Porsche’s decision to become more mainstream by offering sedans and SUVs turned the nearly kaput automaker into a global powerhouse, and whatever complaints people made at the time have long been washed away by the huge tide of cash flowing into the company. That it was able to do so without losing its edge is impressive, and can be attributed both to the Porscheness of those new models, and the enduring and wonderful existence of the 911.
Curiously, this year the trend has reversed itself a bit. The company is grappling with fallout from its EV push and a reconsideration of what a future Porsche will be, and the brightest of bright spots in the United States is the Porsche 911. Even better news, Porsche tells me that on models where the manual was available the take-rate has been high. While selling new EVs has yielded mixed results for traditional OEMs, the used market is fairly robust according to the most recent data.
That’s about it for the good news in The Morning Dump. In the bad news category, one of our friends and colleagues was nearly arrested for the simple act of driving a press car. The reason? AI cameras inadvertently labeled the car stolen. That’s not ideal. You know what’s also not ideal? Car loans are getting longer, but warranties are not!
The Porsche 911 Almost Outsold The Cayenne Last Quarter
The best time to buy a Porsche 911 was 20/30/40 years ago, when prices for 911s were a lot lower. The second best time to buy a Porsche 911 is right now. And I mean any 911. New. Used. CPO. A 996 or a 997.2 GTS. An ’80s Targa or a ’90s Turbo. There may be a time when, like vintage muscle cars, 911s retreat in price, but it ain’t gonna be anytime soon.
I happen to be old enough to remember when Porsche introduced the Panamera and the Cayenne. There was, as there always is, the usual sturm und drang about what this meant for the brand. Would Porsche remain Porsche? Would the 911 fade into oblivion? With hindsight, it’s clear the answers are yes and no. As an enthusiast, I would happily buy either a first-gen Cayenne or Panamera. I’ve actually harbored a longstanding desire to turn a Panamera into a tow vehicle for a trailer.
As for sales, the 911 is about as popular as it’s ever been, and it’s the one true bright spot in the lineup for Porsche. Check out this chart:
What do you notice there? For one, the 911 almost outsold the Cayenne last quarter and could, possibly, end up being the second best-selling model behind the Macan (I’ll get into that in a second). Overall, 911 sales were up nearly 60% this year, while everything else slumped.
Part of this is the enduring appeal of a 911 and part of this is Porsche’s approach to the model, which is to make a 911 for every imaginable buyer. There’s a new 911 Turbo S Coupe and Cabriolet, for instance, in addition to the new GTS-T Hybrid. Porsche also still sells a real manual (ahem, Ferrari). I spoke to a Porsche spokesperson this morning who, in addition to not complaining that I was pestering him before 8 am, provided some more details on manual take rates.
Obviously, the blissfully perfect Porsche 911 Carrera T only comes in manual form, so that’s 100%. What about the GT3? The overall manual take rate is, per this spokesperson, above 50%. If you want to drill down further, 83% of GT3 Touring owners chose the third-pedal option. The impending Porsche 911 GT3 S/C? Also manual-only.
To even ask why the Porsche 911 is popular is to admit that you’ve either never driven one or, if you have, to admit you’ve entirely lost your capacity for joy.
So what about the rest of the lineup? Here’s where it gets a little squidgier. The 718 is out of production, so that’s an easy one. With the general flatlining of the EV market, and the loss of tax credits, Taycan sales dropped by nearly half through the first half of 2026. The Panamera continues to slowly decline as we go deeper into the third generation.
The Cayenne and Macan is where numbers are even stranger. The Cayenne is going electric-only, maybe, but the only Cayennes being delivered right now appear to be the gas or hybrid version. The Macan is ending production of the gas-powered model this month, but the vast majority currently on dealer lots are of the gas variety.
Porsche has recognized that this push to EVs only doesn’t match reality, at least here, so the company is changing course. As Edmunds reports:
Porsche will pivot away from its previous EV-forward strategy for key models by breathing new life into combustion versions of the Macan compact SUV and Cayenne midsizer. Plus, a three-row model, internally known as the “K1,” which was already in development as an EV, will ditch electric power in favor of launching with more palatable gas and plug-in hybrid options.
