5) Lincoln Blackwood

Luxury Pickup Truck.  That should be a contradictory term.  Pickup trucks are made to haul things, do work, go off-road: these are not luxurious attributes.  A Luxury Pickup Truck is a fairly stupid idea.  Yet, ask Cadillac: people buy stupid.  In their case, Escalade EXT’s: an Escalade with a pickup bed.  Considering this is just a Chevrolet Avalanche (admittedly a pretty clever, if ugly, pickup truck) with some Cadillac trim glued on and a larger price tag, they sell quite a lot of them.  Sales were their highest in it’s first year of production (2002), selling more than 13,000 units.  Although sales have dropped since then (11.2k in ’03, 7k in ’06, 4.7k in ’08, 2k last year), that’s still a lot considering the development budget was about nil, and the profit margins are huge.  I mean, the base MSRP on a new Escalade EXT is more than $63,000, and it’s just a GMT900 pickup, they have to be making money hand over fist on every one they sell.

What’s funny was that the Escalade EXT was a knee-jerk response from Cadillac to a product almost no one remembers: the Lincoln Blackwood.  The Blackwood was the pickup truck version of the original Navigator, the car that kick-started the whole “gangster full-size SUV” thing here in the US.  Lincoln reasoned that Town Car buyers could really go for something with a bigger trunk.  Remember, this was before the days when people didn’t bat an eye at the announcement of a Maserati SUV; a luxury pickup truck was a fresh, new idea.

Unfortunately, they missed the mark.  Quite a bit.  The Blackwood was a combination of truck and SUV, and somehow managed to be less useful than either.  The Navigator donated it’s front end and 32v 5.4L 300bhp engine (while F-150′s and Expeditions got by with a 5.4L 16v 260bhp engine), while the bed was composite – with a simulated burled black wood surface (get it?) with aluminum pinstripes.  Oh, and the bed was carpeted.  And covered with a powered hard tonneau that opened at a 45° angle.  So, not exactly useful for carrying a load of mulch (who would put mulch in a carpeted bed?  And how would you get it in there?)  or motorcycles (how would you get them in there?)  or really anything.  While a hard cover and carpet is certainly classier than a big open metal square, the whole point of having a pickup bed is – the big open metal square that you carry things in!

That is not a good place to put a navigation screen.  Just saying.

Making matters worse, the Blackwood was only offered in 2WD form, with 19″ alloy wheels and low profile tires.  Great for impressing the neighbor’s 12 year old kids who watch too many rap videos, not great for pulling a boat out of a greasy boat dock, or travelling in the snow, or any of those other things that pickup trucks are useful for.

As a luxury vehicle, not so great either.  Sure, the Blackwood had Connolly leather seats and all of the circa-2001-era Ford “luxury” goodies (such as a hilariously placed 5″ color navigation screen where you had to look directly down to see it), but it’s sort of hard to reach into the front of a 4’8″ carpeted bed to grab your groceries.  And the lack of rear seat legroom and the upright seating position forced by the pickup bed meant it wasn’t as great for schlepping around the family as, say, a Town Car.  Swing and a miss.

A miss, indeed.  With a retail price of more than $52,000 (in 2002!), Lincoln didn’t find many takers: a total of 3,356 over 15 months, to be exact.  How bad is that?  In the same year, Ford sold 813,701 F-150 pickups.  So while I’m happy to ridicule the Escalade EXT as being contradictory, at least it was useful as a pickup truck.  Lincoln tried again with the Mark LT in 2006, based on the new F-150.  They sold it for two years to much greater success: 10,000+ in 2006, before discontinuing it after 2008.  It might have had something to do with the all wheel drive, non-carpeted tonneau covered bed, or the $10,000+ in rebated dealers were putting on the hood.  It’s still for sale in Mexico, where it’s Lincoln’s biggest seller.  Go figure.

4) Australian Pontiacs (G8/GTO)

This makes me sad.  Genuinely, truly sad because the GTO and the G8 were actually good cars.  Good in my terms, anyway.  They were handsome (moreso in the G8′s case), they had a metric shitload of pushrod horsepower, they went around corners well, and they had nice interiors before GM started making nice interiors.  They were as American as apple pie and cage fights, so of course they came from Australia – where the American ideal of car building never took a not-brief-enough stupid pause for front-wheel-drive, packaging and fuel efficiency in the 80′s.

