Paolo- Thanks. You are a stand-up guy, as well. Plus I always wanted a 512 TR, but could never quite swing one. Taz terry Phillips
oh sorry luv im just a bit old fashioned i bet u would look so good in the ferrari and beautiful out of it as well
To all the whiners' complaining the 458 has no manual..... The CS was never made with a manual The Scud was never made with a manual The 16M was never made with a manual. The Enzo was never made with a manual. Wow.... those are really some awful cars that we would NEVER call "real Ferrari's". Any owner of these cars is just some "poor" driver or the owner of a "women's car". Oh, the horror that the 458 doesn't have a manual.... EITHER. Give me a break.
I'm not going to buy any of those cars either. I never called them awful or women's cars although a convertible with an automatic might qualify. BTW, I had no trouble catching an Enzo on a twisty road one day. The owner needed lessons or balls, maybe both. Money and paddles does not a driver make. Dave
I was not referring to you, Dave. But, there's a lot of whiners out there that seem to like to bring to this discussion a new low in the level of understanding of the issue.
Oh dear, it's Mr Macho, 100% real man and let's make sure the little woman knows her place. It's no wonder some people instinctively tar all Ferrari drivers with the wänker brush. Maybe you'd like to tell us all how to give 'em the occasional slap so that they know their place? Yeah, got to keep the little ladies away from the Ferrari, it just wouldn't do to have them undermining out opportunities to project our Alpha status. We need more women drivers not less. By the way, I'm a guy. p.s. I'm kind of hoping you're joking, but I suspect not...
I would assume if someone were 'old fashioned', he would use correct spelling and grammar. So few of the new Ferrari's are sold with shifters so, as said before me, it really comes down to a business decision. Does it suck? Yes, a reductions in a consumer's choice normally does. Unfortunately, it's the way forward Having said that, Ferrari's are still fun
how much does the ITALIA cost in the US In aust not sure yet -but will be a lot more than in the US or Europe
Personally, although all of those are great cars, I'd take the F40 over any of those. I doubt there are many F40 owners saying "boy I wish it came with paddles". I'm not knocking paddle owners, but give us choices for the old school crowd. I just think it's a shame the option of manual is gone.
apparently there are a lot on this forum who yearn for the gated shift. yet apparently most of you didn't step up to the plate as Ferrari has said that less than 7% of F430 owners indeed opted for that route. proof is in the pudding.
I think the whole problem is that the option for a gated shifter is gone. As a gated shifter fan, you're being forced to accept a transmission type that some could honestly live without. In all honestly, who cares if you can shift .001 second with a paddle shifted DSG. There comes a point when certain benchmarks don't matter much. However, bring on the latest and greatest. Acceptance is a virtue.
But, at some point, there is too much compromise needed to have an OPTION. These are high stressed, highly engineered machines designed to give the ultimate in performance -- something Ferrari has always stood for. Given that DSG is without question the fastest way to go, given the idea of having a small market of 6 speed owners make the vast majority of DSG owners go slower, Ferrari chose the obvious solution. I don't understand all the hub bub. Geez -- you want a 6 speed car? No one is outlawing them. Just get one on Ebay. Any 430, 360, or 355 will go plenty fast for your 3 pedal needs for a long time to come.
That is a good point. Wish more of us spoke up then. 3% is in fact what I was told on the factory tour. And I did opt for that route. My gated 430 isn't leaving my possession anytime soon.
Yes, but those are also limited edition Ferraris. Anyways, i'm not complaining that Ferrari are wrong to stop manual shifters altogether, but what i'm saying is, they should have given some consideration that there are still a bunch of Ferrari lovers that prefer the manual shifter.
WRONG. The CS and Scud were not "limited". They were maximum performance cars that could easily be ordered just as a standard 360 or 430. There was no pre-conceived limited production numbers involved. If people didn't like them because they were not offered with six speeds, it sure didn't seem to hurt the sales to the hardcore lovers. The 458 won't either.
I'm a stick guy but I could see the writing on the wall many years ago. I put a deposit on my 430 in 2002 partly because I thought it might well be the last Ferrari that would have a stick. Even as it was, I sweated it out until they officially announced there would be a stick. I knew that as time went along decreasing sales of sticks and increasing cost of development would doom them. I was at the California unveiling in Santa Monica 15 months ago and they claimed then that a six speed stick would eventually be offered but I was very dubious. For openers, I thought "how many people will choose a six speed stick over seven speed paddles?" So, I don't blame Ferrari. If there is anyone to blame it's the vast majority of people who order paddles. I'll live, and Ferrari will do fine without me. No hard feelings. I'm very happy with my old fashioned 430. Life is good. Dave
In all fairness, some bunch is misleading. A minority would be more accurate. A post above me said 3%, and I've heard low single digits as well.
Yes but those where all track oriented cars. On those cars I get it. On a road car I want a manual. On a track car, when you try to go as quickly as possible I'd prefer a paddle shift. So for that reason, if I where to buy a 458 italia, I'd want a manual...if however a 'stradale' version comes out, I'd want the paddleshift.
This argument about stick shift transmissions is really lame and tired. Does anyone drive a car with wooden wheels, or bias ply tires or drum brakes? Technology changes and even though it is as slow as molasses in the auto world, change does come. It happens at the cutting edge, where the exotic car makers are clustered. There are literally thousands of lovely old Ferraris with stick shift trannys. They are really fun to drive, and if you want a relatively modern car with a stick shift you can find 360's and 355's, even the odd 599GTB and 612, but new upcoming Ferraris will all have paddle shifter fort the foreseeable future.
