Porsche To Magna: Take The Money And Run
Last year, Porsche gave Magna an eight-year contract to build the Cayman and Boxster models from 2012 on. Then Porsche went to Volkswagen. Then Opel came. VW was miffed and said “us or Opel.” When Magna’s Opel deal went poof, VW said Magna can come home, all is forgiven. Apparently not quite. Volkswagen (or Porsche, hard to say these days…) want to use the factories of bankrupt Karmann which Volkswagen had bought and cancelled the contract. Magna cried foul and wanted money.
Now, the matter is official, writes Automobilwoche [sub].
And Magna? Magna received a nice, but unspecified chunk of money for their troubles from magnanimous Porsche. (Or Volkswagen.) VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, who is also head of Porsche now, said: “You can believe me, Magna is very happy with the solution. They have been compensated for their work.” Come 2012, your Boxster or Cayman will not be made in Austria, but in scenic Osnabrück, birth place of the Karmann Ghia.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Dancing with GM proves costly for every company they touch. (firmer Karmman works - I suspect you mean former - unless there's something interesting about the foundations?? Probably Boxter too, rather than boyter - otherwise known as the Gayman.)
PeteMoran for proof reader!
You missed one: I spelled the Cayman as Caymann in the tags, sorry irreversible.
However, it's Boxster not Boxter.
I'm just mad at that Cayman's misaligned exhaust pipes. I'll get over it though.