The move is a departure from Porsche’s earlier Strategy 2030, which would have seen the company transition core models toward fully electric powertrains. The previous approach was based on bullish EV growth expectations that predicted demand would continue to surge for fully electric vehicles, as it had in the late 2010s and early 2020s, and held that over 80% of Porsche sales should be all-electric by the end of the decade. But softening EV demand means this won’t be the case.
Now, Porsche is rapidly preparing a new gas-powered compact SUV for launch “not later than 2028,” according to chief executive Oliver Blume.
Will there be enough gas-powered Macans to satiate demand? Will Cayenne sales dip below 911 sales? I assume we’ll have at least one quarter where the Porsche 911 is the best-selling car the company has in the US, which would be quite the outcome, although I doubt that’ll last for long.
Also, as for the headline, assuming the average Porsche 911 weighs 3,500 pounds, that’s how many metric tons of 911s the company sold.
Used EV Growth Is Outperforming Used Gas-Powered Cars
EV adoption is hamstrung by a mix of cost and choice; the used EV market is a sign that there are buyers there for the right car at the right price. Manheim released its half-year report on the used car market, and while the overall used car market remains strong, the used EV market remains stronger:
Used electric vehicles remained one of the strongest segments in the wholesale market during the second quarter. The EV Index increased 12% year over year and 1.7% month over month in June, significantly outperforming the Non-EV Index, which rose 1.7% year over year and 0.2% from May.
Growing model variety, improving consumer familiarity with EV technology and elevated fuel costs have all contributed to stronger demand. At the same time, increasing off-lease EV volume at wholesale has not overwhelmed the market.
“Used EVs continue to outperform the broader market,” Gregory said. “We’re seeing a wider variety of EVs return from lease, helping provide dealers and retail shoppers more options than they had just a few years ago. That broader availability is helping demand remain resilient even as supply grows.”
If the only gap between people buying EVs and not buying EVs was cost, then you’d assume that the Chevy Bolt and Equinox EV would absolutely dominate the market. While the re-introduced Bolt is selling well, the continued dominance of the Model Y is a sign that buyers are still cognizant of the value trade-off electric vehicles offer in the current market. A reasonably equipped Equinox FWD costs more than a better-equipped RAV4 Hybrid XLE Premium or Woodland Edition, so you have to really want an EV, and if you really want an EV you have a lot of choices.
The depreciation/tax credit aid you get on a used EV seems to be addressing both issues at the same time, allowing customers to get a well-equipped off-lease EV at a price that’s as good, or better, as an equivalent gas vehicle. With fuel prices growing higher and the conflict in Iran seemingly never going to end, there’s a logic to this if you can charge at home.
Flock AI Cameras Misidentified A Press Car As Stolen
The science fiction film Minority Report proposed a world wherein clairvoyants and mass surveillance combine to stop premeditated murders from occurring. The reality of today is that mass surveillance exists, aided not by oracles but by AI. Unfortunately, the AI doesn’t always work as expected, as Joel Feder wrote in The Drive:
“Are you armed?!” the police officer screamed. “Get out of the car!”
On an otherwise normal Sunday afternoon in late June, I’d decided to take the $155,000 Range Rover I was testing that week out to run some errands with my wife. Little did I know that choice would complete a technological chain linking surveillance cameras, AI, and law enforcement that led to me and my wife being surrounded by police, hands on their guns, in a Kohl’s parking lot in suburban Minnesota.
After dropping off our Amazon returns, we’d just gotten back in the Range Rover and reversed maybe two feet out of the spot when four cop cars came flying out of nowhere and boxed us in. The officers jumped out and started shouting. It’s a situation that can quickly and frequently turn bad, so as unprepared as I was, I followed their orders, got out with my hands up, and tried to figure out what the hell was happening.
This article has multiple layers of WTF, and most of it comes from a data error, with cameras following Joel and his wife around assuming the car he was in was stolen (it obviously wasn’t). I’m glad Joel is alright.
