Press Releases | Lyon-Waugh Auto Group

NASHUA, N.H. - Some drivers are satisfied with merely owning an expensive car, while others aren’t satisfied until they own the very best performer. According to Car and Driver, which pit the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S against the Nissan GT-R and Chevy Corvette Z06 in a comparison of sports cars hovering around or above $100,000, the new Carrera S is the car to beat.

The significantly redesigned 911 Carrera S, currently available at Porsche dealerships, impressed Car and Driver testers with its seamless acceleration, quiet interior and even its fuel economy to earn the first-place honor. Meanwhile, the Corvette’s picky chassis, low-quality interior materials and poor navigation controls dragged the Chevy contender down to the bottom of the pile. On the other hand, the awkward design and consistently delayed reactions of the GT-R relegated it to a second-place finish.

“The 911 is such an iconic car, and the new 911 Carrera S has carried on that legacy by beating out the ‘Vette and GT-R,” said Larry Bedell, general manager of New Hampshire Porsche dealer Porsche of Nashua. “Car and Driver looks at quantifiable things like horsepower and miles per gallon when they compare cars, but the test drive is where the 911 will always make its most convincing argument.”

The automotive researchers at Car and Driver regularly set two or three rival cars against each other in comparison tests, choosing vehicles from the same class with relatively similar price points to make the evaluation as fair as possible. With the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S being a recently released and updated model, Car and Driver used their comparison test to see how well the new design fared against that of the long-standing competition.

Fans of the new Porsche 911 will soon have the option of making turns in the open air, as the Carrera Cabriolet and Carrera S Cabriolet debuted at the Detroit auto show this week and will arrive at dealers this spring. Under the hood of the 911 Carrera Cabriolet was a 3.4-liter, 350-horsepower engine that accelerates the vehicle to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. Meanwhile, the Carrera S Cabriolet featured a more powerful 3.8-liter, 400-horsepower unit capable of going 0 – 60 mph in 4.1 seconds.

Porsche has also announced a variety of upcoming models that extend beyond the 911. A 430-horsepower Panamera GTS is expected to arrive this spring, and the Cayenne Diesel, Porsche’s first diesel-powered vehicle built for the U.S. market, will go on sale soon after. Confirmed for a 2013 U.S. debut is the 2014 Porsche Cajun, a smaller car based on the Cayenne.

“Some automakers turn in a completely different direction when they release new models, but Porsche sees it as an opportunity to tweak and improve designs while maintaining the features that have worked for decades,” added Bedell. “In the end though, more drivers will be introduced to the Porsche driving experience, and more buyers will realize that there is a big difference between buying the latest luxury flavor of the month and buying a Porsche.”