| Author | Message | ||
| Jack (Gilles27)
Intermediate Member Username: Gilles27 Post Number: 1287 Registered: 3-2002 |
It's obvious that the next direction for Ferrari is in the flying car market. Clearly it's an underexploited area. | ||
| Taek-Ho Kwon (Stickanddice)
Intermediate Member Username: Stickanddice Post Number: 1923 Registered: 11-2002 |
Mark, Isn't that Michael Jackson? Cheers | ||
| MarkPDX (Markpdx)
Junior Member Username: Markpdx Post Number: 223 Registered: 4-2003 |
I don't think a takeover by VW could be considered a good thing. Competition with Lambo will improve the breed more than simply adding cash and VW/Audi technical expertise. Click pick for sound  | ||
| Me Myself (Kid_enzoz)
Junior Member Username: Kid_enzoz Post Number: 141 Registered: 4-2003 |
I don't think they can stay this way forever... and if they had to be bought out let VwAG take them. Lambos are getting better.... :D | ||
| sindo rodil (308qv_miami)
Junior Member Username: 308qv_miami Post Number: 84 Registered: 5-2003 |
I agree that Ferrari has to build more reliable cars without stupid things like switches "melting" and what not. But to mass produce Ferraris, and 50k entry level cars would only cheapen and take away from the exclusivity and desireability of the marque. | ||
| Tom Bakowsky (Tbakowsky)
Member Username: Tbakowsky Post Number: 509 Registered: 9-2002 |
Out of business | ||
| Dr. I. M. Ibrahim (Coachi)
Member Username: Coachi Post Number: 336 Registered: 5-2002 |
I too hope to be here in ten years to enjoy my Ferraris. My oldest will be 43 mature years old. I think highways will be very congested and a distinct possibility that these "older" cars would not be allowed on the roads any more...smog, greenhouse effect....etc...And having more power will be irrelevant...the speeds will be governed...not by law but by congestion | ||
| BobD (Bobd)
Intermediate Member Username: Bobd Post Number: 1424 Registered: 3-2001 |
Wm, I can see it now, a 360 badged as a Ford (as you mention, similar to the X-Type). Actually, it wouldn't surprise me. | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2860 Registered: 2-2001 |
I imagine Ford or VW may buy Ferrari by then, Ford would build a $50k starter Ferrari like the AM DB8 or maybe a Ferrari similair to the Shaguar X type, Yeah Baby!!!!! I hope VW buys Ferrari | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
Advanced Member Username: Countachxx Post Number: 2859 Registered: 2-2001 |
I think every1 will be building hybrid autos in 10 years. That could be a good thing, 600hp with 40mpg sounds good. I also expect that cars will be completely silent  The govt will come out with stricter laws, OBD3 in your cars management system will call police & tell them whenever you go over 85 mph which will be a felony punishable by 10 years in federal prison next to "dangerous" pot smokers. I imagine I'll move back to Buenos Aires by then & find a way to take a 512TR with me  | ||
| Ken A (Zff)
Junior Member Username: Zff Post Number: 118 Registered: 12-2002 |
Personally, I wouldn't mind it one bit if Ferrari stopped building road cars. For me, Ferrari has always been a racing team first and a car manufacturer second. Think about it: if Ferrari stopped building road cars, the Scuderia would still be regarded as the most prestigious team in F1 -- but if Ferrari pulled out of F1, their road cars would lose a big chunk of their prestige. Just look at Lotus. In fact, that's a great idea. Ferrari should announce that they will stop building road cars but continue to sell Maseratis as the road-going embodiment of the marque. This would coincide with the debut of a new 2-seat mid-engined v10 Maserati that's faster and cheaper than the 360 Modena (or its successor). Let the public gnaw on that for about a decade. Then slowly bring the Prancing Horse back by making Ferrari the factory tuner for Maserati (like AMG/Mercedes). Ferrari'd Maseratis would INSANELY fast, EXTREMELY expensive, uncompromsing race cars that are barely suitable for street use. (Think stripped-bare carbon-fiber interior with a leather-padded full roll-cage.) Let the public gnaw on that for another decade or two. Then roll out the next generation of road-going from-the-factory Ferraris to a public starving to see the return of the marque. With levels of performance that would make the Enzo look like a Corolla. | ||
| William Huber (Solipsist)
Intermediate Member Username: Solipsist Post Number: 1240 Registered: 9-2001 |
I can expect to see many F1 360's badly needing 30k services, 2nd & 3rd owners neglecting to pay for expected proper maintenance for obvious reason$. Either that or they will be just recycled into beer cans. | ||
