2006 Porsche Cayman 2dr Cpe S on 2040-cars

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What do J.D. Power's quality ratings really measure?

Check these recently released J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Do they raise any questions in your mind? Premium sports-car maker Porsche sits in first place for the third straight year, so are Porsches really the best-built cars in the U.S. market? Korean brands Kia and Hyundai are second and fourth, so are Korean vehicles suddenly better than their US, European, and Japanese competitors? Are workaday Chevrolets (seventh place) better than premium Buicks (11th), and Buicks better than luxury Cadillacs (21st), even though all are assembled in General Motors plants with the same processes and many shared parts? Are Japanese Acuras (26th) worse than German Volkswagens (24th)? And is "quality" really what it used to be (and what most perceive it to be), a measure of build excellence? Or has it evolved into much more a measure of likeability and ease of use? To properly analyze these widely watched results, we must first understand what IQS actually studies, and what the numerical scores really mean. First, as its name indicates, it's all about "initial" quality, measured by problems reported by new-vehicle owners in their first 90 days of ownership. If something breaks or falls off four months in, it doesn't count here. Second, the scores are problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100. So Power's 2015 IQS industry average of 112 PP100 translates to just 1.12 reported problems per vehicle. Third, no attempt is made to differentiate BIG problems from minor ones. Thus a transmission or engine failure counts the same as a squeaky glove box door, tricky phone pairing, inconsistent voice recognition, or anything else that annoys the owner. Traditionally, a high-quality vehicle is one that is well-bolted together. It doesn't leak, squeak, rattle, shed parts, show gaps between panels, or break down and leave you stranded. By this standard, there are very few poor-quality new vehicles in today's U.S. market. But what "quality" should not mean, is subjective likeability: ease of operation of the radio, climate controls, or seat adjusters, phone pairing, music downloading, sizes of touch pads on an infotainment screen, quickness of system response, or accuracy of voice-recognition. These are ergonomic "human factors" issues, not "quality" problems. Yet these kinds of pleasability issues are now dominating today's JDP "quality" ratings.

Porsche announces works team for United Sportscar Championship

Porsche is undoubtedly the most successful manufacturer in sportscar racing, and it's only upping its game. The German marque is launching its new LMP1 racer for Le Mans in pursuit of overall victory once again, and now that sportscar racing in North America is coming together under one banner in the United Sportscar Championship, Porsche has announced it is entering the fray with a works team here as well.
The new Porsche North America racing team will field two cars in the entire inaugural season of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship that's been formed out of the former Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series. The team will be based out of the Porsche Motorsport North America facility in Santa Ana, California, and will partner with three-time ALMS LMPC winners Core Autosport in getting a pair of the latest 911 RSR racecars to the front of the GT Le Mans class.
Drivers have yet to be announced, but are projected to be drawn out of Porsche's factory driver program, which includes such talents as Patrick Long, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani. Keep reading below for the official announcement.

2015 Porsche 911 GTS starts at $114,200*

Purists often criticize Porsche for creating products like the Cayenne, Panamera and recently launched Macan, saying they dilute the true sports car spirit of the brand. It's an argument we've heard before, and one we counter with two points. First: No they don't. And second: These are Porsche's volume superstars, and the money they rake in allows the company to create dozens of versions of its well-liked sports cars. Want proof? Have a look at the gallery above, where you'll see four new versions of the 911, all with GTS badges on their rumps. This means Porsche now offers 19 versions of the 911. Nineteen.
Porsche offered a GTS version of the 911 in its previous generation, and this new one seeks to slot somewhere between the standard car and the hardcore GT3. It's available in coupe and cabriolet forms, with either rear- or all-wheel drive, starting at $114,200, *not including $995 for destination. The GTS Cabriolet comes in at $126,100, while models equipped with AWD will set you back $120,900 or $132,800 for the coupe or convertible, respectively.
All GTS models get the 430-horsepower version of the Carrera S' 3.8-liter flat-six with the Powerkit, which also includes the Sport Chrono package and the sport exhaust. If equipped with the PDK dual-clutch transmission, the 911 GTS will hit 60 miles per hour in just 3.8 seconds (or four seconds flat, if you've got the Cabriolet) - one tenth of a second quicker than the normal Carrera S. The car's top speed varies, depending on trim or transmission, but Porsche says the car will hit anywhere from 187 to 190 mph, flat out.