Porsche and the Meaning of “Premium”

The German Design Council has named Porsche “Brand of the Year” and Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller “Brand Manager of the Year.”

Which probably means just a couple more statuettes and/or plaques to put in the company’s trophy case, which must be the size of a warehouse.

While it is nice that Porsche garnered the awards, what’s of somewhat greater interest and applicability to a wider range of people and concerns is one of Mueller’s remarks during the award ceremony.

Mueller said: “Above all, Porsche means premium, which stands for the best quality without compromise. We will never be satisfied with what we have achieved, but always want to improve a bit further.”

Nowadays, plenty of carmakers are either chasing or trying to sustain premium. Some have had it and lost it. Some have it and seem to be having it slip away. One big problem is that there is an apparent drive to be all things to all people, to expand their offerings to a degree that they have to make compromises in order to spread their products. It used to be the argument that Porsche was going too far with the Cayenne—who would have thought that Porsche would have an SUV—yet anyone who has driven one knows that Porsche engineers maintained the performance characteristic of the brand in that product.

“We will never be satisfied with what we have achieved, but always want to improve a bit further.”

This is the 50^th anniversary of the 911. That car stands as a testament to the truth of that pursuit of improvement. Year after year, it is a great car that happens to get better.