1968 Guards Red Porsche 912 Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Preserving automotive history costs big bucks

$1.8 million is spent each year to maintain GM's fleet of 600 production and concept cars.
When at least two of the Detroit Three were on the verge of death a few years back, one of the tough questions that was asked of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler execs - outside of why execs were still taking private planes to meetings - was why each company maintained huge archives of old production and concept vehicles. GM, for example, had an 1,100-vehicle collection when talk of a federal bailout began.

Porsche moving all Boxster/Cayman production to Zuffenhausen

The Porsche Boxster and Cayman have been built at a variety of locations over the years. But in its latest announcement, the German automaker has revealed its intentions to bring production of its entry-level models back home to Stuttgart. The decision was announced today as part of a major investment program being undertaken by Porsche. Porsche intends to spend over ˆ1.1 billion (equivalent to over $1.2 billion at current exchange rates) to expand several of its facilities. Those include the factory at Zuffenhausen, the sales and marketing department at Ludwigsburg, and the famed R&D facility at Weissach – all of which would undergo upgrades and renovations by 2020. The biggest component of the wide-ranging plans, however, would ostensibly be the expansion of the Zuffenhausen assembly line. While the Panamera, Cayenne, and Macan are handled largely at a second facility in Leipzig, the 911 is built at the company's historic home at Zuffenhausen, on the outskirts of Stuttgart. The Boxster and Cayman are built there as well, but excess capacity has been outsourced to other facilities: first by Valmet in Sweden, and then at the former Karmann plant in Osnabruck, Germany. That additional off-site production, however, will come to an end starting in August 2016, both for the current models and their replacements. In addition to the expansion of the assembly plant, the Zuffenhausen site will also get a new body shop and engine production facility. In the process, Porsche has also ruled out laying off any workers until 2020. The entire proposal was announced by the company's Executive Board and the General Works Council that represents its employees, but still needs to be approved by the Supervisory Board. Related Video: Executive Board and the General Works Council sign agreement to secure locations Porsche is getting fit for the future: Further flexibilisation, a high level of investments and safeguarding of jobs Stuttgart. The Executive Board and the General Works Council of the Porsche AG have adopted a pioneering package of measures for the long-term safeguarding of the company locations. Porsche is to invest more than a billion euros in the expansion of its factories. The objective of the new agreement with the title "Fit for the Future" is also to boost the productivity, flexibility and efficiency of the company while maintaining the social standards for the employees.

Porsche sees error of ways, next 911 GT3 to offer manual transmission

Consider this Porsche's mea culpa. After creating an uproar over selling a new 911 GT3 without a manual transmission, the automaker introduced the limited-edition, manual-equipped 911 R in Geneva. That car is just a stopgap, though. It's meant to hold 911 drivers over until the next GT3 arrives with the same six-speed manual transmission. Yes, the next-gen GT3 will get an old-fashioned six-speed manual, according to a new report from Autocar (but the GT3 RS will still be PDK-only). In fact, the same report claims Porsche will make sure that the 911 GT3 remains the car for the brand's most ardent purists. While the rest of the Porsche range moves to turbocharged engines, the GT3 will stick to its naturally aspirated guns. That comes direct from the big boss behind the GT3, Andreas Preuninger, who told the magazine this would be the case "for the foreseeable future." According to Preuninger, the only member of Porsche's GT line that will go turbocharged is the one that's been that way all along – the GT2 and GT2 RS, which we'll see next year. And yes, Preuninger's statement about limited turbocharging applies to the Cayman GT4, too, even though the model that high-performer is based on has moved to a line of turbocharged engines. When the next GT4 arrives, it'll be with a flat-six in the middle. Related Video: