I think I'm done with Ferrari

I despise "compyter codres"!!

 

Funny my Lotus Elise come closest to the ideal of a viceral yet modern car. My major complaint is the TPMS and every now and again cat codes. It just reminds me how my boxer has none of these and I seem able to keep air in the tires and the motor runs great.


In any event, ferrari seems to have all the bits on hand to do a ferrari/elise, probably its practical performance would eclipse the more expensive offerings, at least on track, so its probably a non starter. I would take mine with a stick, that way its on paper performance wouldnt embarass a 458.

These things are above all supposed to be fun to drive. Progress has made them easier to drive and faster but way less fun, hence the gripes about stereo quality or stiching. I mean if you are just driving around in an Ac cacoom with PS and At, a fashion acessory that can go fast but is anodyne at any road speeds what can you think about but that rattle and missed stitch.

 

Well stated.

 

I think those are all fair points.

I rode in a new Maserati coupe. It was, aside from the body work indistinguishable from a BMW 6 in feel.


These new cars are, "comfortably numb". No matter the make. No matter the model. The are overweight, computer (thought) controlled and loaded with doomed to fail electronics. The true sports car is an endangered species.

 

They couldn't even offer a stick in the 1.8 liter Alfa 4c. WTF?

 

Forget about stick shift cars. You may as well pine for bias ply tires, drum brakes and hand crank starters. Get over it already.
A paddle shifted double clutch transmission is a joy to drive. Not numb or dead at all.
Its all the other crap that makes them horrible. Catalytic convertors, twenty airbags, automated braking, traction control, soundproofing - all of it just added weight

 

Talking sense?! You know that won't work around here.

 

As usual people making the argument you just made take it to the straw man level. A hand crank is not part of the driving experience. A stick and clutch absolutely are part of the experience and part of the enjoyment is the skill needed to properly use them.

 

A Maserati GranTurismo doesn't look sound or feel like a BMW 6 to me, the Maserati is bespoke the BMW far less so.

 

Exactly. Some items like a electric starter are convenience, as is FI. Other items add or detract from the tactility of the driving experience. A fullu computer driven car may be faster but may not need a driver at all. Tech can enhance and it can also numb the expoerience. Sports cars for many of us are about the fun and tactile joy of driving and sepped. Something that dss speed(teoreticaly for street situations) while removing tactility and experience is not necessarily a psoitive for th recreational driver, even if its convenient in traffic.

Look at early PS systems from the 70's, zero feel, they were convenient though.
We can also use an example of tires, more grip ad width in a treet context may ruin ride and steering feel. More is not always better.

 

The 4C has a catalytic converter, has a lot of airbags, ABS brakes, TPMS, soundproofing, and it weighs just over 2000 lbs.. I don't get your point that it's all just added weight. You're wrong. On one hand of your argument you say stick shift cars are a thing of the past like hand cranks and bias ply tires, but sounds like you're not accepting of things like safety and pollution control. Airbags? They just add weight.. Pffft, who needs them. Seat belts add weight too, and cost! Get rid of those while you're at it. But paddle shift, oh yeah.. You'll take that..

Without catalytic converters, we'd pollute ourselves to death by now - ever been to China recently? Or LA in the 70's?

And there's nothing wrong with wanting a manual shift 4C. It would be my preference as well. I suspect Alfa will eventually offer it that way.


The stick shift is far from dead...

 

I hope your right and I agree with the latter. I like everything about the 4C and everything I have read about the 4C but would prefer to at least have the option of a 3-pedal version. US versions are reportedly around 2650lb's simply because what are options in other markets are reportedly standard issue for us. Here is a link to the article, http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-alfa-romeo-4c-coupe-first-drive-review .

 

True, the North American versions will be a little heavier - as AC will be standard equipment as the stereo. I don't know how many North Americans would ever order this thing without AC.. would anyone order an F458 without AC if it could be offered as delete?


in other news... GM has confirmed that the stick shift isn't dead...
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True - the take rate on automatics is quite high for Vettes, but aren't 100% of Z06 Vette's manual shift?

Nice choice BTW.

 

They were 100% manual on the C5 and C6...I hope they don't break tradition on the C7.


Mark

 

I'd love to see a DCT, paddle shift equipped C7 Z06.

 

Funny, if there's one thing I'd change about the next Z06 it would be to go to a DCT. If there was a second thing to change, it would be a more sophisticated suspension setup. The C6 is like a modern-day 427 Cobra in a lot of ways, for good and bad.

I love my C6, but it's tough to ignore that the trans and suspension are the weakest points of the car. The rawness makes it exciting, but I do think the experience would be even better if the C7 was more sophisticated in those two regards. And, if one wants rawness there will always be plenty of used C6's available.

 

Beat me to it.

 

Soon the masses will get the car that they dream about. One that you programme your destination into and it takes you there. They will look great getting out of their car. Maybe a little tired looking from all the texting that they did during the trip but still looking great.

 

On another forum there are at least three pages of glitches with this car. If you can wait for model year 15 i would do so as they need to iron out the bugs first.

 

what he said... its the paddles
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Something does not reconcile in this forum string.

Funny, how the Mayor is complaining about Ferrari's direction (products, business practices, etc.) while their reputation, brand and profits have never been higher.

From my view and many others, they're not perfect (no company is). But the attack on the mark is misguided. The proof is in the pudding.

The world moves forward, those that resist get sweep away.

Ferrari has nabbed the honor of becoming the world's most powerful brand from Apple. According to Brand Finance, the Italian automaker earned the highest rating among all brands on the Global 500 list despite being worth considerably less than its competition. But the ranking takes into account more than just a company's bottom line. Brand Finance also looks at margins, average revenue per customer and less tangible notions like brand affection and loyalty.

Ferrari rated world's most powerful brand ahead of Apple - Autoblog

 

While their profits are crazy as the cost of one of their cars costs them well under $100k, I highly doubt that the OP was talking reputation around the world.

He was taking personal experience vs how Ferrari hand selects client base and treats customers as a whole. Get in line and get what we send you mentality.

The name is huge no question. Their practice wouldn't work if they weren't a limited supply chain. If the produced 18k units a year at $300-450k pricing they would be singing a completely different tune.

If every time you wanted an Iphone (excluding first month of a new model) you went into Apple stores around the country and they said we will call you back and tell you when you get to order one Apple wouldn't have any customers. Completely different product and marketing.

Ferrari has a constant stream of new buyers now. They used to not need them. With the crash in 08 and the new 458 release Ferrari has had the largest influx of new to them brand new Ferrari buyers ever. It used to be simple. If you continue to buy cars we will give you the newer model. This still rings true for the limited models.