The GTO existed basically because of  Bob Lutz.  The story goes that he took a trip to Australia, home of the almost totally independent Holden division of the General, and drove a V8 Commodore in the early 2000′s.  The Commodore was a development of the Opel/Vauxhall Omega B, which was marketed (poorly) in the US as the Cadillac Catera.  Lutz was set on importing one of Australia’s RWD models as a performance car for the US, and the Commodore-based Monaro coupe ended up being the choice.  A few changes were made to the Monaro for the US; additional chassis bracing, a repositioned gas tank, the Pontiac front end, etc.

The GTO was a performance car first and a “retro suave” marketing deal second.  It had a 350bhp 5.7L LS1 under the hood in 2004, updated to a 400bhp 6.0L LS2 for ’05 and ’06, all years available with either a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.  Unlike the previous Camaro (which stopped production in 2002) and the Mustang, it had a 4-link independent rear end, actually useful rear seats, and a good stereo.  It was quick, too:  LS1 GTO’s could do 0-60 in the low 5′s with a mid 13 second quarter mile, and 6.0L GTO’s were quoted from the factory as doing the same metrics in 4.7 seconds and 13.0 seconds flat, respectively.

The only reason the tires aren’t smoking is because it’s turned off.

Sales projections were modest:  18,000 units annually.  Still, multiple factors conspired against the GTO.  It was originally intended to be sold in the early 2000′s, but by the time all the red tape was cut through, the exchange rate had moved such that the original $25,000 price point had moved up to above $30k, making it notably more expensive than the Mustang.  People weren’t in love with the styling, either:  while the new Mustang, Chrysler 300C and Dodge Charger reeked of the muscle car era, the GTO looked a bit like a Grand Am that had been overinflated.  Sure, it was comfortable, fast, and fun – but it was boring looking and overpriced, in addition to having a gas-guzzler tax tacked on.  Sales reflected this:  13.5K units in ’04, 11k units in ’05, and 13k units in 06.  That’s the age old problem with captive imports: they make business sense when they’re proposed, but variations in currency can kill them dead in the water.

The G8 is an even sadder story, because it didn’t have the boring looks issue that the GTO did.  The G8 was a VE-platform Holden Commodore, which shared underpinnings with the Cadillac CTS and new Camaro.  The VE had a long (7 year) gestation period, with a goal of more efficient globalization in mind – so retooling costs for LHD were minimal.  The G8 got a Pontiac front clip, but is otherwise hard to tell apart from the Commodore, which was a huge seller in Australia.  Engine choices were a 3.6L 24v V6 (256bhp, 5-speed auto) in the base model or a 6.0L V8 (361bhp, 6-speed auto) in the GT at launch.  The GT was a quick car, doing the 60mph run in the low 5′s, and in most comparison tests it rated favorably against competitors like the 300C and Charger R/T.

I tried to come up with a snarky caption, but come on: this thing is epic.

The rarest and most desirable of G8′s was the limited-production GXP – 1,829 units in total were made in the beginning of 2009.  It featured the 6.2L LS3 V8 from the C6 Corvette with 415bhp, and had an optional Tremec 6-speed manual.  A 4.5 second 0-60 time and Nurburgring-developed suspension tuning made the GXP a very capable performance car, not just in the American standard of going fast in a straight line – here was a car with M5 performance at half the price.  The press absolutely gushed over it.  Motor Trend said “The G8 GXP is a terrific, all-around sport sedan that runs with high-priced Germans. Its strong value message isn’t a qualifier either, just a bonus.” 

Car & Driver’s Eddie Alterman fell in love with the GXP a few months too late (we’ll get to that), and I’ll excerpt part of his article here.  ” If the GXP was great on the highway—controlled ride, excellent ergonomics, and boatloads of power from a 415-hp LS3 V-8—it was nothing short of a revelation at GingerMan (raceway.) It’s a big car that manages its weight beautifully, with all sorts of lucid feedback from the steering, suspension, and body. Its long wheelbase means you feel oversteer coming a mile away, and you can easily change the car’s cornering attitude with its throttle pedal. It felt like a cruder, more flatulent version of another car I love—the E39 BMW M5 of 1999–2003.”  Comparisons to what is arguably the most-loved big BMW of all time coming from BMW’s loudest supporter – well, that’s a ringing endorsement.

At least we can still buy a CTS-V, even if it’s 20k more.

