Damn. I didn’t get a phone call.:( Maybe they’re reading this thread!;)
Speaking of Dealerships, we used to have Algar come to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. They would bring used and new cars and tons of merchandise that they sold most of. They were a very popular tent all weekend. Now, Ferrari no longer allows its Dealers to sell merchandise. These poor guys show up with a few cars and they sit in a big empty tent, sad.
I get your point and see the point the member you quoted made... ....So do we help owners like that to better understand the brand and its history, or do we insult them, call them names, and deter them from attending events that have a chance and helping them understand there is more to Ferrari than good looks? I for one created over 100 events last year for all Ferrari owners to attend. Some were lifestyle oriented, others were car clinics, Classiche discussions with Q&A, multiple Sunday morning drives, pop up lunches, and Sunday Cavallinos & Caffeine events, and much more. Different types of members attended events that best suited their level of engagement in our area. One of our best attended events aside from our annual Gala, is a burger night that kicks off the year. Vintage Ferrari and modern are all parked together, and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. First time Ferrari owners sitting next to Billionaires sharing stories of how they got into Ferrari. How do you chose which is the " right event " for the overall demographic of owners? Chassis 017s and its current owner , a couple spots over was a 812C and its current owner both held a civil conversation sharing appreciation of the others Ferrari Daytona's, 330's, 3x8, 348/355, 458, 488, 296, SF90 were all at the same event, no one looked down at the other for their lack of knowledge or level of appreciation of the brand. Yes, Canossa appears to be offering an event with long standing heritage while adding experiences that attract new owners, where both may interact to share their passion ( and knowledge ) of the brand. S
You know, its funny you say that, because from my side of the desk, I see that dealerships are required to sell A LOT of merchandise each year, with suggested targets to meet annual objectives. There may be other reasons why your dealer no longer sells at the PVGP, did the cost to have a booth increase? I know that COTA charges absorbent fees to have a booth, making it a no go from the start for a dealership to have one point of sale. Then again, not speaking for your dealership, they may not have the staffing, or a number of other reasons, but I am comfortable saying that Ferrari did tell them to stop. I could be wrong. S
Is that what you meant to say about FNA? Or did you mean FNA DIDN'T tell them to stop participating at that event?
Interesting, our fees might have increased slightly but not dramatically. Algar is now Ferrari of Philadelphia, I really don't understand what happened.
Typo , thank you for catching that. " ....but I am comfortable saying that Ferrari did not tell them to stop. I could be wrong... " Is what I meant to type / say. ;-) Steve
I can't speak for everyone here but it's not that I don't want Cavallino to do well it's that they apparently don't want me anymore. As someone who has gone annually since 1997 it is heartbreaking to sit back and be pushed out. Hell, if it wasn't for John Barnes and the Cavallino Classic I wouldn't have launched an art career. There is nothing I want more than to see it succeed. That's why I am critical at times. I don't want to see it fade away but I'd hate to see it turn into another Miami, wealth measuring, D Bag fest. God knows we have enough of those events already Sadly the new owners seem to not care about any of that. They have even gone to the extent of turning their backs on all the great judges and volunteers who sacrificed many years of their life and countless hours on their own dime. How many judges did they dump last minute? How about all the long term collectors and sponsors who feel extorted by the new regime and pricing? All the people who helped build the event to what it is are being nickeled and dimed to death while influencers and vip's, who know and or contribute nothing to the legacy of Ferrari, are being given free passes. It's painfully obvious where their focus is now. Money. It's all about money and status now. If you don't "look" the part or wear the right watch, etc. you aren't welcome. Lol, all the people who restore and preserve these incredible cars wouldn't get the time of day anymore. I've seen and experienced it first hand. Thankfully it sounds like your area/dealer hasn't fallen to this mindset. Maybe it's just the Miami mentality cancer? And for the record John did not sell because the event wasn't doing well. He sold because he was at an age where he wanted to step down and enjoy the fruits of his labor with his wife and family. Canossa could only dream of even coming close to the peak Classic days when EVERY tifoso from all walks of life enjoyed the track, the tour, jet reception, yacht hop, concours, etc. Now the best most can hope for is to sit in the street and maybe get a glimpse of a car pulling in. That is until Canossa figures out a way to charge for that or use the Police to chase them off! Is that evolving?
