Customer Reviews

Porsche 914 914-6

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A good introduction to the 914 and the unfortunate corporate history surrounding it. This would actually be a very good case study for business managers contemplating corporate joint ventures. The book goes into great depth into why the 914 "failed", although the author does state that, at over 100K unit sales, the 914 was far from a failure.

However, the book does lack a lot of the detail readers may want surrounding the 914 itself. The author could have gone into a more detailed history surrounding the car's design, which is the core appeal of the 914 (e.g., there is no in depth account of the third-party company contracted to design the car).

In addition, while the book goes on to describe the 914's replacements at Porsche, it does not go into depth about how the design concepts embodied in the 914 were adapted and used in other vehicles that followed (e.g., Toyota's MR2, GM's Fiero, Porsche's Boxster, even Subaru, which still use flat fours).

Overall, this is a good book on the 914, but, if Mr. Long is listening, a design book remains to be written.

First off, it's great to see a well-researched book about the 914. This one covers a lot of the high-level details of the model from year to year, and has good coverage of the corporate, economic, and regulatory changes during the years the 914 was produced and marketed. I thought it gave a real understanding of the many factors that led to the demise of the model. And there are many high-quality illustrations that were new to me. However along the way Mr. Long ileaves a sprinkling of disparaging remarks and slights, revealing at one point that he is really a zealous devotee of another overlooked Porsche, the 924. These occassional snipes give a sour aftertaste to an overwise excellent and enjoyable book, hence the loss of the fifth star. If you're a fan of the 914, or want to know what happened to it, this is a fine book.

The book is a complete overlook of the model's history. Not only fot the owner of a car, but also for the porsche enthousiast.

This is an excellent book that any 914 enthusiast will find very interesting and informative. It contains many photos although most are in black and white.

I also recommend "Porsche 914 Ultimate Portfolio" by Brooklands Books.