| Author | Message | |||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Intermediate Member Username: Irfgt Post Number: 1533 Registered: 2-2001 |
Back in the late 70s when GM was making the Olds Diesel engine and putting them in Olds cars and Chevy trucks, these things were selling like wildfire. We couldn't get enough of them. Olds started using engine blocks that they previously would have discarded due to defects and started boring some of the cylinders over standard size. We had engines comming in off the truck knocking like hell, Reason, The blocks were marked on the bottom end as to the size piston that was to be installed on the assembly line and it was not in the Union contract for the worker to look underneath the block to see what piston went into each bore. This is a true story. | |||
| William H (Countachxx)
Intermediate Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 1187 Registered: 2-2001 |
Yeah that was the experimental 408, the body was designed by Ferrari I believe, not Pininfarina. Lets hope Ferrari allows Pininfarina to do the styling & Ferrari sticks to the engines cus damm that thing is Fugly  | |||
| Mark (Study)
Member Username: Study Post Number: 281 Registered: 10-2001 |
P.S. The one fun thing about working for Honda in Ohio is the Test track that they let their employess enjoy. Mostly bike clubs (Honda's roots) But a lot of the young American engineers seem to be very interested in this fun benefit. Japanese Company life in the US has some well planed fun and free time for the talented people that work there. | |||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 276 Registered: 11-2001 |
arlie - your perspective on the japanese work ethic and culture is not entirely accurate. it's not that extreme. it's not that cold. do be careful of making gross generalizations (especially based on mass-media representations). doody. | |||
| Mark (Study)
Member Username: Study Post Number: 280 Registered: 10-2001 |
Arlie- I work for Honda and I work for the Big 3 in Detroit. What I find interesting about the engineers that Honda hires from me... they won't take most of the guys coming out of Ford GM or DC. Honda wants engineers that can preform three jobs at once. They don't like american engineers that only do one job and then hand off their work to a designer or CAD engineer. To work for Honda as and engineer, you have to be your own dratsman, designer, tester, and so on. Honda complains that The Big Three let their engineers hand of parts of the work to others. Your resume better be three times more skilled then the typical engineer in an american company, or Honda won't look at it. Its very impressive to see how tough Honda is on its Hiring process | |||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
Intermediate Member Username: Parkerfe Post Number: 1009 Registered: 9-2001 |
The 360 body and chassis are also made by Alcoa right here in the U.S.A. and then shipped to Italy for final assembly. | |||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
New member Username: Arlie Post Number: 44 Registered: 5-2002 |
I believe that the Japanese work ethic is different from America and other countries. From what I have read and seen on TV, the Japanese corporate world is like a giant ant colony where individulism is meaningless compared to the corporate good. People work from 7AM to 10PM making deals and entertaining customers and clients with little time for personal leisure. No wonder Japanese cars are so good. But that's not the way of life in countries like America and elsewhere. Who wants to work like a dog all your life just to "prove" you can make a better product than somebody else? And the sad thing is that the average Japanese probably couldn't afford an NSX or even the place to park it. I'll take a Chevy designed and built in Detroit by Americans who love life and know how to live it over a Japanese car designed and built by unfortunate people crammed into micro-apartments who have to work from dawn to dusk just to survive, even if the car is technically "better". | |||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Intermediate Member Username: Irfgt Post Number: 1531 Registered: 2-2001 |
The Japanese have forced everyone to "Kick it up a notch". | |||
| Mike Henderson (Hendu)
New member Username: Hendu Post Number: 2 Registered: 5-2002 |
I think people are not talking so much about power (atleast I'm not) when they say without the NSX the Ferrari's of today wouldn't be as good. I think they are reffering more to the build quality, reliability, livability, and fit n' finish. I love my NSX, but I love the 348 also, but the first thing I noticed when I got a chance to drive the 348 was the tightness of the car or lack there of. Everything felt loose and kind of rattled like an old Ford where the NSX still feels tight like a new car. Also the NSX when it came out compared favorably to the 348 in all the performance categories, but at the same time could be driven everyday comfortably and could go 200,000 miles with out electrical shorts, door handles breaking, alternators failing, etc. Before the NSX people just expected to use their AAA card every once in awhile when they drove their F-car, but afterwards everyone asked why Ferrari couldn't build a car that could be driven easily everyday if Honda could, and guess what Ferrari did on the very next car. Anyway you get my point the NSX was a little better in the early 90's performance wise than the F-car, but I don't think it had any impact on the 355's power, but I do think it had an impact on the 355's quality. Just my $0.02 | |||
