[craig66]

I am wondering what will be the effect of almost no new Boxster B/S or Caymans B/S coming in to the US over the last year and more.

Starting spring of 2019 there have been very few Boxster or Caymans coming into the US and it does not look like that will change soon. Also the Boxster and Cayman T while a great performance package will not necessarily appeal to all and it remains unclear what the future will be for these cars

What will that do to the secondary market. I am picturing the possibility of the resale value of existing Boxster and Cayman going up with increasing scarcity. I guess that would be a good thing.

On the downside what will happen to the availability of CPO's.

Like the macan the Boxster and Cayman although amazing cars also gave those looking to get into a Porsche at a relatively lower price the ability to do that..

Just pondering.....

 

[JazzCatGab]

I've been wondering that myself, along with the already rare manual tranny like mine. Seems like Porsche is considering a variety of futures for the Boxster and Cayman, including six cylinders or all electric. They may also drop the 718 moniker if they do either of those as it doesn't harken back to the original four-cylinder 718.

 

[chester7]

Regardless of what Elizabeth Warren types think, supply and demand remains one of the strongest forces in the universe. When you reduce supply price tends to go up unless there are equivalent substitutes. In my opinion, there are not many equivalent substitutes for a mid-engined, reliable performance car. The sword-of-damacles issue may be: is the new mid-engined Corvette good enough that reducing supply of Cayman/Boxsters has no impact?

 

[DriveInHouston]

Supply and demand...

There was never a lot of demand for the Cayman/Boxster platform... It is a great car, one of the best, if not the best for the price...

But,...

Not everyone can take the leap to a strictly two seater, or has the knowledge/culture/temperament to discern a near perfect mid-engine car from the horde of muscle cars at 60-80% of the price.

So...

The demand is not there, not in the numbers that Porsche wants it to be.

Plus, everyone is looking at electrics...

Strange, isn't it? When finally they figured out ICE and produce Dodges with hypercar horsepower, the ICE is on its way out...

 

[Barryng]

Plus, everyone is looking at electrics...

Not everyone. I would agree electrics are getting plenty of press and the number of pure electrics being sold are increasing but I perceive they are still a very small percentage of the market and, in my opinion, certainly not even close to being ready for prime time. As I stated in other posts, without the sound and feel of an IC engine and its exhaust, driving is a limp experience regardless of the vehicle's actual performance. My girl friend's hybrid Lexus is both disconcerting and even annoying when nothing happens except hearing a few chimes when pushing the start button. I am not sure if her Lexus or the Hallmark Channel is more fatally boring. Second, electrics are still a long way from being practical unless intended just for local driving. Recently I have been making overnight trips every month or so to Tampa (170 miles) and Jacksonville (265 miles). The range limitation of an electric, the relatively very long times to refuel, and the inconvenience of finding charging stations would have made these trips unacceptably complicated and longer. Therefore, there will never be an electric in my future (at least with current tech and infrastructure) either for my SUV (when I need utility or long trips) or my daily driver (my 2019 Boxster). I am vocal about this because I am very disappointed in another three or so years a replacement Boxster will not be an option for me. Going back to a BMW Z4 that is half Toyota DNA and ony avaiilable as an automatic just does not seem like something I would have any desire to do after experiencing my new Boxster as my daily driver. I absolutely am a believer in global warming so I am certainly being hypocritical and I cannot mount any defense for this. However, being in my mid 70s means the number of years I have left to use ICE vehicles is limited and I am confident the culture of the now 20 somethings will not be so obessed with big ass engines as my generation is. Thank you for letting me vent and ramble on about the production demise of a vehicle that reliably makes me smile every time I simultaneously turn the key and turn the knob for sport mode. No other car in the past 50+ years gives me the pleasure my Boxster does and this would not all be the case if it was electric.

 

[DriveInHouston]

You can vent as much as you want! But most if not all of serious auto manufactures are planning for the transition very determinedly (Volvo, the VAG group, BMW, even Ford with their e-Mustang).

Speaking of the devil, there is a bunch of crusty old timers and crusty wannabes, who complained bitterly that Ford is using the model name Mustang for their first BEV, proposing instead e-Fusion and the like.

Would you prefer an eFusion to wipe the floor with your Mustang GT, GT350 even (GT500 if they so choose) or an eMustang to do it?

Times are a-changing... The same way we walked away from the NA6 wail for the allure of the turbo performance, the same way we will learn to love the sporty e-humm of the eCayman!

 

[Naptown]

I guess it means our cars will hold their value more. I'm more interested in Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell technology than in electric cars. But the Cayman is for me the perfect car to drive in decent weather. And I can do 500 miles without refueling if I try. I don't really try because it's more fun to avoid the freeways. And 93 octane at the local big box store is pennies over regular at most gas stations. If they would just stop adding ethanol...but that's another thread.