| Michael C. James (Mjames)
Junior Member Username: Mjames Post Number: 67 Registered: 6-2003 |
My thoughts: In ten years, Ferrari will provide factory support for GT racing (finally) and support runs for Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans. Ferrari can support this venture through their F1 success, provided they can pick up another high-end financial backer to replace Marlboro - and continue to rake in Millions in merchandising (Ferrari Idea/Fila/NiceMan/Girard/etc.) Someday, someone will make a decent Ferrari Polo Shirt...the search continues. I predict that the market for Carborated cars will dry up. Carb'ed cars will be harder and harder to repair, interest in the tempermental, 30-year-old technology will wane, and new-school enthusiasts won't want to pony up the big-bucks to buy into cars that can't perform on the streets anywhere close to what Maranello offers now for a fraction of the cost. The market for any car made before 1975 will have the bottom fall out of it. Symbolic, et/al. will go bankrupt, holding onto a fortune in inventory it can't move because there will be no market for the antiques - and nobody is trying to establish one with younger enthusiasts. I predict the 308-series and the TR-series will see a new renassance, as the availability of excellent cars will get smaller. Parts will still be plentiful, as more small firms will offer complete part fabrication or better aftermarket components. The next generation of owners/enthusiasts, raised in front of the Television, will be driving this collector market. The 330 America never made it to a single episode of Miami Vice or Magnum P.I..... The 355 will be the Ferrari ten years from now what the 308 was ten years ago. Only in the future, there will be more high-mileage examples and fewer cars "Zymol'ed to death" in climate-controlled cocoons. The horsepower wars with Porsche, McLaren, Lamborghini, etc. will produce cars that are too dangerous for the average, U.S.-spec showboat driver to handle. The Ferrari streetcar product will return to the bygone era of the '50s and early-'60s where streetcar and racecar were one-and-the-same product (360 Stradale, anyone?). But wealthy drivers without SCCA licenses could end up killing themselves in cars whose performance wildly outclasses their driving abilities - this could pose a serious problem for all sportscar manufacturers if killing their customers becomes a habit. I predict that in ten years, the Ferrari Challenge race series goes semi-pro to stay alive. Either that, or it dies out from the soaring high costs incurred by the participants. Of course, I could be full of caca, but only time will tell. | ||
| Bart Duesler (The_bart)
Member Username: The_bart Post Number: 264 Registered: 1-2003 |
I will still be driving my 550. It will still be very fast and beautiful. I do not care about what happens to Ferrari. I have mine and nothing can top it. When I am 90 and they take my license, I might stop driving the best. Until then so what! | ||
| Michael Zaic (Mikez_nj)
New member Username: Mikez_nj Post Number: 50 Registered: 12-2002 |
My take is that the future of Ferrari isn't necessarily dependant on cars. Ferrari has been creeping into other markets in recent years, forming strategic alliances with companies such as Fila, Girard-Perregaux, etc. It is thriving off its brand recognition. Sure, they have to keep producing excellent automobiles, but the exclusivity and wow-value of the cars will keep the brand alive. As long as that's the case, they can keep raising prices, keep people wanting them, and keep people buying merchandise. | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
Intermediate Member Username: Allyn Post Number: 1104 Registered: 10-2001 |
Good topic question! I think Ferrari may start paying the price for relying too much on image and not enough on quality control. The competition today is tougher than it was 10 years ago and I see that trend continuing. Lamborghini will be more of a competitor with cars like the Gallardo. Porsche will always be stiff competition too, and then there's companies like Panoz, Aston Martin, the Acura NSX and Lotus (if they survive). Ferrari's mystique will always have a following, but if Maserati falls flat they may need to sell it for cash. More and more car buyers demand that cars run with a higher level of reliability and Ferrari is struggling with that concept. The return to chains IS a step in the right direction, however the early evidence on the F1's reliabilty is not good. Ferrari is the wrong company to let the technology get out of hand in their higher volume offerings because they can't affort the testing of an Acura or Audi. I think they need to rethink some of this stuff and be aware the name WILL sell as many cars as their overly complicated but suspect engineered systems will, provided they have adequate power, a cool body and liveable maintainence. Cutting edge technology can be a disaster for a company like Ferrari when it comes at the expense of reliability. | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Senior Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 5574 Registered: 5-2001 |