Like anything so awesome from GM, it was destined for drastic failure and cancellation.  There isn’t a nice way to say how badly the G8 flopped in the US.  Projected sales were again pretty conservative – 30k a year – but the G8 did about half that.  Although the G8′s sales year started in March, the fact that they imported 24k and sold 13k by the end of December ’08 was not a great sign.  Sales actually picked up a bit in 2009, at one point nearing 3,000 units a month, but by then GM was bankrupt, the federal government stepped in, and Pontiac disappeared along with Saturn, Hummer, and Saab.  Typical GM: get it just right, then throw it in the trash.  Good news for G8 fans who are also police officers: the new Chevrolet Caprice is essentially the same thing.  Bad news if you’re not a cop: you can’t have one.  Thanks GM!

3) Suzuki X-90

Does your mother know what you do for a living?

An almost legendary failure on the market, it’s hard to tell what exactly in the hell Suzuki was thinking with the X-90.  It was supposed to replace the Samurai, slotting below the more spacious Vitara/Tracker mini-utes in Suzuki’s 4×4 lineup.  While the Samurai traded on it’s rough-and-tumble off-road appearance (as well as appealing to those intrigued by living on the edge, what with Consumer Reports telling everyone it was a rollover-prone death trap), the X-90 was designed to appeal to… umm… hmm.

Not sure.  Sorority girls?  No, it wasn’t a car.  Off-roaders?  – can you imagine them getting behind the wheel of a car that is doing it’s best impression of Kirby?

In additional to the painfully embarrassing looks, the X-90 was not exactly useful.  It had only two seats (although there was space behind them for cargo), and glass T-tops – which if you stored in the trunk along with the spare tire, left you no room for anything else.  The 1.6L OHC I4 made 95 horsepower, which equated to around a 15 second 0-60mph time, somewhat in contrast with the “off-road sports car” theme Suzuki was going for.  4WD was an option, as was a 4-speed automatic transmission.  Apparently some people do offroad the X-90, and it manages to look even more ridiculous with a lift and huge tires.  I honestly giggled when I saw this picture.

Why do I have my T-tops off in the snow?  Because ladies love it.

Sales failure?  Oh yes.  Suzuki sold the X-90 in the states between 1996-1998, with a total of 7,205 suckers purchasing them.  More than half were sold in ’96, then the novelty (if any) wore off – slightly over 2k in 1997, and less than 500 in 1998 before Suzuki pulled the plug.  Hey, at least they’re making good stuff today – the Kizashi is pretty awesome.

2) Ford Thunderbird

Pictured: the rare Neiman Marcus Edition Thunderbird.  Because that’s way better.

Ford’s retro Thunderbird (the 2002-2005 model) was at the forefront of the retro revival wave that swept the early 2000′s.  It’s a strong example of a warm press reception not necessarily being an indicator of sales success.  The 2002 car revived the line that should’ve rightfully died the first time in 1997- Ford thinking logically at the time that two entirely different swoopy rear-wheel-drive sports coupes (Mustang and Thunderbird) was about one too many.  But retro mania was sweeping the industry, and the original (1955) Thunderbird was a car people seemed to love again, so the blue oval figured they’d give it a shot.

The new-old Thunderbird was a pretty car, I’ll give it that.  It mixed obvious styling elements of the old (that gently dropping fender line, simple round headlights, long hood and trunk with a small cabin) with modern surface detailing.  It even had retro touches like an available hard-top with Opera windows, turquoise trim, etc.  The idea was that the Mustang could take care of the retro-performance-coupe-and-convertible market, and the Thunderbird could take care of the retro-cruiser-convertible-and-coupe market.  They forgot it didn’t really work last time.

Hrrm, this looks like a Lincoln.

Not helping a whole lot were the underpinnings.  The Thunderbird used the then-fresh DEW 98 platform, which was the basis of both the Lincoln LS and the Jaguar S-Type.  The Thunderbird shared nearly everything with the Lincoln LS V8 – while the wheelbase was shortened about 7.5″ over it’s 4 seat counterparts, overall length was down about 5″, and it was actually marginally wider than the LS.  It used the same Jaguar-derived 3.9L 32v V8 mated to a long-geared 5-speed automatic, originally with 252bhp (later 280 with the addition of variable valve timing.)  Since it wasn’t much smaller, it wasn’t much lighter – at 3,772lbs, the LS V8 was somewhat on the heavy side for it’s class.  At 3,745lbs, the Thunderbird was a huge, fat pig for it’s class.

However, the Lincoln made up for this by having plenty of space for passengers and their things.  The Thunderbird did not.  It was a remarkable ratio of space and weight to usefulness.  This didn’t help performance, either: a 7.2 second 0-60 time was not impressive when V6 Accords were ripping off times in the 6′s.  The Thunderbird also used the same dashboard as the LS – in the Lincoln, it was conservative and handsome, in the Thunderbird it was more than a bit boring.  Sure, it was a comfortable cruising car for the fashion conscious.  But they were already buying other things.

