One thing us car fanatics often forget is that producing automobiles is a business. Sure, each auto company has its own set of cultural beliefs and values which are expressed through cutting edge design and engineering, but ultimately they’ve got to make a profit in order to keep producing the vehicles we love. In many cases this attention to business includes increasing the number of product lines in order to diversify and increase revenue generation. Porsche is perhaps the poster child for this process. Once known for its exclusive line of sports cars, Porsche succumbed to the pressures of capitalism and offered an entry level Boxster (Porsche’s best selling car ever), an SUV, and it’s latest member of the family, the Panamera luxury sedan. Well, those faithful to the Porsche’s tradition can rest easy once again, as soccer field parking lots in Orange County will no longer be clad with the Porsche logo in the coming years.

Volkswagen has announced that it will put an end to Porsche’s venture into suburban sterility. The current product cycle will be the end of the Porsche Cayenne’s reign of the ultimate SUV. Also to see it’s life cut short will be the Porsche Panamera, the luxury sports sedan that had many Porsche faithfuls cringing. To say the least, the Cayenne is a beast. The Turbo S model puts down an ozone melting 550hp and 553 lb-ft torque. The Cayenne burns through gas at a rate that would make any Texan proud with an estimated combined 19mpg as stated on their website. We know that roughly translates into the low teens under real life conditions.

However, soccer moms of the world will still be able to flaunt their cash in the Audi Q7 or the VW Tuareg. The Q7′s seductive lines, luxurious interior, and more than substantial power should be plenty to keep people in the Volkswagen AG family. For those who can’t or won’t shell out the cash for a Cayenne or Q7, there is still the Touareg on which the Cayenne is based to meet your towing needs.

Now, for those of you that are Cayenne tuners, my heart goes out to you. As I said before, the car is indeed a beast. It’s amazing how well it wears its weight. The Cayenne has never just been about raw unadulterated power. Porsche stayed true to it’s commitment to cornering prowess and produced the best handling SUV this world has ever seen. In fact, it will out handle many sports saloons in the chicanes after obliterating them in a straight line dash.

The only solace I have to offer to the tuner community is the chance of a very promising future. With Porsche no longer distracted by these two models we can be sure that the German powerhouse will not stand idle while cars like the GTR show up the entire 911 family. Perhaps, the coming models will put an end to the GTRs dominance on Porsche’s turf. With the brands of Lamborghini, Bentley, Audi, VW, and Porsche unified under the same flag, a bet on Porsche is a safe bet in my book.
Photo by ppz

Update:
As posted by one of our readers. Both the Cayenne and Panamera are still kicking. In fact, they are thriving. Porsche purists are going to have to swallow their pride, because unless Porsche is able to squeeze some insane profits out of their sports cars, these two luxury vehicles are here to stay.