New Cars Should Come With Longer Warranties
Car loans are getting longer and longer, though warranties are not, which I know causes consternation with some buyers. As the industry looks for ways to get more buyers into cars, Automotive News makes the point that warranties should be longer:
That negative equity puts the salesperson in a tough spot: trying to sell a trade-in customer another new car when they’re already underwater. Rolling that negative equity into the financing of a new purchase may work as a short-term bandage, but it can put the customer further in the hole over the long term — creating buyer’s remorse and resentment, not loyalty.
Longer loan terms are a serious threat to dealers’ business — dealers and automakers together should identify ways to help customers avoid financial trouble that could temporarily remove them from the new-car market. The service bay is a good start.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that our partners at Galpin are offering a 10-year/100k-mile limited powertrain warranty on most of the cars they sell.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
There are so many good Bonnie Tyler songs to pick out to remember the great Welsh Singer, who passed yesterday. I think “It’s a Heartache” is appropriate. RIP.
The Big Question
What’s your favorite 911?
Top photo: Porsche
“Longer loans terms are a serious threat to dealers’ business”
That’s funny. I’d say the negative value dealers bring to car buying is the real threat to their business.
Is the 959 still considered technically a 911?
TBQ: For a couple of years in the mid-’70s Porsche offered a dress-up kit on 911s that added stainless trim along the rocker panels and wheel arches, and I’ve long loved how instantly dated and silly it makes the otherwise very modern looking G-body look. Make mine a ’75, so it’s smog exempt, and a Targa in a fun color like this one, because I’m honestly not going to drive it that fast or hard anyway.
“Longer loan terms are a serious threat to dealers’ business — dealers and automakers together should identify ways to help customers avoid financial trouble that could temporarily remove them from the new-car market.”
A serious problem to dealers’ business tomorrow.
Here in instant gratification-land, we only worry about today.
I mean, if I was a financial institution lending high five figures of cash to someone for a depreciating asset, I’d sure like for that asset to be worth something if I have to repossess it. A car with a fragged engine/transmission isn’t worth much.
One could come up with evil regulations like:
But regulations are evil, and impair preying on the financially illiterate.
There is all kinds of chutzpah in that quote. Dealers and automakers wringing their hands that long-term loans keep buyers out of the new car market, seemingly oblivious to the fact automakers removed entry-level vehicles from their product lines. But oh, let’s lament the plight of dealers!
Handy conversion factor, courtesy of a college mate of mine:
One metric shitload = 1.667 domestic/SAE shitloads.
“While the re-introduced Bolt is selling well, the continued dominance of the Model Y is a sign that buyers are still cognizant of the value trade-off electric vehicles offer in the current market”
I’d say the continued dominance of the Model Y is two things.
1. It’s still the best EV platform and ecosystem.
A. The average normal car buyer is wearing their beer goggles when shopping cuz the Y is ugly as sin.
The Model S is a good looking car.
The others are ugly.
And then there’s the Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck is growing on me. In a sea of interchangeable blobs, you know what it is. And it avoids the BIG SHOUTY MANLY front grill of basically every other pickup on the market, even the BEV ones.
“The Cybertruck is growing on me”
Like a tumor?
It’s not a tumor.
It’s easy to spot the town clown with them too
Dunno, where I live Cybertrucks are the best Tesla drivers. Which is a low bar, but goddamn half of the Y drivers around here are totally clueless to the point of being a serious road hazard.
That is a fair assessment, we only have a handful of Cyber Dumpsters around here and they’re ok at driving. However, the cognitive ability is obviously lacking since they plunked down real money to buy that over a Lightning or Silverado if they wanted an EV truck.
Lighting maybe, for a standard truck. But the Silverado? It manages to be more than a ton heavier than the cybertruck, and in the top trims that most people are buying costs the same. A cybertruck may be dumb, but the silverado EV is absolutely idiotic.
