Ferrari N V has lost its passion

Another thread reports the Sweater stating why the Ferrari vintage buyer has been ignored. Interesting reading. Prompted me to think seriously for a moment about Ferrari and its history.

It leads me to conclude that, quite simply stated, Ferrari N V has lost its passion. To Marchione, Ferrari N V is and has been a business to be run as a business, to make the most money for the owners, the shareholders. Remember that HE IS AN ACCOUNTANT by trade. And since being tapped by young John Elkann - Lord knows why? - as CEO of FIAT, he was and is in a position to impose his will on both parent (FCA) and child (Ferrari NV).

What made Ferrari great? The implacable, irresistible, driving passion of the Commendatore and all of the people around him. That passion fed into everything the Company and the Scuderia did.

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo surely had it. And I believe the Scuderia and all of those dedicated people involved in designing, building, servicing and supporting the rosso corsa race cars still have it. As do Ferrari's tifosi in Italy and around the world.

Unhappily, it appears that the Leader does not. Unhappily the only passion the Sweater and his people have displayed is for money.

Enzo would have found it contemptible.

just my 2c

 

This is what you get when you put an accountant in charge of the most exciting car company in the world.

Why would anyone expect a different outcome?

Luca ran the F1 team for Enzo. Sergio added numbers.

'Nuf said.

 

Hey, watch it, Bubba!

Can you say pump and dump? I'm sure there are a lot of legacy shareholders who can't wait to sell at a top.

Nothing lasts forever.

 

Hey, hey, hey!

 

and they don't ring a bell at the top

 

Be interesting to see when the lock up ends.

 

I think a lot od passion went out the widow with brand marketing and easy to use/drive under luca, even though that policy brought the company to rude health..

 

Sean, when I had these thoughts, Luca's branding came to mind. But in the end I think his purpose in the branding effort was simply to create the long-term financial strength needed for a small company to compete in a crushingly competitive automotive world.

 

Agree. But Sergio took it to the next step backwards.

For example, there's NO REASON why the 458 Aperta should be limited in car production. Its just another way to control the market to their own benefit. Dealers flip these at crazy prices and they are happy -- but the rest of us can never have one.

So much for thinking of their customers...

 

Well, and please don't take this as defending The Sweater because I'm with you, if they increased production on that model some other model would suffer. Unless of course one favors ramping up production like Maserati.

 

If everybody quit playing the F games with the dealers, this stuff would end. They bully their customers.

 

Nobody needs a car of any kind.

 

Spot on. The real problem is Ferrari customers, not Ferrari.

 

no different than Apple and many other companies where the founder had a real vision beyond money.

 

there is passion. and there is profit.
the two dont coincide too often.

but products without profit dont tend to last long.

so dont complain too much. if you want to feel the passion yourself, just buy an older car.

 

And this is why the Testarossa, 348, and Mondial, the last models Enzo oversaw and signed off, will always be the greatest Ferraris ever made. (Ducking for cover).

 

A bit of truth in jest? Personally, I'd prefer an F50 or an Enzo to a LaFerrari, and a 355 or a 430 to a 458/488.

I'll never own a new Ferrari, even though I can afford one. They just simply don't capture the imagination like the older models did.

 

I have always felt that when you sell stuff that nobody really needs (i.e. Ferraris), the dealers (and Ferrari) should treat their customers like....... valued customers. They instead, abuse and bully them and fiscally abuse them. The problem is the customers just take it, bending over and grabbing their ankles. I have always found their games contemptible and refused to play.

I could care if I'm the first punter on the block to get a car. At least I didn't have to buy an FF and 2 Maseratis to 'prove' my loyalty.

 

Lol

 

Ferrari lost its passion when it took the last Manual transmission out of the order books.

 

No ferrari is the porblem, its one thing making one less than demmand, its another making 1000 less than demand, having potential customers feel abused while dealers and flippers play games. The flipping also does not even help the used car market because as soon as a new model is out the older one deprecaiets as it should.

Concurrently this abuse of a client base gives rise to serious competitors. Had ferrari manufactured a broader range of choices within each model range as say porche does with the 991(and I am not sugesting 991 prod numbers just model possibilities) then does anyone think say maclren woudl have had such an easy market entry. Or that the Audi R8 could exist.

More to the point Maclren and Lambo are direct ferrari competitors. Ill bet 50% of those companies clients considered or were former ferrari owners who just got tired of the Bs and artificialy limited choice.

Yes ferrari owns the market of the bend over and grab your ankles crowd. But funny thing most self made people who can afford a ferrari or even want one have tremedous self respect, as a result many have chosen to shop elsewhere.

Yes Feerari does tresat a few billionarire clients well, but the merrly wealthy not so. In a sense ferrari brand mamagement has been too sucessful, its now distroted product offerings and the client base. Fearri would if it could sell 10k units now, they just cant, because too many peopel are buyign their 300k+ cars elsewhere.

Ferrari needs more compellign products, nit just deaviuated stiching Gt cars and a few specials. They need to treat clients and potential clients right.

of cours theyll take the easy route and make an suv, but even then I townt be as sucessful as many here predict. Its going to be hard to get premium suv buyers to abandon RR and Bently not to mention Rolls which are the natural luxury brands and already will have aborbed the client base with product.

Or put more simply, ferrari created their current client base, and the rest moved on elsewhere.

 

Nailed it!


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I tend to agree with you. I was once only a F car guy. I still have some but I have 4 Lambo's now.