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Porsche is very different than BMW.

Porsche is owned by VW.

Ferdinand Piëch (past Chairman of the Board of Management) had a vision of a SUV for Porsche, but knew it had to be co-developed with VW money. Ferdinand Piëch also envisioned the US market buying over (I am not making this up) 100,000 VW Phaeton sedans at $80,000 each. He announced his retirement from the Chairmanship prior to the cancellation of the very, very poorly selling Phaeton.

Bad management. Additionally Porsche would not have been in business without outside support ($$$ - Volkswagen) and foreign consulting.

Now BMW is brilliant. Though it does have stock sold publicly, the majority is owned by five or so families who control the company completely. And with this tightly held control comes superior management.

An example of bad management followed by an example of good management:

Bad:
Ferdinand Piëch announced that VW had purchased Rolls Royce and with it Bentley. The sum of money paid shocked analysts as Rolls Royce had been unprofitable and its manufacturing plants too low-tech. Ferdinand Piëch stated that the cachet of the Rolls name made the price paid worth it. Ferdinand Piëch was a happy man as he had beaten BMW who was also bidding for the Prized company.

Good:
Some weeks later BMW announced plans for it's new Rolls Royce. Plants were being built and models were being built up in clay. Ferdinand Piëch (remember this VW guy?)was dismayed to learn VW had purchased the right to the AIRCRAFT name and not the Automobile rights.

Today VW makes Bentleys - based on Audis and the old Phaeton platform. Bentley is selling well, Rolls perhaps less well but BMW will do well with Rolls over the years.

Bentley will just be a VW, Porsche, Audi with different parts that fall off.

Their management is totally different. As you can see, I do not think highly of VW management and know a bit of what I write about. BMW is SUPERIOR management.