Best ecosystem, yes. I would argue the Hyundai/Kia/Genesis E-GMP is the current best EV platform around given it’s an 800V architecture vs Teslas 400V with commensurately faster charging. Also, the general UX is way better, there’s actual buttons for the important stuff!
Yes, but consider this: virtually all blobby CUVs in the Y’s class are ugly as sin. The Y isn’t even the worst in the bunch (that would be those godawful Mercedes “crossover cosplaying as a big car” things).
Is the new Rivian R2 in the same category as the Y? The R2 is a damn good looking vehicle.
Oh no, Rivian is class-leading for good looking cars. Just wish their UX wasn’t hot trash, otherwise I’d be buying one.
My favorite 911 is the Type 986.
Yes, I know. That’s a Boxster, not a 911. And don’t get me wrong– the 911’s a great car. And numbers-wise, it blows any of its smaller siblings out of the water. I don’t drive a spreadsheet, though, and in the real world, the Boxster is a lot more fun. Sure, you’ll turn in better lap times than I will, but I’ll have a lot more fun doing it.
Favorite 911? Hmmm, tough to choose, but I’d probably say the asteroid 911 Agamemnon. It’s a trojan asteroid–orbiting in a group of similar asteroids in the same orbit as Jupiter, held there by gravitational resonance. It’s a little bigger than Puerto Rico, and it has its own tiny moon. The only bad news is that if you take your Porsche there you’ll void the warranty.
Hmm, does taking a car off world really void the warranty?
Now there’s an article idea.
My Subaru came with an Allstate 10 year 150k mile limited power-train warranty from the dealer. It excludes electronics, no idea how good it will be if needed, but was not an add on as dealer included it on all new cars at all their dealerships.Yes, is in the offered price of the car, but the price was still quite competitive.
The devil is in the details on warranties like that.
I’ve always liked the 964 but classic is always up there along with the 930.
AI data needs to be validated I’m not sure why the world has forgotten a cornerstone of computing GIGO. And AI has a lot of garbage. They could have simply looked at the plate ran it and went ohh manufacture or presumably it said manufacturer on the bottom. Meanwhile actual crimes were occuring and they listened to their dumb ai overload. Wrongful imprisonment and death lawsuits are going to bankrupt so many governments over this nonsense. I would imagine judges will start to deny qualified immunity and then real things will happen.
“predicted demand would continue to surge for fully electric vehicles, as it had in the late 2010s and early 2020s”
How long, oh Lord, will we be forced to mouth “twenty____” when referring to decades in this new century that is now over a quarter over??!
Can we all just get back to the previous centuries easy peasy naming convention?
Is it too much cognitive load to simply call the previous decade “tens” and current one “twenties”??
Rant over.
Normally I’m all for consumer protection and companies standing behind the junk they make, but the reasoning here rubs me the wrong way. I bought a Seagate HDD once and the box clearly said the US gets 1 year of warranty while everyone else gets 2+. Infuriating. Classic “Nobody’s making us, so we’re not gonna”.
If you’re already under water you should not be looking to get into a new car, unless there are some legit circumstances. And if you need a 7 year loan to be able to afford a new car, then maybe a $65,000 pickup (or BMW, or whatever. It doesn’t matter) isn’t the car you should be looking for. I’ve been under water before, I get it, but “I’m tired of this Escape that I still owe $10k on, and it’s only worth $5k, but I’m gonna go trade it for a new King Ranch on a 7 year loan” is not valid. I get that’s not every buyer, but it’s probably a lot of them.
The answer is OEM’s bringing back compelling, affordable cars, and to provide longer warranties simply because they should, not because the cars are so expensive that people need a mortgage to afford them.
even with a warranty the stealerships are not helpful. month long repair times, loner cars only after warranty is proven, restrictions on loaner/rental car use. it is a hassle for many.
It almost seems like such hassle is designed into the system.
Sadly, I suppose, I have never really wanted a 911. I have driven a few older ones. they were fine, though the tail weight did not seem to make them handle all that great IMHO. I do appreciate the nostalgia and outside of the modern Dual Cam oiling issues on the intake cams and the score happy Cylinder liners form a few year back, the cars are overall relatively reliable for early onset supercar territory.
