Daily drivers: the future has started

Many F cars are not daily drivers. So many cars are rarely driven (few miles). But this is changing as people now want everything in one car: looks, performance, comfort, reliability, ...

The California and the FF are good examples of this change: 2 completely different daily drivers at Ferrari at the same time, imagine that!

That's very good and I hope it is the beginning of a new trend at Ferrari, building fantastic cars that can actually be driven regularly, comfortably and with the reliability that we all expect. And still have a sexy gorgeous design, a fantastic engine and great performances.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for sharing, but I reckon the 360 started the daily driver for Ferrari.

See how many 360s are out there with 'high miles'. The 355 had p/steering also, but higher maintenance costs than the 360 they are not used a daily driver as much as the 360 I reckon.

The 360, 430 and now 458 are all VERY capable daily drivers. Some people still use them as weekend toys also.

 

New trend? They had all that... and good looks... with the Mondial.

 

The 250GTE had all those things, in 1961!

 

How could I forget that and the 456 also?

Any Ferrari with p/steering is a much more attractive to use as a daily driver. Especially in city driving/traffic.

I know of people using Testarossas and 308s as daily drivers, so I guess everyone is different.

 

True, but never before the brand had cars with such comfort and high reliability. Day and night with many previous models. And 2 different models like this sold at the same time! That's the trend I was talking about.

The 458 is certainly not a daily driver, more of a race car that can be street-driven (my neighbor has one).

I used to own a 456 (loved it), I am more of a GT guy. May add a California or 612 next year. The California is beautiful. By the way, the FF is growing on me, a great look actually.

Real reliability, looks, engine, performance, comfort, that's what I want like many other people. Current models have it like never before.

 

Who knows, maybe in the near future Ferrari might go about creating a 'famliy' supercar without compromising looks and performance that it just deserves?

 

Just to make it worse as it will denegrate shortly : Define 'daily driver'

[be sure also to vote for your Ferrari, and if you own more than one, well, you have a lot of daily choices as well, I'm sure]

 

Already here, that's the FF.

 

I know of a few that are daily driven.

 

Daily driver: a car you can drive as many miles as you want every day, with real comfort and with true reliability (never thinking about what could go wrong after many miles, after driving in the city, etc). Comfort, reliability, miles.

2 Ferrari schools seem to exist:
. The daily drivers and GT drivers (Mondial, 456, 612 California, ...) who want to drive their unique cars as much as possible
. The "race car" enthusiasts who do not think about daily reliability, comfort and own cars that actually get few miles every year (458, 430, 599, etc...). Look at the used car marketplace with so many cars with low miles.

Ferrari has cars for everybody. I am just happy that it now makes more reliable and comfortable cars such as the California and the FF (the family car). I have been owning supercars for years and, like many people I know, we have enough of not being able to drive without thinking of what could go wrong. When one spends that much money, some things should be expected.

 

A few yes. The minority. Nothing wrong with that.

But cars that are daily drivers (see definition in previous message) are the future of the brand, too many people expect it now. May definitely go back to Ferrari and add a California or 612 (FF currently too expensive).

 

I can't see how the comfort of the California is any different than that of the Mondial... well okay there might be more room in the Mondi's back seats

...and you're going to have a hard time telling me the California's V8 (with all its electronic gizmos) is more reliable than the 328 platform on which the later Mondials were built.

You want 2 models at the same time? What are you, Hugh Hefner? The 412 was out around the same time, but I dunno about it's reliability...

 

Misunderstanding. Not 2 different models for me, 2 different models sold at the same time by Ferrari, which means a larger choice of true daily drivers for customers.

 

I remember Jim Glickenhaus saying that he used a Testarossa as a daily driver for years through rain or shine until the chassis was compromised by rust and it killed the car. I recall he had something routine done on it at about 115k miles, so he certainly put more miles on it than that.

For my own plans, I'm aiming for a 348 and would seriously consider making it a daily driver. The question is whether I buy something very cheap to store alongside it if I had the Ferrari in bits in the garage, or if I make the Ferrari my only car to rely on. Hmmm...

All the best,
Andrew.

 

As long as they keep making the likes of Challenge Stradale and Scuderia, I'm fine with it.

 

I'll stick with my Ferrari Escape Hybrid for daily driving. Good gas mileage, good in snow and no worries driving and parking in Manhattan.

 

Any Ferrari can be a daily driver, is up to the owners to do so or not, but all are capable and reliable enough. I did so with a 328 and later a Testarossa and were very reliable.

 

It would be sad if Ferrari followed the course Porsche is taking!

The Cayenne and now the Panamera. Taking an exotic and making it into a daily driven family car ruins the mystique of the marque.

 

I use the 308 as a DD except during the hot summer months or when going into a crappy part of the city; were I to go back to work I'd take it daily if the parking situation was satisfactory.

 

Ferrari have focused more on luxury recently, so there's no doubt they're looking at an aging population and figuring out how to make money from it. California, FF, 599, et al are cars that a Mercedes owner would find at least recognizable, while the 458, 328 and others are sports-driving oriented, as you say.

But:

1. Why would an F430 be less reliable than the complicated, gizmo-laden California?

2. A 599 is a heavy grand tourer, leather-lined, power seats, climate control, carries golf clubs, etc. Not a race car by any measure. It's fully a daily driver.

 

I agree. It mostly comes down to the width of the owner's backside, age (flexibility) and tolerance for maintenance.

People daily drove Jaguar XK120s back in the day. No a/c, no power seats/locks/windows, no power steering, sat nav, traction control, ABS, etc. I think it's all relative. Too often today, in 2011, "daily driver" is synonymous with "boring car".

 

Except Enzo never cared if his cars were comfortable, reliable, daily drivers... Poor Enzo

 

IIRC there was a great story in Forza a few years ago about some Count in Italy who used his 250gto as a daily driver, smoking cigars the whole time, and brought his big dog with him wherever he went, I think he put a blanket down on the leather!

Gotta love that guy!

 

Not true. The California, the FF, the 612 (recent cars with more reliability and comfort than previous models): They are real Ferraris, they are special, they are gorgeous, they certainly do not ruin the mystique of the brand.

And why have a great automobile if it is not to be driven and enjoyed as much as possible?

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