RE: 'Porsche Passport' launched in USA
Wednesday 11th October 2017
The general consensus within the automotive industry seems to be that increased automation of vehicles will not only lead to fewer drivers of cars, but fewer owners of them too. The theory being that despite a vehicle ranking amongst the most expensive purchases a person will ever make, it largely sits unused. Finding a place to park it is a hassle, insurance can be costly, and maintenance burdensome; all for something the average owner likely spends no more than a few hours a week using.
That's all still a long way off of course, but today Porsche has taken us a step closer to it becoming a reality with its new Porsche Passport programme. In a similar vein to Cadillac's Book service, Passport gives subscribers flexible access to a range of Porsche models to better fit their changing needs. Fancy a day trip to the countryside? Take a 718 Boxster. Need to pick up some friends from the airport? A Cayenne ought to do the trick. You get the picture.
That may seem like a lot, but the price includes unrestricted mileage, tax and registration, insurance, maintenance and vehicle detailing. And access to a lot of very good cars too. The pilot program is up and running in Atlanta, with prospective members able to sign up now via the Porsche Passport app, and car deliveries beginning in November. Once fully underway, users will be able to schedule same day or future vehicle exchanges through the same app, with cars collected from, and dropped at, a location of their choice by a white-glove delivery service.
'Porsche Passport' launched in USA
New on-demand subscription service offers access to a range of cars for one monthly fee
As cars become autonomous though, users will be able to simply summon one when needed. It'll take you where you want to go and then pop off to collect its next passenger once you're there. Like Uber, without having to make small talk with the driver.
There are two tiers of membership, dubbed 'Launch' and 'Accelerate'. For a monthly fee of $2,000, Launch includes on-demand access to eight model variants including the 718 Boxster and Cayman S, as well as the Macan S and Cayenne. Accelerate, meanwhile, includes that lot plus a further 14 variants such as the 911 Carrera S, Panamera 4S, Macan GTS and Cayenne S E-Hybrid. It costs $3,000 a month.
So, is it something you'd be interested in using were it to come to the UK? Is there another manufacturer you'd prefer to see offer a similar service? Or will you only ever use a car you've bought from the classifieds with cold, hard cash? As always, let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Discussion
Chatting to a friend over the weekend on how this model was surely only months away - perfect solution to car ownership for many, especially once it becomes multi-brand.
Imagine having a scheme where say £500/month got you X credits per month to use, timeshare style.
Different cars had different credit values, so you could have a supermini for routine pottering, an SUV when you needed practicality, or store credits up and have a sportscar/supercar for the weekend, but on the days you didn't need a car, you didn't use any credits.
Imagine having a scheme where say £500/month got you X credits per month to use, timeshare style.
Different cars had different credit values, so you could have a supermini for routine pottering, an SUV when you needed practicality, or store credits up and have a sportscar/supercar for the weekend, but on the days you didn't need a car, you didn't use any credits.
I can see how this is appealing.
However, the target audience is clearly well off people and above with too much money and time on their hands. For the average person (in the UK) and even the generally well off, £1,500 per month on car payments is a lot of money. How many people with finance deals pay that over two cars let alone one? You would have to have three nice cars to get to that in monthly payments or two very nice cars. Which then leads to the question of why bother with this scheme if you already have a few nice / very nice cars? A grand a month would probably be the tipping point for me.
Either that, or I'm not as well off compared to everyone else as I think I am!!
However, the target audience is clearly well off people and above with too much money and time on their hands. For the average person (in the UK) and even the generally well off, £1,500 per month on car payments is a lot of money. How many people with finance deals pay that over two cars let alone one? You would have to have three nice cars to get to that in monthly payments or two very nice cars. Which then leads to the question of why bother with this scheme if you already have a few nice / very nice cars? A grand a month would probably be the tipping point for me.
Either that, or I'm not as well off compared to everyone else as I think I am!!
This sort of thing already exists.
The problem is having sufficient customers close enough to wherever it is that the cars are stored.
If the customers have to get to you, in order to get their car for the day, then that's a pain for them. But if you have to take the car to the customer, then that's a major cost for you.
I think that's why it has only worked so far for high-value supercar clubs, where the cost per day is high, and the number of days used is low.
