Ethics and Social Responsibility

Porsche code of conduct:
 we act responsibly, for the benefit of our customers, owners, and employees;
- we consider compliance with international conventions1), laws, and internal
rules2) to be the basis for sustainable and successful economic activities;
- we act in accordance with our declarations; and
- we accept responsibility for our actions.

Part of the experience in owning a sports car is the thrill of the danger, and Porsche has had to be careful how they market this experience. Porsche had cars like the Spyder that James Dean died in or more recently the Carrera GT, the V10 hyper car that Paul Walker died in, that became known for the accidents that they were associated with.
 The 911 however became known as a widow maker because of its radical design. By having the engine hanging over the rear axle the car acted like a pendulum in corners. Drivers had to be ready when turning the car, to counter the back end swinging out. Porsche was so adamant in those days about keeping the engine where it was that they tried everything to counter the effects the engine position had on the car. They even tried filling the front bumper with lead to counter act the weight bias. Porsche felt that the performance attributes gained with the rear engine positing was too great to lose so they stuck with it and over the years they developed the chassis to handle the car's weight bias. The danger associated with driving the car was one of the things that made it popular. Selling the car knowing that it had what some would call a design flaw could be seen as ethically incorrect.
Popular automotive journalist Jeremy Clarkson said that in the 80s and 90s the 911 had an added x factor that the current models are now missing. He went on to say that the new cars feel clinical in comparison, and the safety features take away from the car's character. This change started in the late 90s when Porsche switched to water cooled engines in order to lower maintenance costs. Porsche started showing concern for fuel efficiency and safety. They started looking into new energy sources like bio fuel, diesel and electric power. We can see this focus reflected in the cars they are now testing, like the hybrid 919 LMP1 Le Mans racer and the 918 hybrid production car.

This technology which is undoubtedly going to seep down into the lower range of cars is Porsche exhibiting Social Responsibility. Building cleaner cars that emit less CO2. And cars with more safety features to help protect the driver. One of the new technologies Porsche is using to make their cars safer is the rear wheel steer. This is where the rear tires are calibrated to move with the front wheels to, at low speeds, make the car more maneuverable and make the car more stable at higher speeds.
Porsche is working on keeping all of their stakeholders happy. They are trying to sell a safer product, that will make the brand look more responsible, and avoid legal battles. They are using technologies that will make the cars cleaner while keeping performance moving forward. They will also benefit from the green marketing in using these new clean technologies.