Cayman costs 25% more than in U.S. With the launch of a new base version of its mid-engine Cayman coupe, Porsche Cars North America is continuing a pair of long-standing corporate traditions:-tweaking and twisting each of its product lines to provide apparently endless incremental variations on its four (Boxster, Cayman, 911, Cayenne) themes to appeal to ever more customers, and-charging its Canadian customers a lot more than it charges its American customers for virtually the same product.
| |
| (Photo: Porsche Cars North America) |
The Atlanta-based distributor of vehicles from the famous German firm is forcing Canadians to pay CDN$69,600 for the "entry-level" Cayman while charging Americans only US$49,400, which is about CDN$55,500 with our dollar sitting just under 89 cents against the Yankee buck. That extra $14,100 is a surcharge of about 25 percent, and though there are small technical variations between U.S. and Canadian products there is really nothing that can account for more than a tiny percentage of that huge premium. There are no stated differences in the press releases announcing the prices between the equipment levels of Canadian and U.S. models.Porsche Cars North America is simply charging Canadians a lot more for its cars. They made money here when the currency difference required larger sticker prices in Canada and now they're raking in the profits with the exchange rate leveling out.
| |
| (Photo: Porsche Cars North America) |
Not much the Canadians can do about it except not buy Porsche products at all, or buy them from an importer who'll bring them in from the U.S. One that suits your tastes and location should be easy to find on the web.If you decide you might be interested in the "more accessible" version of Porsche's mid-level sportscar, you should know that the company says it's "geared to those who delight in supreme handling dynamics" and the same "voluptuous styling" for less money than the Cayman S.Peter Schwarzenbauer, the president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, expects the new Cayman model to "bring our mid-engined range to record sales levels, further bolstering our core sports-car lineup."
| |
| (Photo: Porsche Cars North America) |
The new Porsche Cayman is powered by a 2.7-liter, horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine programmed to deliver 245 hp and 201 lb-ft of torque between 4,600 and 6,000 rpm.With the standard five-speed manual transmission, this engine setup is capable of propelling the new Cayman from 0 to 100 kmh in 6.1 seconds, which will put it behind a bunch of vehicles on the drag strip, a bunch of which cost a lot less and don't require expensive parts and servicing to keep on the road.For slower launch times but less aggravation around town, Porsche will also offer its Tiptronic S five-speed manumatic transmission. It comes with rocker switches in the steering wheel spokes to amuse "those who seek a more engaging driving experience."