I could be wrong...but don't tell my wife that.

Der Spiegel, the newspaper not the catalog, has reported that Porsche is standing pat on it's slightly over 30% of VW holdings for now. According to sources, problems with the unions and high VW stock prices are curtailing our favorite company's desires to obtain a 50% share in the company. The unions' fear of Porsche imposing its' productivity-increasing measures, taken at Porsche in the mid-1990's very successfully, makes them unhappy.

Hmmmmmm....doesn't that sound eerily similar to former union demands in Detroit? And look what happened...the unions here had to give major concessions just to keep some of their jobs.

Now I'm not anti-union by any stretch of the imagination. But you do have to moderate desires for fair employment practices with reality, don't you?

Either way, Porsche, in my opinion, will take the right course for itself and for VW in the short and long term.

Porsche announced yesterday (Oct. 31) that they added a new, cool feature to their website...Web Cinema.

Their press release states...


Application Plugs in Viewers to Movies, Music, Rare Racing Footage--Even Famous Engine Roar!

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2007--Porsche today announced it has launched a new "Web Cinema" on its Web site that offers Porsche sports-car fans and admirers the ability to view extraordinary Porsche films. This new Web technology gives browsers a "virtual" front-row seat to experience much of what embodies Porsche's legendary sports car driving. The site features rare product development documentaries, inside-the-factory research and even brings the auditory passion of Porsche to life with sounds of the famous engines from the German car maker.

All of this is now live on the Company's Web site, www.porscheusa.com.

"We are constantly seeking ways to connect consumers to our exciting world of races, rallies and sports car driving," said David Pryor, vice president of marketing for Porsche Cars North America. "With the new web-cinema in place, viewers can feel a part of the action anytime; and the engine sounds truly are music to the ears of a true Porsche lover."

In addition to audio files, browsers logging on to www.porscheusa.com will find the movies "True to yourself" about the Porsche Cayman S and "No" about the 911 Carrera 4/4S, both presented with the Golden Camera Award in Hollywood. Reports from the American Le Mans Series and Transsyberia Rally are also available.

Comment -- Great adddition to their website. True, you're not going to get sneak video, or 'crazy wackiness' but it's done in typical Porsche stylish-ness.

A french company, PGO, has brought out two models of a cabriolet that looks strikingly Porsche-like. To these eyes (old and worn out as they may be) they look like a speedster mated with a 993 wide body, replete with 356 twin-grille and wide flanks.

Sold through companies such as Lifestyle Automotive (www.lifestyleautomotive.co.uk) which also sells the TD2000 MG replica and Lobini's Elise-like roadster, PGO is also establishing an international network of dealers.

PGO (http://www.pgoauto.co.uk/) has two models. The Speedster II looks extremely like its' namesake (actually an A variant) but contains some modern elements. The Cevennes (above) has a slightly different profile, especially from the front. More squashed.

Quality-wise these are not Beck Speedsters, they are done to the nines! While composite-based, they have a multi-tubular frame, a mid-placed engine (no pics), luxury appointments including leather, available automatic shifter, a/c, etc. Since it isn't, at this time, being imported into the U.S. I'm not sure of the price but probably starting under $60K. But, remember, it's not a Porsche!

There is a very nice website at PGO, with video, etc. Take a look!