I just had a random funny thought. After getting the opportunity to participate in Casa Ferrari at Pebble I can say Cavallino tickets are a HUGE value (like 20%) comparing quality of cars plus the equal shoulder to shoulder.
TOTALLY different experience. cant compare a regula cavallino tix price to a casa ferrari tix price because the experience is vastly different.
Thank you for your well written and obviously thought out reply. When you say they don't want you anymore, have they literally told you, don't come? Or is it because their isn't the same value to you at their current pricing structure? I remember meeting you many years ago while attending one of my first Cavallino events, your work is impressive, and one day I may be lucky enough to have one of your pieces in my Ferrari room at home. While there are several discussions about what happened a couple years back regarding the judges, I think that's a long way from " turning their backs on all the great judges and volunteers " as last year I know many were invited to attend Cavallino Modena where Canossa covered transport in and around Modena, hotel, meals, special event access, special dinner at Massimo Bottura's estate, an exclusive tour of the Classiche department at the factory and more. Not everyone who was invited actually judges, but a large group were invited to attend none the less. Not what I would consider turning their back on all judges. ( I acknowledge something happened that involved many well known and respected judges, I feel that's another conversation ) Pricing. What are the actual costs for this event? Has Canossa made that public? Heck, has anyone reached out to the Breakers to price the venue, meals, rooms, support, etc? How much profit is Canossa actually making from this event? Should they cut back on the ticket price donations, so the tickets are less expensive? What I am saying is, the price to host an event of this magnitude is huge, is the pricing 100% on Canossa.... or may the Breakers and associated vendors have something to do with the increase in price? All business are free to earn profit and those that see the value in the ticket price will continue to attend. Those who do not, speak out with their wallet ( going back into their pocket ) I also understand that. Speaking of influencers, Rob L attended as a guest... does he get a pass or is he part of the problem as well? I think he covered the event pretty well last year and came across as an ambassador, offering pros and cons from his perspective. Rob, did you judge? Would you? " It's painfully obvious where their focus is now. Money. It's all about money and status now. If you don't "look" the part or wear the right watch, etc. you aren't welcome. Lol, all the people who restore and preserve these incredible cars wouldn't get the time of day anymore. I've seen and experienced it first hand. " I have to think about these statements and reply later. Thank you for the clarification regarding Mr. Barnes, I in no way want to disparage his legacy, and have nothing but the highest respect for him and his accomplishments. More to follow, Steve
I disagree. Cavallino and Casa Ferrari for me were in the range of +/- 10-20% comparable. People wise many more enthusiasts and owners with Cavallino as Casa seemed to be a little more targeting the non-Ferrari family and it was the hot ticket for even non-Ferrari Pebble people.
