Porsche 2014 Annual Report Download - page 41

078 079 Annual Report Porsche AG 2014
Porsche as a daily companion:
Brenda Spence and her husband
Ross with their two sports cars
A late autumn day in the Smoky Mountains
between Tennessee and North Carolina.
Traveling with Brenda Spence along High-
way 129. The blonde lady from Knoxville
skims, surges and corners through the
Tail of the Dragon. The legendary stretch
along the southern Appalachians seems
to be tailor-made for her Cayman. Once a
centuries-old secret route of the Cherokee
Indians, now a paved, eleven-mile won-
derland peppered with 318 curves. The
30 most spectacular of those turns bear
names like Rebels Revenge, Gravity Cavity
and Porsche Pullo. Brenda is unappable:
“ Porsche was always
rebellious. In particular
it was this image of
coolness, formed in
America, that made the
brand cool in Europe
as well.”
BERNHARD MAIER
Member of the Executive Board – Sales and Marketing
onto the circuit on a Saturday morning,
and then gliding over to the opera at
night – it’s a unique experience that only
owners can appreciate. This feeling of
“every day magic” has been winning the
hearts and minds of a growing circle of
customers. In 2014, the USA ended up as
Porsche’s strongest market in the world,
with more than 47,000 delivered vehicles
sold.
1950: SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH
Porsche’s success as a company is un-
imaginable without America. In 1950, the
rst models were displayed in one single
showroom in New York. Five years later,
one out of every two Porsches sold was
in the USA. The rst dealer, a man named
Maximilian E. Homan, was Austrian by
birth and looked back on a successful
career as an amateur car racer. This
experience gave him a good feel for what
his customers wanted: extremely light
racing cars. The 356 America Road-
ster was precisely that kind of radical
vehicle. With an aluminium chassis, a
cloth roof and plastic slip-in windows, the
car weighed “only” 600 kilogrammes,
a full 170 kilogrammes lighter than the
base model. The reward for this uncom-
promising model strategy: a string of
racing successes. “Win on Sunday, sell
on Monday,” was the dealer’s unocial
motto. The spectacular victories were
the most pulse-pounding – and eective –
advertising of the young sports car brand.
“To identify chances and seize them,
that’s what distinguishes Porsche,” says
Bernhard Maier, Member of the Executive
Board – Sales and Marketing, in describ-
ing the company’s practical philosophy,
especially in the USA.
accelerating, shifting and braking. No
bucking, no stuttering. Woman and vehicle
are one. Pure pleasure. The asphalt strip
through the Appalachian Mountains holds
a truly special meaning for Brenda. After
all, the Tail of the Dragon was the start of
a real love story.
It’s where she took her rst-ever ride in a
Porsche. Ross, now her husband, gave
her a turn at the wheel the rst time they
went on a drive together three years ago.
A drive with lasting consequences. An
instant xation. An absolute delirium. “I fell
in love with the brand on that day – my
love for Ross came later,” Brenda laughs.
Ross gushes about his wife and how she
drives. “She’s got it in her blood. She only
needs a couple of minutes to understand
how a vehicle needs to be handled. She’s
an outstanding driver.”
RACE TRACK IN THE MORNING.
OPERA IN THE EVENING.
Brenda’s other side becomes clear the
next day on the way from her suburban
home down to the Knoxville city centre.
Pure relaxation for the employee of the
local chamber of commerce. She ows
regally amidst the other rush hour com-
muters. The highlight for Brenda comes at
the end. “The engine’s echo in the parking
garage is simply fantastic.”
Brenda Spence may be an extraordinary
driver, but as a Porsche owner she’s
actually somewhat typical for a new
generation of drivers in the USA. People
who get behind the wheel of their Porsche
almost every day, wherever they’re driving.
“More and more of our customers
appreciate that our vehicles are built for
everyday life,” says Detlef von Platen,
President and CEO of Porsche Cars North
America (PCNA), Inc. The phenomenon he
describes extends far beyond the storied
back routes of America – he’s referring
to the feeling of joy that a Porsche gives
its drivers every time they grip the wheel.
This idea that a sports car from Zuen-
hausen is a ride for every occasion has
become a rm tenet in the beliefs of the
Porsche community. The reason: Porsche
is a multiple-time winner in the annual
quality surveys by J.D. Power, a market
research company. Taking the 911 out
Porsche
in the USA