This is the new California: The California T.

…the 458 also has hydraulic power steering.

 

For me, it's largely the looks. I think the pics below show that despite the mere minor changes that non-enthusiasts may not be able to identify, on the whole the car looks really quite different in my view - a very different presence.

FWIW, I also really hated the stacked exhausts.
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Forget the California, Ferrari needs to build a new Daytona.
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I think many of the owners also enjoyed the refresh of the car, and also the way they addressed some minor issues (the nav system, lowering the car, etc.). I think they did a great job modernizing the line without losing the spirit of the original California or its immediate predecessor. I have been perplexed at how much folks who have no skin in the game will seek out California threads to inform us how much they hate the car. Those who own other Ferrari usually have an informed opinion, and many of them are tongue in cheek with some of their critique. Others just seem to enjoy flamethrowing or trolling the threads to get a reaction, something I'm trying to ignore nowadays.

The critique of the California as a "girlie car" has no substance, but is a popular refrain. Looking at sales data, it is one of the five highest male-ownership vehicles, higher than any popular "mans" pickup truck and just below the 458. As an aside, it is the only Ferrari that seems to appeal to women, most likely due to its curves and lines. Personally, I'd much rather have a car that women find attractive than a group of guys, many of whom are semi-tough and don't really know what they're talking about.

The car is meant to be driven for distances without stopping to rest your back, which makes some purists mad. It does not set your hair on fire, or deafen you with sound, so some say it's soft (as soft as any sub 4.0 0-60 car can be). It is quite different than a 458 or F12- by intent- which also seems to chafe some.

The power increase is something that has placated those who want cars to have as much power as humanly possible. Even in its new iteration, though, it is not a track car, nor was it intended to be. I have had my 2012 at mid-3 digit speeds, but will never truly know if it can go 193 mph. I do know that, except for a handful of other cars, when I drive out onto the roadway, I have the fastest, best handling car around.

Toyota sells almost ten million cars a year; I have one of about 7,000 California that have ever been built worldwide. Being in the club of owning a car that almost no one else does, but one that everyone immediately recognizes, is pretty cool. It is a custom-tailored largely handmade car built behind the gates at Maranello bearing the brand that represents the apex in automotive history. How much better can it get?

People who resent that it is not a "race car" or hate the DCT, or hate it because it is a hard-top convertible, or (fill in the blank) are certainly entitled to their own opinion. Opinions, though, are like a**holes; everybody's got one. I'm reminded of the fact that the Dino was a cast-off before it became a classic, and that other models have taken their share of critique. I also know that Monet was termed a poor artist with sketchy technique by Pari's leading art critic when he first unveiled his paintings. Time will be the best judge of this model or any others.

Those who criticize it are like people who hate cheetahs because they're less powerful than pumas, and hate pumas because tigers can beat them up, and hate tigers because lions rule the kingdom. Their inability to enjoy things for what they are, rather than desperately seeking to find something they are not, seems to be a pointless task- I don't know, maybe it helps them feel better than someone else for a few minutes?

 

ROFL

 

That is a great looking car. Photoshopped?

 

LOL!!!!! OMG that's hideous!

Is that a mustache above the mouth? The Groucho Marx edition.
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I think it is really simple. The California and California 30 both sound girlie. Like California girls, or 30 something California girls. Whereas the California T sounds very masculine. You know, T for Testosterone. T for T-bone steak (which of course is a manly steak). Particularly if you avoid calling it "California" (which or course lends a feminine touch to it), and just call it the FCT. FCT lends an especially masculine implication since it evokes the word "FaCT" which has a more logical, masculine appeal than California which evokes more emotion (and thus is more feminine).

It is all in the name.

 

No, not really. The name fits the car. I can't imagine if they called it Nightstalker that it would have sold more to men.

Still about 90% of all Cals went to men. I never could figure out what all the hub bub was about. I see probably 30% of all Boxsters and Z4's being driven by women. Are they too "girly" or men to drive?

 

It was a joke...

Seriously, the whole California is a girlie car thing is hilarious to me. Bunch of bozo's. All the haters of the California are truly silly pitiful people. Not that they have to love it, but why in the world would they come here and post how much they hate it? I don't like corvettes much. (no offense to you of course). I have wanted to like them and tried to like them, but I could never get over it. My brother loves all things Corvette and has several. I don't go over to his house and tell him I hate them. In fact I don't hate them, I just don't particularly like them and probably won't buy one.

Anyway, I was just trying to inject some humor. I'll stop now.

 

AH... well satire is often lost in written words

But I meant what I said. There was so much talk about the CA being girlie but other cars appeal much more to women and no one says boo.

 

Absolutely. It has always been a mystery to me. And like I said, it is weird for people who don't like a car, to go to a forum of enthusiasts in order to post how they don't like it... And guess what my wife likes to drive? A Ford F150... Take that Mike!

 

Here's a thread I started about the false notion that the California is a chick car.
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/california/363208-california-chick-car.html

The Cali has a higher percentage of male ownership than the 911, GTR, Sierra, Ford F-Series, and the Corvette.

 

Mr. T

 

You just like the T because you live in Tay-has...

FCT can also stand for F**ng Crappy Turbo, so one never knows how another deranged person might interpret things...

Who says California is more emotional? Take that back or I think I might cry...

 

Good News: There?s A New Turbocharged Ferrari | The Truth About Cars
LOL

 

I still like LaCalifornia!

LaCali for short...

SV

 

Oh yeah!

Hahaha!

FCT... Made me laugh out loud!

 

LaFerrari is a chick car... 😳😜

 

LaGalifornia??

 

I thought you were too busy watching the Olympics to notice all this kerfuffle...

 

Haha! It would have to be LeCalifornia, since Le is the masculine form in French, and La is the feminine form...

 

California has it's benefits...
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I think if Ferrari wanted these to be chick cars, wouldn't Ferrari have called them California TTs? (Sorry if someone already said that).

 

I had the same idea but thought I would be banned if I actually posted it.