Past issues with judges aside, to be fair what's going on isn't entirely Canossa fault. With inflation the way it is I'm sure their costs have skyrocketed. I certainly know mine have. Unfortunately there is no featured artist exhibition any more so I'm "out" in that regard. I spoke with Tony Sikorski who had a small vendor table there last year but that too was cost prohibitive. I attended last year as a spectator but decided it was just too expensive now for a working stiff like me. At $480 plus parking it's hard for me to justify unless there is a car displayed that I haven't already seen in the past. I certainly can't take my kids like I used to. Again, this isn't entirely their fault. I do understand the concept of charging as much as possible but IMO they might have hit the comfort threshold when you have regulars (who are multimillionaires) shying away do to cost/value. At least that's the feedback I'm hearing in my circle. When I say "they don't want me" it comes from a vibe I got last year where it didn't have the same "welcome" atmosphere I've felt in the past. People seemed much more stand-offish and the ones I did speak to gave off the feeling they were just there to "network". Once I get those "feeler" questions I know I'm being sized up to see if I'm an asset worthy of being associated with. Now maybe that's just me being sensitive but perhaps it isn't. I can say in the past it definitely had a different vibe but then again so did the local FCA events. I will say I heard a few restoration guys share the same feeling. Lol, maybe we are all just getting old? Maybe the world is just that more shallow? I do think Rob gets a legit pass considering his background and what he does. I'm talking about the influencers that push make up or real estate who couldn't point out a Ferrari in a crowd of exotics. To them it's just the next "it" thing like a Birkin bag or some Kardashian lip pump. But hey, it's now about millions of followers and hash tags. I'm open minded enough to admit maybe this is all just an "old guy" chip on my shoulder. I was lucky enough to be welcomed into this community long ago simply based off of my love and knowledge of the brand. Back then it was all about the cars, history and racing. People were genuine. People really didn't care how much you were worth. We didn't have followers as a metric or has tags but we all bled rosso corsa. The really, really "big guys" preferred to be around the track and weren't afraid to get their hands dirty. They were down to earth and low key. Best of all they appreciated and supported the people who kept these incredible machines running. I came in as a 25 year old starving artist. I had zero to offer anyone as an advantage yet they all welcomed me into their homes and their lives. It didn't matter if they had millions and I had a $100, we would all hang out and talk **** about F1, cars, etc. I thank the Lord every day for my time at Shelton's, at Cavallino and with the FCA. Looking back I realize just how lucky I was. Who knows, maybe it's still possible to keep the dream alive? #keephopealive
If you're talking about the awards banquet, it is now $880/plate. That's almost $1,800/couple. We can all write the check, but nobody wants to feel like they are being taken.
Around $3k a person plus a few options. They are a hard ticket to get, even longtime Ferrari customers.
I was charged US$ 1'250 (one thousand two hundred fifty) for one person at Casa Ferrari Pebble Beach 19/20 August 2023. Did not show a car. Just visitor. Not around $ 3 K. Marcel Massini
that's more inline with 25%, my number would have been closer to 15% for equivalent Cavallino ticket.
Additionally for those who display a car in the Casa Ferrari field (like Rob did) they give you a ticket for admission and occasionally a second free of charge.
I think most people here would love to have the old Cavallino back. The new version is indeed all about the money. What else can you say when the number of cars on the field is down by almost 50% while the price is up by 200%, when the number of events is down to one (2 if you count the Palm Beach tour) from 3 days of track days at $35 per day with a dozen of semi trucks full of marvelous machine to one day at a private track closed to the public with 10 cars or so (I think that one is also no longer by the way) and again with a price up by 200%? I have also heard they haven't treated past judges in the most courteous way. We can all brush it down to being par with transition to a new owner, a corporate owner etc. We can all debate for years on here but the reality is that it's no longer what it was. I have no doubt they will find their target audience and will be successful. Tons of people who dont mind spending $3k for an afternoon to flash their wealth. But as one member said here, we can write the checks but at the end of the day, the value isnt there for those who were lucky to experience Cavallino before the 2020s.
For some reason, I was thinking about this today. Pre-Internet things such as Cavallino developed organically. Don't misunderstand, the Barnes worked their asses off and had unique insights. Post-Internet EVERYTHING must be monetized. There is no vision. There is no fun. The sole focus is on making a buck. One example is Crystal Cove in SoCal. This is a shopping center on PCH for a high-dollar development where lots were selling for $1 million dollars a pop twenty years ago. Guys would do an early morning run and meet at the Starbucks. A half a dozen cars grew to several hundred. Nobody was in charge. Nobody was making any money. It was fun. The variety of cars was mind blowing. I recall one retired aerospace engineer who built his own car, from the ground up. Amazing. It was all car guys. One of my favorite car memories is a F360 with a Tubi ripping down PCH in the fog. When it got too big, the shopping center shut it down. Then people (dealerships) got the "Cars and Coffee" idea. Gotta monetize. We gotta move these color TVs. "They" can monetize all they want. They can't take my memories. Ps I've heard on the QT that Crystal Cove still lives...
As of today I know of 11 (eleven) classic Ferraris of the 1950s and early 1960s that have been entered for the 2024 Cavallino concours. Of these 11 cars three (3) will be coming from one local collector. Marcel Massini
