Why isn't Gallardo selling?

Gary,
I totally agree that it is to each his own... we are talking about cars here; and not transportation but "just for fun cars".
I have had a completely different experience than you regarding the lively feel of the 360, I owned mine for about 8 months with 4,000 miles of driving and compared to the Gallardo I found it to be lacking in regards to the the powerband (below 4,000 rpm the 360 felt flat compared to the Gallardo) and in regards to handling the Gallardo "feels" much lighter with quicker turn in and to me a higher level of accuracy. But again these are personnel opinions about subjective experiences.
I will be weighing my car next week and I will post the actual, would be interesting if you could do the same.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to own any of the cars I have had, and I enjoy sharing my experiences with other people who have similar interests.
Thanks for your feedback,
Best regards,
John

 

I just can't get over what great cars we have to choose from in today's market. This is really a golden age for sports cars. Enjoy that Gallardo!

Gary

 

Not in f1 not serious about performance!

No thank you on that one the f1 yawn inducer which seems to have as much to do with politics pit stops and a very long stretch for technology that reaches everyday sports cars.

What about Le Mans, Ferrari would battle to field a car to go for 24 hrs. Remember the Porsche 956 and other iterations won as many times as P cared to enter.

F1 is not the b all and end all and Ferrari is not the only sports car, still got reliability issues and treat there clients like scmucks and all the magic BS about premiums and none standingon dealer floors is supply controls.

Enzo always said undersupply to your demand, its a false market in 3 generations time the new F430 will be no better percieved than a 348 now. An average to OK motor that can bought cheap now that the free markets are allowed to operate.

Rushed to market expect probs with 430 (partly due to F's reaction to the Lambo G) Thats my view.

 

Totally agree. I've had 7 F cars . This car is FAR superior!

 

To me F1 is the measure of all things.

You got your view, I got mine. Isn't life wonderful?

 

If you are not in F1 you are not serious about sports cars.

I don't know where you have been for the past 40 years but one of the most important sportscar manufacturers has never had much to do with F1 that being Porsche.
And if it wasn't for Porsche,there would be almost no club racing happening and certainly not a lot of sportscar racing.Just look at the fields of ALMS and Grand Am and pretty much every car in the GT or GTS category is a Porsche.

F1 has been out of touch with reality for a long time now and although the technology is far superior to any other racing series in the world F1 has nothing in common with todays sports cars.
To top that up,the racing has been unvelievably boring as the human element has almost completely been taken out of the equation

 

Agreed. There was an interesting article recently in which the writer suggested that the best cure would be to severely restrict aerodynamic downforce.

 

Save the F1 comments for the racing section.

 

I agree to that, but that doesn't change my opinion that F1 is the pinnacle of motorsports. Porsche used to be a huge part of F1 with the TAG-Turbo and dominated for a period of time. That was great to see and I hope they find their will again one day to return to F1.

Heck, even Lambo was part of F1. Not a glorious one, but they were part. I respect a car manufacturer for their will to participate. Sadly they quit.

And just for the record: I've been hanging around F1 for the last thirty years.


PS: I love Lambos and think they're really cool. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one, no question.

 

You're kidding, right? The Gallardo obliterates/rapes/demolishes/whips/destroys/annihilates/creams/trashes/pummels the 360 on the track.

Nurburgring times (published and factual, with professional drivers):

7:52 Gallardo
8:09 360

That is seventeen seconds. I could watch the Gallardo cross the line, go get a hotdog, slap some mustard on it, drink a beer, and come back to the line to watch the 360 come across.

And, did you see the video from Japan with the Gallardo, Murcielago, 911, NSX, M3 and 360? The Gallardo and Murcie dominated the competition, while the 360 sucked up the rear.

I used to own a 360, and it's a great car, but c'mon now. You can say you subjectively don't like the looks of the Gallardo, or that it's not cool because it doesn't have scissor doors, blah blah blah. But you can't say that the 360 even comes close, in terms of performance. Sure, the 430 is here now, but I want to see the real times the 430 can pull when it's not travelling downhill at Fiorano.

 

Nice to see you over here. You of course are right. It's been a while since Audi has competed in F1 yet their R8 is perhaps the greatest Sports Racing Car ever built.

GM has never fielded an F1 car but their Corvettes are very serious as are Aston's new race car, non F1 fielders as well.

P Sports Racing Cars stand tall as well.

Getting back to the thread G's aren't selling because too few people want them. That's why new ones sell for below MSRP.

The reason that 360 sold for above MSRP and 430's are sold out is that more people want those then were/will be built.

Pretty simple. No?

 

But...but...but...but...

DL

 

Isn't there ANYONE in the SF Bay Area with a Gallardo that does track days? Come on, you guys, I'd like to see the difference for myself!

Gary

 

Gary I think you are so in love with your car that you
wouldn't believe it anyhow. I admire your passion but....
facts are facts.

 

I'm sure you're right, but I would still like to play.

Gary

 

And just to be clear, I'm not talking about a "race" here, I would just like to see how the cars compare on track, when driven at a good pace, but not pushing so hard an off-track excursion is likely. Just a fun day at the track. So anyone in the area, I will be at Thunderhill on 4/15 with trackmasters. www.trackmasters-racing.com.

