Porsche Macan
Since then, the car news stories have kept on flooding in (as per usual) and one that caught my eye in particular yesterday was Porsche's positive predictions for 2014.
Porsche's success
Porsche have also realised that the "supercar" market (or at the very least, the super-expensive car market) is "on the up" as the economy is getting back on its feet and have invested in Chinese and US operations (and also German production) to really put their money where their mouth is.
In what I consider to be a very wise move, they will be focusing on "emerging markets"; in China they will be setting up 30 new Porsche dealerships in 2015 alone.
Porsche's 28 percent sales return was higher than any margin at Volkswagen AG, who are Europe's largest manufacturer. Despite investment $100 million in the US alone, Porsche predict that their operating profit this year will be at least the same as 2013.
Premium SUV and Affordable Sports Cars
It seems to me that the unstoppable rise of the SUV and the demand for the aspirational and more affordable smaller sports cars in the premium car sector are going to be the key to success for the prestige automakers for the foreseeable future.
Last year, Porsche deliveries went up by 15 percent with the Boxster, Cayman proving popular. This year sees the launch of the new Macan, which is bound to be a massive hit for anyone seeking a premium mid-size SUV.
Don't forget the success that Mercedes have had with their CLA-Class, particularly in the US. Giving people the chance to own a CLS-esque "three star badge" automobile with a much more reasonable price tag has gone down a storm. Time will tell regarding their new GLA-Class but initial reports are encouraging (my only worry is that it should have been a bigger SUV).
Supercar manufacturers
As Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Bugatti, Jaguar Land Rover, Koenigsegg & Zenvo all vied to be the best at Geneva this year, we are all acknowledging that the supercar is back. And that means that the manufacturers know there's money about; many of the cars on display at Geneva had already received a LOT of forward orders.
Where the game is going to get really interesting is when the supercar SUVs start entering the marketplace. Lamborghini unveiled their concept SpA Urus SUV this year and we already know that Bentley will be producing a 180k euro crossover car - 2000 have already been ordered and nobody has actually seen the final design!
Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin are rumoured to be looking at bringing out their SUV and Maserati's offering should be with by 2015.
Boom and bust
It has been said that never again will we see the "boom and bust" economy pattern that we have seen in the past.
I'm certainly no economist and I have said before that I think this recession will result in long-lasting changes in the way that we all spend and save our money.
My generation (as a thirty something) found this recession a bit of a shock to say the least - we'd never known anything like it before.
When the economy is finally able to shout "we're back on our feet" then I know that I, for one, will always be keeping a keen eye on the purse strings - even if I am lucky enough to ever make that million! After all, money is too hard earned to throw it away.
But the recent shows at Geneva and the way that the executive car market is going is making me wonder. If we do over-exceed all post-recession recovery predictions, could we all end up going back into mega-spend mode after all?
Let's see - never say never.
Written by @MotorMistress
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