The marketing department at Porsche seems to be getting a bit more hip these days. Perhaps it is allowed only because of the inter-company rivalry between Audi and Porsche at LeMans, but when their four-ring sister announced their departure from WEC competition after 18 years of excitement and development, the Stuttgart boys took note. They made a cheeky, yet poignant, yet somehow still short-enough-to-be-social-media-share-worthy video to show how they felt about losing a friend and rival.
The move is probably unavoidable for Audi. “Dieselgate” is attached to Volkswagen here in America, but a casual observer knows Audi is part of the Volkswagen Auto Group. Racing fans may also know that Audi’s WEC car uses a diesel engine for the heavy fuel part of its hybrid system. The times, they are a changin’.
But thankfully Porsche is there to take our minds off of ugly realities. Ugly realities like billion dollar settlements and a sooty aftertaste being laid on the entire concept of diesel engines as a viable option for small cars. Ugly realities like the makers of cute cars like the Beetle and Rabbit lying through their teeth. Although lying to the EPA at this point, well… I expect VW was simply the first to get caught. When you set arbitrary reductions in emissions based on percentage points– for decades– with no actual correlation to the need for such reductions, or the technology available for such reductions, someone is probably going to end-run you.
Wait, didn’t I say Porsche was here to take our minds off of ugly realities? Yes. Yes I did. And they are. This is what Porsche does. Sadly for me, they also sell exclusivity, but their brand sells what I like to call “away-ism.” It’s different than escapism. You can get from point A to point B without escaping your daily routine, if you do it in the right car. When you do it in the right car, you are away from things during the process.
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