37mph, about to start understeering into the guardrail

Then there was the price. At nearly $40,000 in 2002, it was a no-go.  Although it was a lot more sophisticated underneath than the Mustang GT Convertible, it still must’ve been a hard sell.  The Mustang had four usable seats, it’s 4.6L 16v V8 made slightly more power and enabled it to actually beat Accords off stop lights, and even the loaded one retailed for $28k – before the inevitable cash-on-the-hood deals, as compared to the “Market Value Adjustments” greedy dealers were trying to stick onto T-Birds when they came out.  The Mustang had quasi-retro looks, and something the Thunderbird didn’t: it was actually fun to drive.  It sounded great, it would do a burnout on command, and it put a smile on your face.  The squishy, long-geared and torque-light Thunderbird didn’t, really.

All this amounted to pretty disappointing sales figures.  Ford forecast 30,000 units annually for the retrobird, and it hit that target once: in it’s first year, 2002.  Like many novelty items, sales nosedived shortly thereafter:  14.5K sales in ’03, 12.6K in ’04, and 9.2K in it’s last year, 2005.  They made some minor changes to the T-Bird over it’s lifespan (the aforementioned upgraded motor in ’03, new colors, etc.) but nothing ever picked up sales.  There was a supercharged concept Thunderbird that would’ve fixed the lack of performance, but it never went into production either.  With the massive success of the 2005 redesign of the Mustang, Ford got the retro formula right – and it’s still working today.

1) BMW 5-series GT, X6 ActiveHybrid

Is it bad if there are more press photos of your car than actual examples of it in the world?

Model diversification is a good thing.  The more options you offer, the more likely a consumer is to say “gee, that’s exactly what I want.”  However, like everything in life, too much of anything is too much.  In addition to the quite obvious horsepower wars of the last 15 years among German brands, there’s been a head-scratching niche-filling war going on between BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.  Sometimes these unique niche offerings work – see the Mercedes-Benz CLS Coupe-sedan, which is now in a very successful second generation.  Sometimes it fails miserably.  I’ll talk about two here.

They parked it by the sea for this photo because it looks like a whale carcass.

First up, the BMW 5 GT.  Oh my.  The GT is a 5-series built on the 7-series’ longer wheelbase, with all sorts of tricks up it’s sleeves: more rear leg room.  A hatchback and a trunk.  A choice of two engines, either great or better (300bhp turbo I6, 400bhp twin-turbo V8.)  What’s not so great:  it looks like a picture of a 5-series captured with a fisheye lens, all bulged out in the middle and stubby and oddly proportioned.  In theory, it’s a pretty appealing vehicle: the size of a 5-series, the interior room of a 7-series, the usefulness of an X3, but BMW hasn’t found a whole lot of buyers for their odd concoction.  They didn’t have big goals in mind – 6-8k units when it came out in 2010, but it failed pretty miserably: a total of 2,848 people bought a 5 GT in 2010.  Maybe it’s because they had to pick between that, the 3-series wagon, the X3, the X5, the X6, the 5-series sedan, and a million other competitors from other brands.  Maybe it’s because it’s ugly.  They sold less than a thousand in the first third of 2011.  To put it into perspective, BMW sold just over 100,000 3-series models in the US in 2010.  Ouch, dang.

“For this photo, we want to show much body roll it has.  Haha.”

Moving on to the X6 ActiveHybrid, and… urgh.  I’m not a fan of the X6 itself, but I suppose some people will pay a premium to stand out, even if that means paying significantly more than the X5 on which it’s based for a vehicle which does significantly less.  But the X6 ActiveHybrid is a real head scratcher.  Based on the twin-turbo V8 X6 xDrive50i, the ActiveHybrid adds a set of electric motors, for a combined output of 485bhp and 575lb-ft of torque.  Which is a lot – actually, it’s the most powerful Hybrid in the world, a pretty pointless distinction.  The downside is that no matter how many electric motors are in it, a 5,765lb vehicle with all-wheel-drive, a 7-speed gearbox, and twin turbos is not going to get good gas mileage.  Ask Bentley.  The ActiveHybrid proudly returns 19mpg on the highway, which also makes it the least efficient Hybrid out there.  Seriously, an Escalade Hybrid gets better mileage.  The other issue is the price: starting at $89,000 ($95,425 with all the options), the ActiveHybrid is exactly $1,000 less expensive than the “oh my lord, it’s so fast I’m going to vomit” X6M, which is also a good 400lbs lighter, and packs 555bhp under the hood.  Sure, it only delivers 17mpg on the highway, but which do you think people who buy $90,000 twin-turbo BMW suv’s care more about – 2mpg, or going really fast and having an M badge?