| Andrew Menasce (Amenasce)
Junior Member Username: Amenasce Post Number: 123 Registered: 10-2001 |
thats the 2 prototype of the Ferrari 408 . Ferrari was testing AWD . pretty fast car if i remember ..it was good for 186 mph .. V8 3999 cc 300 hp @ 6250 rpm 1250 kgs mid engined of course the structure was composed of two chassis and a cage surrouding the cockpit and the body was made of composite materials . The car handled so good that testers said it was underpowered .. | |||
| Robert McNair (Rrm)
Junior Member Username: Rrm Post Number: 109 Registered: 5-2002 |
I know that a lot of people say the 355 and later cars wouldn't be what they are today if it wasn't for the NSX but I don't think I buy that. Look at the cars before the nsx look at all the posts we have had as of late on the 348 how pretty much everyone who owns one loves it. Take the v8 cars it seems each even before the NSX progressively improved performance wise. Start with 308 2 valve then qv more power 328 more power 348 more power etc. One of the traits I like about Ferrari is they don't follow the heard they are set apart I mean even now look at Porsche with an suv, Ferrari builds dare I say it art and in my eyes nothing compares and hopefully they will never change their style to fit the conventional mode. | |||
| TWA (Exoticars)
Junior Member Username: Exoticars Post Number: 74 Registered: 8-2001 |
The NSX was designed in 1984. It was a 7 year project and that's why it resulted in such a refined supercar. It did not take styling cues from this car although it has been long rumored so. Whereas the NSX probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for Ferrari, it's also true that the 355 and 360 wouldn't exist as so if it weren't for the NSX. The 360 finally went all aluminum like NSX, variable valve timing like the NSX, why they didn't apply titanium like the NSX, I don't know. | |||
| Mark (Study)
Member Username: Study Post Number: 278 Registered: 10-2001 |
Pininfarina Studios work for a lot of car companies, not just Ferrari. I had heard that Honda had hired them to do some research...not sure what percentage of their design was actually used by Honda. If you look at the NSX book that shows some of the orgianal art work for NSX blueprints...they took a lot from the F-16 and Honda's orginal drawings were much more sleek then the car actuly turned out. NSXprime had another Pininfarina Ferrari design (may have been the same car is pictured below) but it was a side shot and even looked more like the long tailed NSX | |||
| Greg Rodgers (Joechristmas)
Member Username: Joechristmas Post Number: 379 Registered: 3-2001 |
It looks like it to me. I see where you are coming from. The roof line is exact IMO and especially how the rear widens. Thanks for the pics. | |||
| Joseph Caretti (Pino)
New member Username: Pino Post Number: 45 Registered: 4-2002 |
If my memory serves me correctly, I believe they coded it the 408. Something about the 4 representing all wheel drive. I was reminded of the car when the 360 came out with it's relatively unique chassis. Thanks for the memories..... | |||
| stephen r chong (Ethans_dad)
New member Username: Ethans_dad Post Number: 40 Registered: 3-2002 |
Maybe that's why I always felt that the NSX looked as great as a Ferrari. Please, no flame wars. Again, just my observations. | |||
| Tim N (Timn88)
Intermediate Member Username: Timn88 Post Number: 1162 Registered: 6-2001 |
Yeah, i remeber hearing about that. i forgot what they called it though. | |||
| stephen r chong (Ethans_dad)
New member Username: Ethans_dad Post Number: 39 Registered: 3-2002 |
Oops. Lets try this attachment...  | |||
| stephen r chong (Ethans_dad)
New member Username: Ethans_dad Post Number: 38 Registered: 3-2002 |
I was flipping through a Ferrari book the other night and came across a very interesting photograph. It was a project car from 1989 between Ferrari and Alcoa Aluminum. Coachwork was of course by the Pininfarina Studio. The chassis was 4 wheel drive, and press had suggested that it might be the new replacement for the 328. Now is it just me, or does that car look very similar to the Japanese NSX supercar? If one were to delete the rear vents, and flip the forward gills, you pretty much have a working model of the modern NSX as we know it. Is it coincedence that the NSX appeared one year later in Japan with a all aluminum chassis? Was it produced by Alcoa too? No attempts to start a flame war, as I love NSX's, but just found the circumstances interesting food for thought.
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