 

[Barryng]

Naptown, I agree, h2 fuel cells do clearly gave the potential for fixing the range and refueling time issues. I also recently read the infrastructure (existing gas stations) already in place apparently can be relatively easily modified to dispense liquid hydrogen although in practice I think this would be a lot lot more than "relatively easily". I would welcome this technology for my SUV but suspect it wont be even available on a small commercial scale in the foreseeable future.

 

[Treemagnet]

I am not sure if her Lexus or the Hallmark Channel is more fatally boring.

Definitely the Lexus...my wife’s Hallmark Christmas movies haven’t done me in...yet?

 

[chester7]

If they would just stop adding ethanol...but that's another thread.

In Texas we have large "car stops" along major highways operated by Buc-ee's with a gazillion gas pumps. Ethanol-free gas is offered. The market at work. Always

 

[Barryng]

Definitely the Lexus...my wife’s Hallmark Christmas movies haven’t done me in...yet?

It will!

 

[Treemagnet]

Oh crap......it is a plot!

 

[Westcoaster]

Back in 2015 I was in a similar situation, thought I was buying my last ICE Boxster, now 4 years later I am waiting to order what I am again thinking will be my last ICE Boxster, this time a Spyder. ?

Electric cars are being talked about more and more, but none that I would be interested in owning or that would have the character and involvement of a MT Spyder... The Spyder is not destined for duty as a daily driver, grocery getter or for that matter an investment! I am buying it for the top down, open road driving experience...

The Spyder is my choice, but all current 718's can provide the same enjoyment, and I am happy with the knowledge that from an emissions standpoint these are some of the cleanest cars available.

 

[alf_17]

Electric cars are being talked about more and more...

Besides owning a 718 Boxster I also own one of the arguably most advanced BEV's (Battery Electric Vehicle) in the form of a Tesla Model 3 Performance.
While I can agree that the BEV's has come a long way in the development, I can also honestly say that they still have a long way to go before they can replace an ICEV in all aspects.
I simply don't believe that the BEV will truly prevail until we have seen a new breakthrough in battery technology, and when I say breakthrough I mean a breakthrough which not just works in theory but also makes it into mainstream production, because the Li-Ion batteries we currently have are just not up to the job, but they are the best we have right now.
I think it is a shame BEV's are being pushed when they still rely on Li-Ion batteries, so I think you are on the right path when you plan on enjoying what might be the last ICEV Boxster.
But once a new battery tech has seen the light of day and it can offer larger capacity at lower weight and faster charging speed than current Li-Ion, I think that the Taycan has already proven that the future BEV Porsches will be just as, if not more, entertaining than the current ICEV lineup (besides the aural experience of course).
But that being said, it will still be a sad day when you no longer can buy an ICEV Porsche.

 

[roundtail]

Batteries have come a long way...or have they?

Consider: The U.S. entered WWII with bi-planes. By the end of the war, jet fighters were emerging. Then, some twenty years hence, supersonic flight.

Computing power of the first computer was a basic math equation. Today, a wrist watch “computer” communicates across the globe in seconds.

An expecting mother can see her child’s face in the womb using sound.

Scores of advances, many involving electricity, since the first battery. By comparison to some of them, the battery is still crude.

The problem with battery cars isn’t development, its physics. Electricity isn’t so much stored energy as it is energy in motion. With hydrocarbon based fuels, the energy is already stored.

Battery cars are a metropolitan idea, pushed forward by metropolitan governments. They want the rest of the world onboard to lower the unit cost for them. They don’t care at all about our rural or mountain drives.

 

[Westcoaster]

Batteries have come a long way...or have they?

Battery cars are a metropolitan idea, pushed forward by metropolitan governments. They want the rest of the world onboard to lower the unit cost for them. They don’t care at all about our rural or mountain drives.

Exactly my feeling as well, it's either this or they want everyone to ride a bicycle... ?

 

[DriveInHouston]

They...

...is us, and the world we want to leave to our children and their children.

 

[Westcoaster]

Although it is a whole lot more complicated then taking a few ultra low emission vehicles off the road, or point at the automobile in general and wag the finger while the massive portions of the rain forest go up in flames, or we strip mine the earth for lithium to produce batteries or burn coal to produce electricity to charge those batteries...

I am going to stop here and leave this off topic subject to some another forum to beat to death.

 

[craig66]

Although it is a whole lot more complicated then taking a few ultra low emission vehicles off the road, or point at the automobile in general and wag the finger while the massive portions of the rain forest go up in flames, or we strip mine the earth for lithium to produce batteries or burn coal to produce electricity...

I am going to stop here and leave this off topic subject to some another forum to beat to death.

And lets not forget those methane producing cows and our insatiable appetite for meat !!!

 

[Treemagnet]

And lets not forget those methane producing cows and our insatiable appetite for meat !!!

Turkeys produce more methane (per table pound) than cows. Untrue?..perhaps, but from what I’ve been told, only marginally so.

Plants are living things too. Therefore, ours is a family of carnivores saving plants. Exactly why we’re enjoying steak for Christmas dinner this year.

Merry Christmas Everyone?