Porsche Panamera sedan debuts in Shanghai

Porsche chose the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show to introduce the world to the new Panamera, the first four-door sedan in the carmaker's history.

That Porsche selected China for the debut of its upscale sports sedan is not altogether surprising. China remains a relatively bright spot for carmakers in a year of declining sales; sales there rose 10 percent last month. This marks the third straight month that China has eclipsed the United States as the world's largest car market, and it now ranks as the world's second largest luxury car market, behind the U.S. A Porsche spokesperson said the company's Cayenne SUV is something of a status symbol in China – it's apparently one of the more popular chauffeur-driven vehicles.

The Panamera will start at $89,800 when it arrives in the United States in October. Three trim levels will be available: S, all-wheel-drive 4S, and the $132,000 Turbo AWD. All Panameras will have Porsche's PDK seven-speed automated manual transmission. Porsche says an automatic on-off feature that shuts off and restarts the engine at traffic lights will help deliver class-leading fuel economy, and that the S model has returned 26.2 mpg on the European driving cycle. The Panamera has not yet been rated by the EPA, but buyers saving for a chauffeur in these trying times can certainly use all the help they can get.

—Jim Travers