Even if they will build a 1000HP car and mass produce it it will just be that a mass produced piece of metall! If Ferrari automated their factory, gets to substandard built and produces 100,000 F360s a year for 10 years they can also produce the F360 for $ 35K. That is not Ferrari, at least not yet and hopefully never will! | ||
| Dan Gordon (Ferruccio)
Junior Member Username: Ferruccio Post Number: 51 Registered: 2-2003 |
In the future you won't need insurance because cars will have shields like in startreck. | ||
| Willis Huang (Willis360)
Intermediate Member Username: Willis360 Post Number: 1436 Registered: 8-2001 |
Like to see the insurance premium on a 600HP, $35K Mustang. | ||
| Dan Gordon (Ferruccio)
New member Username: Ferruccio Post Number: 49 Registered: 2-2003 |
I don't think that Ford will come out with a 600hp car in the $35k price range Will they? | ||
| Ronald C. Steinhoff (Buylowsellnever)
Junior Member Username: Buylowsellnever Post Number: 69 Registered: 9-2002 |
Yes, everything is going to the same denominator (as outlined in the posts below), just like everything eventually does. While it will take car companies a while to make up for some truly mind-boggling blunders, they're quickly learning that customers actually want quality, style, & performance, typically the domain of the upper scale brands. With Fords, MBs, whatever, being able to match the speed and raw performance of any Ferrari (ok, maybe not the Enzo) at a fraction of a price (which certainly makes the "mystique" tilt factor dissapear for meandering enthusiasts), Ferrari needs to do something it typically hasn't done very well: service and grass roots excitement. I imagine that in 10 years Ferrari will be in the same position it is in today: an exclusive niche brand that has a large following of die hard red heads. But with all the new options available, it will be tougher to get new customers. And while they will never go after new markets (vertically or horizontally) they need to give their current target market more reasons for choosing Ferrari (service and grass roots events). They cannot continue to rest on their laurels! Of course, everything rests on what happens to the company, whether they stay with FIAT, sold to someone else, or whatever. | ||
| Mark (Study)
Member Username: Study Post Number: 631 Registered: 10-2001 |
If I was CEO... (and my income was preformance bassed) -I know that F1 is going to be hit or miss. You win for a few years and then you don't. Can't count on that. -I can't compete with the HP wars, soon Ford will have a 600hp car in the $35k price range. -Can't compete with exotic looks. Eventualy the Vette$50k or Viper$80k will get a sexy body design, and learn something about "feel" I would take the company into more of the upscale Country Club set. Make it even more of a rich guy club. I don't see any other way? "must make rich people feel bad if they don't have a ferrari". LOL Also you keep the wild Enzo car's coming out so you can sell posters, mugs, die cast cars. (In a perfect world) I wish Ferrari would build lighter cars in greater numbers 10,000 a year. And become track/car-club friendly. Make cars we can afford to repair and fun to race and tour with. Encourage local Ferrari clubs all over the world and work with them. (won't happen, look at 360 challenge races, we have all been priced out, anyone got a computer to talk to the damn car?) | ||
| Bruce Wellington (Bws88tr)
Advanced Member Username: Bws88tr Post Number: 2562 Registered: 4-2002 |
IM MORE WORRIED IF I WILL BE AROUND IN 10 YEARS.......... | ||
| James Glickenhaus (Napolis)
Intermediate Member Username: Napolis Post Number: 2264 Registered: 10-2002 |
I'm more worried about the roads and the number of cars clogging them... | ||
| Dan Gordon (Ferruccio)
New member Username: Ferruccio Post Number: 47 Registered: 2-2003 |
Were do you guys see Ferraris and other cars in 10 years? How much more hp can cars get? Its just getting crazy. Soon we will be driving 1,000 hp 360 like cars. |