Porsche, VW finally say "I Do"

If you weren't paying close attention, you probably missed the climax of the Volkswagen and Porsche union. After three years of trying to plan the perfect wedding – and by "perfect" we mean one in which VW didn't have to pay $1.9 billion in tax on the transaction – and two years in which Porsche inadvertently played Bridezilla, the consummation has resulted in matter-of-fact announcements and a jargon-filled press release from VW.

So now that Porsche belongs 100-percent to VW, what does it mean? For the moment, not much that outsiders will be able to see. The eagerness to tie the knot has been about unlocking the cost savings of the unified firm, said to be €700 million ($856M U.S.), and clearing out Porsche's debt burden of something like €2.5 billion ($3.1B U.S.). The two companies already work together on models like the Panamera and Macan, and have a platform-sharing future already mapped. Filing the final paperwork means they can continue their collaboration even more closely and without regulators peering over shoulders.

Comprehensive integration will, naturally, be ongoing, but from now on, it's "'Til death do us part" or whatever that is in German.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/01/p...ally-say-i-do/

 

For those of you who can remember the Porsche 914, the two companies actually said "I do" 40 years ago.

 

^^

the VW Bluesport Roadster reminds me of a modern reincarnation (even though it never came to fruition)

 

This should be interesting.

 

More like "I take". Shame the market crashed and Porsche didn't take over VW. I am real fearful of what might happen to Porsche as they chase volume and the new Jetta/Passat are horrid.

 

From wikipedia:

"Professor Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1931,[13] with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the centre of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting,[13] but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, a German: Volkswagen.[13] This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time.[14] The Porsche 64 was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.[13]"

 

We also heard a lot of grumbling for the company's future, especially from Porsche-purists, when the Cayenne SUV and 4-door Panamera sedan were introduced. Yet, those two vehicles (especially the Cayenne) helped stave off a major financial crisis at Porsche. Were it not for the Cayenne, the company might not (?) have survived this long. In this day and age, most significant-sized auto-companies can't survive just building one line of psuedo-niche vehicles.