Sheehan: modern Ferraris = heartaches in the long-term

2 letters - B S

As long as people want to drive them, they will find a way to make them work.

 

Sheehan seems to sum up what some feel is true but hate to say or think about.

 

Isn't this true of all modern cars? And as far as vintage cars are concerned, I'm not sure parts for many of them are so readily available either, but that doesn't stop somebody from fabricating the necessary parts or doing a little transplant work. I find the older cars have greater allure, but the point Sheehan is making seems to be one of the least compelling reasons to buy a vintage Ferrari over a modern one.

 

I see a big market in the future for companys repairing (or reproducing) 'vintage' (= now new) electronics... not necessarily Ferrari, but generally. This will be the one area where future vintage cars will fail first, and the hardest to repair.

 

I wonder, then, if modern cars will become "vintage" at some point. Can you imagine "restoring" an F1 transmission? Or, really, any of the electronic components (satnav, ESP, etc.) that constitute so much of today's cars? If a part for an old car disappears, it's not that hard (relatively) to fabricate one. But fabricating a carbon steering wheel with sequential LEDs?. You're right: the cars may simply be discarded.

Oh, well. At least the original Ferrari's will retain that particular status. Now, if only I can find $7M lying around somewhere...

 

Well, you have a different POV. Maybe it will be a big business, but it sounds incredibly complicated.

 

That's what aftermarket companies like mine do (now), only better than original. If a car company can engineer it in the first place, then somebody else can re-engineer or recreate it later, and as technology marches onward, this is often easier than it was in the first place.

 

Doesnt Sheehan also not like the 308/328s? ........

Buy the Charlie Sheen 550, you can see the thread in that section It will "retain" its value because of celebrity. Just think what that would sell for in oh, say 50 years.......

Ok, I have to get to work and quit playing on FChat....

James in Denver

 

There are guys here on F-chat cloning electronic remote alarm fobs - because there is a need. As other "complicated" electronic gizmos fail, the experts will step up to the plate...

 

The mechanical things like carbon steering wheels aren't the problem. Neither are analog electronics with discreet components. I see the biggest problem with the integrated systems (= computer chips), even more if they contain proprietary software. No way Ferrari will EVER release the source code of, let's say, the F1 transmission controller(s). Although it would give you a very hard time, someone might try to reproduce such software and offer replacement control units. Now the question is: How many points will future concours judges deduct if your satnav firmware isn't original?

I Agree. But as said above, the biggest problem will be proprietary firmware or even ASICs (= computer chips which are specifically designed for their purpose and not just bought off the shelf and programmed). I'm far from being an expert, but I've been active in the car electronics field for a while and I've experienced that the functions of most of the controlling devices in the car are so complex that it will be very tough to reverse- or re-engineer that stuff.

 

I think the aftermarket will step in as long as there is enough demand to keep the cars on the road. If all new cars in 30 years are hydrogen powered and gas is hard and expensive to come by, demand may not be so great. What Sheehan fails to mention is that today's vintage classics were at one time not worth much and if someone needed a part that wasn't available, then wrecks were the source. No one would have someone fabricate parts for cars worth 5-10K.

Also, in the case of Ferraris, "Ferrari classiche" will no doubt be able to supply anything for a price.

Dave

 

Am I the only one who got a chuckle out of this statement?

 

Whatda mean headaches in the long term? The damn thangs are headaches in the short term also! Don't ask me how I know.

Dale

 

Electronics, chips, etc. are very cheap materials. The big money goes into the engineers and computers + programs to reverse engineer whatever needs to be. This will not represent any problems in the future at all.

Just my point of view.

 

I agree. Plus, we're not just talking about a severely limited number of cars. TRs, 348s, 355s, 360s, and 430s will total over 65k cars. Since the vast majority are and will continue to be taken care of there will be a market for these electronic devices going forward for many years.

 

I am a simple do it yourself guy, got a carb'd 308, Spent 10 years in a new car dealership as a service writer/manager and I have to tell you that I am pessimestic about the availability of proprietery, (Ferrari) black boxes, 10-20 years down the road.

Granted, If the market sees a need, someone will step up and build it, (or remanufacture) it.... IF, AND THIS IS A BIG IF....there is sufficient demand to make a profit at it.

So, here i am with my wife's '93 Honda Accord wagon and the ABS goes out. I buy a shop manual, do the testing and come to a dead end. bad pump - no way, no specs to test it. Take it to the dealer, Pay $120 for diagnosing a bad pump and am told that the part is $1150. 35% of the cars value????

If you extrapolate this out, with a Ferrari, (or any high tec, relatively low production volume car), you are going to possibly face some huge repair bills or have the car sidelined, which in the long run negatively impacts the "book" value. The fewer cars that are made with this super high technology, the worse the problem wil be.

On a paralell thread, only dealers with the high tec equipment and trainng will be able to do the work. $$

pessimistic,
chris

 

I don't have the production numbers, but i am skeptical that all of these cars share the same box, more likely every model has several boxes, which differ from year to year and model to model.

As a guy in service, i often saw several box changes within the same year for a mass produced gm car and we had to chase all over the country, throughout the us of a to find one in a dealers inventory, or often find out that it was back ordered from the manufacturer.

Love the cars but technology has it price.
chris

 

in the future the Ferraris of today will seem simple.

 

Here is a real life current example. I had one of the first RHD 599's and I had an 07 RHD 599. Between the 2 cars I went through 5 TFT's. And I waited and was frustrated. When your only suspense at start-up is whether the message will be "Electrical Failure" or "MASSIVE ELECTRICAL FAILURE" it is not very comforting. I waited months and months for various TFT's. That is now when the car is brand new and under warranty and I have above average influence. 20 years from now the mind boggles. And there were big noticable differences in the TFT's as they were enhanced and improved to overcome what was no doubt a problem with the first ones.

For me I will stick with mechanical cars as keepers and electronic cars to be purchased new, used hard and sold quickly

 

Well, anything mechanical can be copied and built. And in the future, todays electronics will be like toys to them. FYI, Hydrogen-powered cars still use internal combustion engines or electric motors.

Once this was high tech...
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Hmmm, tried to buy a floppy disc drive recently? This is an interesting discussion which parallels one I had with an Archivist recently - apparently the concern amongst historians and the like is that the current generation will be the least preserved in history due to the rapid discarding of superseded technology.