In a circle. The first Porsche I ever drove, a '57 Speedster, was little more than a tarted-up VW.

 

After VW acquired Porsche, I lost my enthusiasm for the brand. Having VW parts assigned with a Porsche part number, and then installed in the car is not something that endeared me to the brand. I know VW parts are in Audi, and my guess they are also in Bentley and Lamborghini. Who knows, they could even be in the Bugatti. I'm sure VW is laughing all the way to the bank by rebranding their parts and selling them at a premium.

Considering their corrupt corporate culture (re., diesel-gate), I elect to spend my car dollars elsewhere.

 

I have some friends in Germany that have an Audi wagon, the A4 which is essentially a VW Jetta and I had mentioned that to them and they had a really hurt look on their face, they claimed it couldn't be! So, Audi and VW even have their own countrymen baffled. Oh well. I guess they never heard of badge engineering.

 

I can remember when Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Olds and Caddy all had their own distinct engines.

 

Agree. The difference to me is that Porsche, historically, has been in the pantheon of sports cars. As a stand alone company, I never questioned its excellence. Now, being owned and managed by VW, and forced to share some VW parts, I no longer hold Porsche in the same regard. Porsche is still very good, IMO, but it's luster has worn off for me.

 

It would appear that this thread has evolved into a “ships and shoes and sealing wax, cabbages and Kings” conversation among friends. I am fine with that and thus offer no apologies for what follows

I have owned several German cars and for a number of years worked for a German company and subsequently had dealings with various German regulatory agencies. These experiences led to the acquisition of a utilitarian if not elegant facility in the language.

None of the foregoing would lead me to suggests that “flexibility” should be near the top of the list of descriptors of Germanic culture and approach.

A case in point:

I have previously described my ponderings on the potential choice of a Porsche Panamera as daily transport and removed it from consideration because of the unavailability of any form of spare tire. Before coming to this conclusion, I spoke with service departments at several dealers and tasked a salesman who was quite interested in showing me his wares with finding a solution. All to no avail

My own extensive exploration of the Internet under headings such as Porsche “temporary spare, compact spare, etc. was equally unfruitful.

Yesterday (and I do not know how I stumbled on this) I searched for Porsche Panamera Emergency Wheel – Open Sesame! There is indeed an emergency wheel and tire complete with part number and extensive list of applications including essentially all recent Panamera models with 19 inch, 20 inch, and 21 inch wheels.

Now perfection is rare in this world and such is the case here. No description of the part whether at the Porsche USA website or at the websites of various dealers offering the item for sale is clear as to if the offered part is the wheel only or includes the tire. (There is no separate listing for the tire)

I’m not certain that this discovery has moved the needle much on my preference gauge but I thought it was amusing.

 

When I was entertaining the thought of purchasing an Audi or a MB, all without a spare tire, I did some research. I found some solutions, at that time, which were available in Europe, but not in America. In the case of Audi, it was possible to purchase a collapsible spare, which required an air compressor to expand it. For MB, at least for the E-Estate, one could delete the useless rear facing 3rd row seat when ordering, and have a spare tire installed in its place.

When I was very seriously considering the E-Estate, in the MB owners forum there were many threads and statements from frustrated owners regarding the spare tire topic. In some cases, it was laughable when reading the "solutions" mentioned to place a spare tire in their car (e.g., placing it behind the front seat, strapping a tire down in the rear storage area, driving with a roof cargo carrier, etc). Like putting a size 12 foot in a size 7 shoe.

I haven't bothered to look, lately, but I wouldn't be surprised if a substantial number of vehicles sold in the USA do not have a spare tire. From what I recall, back in 2020 when I ordered my V90, most Volvo and Subaru models have a spare tire.

There are so many trends in modern cars that I don't understand. Ever bigger wheels (20 inch and above), which address cosmetic appearance over ride quality. Car seats (my opinion) that feel like they are made out of concrete, but look nice. Run flats which wear out more quickly and are more costly to replace, and also are more prone to side wall blowout (dealers love to sell tire insurance to address this). Dashboard buttons that have been removed for common/high use functions, with access to the function embedded in infotainment systems. Engine and trans oil measurement sticks eliminated. Now, to check if a trans has a sufficient amount of oil, it takes up to an hour of service time, along with running the car up to a specific temp, placing it on a lift, etc. Headlight bulb replacement, at least for some cars (like my old 2011 Outback) can require removal of the front bumper and light assembly (a $400+ dealer charge). Battery failure and access/replacement can present a real nightmare to address, in some cases requiring the removal of a bumper and/or body panel. I guess, with this rant, I'm at the risk of labeling myself as an "old-timer". I can live with this.

 

Volvo has been part of this game. My 2015 V60 came sans spare with a small compressor and can of goop (which should be labeled "tire wrecker") A spare was an orderable option but a retro fit, in my case, would have required 1. temp. spare, 2. new lower insert and 3, because my rear deck is fitted with a "parcel holder" a new rear deck because the parcel holder protrudes about an inch on the underside of the deck and would not clear the new insert + tire. After a bit of measuring, I simply took a sharp utility knife and cut a hole in the existing insert to accommodate and retain an eBay sourced temporary spare. This was several years ago and no problems have arisen.

This whole tire business is simply a triumph of for over function. It's bad enough on strictly "on-road" cars but, to me, ultra low profile tires - aspect ratios 45 and under, on any hiked up, fender trimmed SUV are simply ludicrous.

I think a lot of it can be explained by :following the $ - consider a failed heater fan control - a $10 rotary switch replacement or the whole $1800? touch screen module. In production - sourcing, routing and installing a dozen switches, buttons etc. or slapping in a single electronic module probably sourced as a single component from the far east.

I'm with you on this. "new" is not always "better" Progress? towards what?

Perhaps someday we shall continue this over a good Highland single malt.

 

My philosophy is just because you can do something, doesn't mean it should be done or is better than the original way of doing it, but that seems to be lost on today's engineers. My Mercedes was a diesel and the DEF tank replaced the spare tire in the trunk. I bought a small air compressor and a can of "goop" to possible repair one of the run flat tires, but fortunately I never had to use it. I second hte discussion over a good Highland single malt or other beverage of choice.

 

Pretorien and GRock, check out the private message I sent you.