Comments on: Porsche Forms A Collegial Partnership with VW

By: Ingvar

Ingvar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:16:05 +0000

“Of course it has Piech’s name on it. He’s a Porsche family member, and a major stock holder.”

Yes, I know that. What I wanted to clarify was that I don’t hear Piech name anywhere in the press concerning this affair, and that this certainly bears his name. I have read a lot of comments like “Oh no! Porsche will wreak VW!”, but this move is effectively a continuation of the Piech rule.

When he took over as ceo of VW in the early 90s, he changed direction and moved VW further upmarket. Not only the Phaeton and Touareg programs, but what was more important, the Golf/Jetta and Passat, mid 90s. What happened was that VW in one move benchmarked TWO whole sectors in terms of (percieved) quality. And that upped the stakes for all of the competition. The (euro) Ford Focus of 1998 would not have been without Ferdinand Piech.

The point is, his rule of acquisitions and badge-engineering will continue, in a field spanning from Skoda to Bugatti. You can count on an entry-level Porsche based on the next-gen Audi TT/VW Scirocco-platform, with an R32 engine.

But more importantly, you can count on Porsche cleaning the Volkwagen house off of all political rule, as this, in mind of Ferdinand Piech, is the one thing that have spelt Volkswagens demise in the most recent years.

By: carguy

carguy — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:16:15 +0000

A warning to Porsche – the unstoppable VW steamroller of bureaucracy will crush your spirit and assimilate your products into its world of mediocrity. Just ask anyone at Audi.

By: Paul Niedermeyer

Paul Niedermeyer — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:38:49 +0000

Clarification: Porsche Holdings is not Porsche AG, that builds Porsches. The holding company was set up to own shares in both companies (Porsche, VW). It doesn’t change the big picture, but the two car building companies are not actually merging into one entity. More like Fiat’s relationship with Ferrari.

Ingvar: Of course it has Piech’s name on it. He’s a Porsche family member, and a major stock holder.

By: Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:03:48 +0000

Bring back the Phaeton.

By: Ingvar

Ingvar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:43:03 +0000

It is effectively a coup d’état managed by Ferdinand Piech, working in the shadows. The former ceo of VW, now on the “senior advisory board” of said company, now controls the whole group through his shares in Porsche. It doesn’t really matter who runs what, mark my words, this has Piech name written all over it.

By: sandmed

sandmed — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:14:32 +0000

Oh my God. Wiedeking has now set in motion a long, painful and mortal blow to the beloved Porsche AG as we have known it.