The problem is having sufficient customers close enough to wherever it is that the cars are stored.
If the customers have to get to you, in order to get their car for the day, then that's a pain for them. But if you have to take the car to the customer, then that's a major cost for you.
I think that's why it has only worked so far for high-value supercar clubs, where the cost per day is high, and the number of days used is low.
This only makes financial sense if you tan the absolute F***k out of it, using 3/4 different cars a week and doing loads of miles, otherwise your 3k per month is much better spent on finance or depreciation.
This would make more sense if you simply paid per mile or hour you used, otherwise the argument saying "you're paying a lot to have a car sitting doing nothing" still stands
This would make more sense if you simply paid per mile or hour you used, otherwise the argument saying "you're paying a lot to have a car sitting doing nothing" still stands
I can't see how it stacks up.
$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
SpeckledJim said:
I can't see how it stacks up.
$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
Well it is $350 per day to rent a Porsche from Enterprise in Atlanta.$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
sc0tt said:
SpeckledJim said:
I can't see how it stacks up.
$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
Well it is $350 per day to rent a Porsche from Enterprise in Atlanta.$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
I don't think it stacks up from the business POV. Seems a terrific deal from the customer POV.
Cadillac already offer something similar in New York. With their scheme you're limited to 18 (I think) car swaps per year which deals with the logistics costs to some extent. I think it's a really cool idea and although it's expensive it isn't ridiculously so - as it includes insurance and maintenance as long as you're making enough use of the car and it isn't just a weekend toy I expect it's only a few hundred a month more than running your own Macan S or Cayenne over a two year period.
In Switzerland car sharing is very popular and the Swiss railways operate a scheme, there are thousands of cars around the country and you pay per hour & KM but it does get expensive very fast so isn't practical except for occasional trips. The subscription things seem to be a much better idea for people who commute by car. It also allows the OEMs to control used supply and make sure the right cars are being put on the fleet to maximise residual values when they're sold on.
In Switzerland car sharing is very popular and the Swiss railways operate a scheme, there are thousands of cars around the country and you pay per hour & KM but it does get expensive very fast so isn't practical except for occasional trips. The subscription things seem to be a much better idea for people who commute by car. It also allows the OEMs to control used supply and make sure the right cars are being put on the fleet to maximise residual values when they're sold on.
SpeckledJim said:
I can't see how it stacks up.
$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
I suspect they are bargaining on most customers; once the novelty has worn off; sticking with their 'perfect everyday car' for most of the time and just switching a few times a month.$66.66 a day to rent a brand new Porsche, cleaned and serviced (and insured?) including delivery to your door.
How much does it cost to take a Porsche across Atlanta on a low-loader and pick up another one? If it takes an hour you've paid the driver $20 out of your $66.66.
Can't see it working at those prices
Roma101 said:
I can see how this is appealing.
However, the target audience is clearly well off people and above with too much money and time on their hands. For the average person (in the UK) and even the generally well off, £1,500 per month on car payments is a lot of money. How many people with finance deals pay that over two cars let alone one? You would have to have three nice cars to get to that in monthly payments or two very nice cars. Which then leads to the question of why bother with this scheme if you already have a few nice / very nice cars? A grand a month would probably be the tipping point for me.
Either that, or I'm not as well off compared to everyone else as I think I am!!
Exactly. This is for the very rich guys, maybe retired or don't have time to own/drive their own high end cars. It's easy enough to finance a Porsche for way under that, but good luck getting 8 for that a month. I see the appeal, but this isn't aimed at the average Joe. However, the target audience is clearly well off people and above with too much money and time on their hands. For the average person (in the UK) and even the generally well off, £1,500 per month on car payments is a lot of money. How many people with finance deals pay that over two cars let alone one? You would have to have three nice cars to get to that in monthly payments or two very nice cars. Which then leads to the question of why bother with this scheme if you already have a few nice / very nice cars? A grand a month would probably be the tipping point for me.
Either that, or I'm not as well off compared to everyone else as I think I am!!
It's the Enterprise Car Club for Poseurs Porsches ...
https://www.enterprisecarclub.co.uk/gb/en/home.htm...
https://www.enterprisecarclub.co.uk/gb/en/home.htm...
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