Would You Buy a Ferrari with a Motor Built in Taiwan

Interesting question. It would have an inpact on some, but overall most people would still buy especially if the engine was of newer, better, technology. If the majority of production shifted elsewhere then that is another story.

Toyota builds the engine for the Lotus Evora.

 

Would I buy a british car without Lucas electrics?

 

Ferrari are all about engines - so no.


But on that note RR were always about engines too - you never hear a machine run "like a BMW"...

Lotus are about chassis - so toyota engine (or Izuzu or Ford...)

Easy fixed
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The fact is that every major automaker, Ferrari and Maserati included, is a multi-national corporation sourcing components from around the world. New Ferraris may be assembled in Maranello but they're not 100% Italian. High-quality components can be made in places like Taiwan, China, Poland, etc. By the same token there are definitely cultural, political and resource issues in certain regions of the world that make it more difficult to achieve a high-quality product. There is a reason China has a reputation for building crap and Germany a reputation for building quality.

For some brands it is very important and for others it makes no difference whatsoever. A Toyota is more of a commodity so it matters less where it is made and matters more how it performs. A Ferrari is not really a commodity nor is it merely a conveyance. It is viewed by many owners as an extension of their persona. As such, I suspect most Ferraristi would care very much that their car is built in Italy.

I prefer my cars to be as closely related to their ancestral lands as possible. But I can't always have what I want so as long as my car purchase isn't directly supporting terrorists or sweat shops I don't really care where it comes from so long as it meets or exceeds my criteria (value, performance, style, etc.)

 

Japan is quite different from Taiwan IMO. The Japanese are as anal as possible when it comes to building engines.

I don't know any engine builders from Taiwan but all I keep thinking of it being build by the first child they come across.

MPR, are the engines of just the bikes built in Taiwan or for the whole BMW range (inc cars)?

I wouldn't buy a Ferrari made in Taiwan, nor a Lamborghini, Aston, Porsche. A BMW (non M) or other stuff? yes, probably...

 

If a 458 Italia was $50k new because the engine was built in Asia, then yes probably.

 

I can't believe that there is not a single Taiwan made servo or other motor already in a modern Ferrari.

 

Not no, but HELL no!!!

I would not buy a Ferrari built or assembled in Taiwan. If I wanted a Taiwanese car I would buy a Taiwanese car. Likewise, if I want a Japanese car I will buy a Japanese car. Same for whatever nation or car you want.

No disrespect to those who own them, but I dont want a BMW built in South Carolina or a Toyota built in Tennessee, or a Nissan built in Mississippi. Those are my preferences.

So, I want my Ferraris to be built in Italy. If they get some components from somewhere else thats one thing, but I know they have a foundry on site where they build the key components of what is the Ferrari engine.



PDG

 

I agree with the post the Toyota's are a commodity, and it doesn't matter where they are built. I remember reading that there are US cars that are made in Canada and Mexico, and that Toyota's are made in the USA.

Ferrari's have a mystique that they are hand built in Italy. True or not, that is part of the panache of the marque.

 

I was still working in a BMW bike dealership when the first "chinese bikes" were coming in. They were engineered in Germany and the fit, finish, and function was equal to the bikes with German or Italian built engines. The bikes were/are still 100% BMW...BMW engineering and BMW quality.

WHERE doesn't matter nearly as much as WHO or HOW...and those are human elements. WHERE and WHY are dollar elements. BMW argues that keeping production costs down ALLOWS for a better engineered product at any particular price point.

If BMW had asked Kymco to design the engine, it would be a whole different discussion. Instead, BMW's relationship with Kymco is very much like other non-motorsport corporations. Stick with core competencies: BMW is great at engineering; Kymco is great at manufacturing.

 

excellent points! couldnt agree more

 

+328!

I just don't see the point to a "Ferrari" retrofitted with a Chevy V8.

It just wouldn't be the same, without milling by Romeo and Juliette.

The 3s-GTE mill in my ST165 had a Toyota block, but aluminum heads made by Yamaha.
So even Toyotas aren't always all Toyota.

But a Lotus chassis with a Ferrari mill, ... (salivate)

(But then it'd probably take six months and six figures just to change the oil. )

LOL

 

Why? Why does the manufacturing process *necessarily* cheapen the engineering? Kymco is manufacturing to specification; the specification is checked/balanced by quality control. BMW's specifications and QCs are different than Kawasaki's or Suzuki's. The G450X motor is FULL of engineering firsts for a production MX bike...not to mention the standard BMW 36K mile/36 month warranty it carries. You are getting the engineering AND the quality.

Continuing your example of BMW motorcycles (and by extension, Husky): BMW has NEVER been "great" at manufacturing. They remind me a LOT of the Cannondale (bicycle) model: spend a bunch of money on engineering and development, then pay some farm boys in Pennsylvania a few bucks an hour to actually produce the product. The BMW bikes built in Germany are built by unskilled factory workers that generally speak German as a second language. In practice, there have been relatively few issues with that process...BUT, believe me when I say you are NOT paying a premium for the manufacturing part of the process...other than covering the extra expenses associated with manufacturing in the EU...

Is that justification for an *additional* premium? That is, BMW expects that you will pay a premium for the engineering. Do they expect a customer to pay a premium for the manufacturing process, too? No. That's how expensive bikes become overpriced bikes. Expensive bikes can be justified...overpriced will always be overpriced.

 

The engine is the soul of the Ferrari, IF not made by Ferrari in Italy it is just another car.

Manufacturing location can make a BIG difference.
The Mexico City assembled Dodge Ram had alot more issues than the St Louis one.
Look at the build quality difference between Italian Fiat 128 and the YUGO.

 

True to some extent, as we all know, in recent years, the "built like a RR" was more myth than substance and todays RRs are much better built (by BMW) that yesterday RRs.

 

Louis Vuitton makes some product outside of France and they're selling without problems.

 

well... the prewar rolls were jewels.

 

Yup, including the American made ones.

 

I do not know Kymco, but I will say that IMO, Taiwan today has "graduated", and products coming from Taiwan are usually of good quality and a far cry from those coming from mainland China.
However, I have to admit that I would have to adjust to the idea of a BMW built in Taiwan.

 

You have to understand the Taiwan market. If you've never been there, then you won't understand.

Taiwan is MOTO captial of the world. There are millions of moto's there. It's there's a place where you want to know what's the latest or greatest in moto's, Taiwan is where you want to go.
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This reminds me of some bonehead on here a couple of years ago bragging about how he would go to Mexico and get his teeth fixed because it was so much less there. He could get 3X the work done (and he did) for what he would pay here.

Whatever, pal.

Ask him if he would EVER send his Ferrari to Mexico to get an engine rebuild because of the cost savings.

Hilarious