So how many X6 ActiveHybrids did BMW sell in all of 2010?  248.  As a technological halo car, it’s a failure.  It proves to the world that BMW doesn’t get Hybrids.  As a performance car, it’s a failure.  It’s just as expensive, but heavier and slower than the X6M.  As anything that makes sense, it’s… oh, you get the point.

Of course, the more time I spent researching and compiling this list, I realized there were way more than 10 good examples.  I didn’t have room for the Land Rover Freeland, Subaru Baja, Acura ZDX, Mercury Marauder, Hummer H3T, Audi A6 allroad Quattro…  So many things.  Did I leave out your favorite modern sales failure?  Think I’m an idiot?  Leave a comment in the box below!

While there was some action on the automotive front with that game and the Call of Duty-themed Jeep Wrangler, Gran Turismo is the game car enthusiasts are looking forward too.

After delays, Gran Turismo 5 has finally gotten a new offual launch date, and just in time for the holiday season. What a coincidence! *Sarcasm alert*

And the date is…..Wednesday, November 24th. There you have it, under two weeks away. This is official too, direct from the official Playstation blog in the United States. Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital Inc. has released a statement, saying:

“Gran Turismo 5 is an ambitious project, with challenges and complexities which have made it our version of the Apollo Space Program! When we created the original Gran Turismo back in 1997, we wanted to set a completely new precedent for the racing genre.

With the technological leap onto PlayStation 3, our objective with Gran Turismo 5 was to create another great revolution which would not only satisfy our own high expectations, but would meet or even exceed the anticipation of the fans.

Satisfying the loyal Gran Turismo followers is at the heart of all of our efforts, which is why it was such a difficult decision to delay the release of the game, and one which we did not take lightly.

I can only apologize to everyone for making you wait so long, and I hope that when you try out the wealth of driving experiences available in Gran Turismo 5, you will not be disappointed.”

It is unique for the fact that in recent years Maserati has put more focus on emphasis on the word “luxury” in performance luxury. MC in the Stradale name stands for Maserati Corsa (Maserati Racing in English).

The MC Stradale aims to provide a bridge between the road and track-focused models like the MC Trofeo and the GT4 race car. Maserati says the car features “razor-sharp handling” that it will break “the 300km/h barrier.”

The engine gets a bump in horsepower from 430 to 450 and Maserati says downforce has been improved without an increase in drag. You can check out the car proving its mettle around the track below.

Incidentally, it also the best looking of all. The latest vehicle to experience Mansory’s touch is the Maserati Gran Turismo, and you can decide the results for yourself below.

Mansory’s ostentatious “look at me” traits still apply to the Gran Turismo, this time in orange. Now this writer likes the color orange, but it has to be done right. We think cars like the Maserati Gran Turismo are pretty much best left alone too – they show upper crust status enough as they are.

As far as exterior changes, the Mansory GT and GTS get a carbon fiber front spoiler, grille, hood, door sills, rear spoiler, exhaust inlay, and a rear apron and diffuser. Up front the new fascia includes added LED lighting.

Of course, there are also new rims, and they are painted to match the body color. They are paired with 255/30 R 20 tires at the front and 305/30 R 21 tires in the rear.

Inside the Mansory-tuned Maseratis get a new steering wheel (sans Maserati logo) and a red and black color scheme along with new seat material, and a aluminium pedals.

A wide array of customization options are available as well. You can make the wackiest looking Maserati Gran Turismo ever if you so choose!

The engine has also seen Mansory’s modification, and this is where things get good. Horsepower output by 30 horsepower on both Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo S models due to new electronic control software, air filter and new exhaust system. There isn’t any word on pricing, but we’re guessing you have to ask you can’t afford it.

Right now if I had to pick a GT, it would be any one of the cars in Aston Martin’s range. I like the Gran Turismo, but for some it perhaps lacks the styling panache of Ferrari and definitely Lamborghini. Then again though, they cost less right?

One thing that is always great to hear is that Italian exhaust note. Maserati has made some new advertisements for the car that let you hear them a bit.

