How did they sell 308's in 1984?

I think this guy sold most of the 3800 QV's .
The Ferrari mistique and racing history sold the rest.
The 308qv is a beautiful raw sports car, if you know that going in, you'll love it.
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Don't forget the Corvette at that time had a ton of rattles and squeaks. Even brand new the fiberglass panels and fitments were poor. The Ferrari was a hand built car that did not have those attributes. Lastly a Corvette buyer was an entirely different animal. Corvette buyers were the byproduct of Americana. Ford vs GM vs Mopar. Ferrari buyers were people who associated with Aston Martin, Jaguars, Masserati's. Different neighborhoods all together.

 

Well, now imagine it's 1992 and I've got the money to buy a used Ferrari or a NEW Corvette, or most anything else I want. I bought the 308QV and have never been sorry.

 

If you were to buy a new Ferrari in 1984 in Montreal.......ummmm, you all remember the Soup Nazi episode on Seinfeld? Ok then, replace the soup with Ferraris.

Basically, the dealer only sold a Ferrari to you if you were worthy of one.

 

Ferrari Dealer: "What can I do for you sir?"
customer:"That's one sweet car!"
Ferrari Dealer: "It's sex on wheels"
customer: "I'll take it!"

done deal. No test drive, no extended warranty, no wife to convince.

 

Agreed. If you look at the other 1984 sports cars, the Corvette was a dismal pile of garbage (first year of the Jerry Palmer redesign, which borrows many design cues from the 308...) But even if you look to the imports, which were leagues better in 1984, the Porsche 911 still shifted like a truck and had 1960s ergonomics; the Porsche 944 could scoot 0-60 in 9.0 sec, and Lotus had the troublesome 4-cylinder Esprit.

Whoa there, partner. First off, the 1984 308 QV is a different car than your 1978. In some ways, the QV cars are closer to the 328 in their driveability and comfort. That said:

1. Climate control in all European cars sucked in the 1970s. Air conditioning wasn't standard in many European cars, and the idea of focus groups and cupholders was alien to marques like Ferrari, Lambo, Lotus, etc. It was all about the engine and the driving feel. U.S. carmakers have always been great at two things: A/C and automatic transmissions. Europeans were good at everything else. So, compare the 1984 308 QV to other imported cars of the time and it doesn't seem that bad.

2. Power steering was a travesty in U.S. cars until maybe the last decade -- it was horribly overboosted and numb. You had to buy a 911 or BMW to get any sense that the steering wheel was somehow connected to the front wheels. The steering in my 328 is phenomenal - maybe one of the best parts of the driving equation. I don't think Ferrari omitted power steering to save on costs, but that it was a conscientious decision.

3. Gearbox: I do recall reading contemporary road tests of the 308/328 where the reviewers had the same hard-to-get 2nd gear issue we all have, so this is a case of Ferrari not wanting to invest in smoothing out the gearbox for its customers. I believe they fitted a gear oil pump to the later (328/348?) versions of that five-speed box in an attempt to improve things. On the flip side, the Corvette's mid-'80s gearboxes were rubbish. U.S. automakers' manual gearboxes were so bad that I actually remember reviews of the then-new 3rd gen Camaro where the testers said the four-speed manual was so truck-like that the automatic was essential.

4. Power windows: Fix your power windows. They probably have the usual 30-year-old sludge. They were never rocket fast, but they were likely faster in 1978. FWIW, the windows in my 328 are about the same speed up/down as the ones my ex-2005 Jeep.

 

My 84 has a pump, I think all QVs do.

 

+1

 

In 84, one could've bought a year old Delorean: )

 

Now you all see why I own a 1984 QV?

 

Oh yes, 1984. I was a senior in HS. In no particular order:

The Corvette that year has a video game dashboard. Nuff' said.

Neither the 308 nor the 911 needed power steering because they didn't have a cast iron lump resting above the front wheels.

Ferrari's of that era were much more rare and exclusive than today. The only BB512s and 400s in the USA were grey market imports.

In 1984, I thought the 911 Turbo was the best looking car and the 308 was too feminine a design. Twenty years later the 308 looks better than I originally thought and the 911 with the 1974-89 bumpers has aged poorly.

