What difference does it make that they have expanded their lineup, and not too coincidentally made it possible for them to survive as an independent automaker? Do you think that the performance of the sports car line has diminished because Porsche has a new factory building other types of cars?

While I'm sure that the Cayenne is or will be a big cash cow for Porsche, it certainly does mark a notable change in their car making ideals. In addition, it certainly reduces their cachet, moreso than the underperforming Boxster did (at least the Boxster still fell under the same general rubric as the 911, etc.).

While I couldn't personally care less, many, if not most, of their buyers do -- the mid-life crisis set, where most of their money probably came from before, who care about Porsche's performance only in name, and that it was what provided Porsche its cachet to begin with. When the Boxster came out, it wasn't too bad, but it was to some extent as that cachet was diminished, since now ``ordinary'' people could own one and drive it around every day.

Now that soccer moms are going to be drving them around, that cachet will be diminshed even more -- more than with the Boxster. The outcomes of this are that mid-lifers are going to start buying the more affordable Boxster, the (nominally) more practical Cayenne, or find a different manufacturer whose cachet hasn't been reduced. (Maybe TVR will have started selling in the US by then.) This will reduce the money Porsche gets from the 911 even more than just diluting its own brand. The Porsche management will see this and start to question the relevance of their sports car line. Combine that with their demonstrated lack or at least diminution of loyalty to that line, and I can easily see it going away or at least no longer being engineered to be the amazing cars they are today.