Gary

 

the gallardo, which is the bottom of line Lamborghini
is faster
than the top of the line Ferrari 575

explain that

 

The 550 race car is faster than the Murcie GTR so what as well? The person who paid $275K for the F430 that turned up at CC didn't care that he could have bought a Murcie instead.

The question that is interesting is why many more people would rather buy a 360/430 than total number of G's and Murcie's sold.

Part of it must be that they don't care that a Murcie is faster than a 360, or that a G is faster than a 575.

 

Precisely. Buying a car at this financial level and in this particular niche market is an emotional decision and not necessarily one done based on 0-60 mph etc. comparisons. Emotions are being created by the mystique of a brand and that ties in the sports car market directly to the brand's racing history. Be that in endurance racing or in F1.

 

It's not just the history and racing. I've met quite a few Ferrari owners who couldn't care less about that. The only thing that mattered was that they like what Ferrari produces.

There has to be other reasons for Lambos not selling well.

 

They can't handle German/Italian hybrids

*takes cover*

 

we should start a thread on how good the Gallardo really is instead of why isnt it this or that!!

Having owned 3 f cars I bought the gallardo and although miss the ferrari here is a list of whats GOOD about the car!

TORQUE!!!

How can one say the gallardo is ugly if you have a 360!!!

Build quality

I think that lambo are no producing soem of the best sportcars available.

 

I have touched on this before. I think it comes down to who the typical guy is who buys these cars. He is not an enthusiast like you and I. He does'nt want to put up with the (perceived) b.s. that comes with Lamborghini.

What were some of the past perceived and real issues with Lamborghini ?

Dealer network or lack of a dealer network - Where are you going to take your car in to be serviced ? Again my friend Luigi has to trailer his car to Lamborghini Dallas. Is your typical buyer who does not know a 365 GTC/4 from a Jarama going to put up with that ? What about parts lead time ? Could Lamborghini in the past afford to put inventory on the shelf ? Inventory (parts) costs money to stock !!!!


Reliability - Have you ever heard the horror stories of some idiot that got only 3,000 miles on his Countach clutch ? Perhaps it was true ? Never mind the fact that you can get a heck of a lot more miles on the clutch. I am sure some people did burn out the clutch in only 3k miles. However remember that L has no belt service. My 88 C/T, never had a replacement clutch. It was sold to the third owner with the original clutch in 2004. How many replacement (major) belt services were avoided by Lamborghini using chains ?


Marque stability - Lamborghini has had quite a few owners. Sometimes it was just bad luck. Mr. Lamborghini had to sell the company after a tractor deal fell apart. The company had borrowed capital to ramp up for a large production order from a Latin American country. What happened after that ? Worldwide recession in the mid 70's, new EPA and DOT laws, and sharply increased fuel prices etc.... Lamborghini was not the only company that fell upon hard times. What about Lancia, Iso, Bizzarrini, Jaguar, Fiat, Aston Martin, Maserati, and Alfa ? etc..... Chrysler bought Lamborghini just before a worldwide recession. Perhaps they would have had a better time financially; if it was purchased a few years later ? This will put some buyers off.


Wild child - Lamborghini has not always had the funds to complete the car. William C/T XX said that you might end up being the test driver. That is probably true. - You had to finish up the car to some degree ? The Miura was not finished when it was released. They rushed that car into production. I already mentioned some of the issues. The Countach ? Perhaps the car could have had better visibility ? Certainly some "buyers" sat in the C/T, and then proceeded to shake the salesmans hand and leave ! Go back to the RE dealer. The cars are more refined. However this is what makes the cars special. - Not that you cannot see out of the car. It is the other far out and unique features that makes the car passionate. Maybe you as an enthusiast will put up with those difficult features ? Alot of buyers will have nothing to do with making compromises. Unfortunately or fortunately Audi will change this. I hope Audi will not take away the special passion of the Lamborghinis. - However I know better. Over refinement and practicality will be driven by Audi. It is only a matter of time.

 

Then there is market B . The group who could give a crap less about heritage , F1 , blah , blah , blah ! Do you know how many people have ever came up to me while I am filling up with gas and said " wow , how many F1 championships have you won in that car" . Guess ? ... Exactly ! News flash for anyone that plans on spending 1/4 million for a car. You don't drive an F1 car, so why would you give a crap how many trophies Ferrari has won. You don't drive a world championship boat , so why would I give a crap that lambo has more interest in nautical racing than f1 ? You don't ! As a consumer all I should care about are the things that the car I am buying can give me as the consumer ! Period ! How does it drive ON THE STREET , how does it handle ON THE STREET, how fast is it ON THE STREET , how good is the styling and overall presence ON THE STREET . If you guys are so caught up on owning a car with a bunch of trophies on the wall sell your Ferraris and go buy a Monte Carlo !

 

What's your point? The question of the thread is why don't more people agree with you and buy them? Why do more people perfer Ferrari's? I think Ralph has answered the question. Hopefull that will change but I'm surprized that Audi hasen't moved faster to address these issues esp. as you point out they've made pretty cool Lambo's.

The Murcie Spyder cloth top is another puzzlement.