Beverly Hills Ferrari. NOT!

Those popular cars don't surprise me. The first 3 ar pretty much the entry level manufacturers to high dollar cars. Then the Aston-Rolls are. as I'm guessing, bought for the name and ultra-class luxury. Ferrari and Lamborghini, though, either bought for the name, or bought for the fun each brings to the table.

May I also guess cars 1-8 were either driven by high-maintenance women or single guys who thought they were on top of the world?
I've only been in Beverly Hills once, but my visit showed me people seem more concerned about showing off the dollars rather than enjoying it.

 

Unfortunately, Ferrari has gone a little berserk recent years, licensing nearly everything, whereas Porsche, I reckon, put much more effort into preserving quality throughout their range.
Furthermore, Ferrari has a larger range of potential buyers of their merchandise, who they, of course, would like to satisfy, as big $$$ is involved...

Even so, I would like to see more quality from the Ferrari merchandise range - quit the toys; I would like to be able to take Ferrari merchandising serious! It's everywhere, and it's cheap... Exclusivity for me, please...

 

pretty much true.

porsche, BMW, and mercedes are the Camrys of the well-off or those that want to appear this way in all of LA/Bev Hills. so you will see those very frequently, to the extent of the sightings being boring and mind-numbing. nothing is more typical than a BMW or Mercedes sedan as they fade invisibly into the scenery.

farther down the list (or up the list, rather) you have the upper-scale daily-drivers, ie, the Maseratis and Astons. lots of Bentleys. these are getting out of the "Camry" territory and getting more expensive. and exclusive. even if some of those makes carry models that are equally as expensive as some Mercedes, the names alone are less frequently seen. in LA there are less Aston Martins than bmws. some pizza delivery people drive bmws, if not older ones. so the exclusivity factor is rising in this middle part of the list.

then you have the ultra-rare super-exclusive sports exotics that are largely impractical to drive as a "Camry" or upper-crust sedan or SUV. you will see less Ferraris and Lamborghinis because they are nearly purely a toy and of little practical value, as well as simply less in existence. many of these owners have more than likely one of each car listed in the 1-8 spots. or a combination thereof, to lesser or greater amounts depending on how wealthy they are.

the Ferrari and Lamborghini will hold the more exclusive spots by default because of the types of cars they are, and in how little numbers they exist as compared to the others.

that is my 8-year-to-date LA-immersed take on it.

as far as merchandise i don't know much about that. perhaps Porsche has been doing it longer with the merchandising game than Ferrari. but i don't know. i do know that Ferrari slaps their logo on Puma brand products, ie, shirts. i have one. it's pretty nice.

 

I'm not sure how to answer this other than to say I hope Ferrari's don't catch on out there, more for me.

 

What I hate about Astons are the sales men at their dealerships. You say your comparing the V8 Vantage to a 997 and your not sure... He says buy the Aston because you just dont see them on the roads...

I was in Greenwich recently, and in ONE parking lot off of Greenwich Ave. I counted three of them. Now it may be that Miller Motorcars is up the street, and im not hurting my man Ed because I loved the way the V8 drove, but if you go to the right places, theyre everywhere! And on top of which, how many 911 Turbos do you see day to day? Grr... Exclusive just isnt exclusive anymore... Im done my rant.


Best
Jon

 

"The Right Tool for the Job"

People of money have more than one car - in fact, several. The streets of downtown LA are no place to take a Ferrari or Lambo. If you want to see sports cars, head out to Malibu and the Pacific Coast Highway. You'll see LOTS Of them, there's room out there for performance cars to stretch their legs and use them for what they were intended for. I have seen a few sports cars on Rodeo or Sunset/Hollywood, but....its full of traffic, parking is scarce, and there are LOTS of idiots on cell phones who are NOT paying attention to where they're going at all (EVERYONE is self-important in LA, duh!)....would you go cruising in such a dangerous minefield with an IMPORTANT car? I didn't think so. You take your Bimmer, your P-car, or other disposable, yuppie-trash daily beater to go shopping or grab a latte.....if some teenager in a Range Rover that her daddy bought her decides to swap paint with you, you won't fall to pieces about it.

 

Well, having lived in So. Calif. for my whole life and finding myself in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Westwood, etc. a few times a year (and way too often for my liking) I'd say you guys hit the nail right on the head.

Without question the place to go in So. Cal. to see Exotics is Malibu and Newport Beach, not to mention both places are killer locations to spend the day hanging at the beach or eating at one of the many excellent restaurants (my wife and I take our Exotic on a cruise to one or the other almost every weekend). In fact, we're headed to the OC this Sunday for the start of the Lamborghini Giro "Running of the Bulls" event that runs from Dana Point to Monterey; anyone want to see 50 Lambos in one place at the same time?