I am also the guy that if pushed to go Miata would end up in an Abarth Fiata just for nostalgia styling. so I am probably not the target market for a miata, but should probably be fine witht he styling on current 911’s I suppose.
I’m not really a 911 person either. I had a ride in a 996, I think. It was fine, but the flat 6 exhaust note doesn’t really speak to me.
I will say the styling has grown on me as I get older.
TBQ: I know that 991 values have remained up, but no one seems to be talking about them. The 991 was really, really good looking. Clean, modern, restrained, didn’t have the ugly fried egg headlights. But most of all, some models (especially the 911 R) had that double-bubble roof.
Someone needs to do something about those Flock cameras, but I don’t see that happening for a little over two years. They have been repeatedly abused by jealous law enforcement officers, they’re not very secure, and they constantly make mistakes that will get someone killed (see above). AI-powered surveillance cameras need broad legislation, and not just for governments who use them, but also the individuals (Ring doorbells are heading in this direction), and the companies (especially stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot) who use them too.
I own a few Arlo cameras I rarely even turn on. I feel no need for constant monitoring and the regular alerts for cats, squirrels, etc are a hassle. Without the alerts, why bother? I work from home most days and live in a semi-rural subdivision.
Look mommy, look at all the pretty Porsches in pretty colors!!
The 718 debacle is even more astounding when they had the recipe right in front of them, but instead of cooking, they decided to throw out all the ingredients. All they had to do was keep the 718 in production, and every once in a while throw some hot 911 parts from two years ago’s GT3, GTS, S/C, etc, and they would’ve been worshipped.
Gotta say the latest speedsters are a bit of a special one for me. Had a very small part making a couple of composite pieces for every single one of them. And packing/shipping while i was an intern.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a31949683/2019-porsche-911-speedster-by-the-numbers/
Favorite 911?
991 Turbo S, more refined than the 997, and less spaceship-y than the 992.
964 Carrera 2 in Polar Silver with either Design 90 or 928 Flat Dish wheels
Either that or a 996 GT3
Probably a 1972 (F-Series) Carrera T.
2.4L, 140HP, ~2400lbs with a full fuel tank. Last one before Bosch CIS (MFI feels racier), and no black bumper overriders on US-market models.
EDIT: Though if I’m choosing cars from this year, I’d be gravitating much more towards a 1972 Renault-Alpine A110 1600S “VB”.
Sorry to be pedantic, but the original T wasn’t Carrera.
Before it came to define base 911s, the name Carrera carried real weight at Porsche.
This just in: it’s an amazing time to be wealthy
Favorite 911? Oh man. I’m gonna go 996 GT2. That thing is absolutely bonkers.
Isn’t it always an amazing time to be wealthy, though?
1790’s France would like to have a word.
I’m sure the wealthy in revolutionary France were amazed that their actions had real consequences…
A mere blip on the radar. They’ve made sure such things can’t happen again.
So would 1920s-30s Russia, 1959 Cuba, and anywhere else communists start to work their magic.
Communism is perfect on paper. The problems start to arise once you add…you know, human beings to the equation….it turns out that power and money has a tendency to ruin most of us 😉
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Just saw an article this morning about how people cashing in on recent tech IPOs is driving lots of demand for private jets. I’m guessing the 911 sales are related- millions of proceeds from spaceX stock-> 911 GT3 for me, 911 4S for the wife, 911 Cabriolet for the girlfriend, 911 cozy couple for all the nieces/nephews, etc.
My favorite 911 is the RUF Yellowbird
I wouldn’t kick it out of bed for eating cookies.
The 911 Turbo S basically evolving into the platonic ideal GT car over the years holds immense appeal to me. I just wish I could afford one.
TBQ: probably the 912E. Just something charmingly full-circle about a Porsche 911 body with a VW aircooled engine.
As for actual 6-cylinder cars, 993. The last of the Aircooled cars are just a neat anachronism in the mid-to-late ’90s.
My favorite 911 is the one that doesn’t get me swatted.