Luca di Montezemolo goes to......

Don't take my word for it.

What did Car and Driver say when they drove what Fiat replaced the venerable QP5 with the QP6?

"Pour out some grappa, for the four-door Ferrari is no more."

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15116977/2014-maserati-quattroporte-first-drive-review/

The impression that you’re in Ferrari’s sedan, or Bentley’s nemesis, is gone. Commodification has snuck into the Quattroporte’s cabin, and it’s not just the alarming abundance of Chrysler-sourced switchgear.

They especially lauded the Garmin-based navigation they pulled from a Dodge Dart

Wrenching on the QP5/GT, more then half the parts are Ferrari (for better or worse) They literally stick a thin Maserati sticker where you can still see the Prancing horse logo underneath it, it's pretty funny. Once FCA took over, it was the same thing except it now was Mopar.

*This* is what killed Maserati, plain and simple

The sick among us are willing to put up with Italian silliness (and prices) because of the feel of the drive is irreplaceable, if I wanted a 300M with a Maserati logo on it, I would buy a 300M and put a Maserati logo on it.

To be fair, The Trofeo models at least have real Italian engines. Those are the exceptions.

 

I was just not wanting to argue the point endlessly. I agree with you, Maserati was dead when Ferrari took them... they made them a reality... and now that they are back with FCA... who knows. I only know two people that have had Maserati's and then loved them... but they dont have them now. Personally I like the Grand Tourismo convertible... I think its a good looking car... the QP and Ghibli.. not so much. I always liked the Biturbo body - only if they would have worked at all...

 

LOL... you realize that the transmission is not made by Ferrari and many other brands use THE SAME transmission and have the same issues with it. the issues are not so much a black eye on Ferrari or other brands but a few things have come up with them.... McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari...same Getrag! You quote..."all suffer from gearbox failures"...that is so very far from the truth. ;-)

 

My beef with LDM was his obsession with being "exclusive"! That made the road cars better and worse.

What he did with F1, hiring Jean Todt and hiring the best of the best, not more Italians, rejuvenated a floundering F1 team. Which also rejuvenated the brand.

 

Luca di Macca

 

Before 2013, Maserati sales stagnated under 7,000 units per year. THIS is what would have killed Maserati, plain and simple.
Since then, Maserati sales have reached levels that could justify its survival - although 2024 has been rather catastrophic (but that's no surprise, given that Tavares has managed to bring down everything in the Stellantis group).

 

QP4 = Fiat
3200 GT/Coupe'/GranSport/Sypder/Grandsport Sypder = Fiat/Ferrari (Dev started in Fiat, switched over in 2007 to 50/50)
QP5/MC12 = Ferrari
Gran Turismo = Ferrari/Fiat (QP5 underpins much of the GT, more Ferrari then Fiat)
FCA = Ghibli/QP6/Levante/Grecale/MC20

It's not a mistake that in my opinion the best Maserati ever offered is the QP5 and MC12. = why I wonder? What products were under 100% Fiat ownership? What products were under 100% Ferrari ownership?


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That company could not exist in the modern era. It would die.

Ferrari could not stay small and pay the bills.

Ferrari also would have run the risk of no longer being an icon staying so small.

I love the 1950s-1960s Ferrari the absolute best. I am an old soul and prefer everything from 1930-1970. But... I do realize the world changes. The 1990s and after became seriously overloaded with regulations.

You just simply can't build cars like they did in the 1960s business wise. It's impossible. I'm not talking about having to have airbags or an impact bumper. I'm talking about have 14 nart spiders because your distributor asked. Homologation and testing ruined the ability of everyone to be "small" and still remain successful.

 

I'm not quite sure you have a big grasp on the history of Ferrari.

Enzo didn't give a **** about road cars.

They built giant ghia bodied Ferraris...

You had the super America's in the 1960s that were more akin to a super Cadillac than a svelt European sports car. And those cars were absolutely about showing off that you had a luxury item.

The Ferraris people think about when they think in a similar fashion to you is of 250 swb and tdf and gto... Maybe a 275 gtc... Maybe you even think about the daytona...

But even then they built cars that got nicknamed the queen Mary ... Cars with so much chrome it would make a bel air blush. Giant 4 seat cars... Ugly 4 seat cars with 4 front headlights... Even during the daytona they had the 365 GTC 2+2 that I love but has never really been accepted... You had 412s...