The only V8 Ferrari I would ever like to own are the 308 and 288GTO. I would consider a 430 if the 308 body could be grafted onto the chassis.

 

Lol. Class of '85 here.

True, 308s were the pinnacle of the sports car world for the U.S. market for many years. Now that you can get a good one for $40K, people forget how frighteningly expensive and rare they were in 1984 ($60K+ was huge money back then.) It was synonymous with "exotic car" and "Ferrari", and made famous, obviously, by the Magnum PI series. It was a massive hit for Ferrari, so I don't think guys hung out in the showroom and nitpicked the A/C.

Also agree with you on the 911 bumpers - the car spent 15 years looking like a frog.

 

Mark, you're probably right. Wasn't sure when that came along in the 308 life cycle, but the 328 iteration has it.

 

I dunno... that 4+3 thing was a waste. Half automatic + half muncie 4-speed = Wierd

The 'Vette definitely looked good, and I don't think they had many fit/finish issues in '84, but they had not yet reached to heights that would come along in another 10 years. I also don't understand why they didn't offer an analog dash option... I guess disco just wasn't totally dead yet!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

 

hey !!!!!!!



i resemble that !

( i just bought an 89 911 and a 89 Lotus Esprit SE)


i like the frog look though. and for the record, my 84 911 had the 915 trans and shifted fine.
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Looks great! <ribbitt>

 

OK Carreaper... a very dark color blends away the ugly black rubber and the fugly rubber accordian thingies from the side. The pre 1974s look better now though.

 

speaking of 308's, 911's and big bumpers, anyone wonder why the 308 GTB / GTS cars and Dinos never had body colored integrated bumpers, like the later lotus and 328 series?

.. was it a "new look" or did the plastic not exist to make the bumpers?

the euro Dino and GTB / GTS are much nicer to look at. i wonder if owners got rid of the heavy bumpers when the cars were new ?
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My PC display's obvious gone south, but for a moment I thought I saw a rebel flag on a Lotus Esprit, the traditional good ole -- well, lads -- car.

 

The U.S. "5 mph bumper" law was rescinded in the mid-1980s, IIRC. The large rubber bumpers that were stuck on the later MGBs, 308, Toyota Celicas, etc., were the easiest way to cover the impact absorbing structure. Lotus had the same solution.

I recall that '83-'84 VW Rabbit GTIs in the States had those old I-beam metal bumpers, whereas the Golf GTI from '85-on (the one I had) had plastic covers over very slight bumpers.

Oddly, the Porsche 928 (which I never thought of as an elegant car) had the most elegant solution in back -- it had the full 5 mph-compliant bumper under a flexible/deformable plastic section that made it look like the car had no bumpers. It was very innovative.

I don't think Europe had these kind of draconian laws. Then when it was dropped to allow "2 mph bumpers", the fibreglass bumper covers used on the 328 became feasible and Pininfarina presumably took the opportunity to redo both valances without Congress in their face. Porsche scrapped the accordion-style bumpers and did the type 964 in '89.
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cool! i knew the bumper laws changed from 1973 to 1974, as all the "cool" cars got big ugly bumpers. i was not aware that in later years the laws were relaxed to a 2mph rule. that helps explain why the cars had the different size bumpers.

back on topic, i too have sat in some of these older cars and wondered how the heck they were sold as new. i would tend to think a 308QV buyer was buying the car more for a second sports car or weekend car ,as opposed to a Corvette buyer that actually needed to drive the car everyday, and only have one car at a time. different strokes...

as for the tag on the Lotus, the old Georgia flag plate has nothing to do with good old boy mentalities, racism or any such ill feelings some people conjure to it.

i simply grew up havening a 77 Trans Am as my first car, and it had a Georgia plate on the front of it, just like the black trans am did in "Smokey and the Bandit". this particular plate i have had for over 15 years, and have had it on many of my cars as a homage to that first 77 400 4 speed, totally impractical first car.

several people have noticed it on my cars, the red Jalpa was a real hoot. its there as a reminder. (i am from California, not Georgia.)

 

No worries, was just LOL at the thought of James Bond's former ride gone Dixie.

 

I think the Bandit had that same tag