 

where will it begin? location? time?

 

just to give you an idea about the Mercedes business, Fletcher Jones in Newport, which is the largest MB store in NA sold 6499 units in 2006, the second largest store sold 3571, which is Ray Catena in New Jersey. 6 of the top 10 Benz stores are in CA, 3 in NJ and 1 in FL

 

You know, you make a good point. Ferraris were never deli-go-getters. If I want ham, your right, I would take the every-day driver. If my girlfriend goes shoping, its the Bimmer for all the bags. etc etc

+1


Best
Jon

 

The rarer the car, the less you'll see.

 

Yup, it's a pretty simple rule of thumb.

Btw, I can't wait until I move out to LA. Being a young kid (19) in a "nice" car (g35 coupe) brings me a lot of unwanted attention. It'll be nice to blend in somewhat.

 

nope!

 

In a G35 coupe, you'll more than blend in somewhat, you'll be d@mn near invisible out here, as they abound. Still, though, as car-jaded as SoCal is, I was quite surprised at how much attention I get in my 355 (even in Newport Beach)... way more than my pals who drive P cars or even Astons or Bentleys. I think it's partly the rarity, but also largely the beauty of the car. I can only imagine you guys driving these cars in the midwest. Must get accosted in parking lots!

John

 

yes, G35 coupes and sedans are extremely common. beyond ubiquitous. and as discussed earlier, your 355 is in the vast minority of exotics, and, with amazing looks to match, nearly instantly renders common a Porsche or Bentley (even though a good many F-car owners may own a Porsche or Bentley). Ferraris are special even among an area that may concentrate more of them. this makes them even cooler.

 

Funny because around here it is rare to see any of those top ten cars. I can go a whole month and MAYBE see a Porsche Boxster once. Very rarely do I see anything more exotic than that. There are a few wealthy people with Ferraris that I've seen a few times. Unfortunately the guy who owns the Enzo and every mid engine Ferrari ever made and a few other cars hardly ever drives them. My seven year old Bimmer gets a lot of attention so go figure.

Top ten list in my area:
1. Ford truck
2. Chevy truck
3. Dodge truck
4. Ford SUV
5. Honda
6. Camry
7. VW Jetta
8. Altima
9. Olds Alero
10. Hyundai

 

Regarding "unwanted attention"; this is probably my biggest issue with owning exotics but I'm afraid it goes with the territory; but the good news is once you walk away from the car you blend right back into the crowd (back comes your often under valued anonymity).

However, it could be a whole heck of a lot worse in my book and here's a good example; we saw Matthew McConaughey at one of the Malibu restaurants a couple of weeks back and people never stopped checking him out and bothering him while he and his girlfriend were trying to eat their lunch in peace, that would drive me nuts.

So, when we arrived at the same restaurant as Matthew in our exotics people crowded around and asked questions and indulged in the usual wonderment of these cars, but once we left the cars and entered into the restaurant the attention was over and we ate our lunch in peace (unlike Matthew)

Does anyone feel sorry for Matthew?

 

Ferrari Merchandising does suck. I was at the Ferrari Store in Maranello, i walked out in 5 mns. Nothing exciting other than the big bucks F1 spoiler or wheels..The rest is junk or can be found somewhere else for 75% cheaper.

 

Isn't there something a little "unAmerican" or "un-Free and Independent" about paying good money to some manufacturer to carry their brand around in public display like an idiot? I remember how mad many of us used to get when the local dealer drilled holes into our new car's rear deck lid to bolt on his proud cheap little chrome emblem - "Barney ButtBold Oldsmovile of Yukorn, Oklahoma"...

Lets just say I happen to be wearing an expensive sports jacket from Oscar de la Renta this morning -

I would prefer to keep the label in the inside breast pocket, thank you, and not display it like a elks club emblem on my collar.

 

Correct. I grew up in L.A. & didn't realize they were "special" until I moved to normal America.

Beverly Hills? Why did you go to that dump!? And why did you think it was full of Ferraris anyway? You've been watching too much TV

 

I would hardly call it "un-American". Watch how many football hats, jerseys, jackets, etc will spring up in the next few weeks. You have to remember Ferrari isn't just a brand, it's a team and wearing sports apparel is VERY American.
...as for the rest
It's a fine balance between satisfying the masses who love the marquee/F1 and higher end "owner" clientele.
...of course, I'm a little biased

 

ROFL

 

I would have to say that Rodeo Drive would be the best place to spot Ferrari's. I always see more there than any other place in BH.