And you want to talk about status symbol cars... How about a 308 gt4 or a 308 in general. These weren't low volume cars... Hell the testatossa wasn't low volume by classic standards... Then you have everyones love of the f40 with 1315 cars built!

Every era has compromises. Because you have to pay the bills at some point.

 

Luca brought Ferrari into the modern age. He invested in the factory, the systems, and the workers. He found new ways of generating money by building each to order with massive prices for each thing "custom". He restricted quotas to dealers and forced dealers to only sell in their "territory". He kept resale values high by removing selling under MSRP or competition between dealers. He introduced new colors and new options. He made the cars more reliable and easier to maintain. He improved quality control and quality of materials and painting. He put a strong emphasis on the F1 team and its technical connection to the road cars. He added the special high performance limited production cars to special customers. He made his best customers feel a step above.

In 2008 he took the 20 grand option of Carbon Ceramic Brakes and made it standard on every car-- then raised the prices of the cars, which at the time had a several year backlog, an additional 30 grand

He used F1 tech to create the robotic gearbox at a $10 grand option, then made it almost impossible to get a car as a manual, followed by impossible to get one with a manual.

He added Maserati to give dealers something else to sell at a lower price point and to bring new customers in while restricting new Ferrari car sales.

About the only thing really we can complain about is the overall quantity of F cars, moving to new manual box, and the rather garish merchandising. They are no longer as unique. But they are better cars today than they were when he took over and its largely due to his decision making.

 

ahhh............maybe yes.........maybe no.......

 

This thread proves the point that we need a “dislike” or “thumbs down” optional response.... it would save a lot of negative comms and provide a way to subtlety disagree.

LDM was the right man at the right time at the right company, Ferrari who had the right desires and drive to “make the company great again” at that time. Having all that come together at the same time is like riding lighting and doesn’t always happen. Under LDMs leadership, Ferrari not only lead the industry to superior performance but also brought the company back to a focus of pride, beauty and passion. LDM did this while at the same time bringing unprecedented success in F1, delivering multiple and consecutive World Championships and constructors titles.

If you remember, as it was said by others here earlier, by the late 80’s Ferrari was so stuck that companies like Honda dared, yet succeeded to take on Ferrari. By the time Lucas tenure was up, Ferrari was back on top of the game.


Not many of us can generate that kind of comprehensive success and dominance in any industry. Even fewer can do it several times in the same industry let alone others. Skills, gifts and talents and the “heart in it” of the teams must be accompanied by passion, coupled with $ from HQ , luck, and the planets aligning at the right time.

It must Not be lost on anyone what was actually accomplished at Ferrari between 1994- 2010.

I really hope that LDMs participation at McLaren delivers a great formula there. It would be inspiring to see someone “grab , and then ride the lighting again”

 

I am sure LdM is a fabulous businessman. He helped Ferrari make a fortune, no argument there.

How much was him, how much was having Schumacher, and how much was he responsible for getting Schumacher? My old partner, RIP, used to say about Phil Jackson, "Give me Jordan and Pippen, and I can coach them to titles too."

LdM sold Ferraris soul. He is the reason the cars are soulless today. No manuals, they are all automatics, yes, they all have a setting that says "Auto" (Correct me if I am wrong), SUV's, ridiculous prices for ordinary options.

His biggest sin, the "Selling of the shields." Nothing is more emblematic of selling Ferrari's soul than the factory selling an emblem that used to be reserved for factory team cars to anyone willing to put up the money.

My other beef with him were his limited production runs. They simply were not organic but forced. The 288 GTO planned 200 and they ended up making 280 or something. They used to make as many cars as they could as were ordered in the model year. They did not make 14 NART Spyders because it was a limited run, it was because that's how many were ordered. Nobody limited the number of Daytona Spyders.

I would rather the company went away than be what they have become. I liked them better when they made well under 10,000 cars per year.

I have no business argument here. I am sure I would fail one. This is purely from the heart.

 

Meh. His tenure was still the best in term of F1 success, beautiful cars, improving the product and growing while still remaining somewhat exclusive.
Before him, ferraris were beautiful but completely outdated and not really useable. He changed that.

Porsche, Corvette, Mclaren etc all had similar failure.