FCA related - Ferrari spa says "Stop using our name"

i've been busy!

 

Doing what????

 

Parties, dinners, orgies...you know how it is.

 

I missed out on the third one. Hope you had fun.

 

When I first read the start of this thread I was like OMG I cant believe Ferrari would stab its owners like this, I was shocked. Then I realised what they were doing and this is the whole Corporate package moving in and in the end if done properly it should be awesome. They just went about it a stupid way by being pushy and by using legal bluff for things that they cant legally do.

They are opening the Ferrari Shops in Australia so now they want to take over the other sides of the Ferrari market. They know they cant legally stop clubs using the name or being in existence but they will build their club no matter what and they think that they are giving the clubs the chance to get involved early.

They want to do what Honda and other big motoring corporations have done.

Membership to the Honda Riders club is free or was when I first joined. They offer special discounts to club members, track days, they build brand loyalty by being a great factory club. Ferrari want to build worldwide what Honda have done.
http://www.mcnews.com.au/NewsArchives/2005/hrca_100000.htm
that is an article welcoming their 100,000th member in Australia, why wouldn't Ferrari want a piece of something like that?

I loved the way Honda ran their club, enjoyed every event I attended. There were no egos involved at all, no power trips to be president and make decisions that favoured what they wanted. Ive never been a member of the FCA and to be honest when you hear about all the snobbery, back stabbing, bad management and fallout in the club over the years it doesnt entice someone to join. Sure some states are better than others and sometimes the hardest thing to do is to get people to do the work. When youre a member of a Factory club the people doing the work are all professionals and you as a member just pay your money and have a great time.

If Ferrari can steal some people away from Honda Australia to run their club you'd probably never regret joining it.

Im not anti club. Ive probably been more involved in car clubs than 99% of car people out there. Ive been a club Secretary and President at several clubs. Ive been State Steward, Ive run the Adelaide show and shine and been involved in the running of the Hot Rod Show. Ive been part of the team that has run the Street Machine Nationals and I've run club track days and judged car shows. Ive even tried to purchase my own race track, so I get involved.

So i'm a club guy, coming from a club level but if the Ferrari Cub of Australia ends up anything like the Honda Riders club of Australia, you'll be happier than youve ever been and I'll be joining. You'll still be able to hang out with your old friends from the club but you'll find you have a better time than you ever have. Maybe the FCA should be asking Ferrari for an outline of what they are looking at doing. Every year the Honda Rider club has Corporate tents for its member at the World Supers and Moto GP, wouldnt it be great to have corporate tents for members at all the V8 Supercar events and the GP?

If thats not what theyre planning... may they rot in hell !!!!

 

i think the guys with the older cars could care Jack,its more for those with the modern cars whom would benefit

 

The 'look at me' latte set you love so much?

 

Unlike you or me they either know little of the cars or don't race 'em.
One thing about the GT3 guys,they either rally,race or sprint there cars.

 

I wonder if mhh drinks lattes now?

 

I don't believe it is.

 

Couple of things

A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal (wiki definition),
I don't think the Honda arrangement you described is a club, its basically a series of events put on by Honda staff that you pay to attend - Honda is doing this for marketing and profit reasons - fair enough too, that's their prerogative. There's nothing to stop Ferrari putting on events like that and some of the dealers have done just that.

With regard to the FCA,I think you may have misunderstood what Ferrari is trying to achieve. There is no suggestion that (a Ferrari sanctioned) club will be run by "professionals" or anything like that or that Ferrari will even contribute any resources to the club - far from it -, the work of running the club will still be done by the elected members, except that after signing the agreement the club will now have to follow a bunch of rules that Ferrari have created, (and can amend when it suits them).

These rules cover every detail of how the club can operate, from the sort of people that can become members, to whom the club cannot approach for sponsorship or even the look of the clubs web site or correspondence. These rules are not put in to place to enhance the operation of the club,they are there to enhance Ferrari's corporate image.
The compliance with these rules makes more work for the club's volunteer officials and impose additional cost on the club finances, and do nothing for what a car club is really about, which is having fun driving the cars.

In the end , the goal for Ferrari is to extend their control over the operations and look of the owners clubs to ensure that all the clubs conform to what Ferrari believe an owners club should be, but without giving anything concrete in return.


The FCA was started by a bunch of mates that were Ferrari owners in 1972, without any support or involvement from Ferrari SpA. Fast forward to 2010 and they are sending nasty letters to a club that happens to use the term Ferrari in it's name, threatening all kinds of legal action because the members voted against signing an agreement that was not in their best interests.


M

 

sounds like a great deal ...... for Ferrari !!

 

Give 'em the bird.

 

Where / when are they opening Ferrari Stores in Australia ?

 

WGAF?

Predictably my wife wants to go to that bad taste theme park. No thanks!

 

As soon as you and I go halves in one.

 

Does she really?? When did she become such a Ferrari fan?

 

As soon as he sold the F50?

 

Now that has to be the best post I have seen on this topic.

 

http://www.ferrarifaqs.com/ferrari-may-be-opening-new-merchandise-store-in-sydney.html

First link that came up in Google, looks like theyve talked about it for 2 years but I read an article in a newspaper about one opening soon about 2 months ago... Im not sure what paper it was, I was at a Hungry Jacks in Victoria so it could have been a Vic paper or the Australian...

Im pretty sure I read of two locations They said they had one under construction and one they would be opening at a later date.

 

The HRCA is a bit different to that, they have a regular newsletter. The dealers run ride days and track days and Honda bring over a range of new bikes for people to ride. Members can suggest events and organise events. They can add to events by bringing toys of their own like speedboats and Jet skis and hovercrafts and notify the HRCA about what they can do to add to an event and Honda will include it as part of the program. The events you pay for are like any other payed event like a track day or race meeting, they also put on bbq's, its not like a regular car club for sure but its so much less stress than a regular car club.

Sounds like what Ferrari want is a joke. All the Club has to do is send Ferrari a letter along these lines.

Dear Ferrari, Spa.

You have already set a precedent in supporting the club for X years and have never complained about us using the name Ferrari. We are a club for Ferrari owners which in the eyes of Australian law allows us to use that name, we are not a mixed, car club. Feel free to take us to court and watch the Australian legal system make you look stupid again.
All the best.
FCA

 

wont work.........they cant read English

 

ok try this :

caro Ferrari Spa, vaffunculo Amore FCA

or is that too long a letter ??

 

It needs a middle finger emoticon - or is my "colourful italian" vocab at fault again?

 

and a finger to the "Red shirts"?