They focus less on the car than I would like, but you can still hear it nonetheless. You might notice them refer to the car as the “GranCabrio” -- in international markets that is the car’s moniker. Here in the United States, it is Maserati Gran Turismo Convertible.

Until then, the public relations team has been in full effect to whet everyone’s appetites. The creator of the game recently lapped the Nurburgring in a Lexus IS-F. Last month, they put out a promotional video that I missed for the Play Station Portable game in Japan.

It shows a 1969 Corvette and 1988 Lamborghini Countach bumping into each other on the track. Is it real or not? Some things say yes, some not -- like the fact that the PSP’s graphics aren’t this good. Post your thoughts in the comments!

Well, earlier this year Maserati and Architectural Digest announced a partnership to showcase the best in garage design – highlighting an area not usually focused on in the design world. What an unique and innovative idea, huh? Linking architecture with Maserati through the garage that they’re parked in.

Entrants could be existing garages or concept garages – with a winner to be chosen in each category. About 125 entries were submitted, and the results are pretty amazing! “Our goal has been to open a conversation with those who place a premium on design and expose them to the unique qualities of Maserati,” says Mark McNabb, President and CEO of Maserati North America. Enjoy!

The winner for the already constructed garage contest is a “garage” in name only, where the car (in this case a Maserati and Ferrari) can be parked in a house-like setting(and a very nice house at that). I’ve posted images of both garages below. All the other entries submitted that didn’t get selected can be viewed at Design Driven. Enjoy!

A new 3-Series GT is coming to the United States market in 2011, around the time the X1 debuts. The 3-Series GT would bring the 3-Series model count up to 5 models. Sedan, Coupe, Convertible, Wagon and now, GT. Yay?

Photo courtesy of Edmunds Inside Line. To me the X1 seems like it could fit the “role” of a 3-Series GT, but I guess not. BMW is determined to make the most out of what it thinks is a new segment it’s creating that “bridges the gap” between 3-Series and 5-Series. Couldn’t they have waited to at least see how the 5-Series GT pans out first?

The cars will probably sell due to the BMW badge, but I don’t think they will do as well as BMW is expecting them to. Of course, I could be wrong about it and they could be some huge hit, but I doubt it. Sources say the GT will be positioned as the premium - meaning most expensive - model of the 3-Series lineup.  

Expect the 3-Series GT to follow the 5-Series the preceded it almost exactly; same two function hatchback and rear styling, etc. It will also be available in two seating configurations; four-seat (which to me makes NO sense in supposedly “functional” vehicle) and 5-seat. No word when we’ll see it appear at an auto show, but it is slated to go on sale in 2011.

The site lets you custom design your new Quattroporte, Quattroporte S, and Granturismo S die-cast car in a configurator where you can pick your favorite color out of seven and one of interior colors to match. In addition, you can customize the brake calipers, rims and even add a glass sunroof made of glass. 

The models are hand made in Italy. $320 does seem quite steep though (especially for the extremely small 1/43 scale). I wonder how many of these they’ll end up sellin? Regardless, even it if is a few they’ll make a lot of money off of it. I want to see more things like this from automakers! I must say it would be a pretty neat thing for an owner to have a model exactly like his real car. For me though, the trouble is getting one first. I’ll take one Gran Turismo, please.

I will say one thing nice about the car; the interior is amazing! Very nice, Porsche really hit the ball out of the park with that one. Besides, history has shown us that enthusiasts aren’t always right at gauging the hits so what do I know right? Anyways, it seems like some help could be on the way in the form of a Panamera Cabriolet.

I know that’s what you’re thinking but no, it wouldn’t be a 4-door convertible (although that would be cool). A Panamera Cabriolet would be a two-door, to maximize rigidity.  Development of the vehicle has been confirmed by Porsche’s R&D chief, Wolfgang Dürheimer.

With all the heavy investment put into the Panamera’s platform, Porsche wants to utilize it for other models.  Some as speculated on a new 928, which I think is the way Porsche should go.  There has been some truly amazing renderings of what such a car could look like. That’s a Porsche I would buy!

Although it’s not confirmed officially, word is that the 928 is in the works. Regardless, the Panamera Cabrio is coming unless something changes and, as you can see from the rendering, it will probably look much better than it’s 4-door counterpart. I could see it doing very well. That 928 has got to come too though; make sure it has the original 928′s proportions Porsche.

Oh and don’t let the Panamera’s designers get anywhere near it. No, I’m joking; they have done some amazing work on other vehicles from the company. They just need to take a long look at some of the 928 renderings that have circulated though.