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Dealers mobilize to protect their margins from automaker subscription services

Six individual auto brands — Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo — have established or are trialing a vehicle subscription service in the U.S. Three third-party companies — Flexdrive, Clutch and Carma — run brand-agnostic subscription services. And three automakers — Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and General Motors — have also launched short-term rental services. Dealers, afraid of how these trends might affect their margins, are building political and lawmaking campaigns to protect their revenue streams. So far, three states are investigating automaker subscriptions, and Indiana has banned any such service until next year. It's certain that those three states are the first fronts in a long political and legal battle. Powerful dealer franchise laws mandate the existence of dealers and restrict how automakers are allowed to interact with customers to sell a vehicle. On top of that, Bob Reisner, CEO of Nassau Business Funding & Services, said, "Dealers and their associations are among the strongest political operators in many states. They as a group are difficult for state politicians to vote against." In California earlier this year, the state Assembly debated a bill with wide-ranging provisions to protect against what the California New Car Dealers Association called "inappropriate treatment of dealers by manufacturers." One of those provisions stipulated that subscription services need to go through dealers, but that item got stripped out when dealers and manufacturers agreed to discuss the matter further. In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a moratorium on all subscription programs by dealers or manufacturers until May 1, 2019, to give legislators more time to investigate. Dealers in New Jersey have taken their campaign to the state capitol, asking that the cars in subscription programs get a different classification for registration purposes. Automakers run the current subscription services and own the vehicles. Sign-ups and financial transactions happen online or through apps, leaving dealers to do little more than act as fulfillment centers to various degrees, with little legal recourse as to compensation amounts when they're called on to deliver or service a car. That's a bad base to build on for business owners who've sunk millions of dollars into their operations.

Porsche Boxster and Cayman 4-cyl rated from 240 hp to 370 hp

Car magazine has information on the revised 981.2-series Porsche Boxster and Cayman twins that will inaugurate the all-turbo era for those two ranges. Almost all-turbo, that is - we're told that variants like the Cayman GT4 will continue with the flat-six. The rest, though, will come with a 2.0-liter, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder aided by just one turbocharger, according to Car's sources. Entry-level models will start at 240 horsepower, the S models graduate to 300 hp, the GTS trims get 370 hp. If accurate, the new new outputs will make for a wider power range than at present, and the base and S cars will go down in horsepower. Right now the Boxster gets 265 hp, the Boxster S gets 315 hp, and the Cayman lineup has ten more horsepower than the Boxster across the range but Car doesn't mention that continuing. The only gains come with the GTS models: the Boxster S will go up by 40 hp, the Cayman by 30 hp. To keep turbo lag from being an issue, Porsche could install some sort of e-boost to work while the turbo spools up "as a short-to-mid-term option." It is also possible that the Cayman will be sold as the entry-level vehicle in some markets at a lower price than the Boxster. The swap is planned to help Cayman sales, which have lagged the Boxster since launch. A 2016 unveil is predicted, perhaps at the Detroit Auto Show or Geneva Motor Show. Related Video:

Porsche undecided on new 911 GT2 [w/poll]

Fans of hardcore 911s had it pretty good with the last 997 generation. There was the GT3, GT3 RS, GT3 RS 4.0, GT2 and GT2 RS (pictured above). Each one was faster, more powerful and more expensive than the one below it, but what they all shared was what Porsche purists love most: rear engine, rear drive, a manual transmission and little else.
So far with the new 991, Porsche has only released a GT3 version. Sure, there have been other models, but they're all decidedly more luxurious and less performance-focused. And as impressive a machine as the new GT3 is, it has run the risk of alienating some of its most ardent fanatics with technological interference in the form of a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and four-wheel steering. So what those purists have really been looking forward to is a more hardcore GT3 RS or new GT2. But those may not be coming so quickly.
Speaking with 911 project chief August Achleitner, Car and Driver reports that a new GT2 is anything but a foregone conclusion. The reasons may be partially political, but could be technical in nature as well: with 560 horsepower driving all four wheels, the new 911 Turbo S runs the 0-60 in less than three seconds. Give it more power but less traction, as Porsche has done with past GT2s, and you may not end up seeing an actual improvement in performance. A GT2 that's slower than the Turbo S would be difficult to explain.