Good news or bad news first? Actually , there IS no bad news , as per Autoblog:...
Good news or bad news first? Actually , there IS no bad news , as per Autoblog: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/10/with-the-rest-of-the-industry-in-a-world-of-hurt-ferrari-has-re/
Next yr. is the one that will show how deep the market really is. I mean when they report this year, next yr.
Agreed. Stocks got murdered again today, and the financial services sector is on life support. I'm not optimistic.
They may be quite profitable but the overall dollars on units sold will be down in 2009. If they started a finance arm like Porsche Financial Services it would help their dealers on the preowned side tremendously. Another revenue stream would be selling warranties. That would keep the service departments busy while bringing in immediate dollars during the recession. Since many drivers don't put many miles on the vehicles the exposure would be minimal vs. what they would be able to charge for an extended warranty. Just my thoughts
California Fs largest market expects 11% unemployment the highest since 1945 plus all those illegals who care less about our laws don't think id want to be driving an expensive car there, then F brings out the Cali which few like. There are high inventories of newer Fs from there big production and cheap prices plus more getting repod each week let's see what happens in 09
You have good ideas! There is more than one way to make a dollar. I predict hard times for dealers. It will be a buyers market for some time.
I think one thing to save their @ss in NA anyway, is the pent up demand they've had. I'm sure the drop out rate was high this year but they've got a lot of names to sift through(the list) to sell a new car. There's also many instances now of no wait if you've got the money ready to go. This allows them to sell pretty much any car that's destined for the US market.(except cars like the 612 for example) This combined with new, emerging markets allows them to shift allocation to places that will sell the cars. The down side is the "pent up demand" tap can run dry as more get sucked into the economic downturn or they come out with a not so desirable model.
They do this in the UK. You can buy a second hand f-car and show up at an official dealer and as long as you have all the books and the car has less than 56K miles they give you warranty. Not available for all things but atleast for the most important things (the drivetrain). Not sure if its age restricted too though (as in cars age)
So what are we looking at with a worst case scenario here? I mean what will happen if things get even worse than they are now? A manufacturer like Ferrari won't just simply throw in the towel....
Ferrari already sells extended warranties. I'm sure they are high profit. Cost is about 6K for 1 year on a 430. I opted out. I have persoanl knowlege of 2 people buying brand new 430 spiders off showroom floors at a discount. So much for the wait list. I'm sure there are more. Emerging markets still provide only a small percentage of sales and those countries are hurting as well, especially those that fattened up on oil profits. Credit will be tight for the foreseeable future. No HE loans either, and this is true world wide not just US. Ferrari is already making defensive moves which is smart IMO. 2009 will be challenging for all. Dave
The F430 replacement will be shown in late 2009 and start showing up in Europe in 2010. Don't tell me people won't line up miles deep to get their hands on one, no matter what the economy.
These aren't the good o'l days. That car will be just shy of $300K sticker in the US. Even the flush aren't always that ready to part with cash in an economy like this. Just ask the Madoff fan clubbers. The Scuderia will be hovering around sticker soon for example and that's a "special" car.
Wow... The comments below that article are rife with animosity. Hard work has been assassinated by entitlement in this country; I'm ashamed of my tax bracket.
Soon has arrived. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=138410207#post138410207 Ferrari's January sales were down of 50% 08/09. The Pale rider is saddling up.
And yet there are small bands of capitalists, faces flushed red with the prospect of opportunity that are saddling up, too. We are Americans...we see opportunity in rubble and are not swayed by adversity, but driven by possibility. We do not care about the storm clouds on the horizon, but the rain clouds that come after that feed our crops and put food into the bellies of our children...we realize that yes, there is a hard rain coming, but no other hard rain has ever washed us away. We realize that gloom and doom come with prosperity, and if we neglect one for the other, we are doomed. There is no End of Times in our world, but a sign to go about things a little bit differently. We, as a nation have dealt with hard rains, and drought, whether by mother nature or brought upon by ourselves. We have brought collapse to ourselves, and yet we are still here. We as a nation and a people are still here...and after this passes...we will still be here. Adversity is the backbone of our nation, not the breaker of it. We are a nation built upon hope and the ability to make that hope reality. "Pale rider" and "Hard Rains", while melodramatic in tone, do nothing to advance the nation or anyone involved in it. You may given up, but then you have the luxury to do so. The rest go about making tomorrow a better day than today.
When the rate of home price declines levels out and everyone can finally see how bad the financial damage is, rather than anticiapting how bad it might be, you will see things start to turn around. Once people realize that they aren't broke, nor likely to be broke from this, you will see buyers again. The number of those buyers will be less however, because some former high-flyers will lose everything before its over.
This is the best and most accurate post I have seen yet with regards to the current economy. I completely agree. Some people have sadly already lost their shirts. And many are hesitant to pull the trigger on anything because no one can see the floor on this situation. Once we can see a bottom, then we'll have a much better understanding of where we stand. This will restore some confidence and thus promote more spending and less hesitating.
Korr While I think that the economic problems the world is facing are of a very different order of magnitude than most humans alive today have ever faced saying I've given up is far from correct. I bought a ton of stuff in November. The stock market often leads the downturn and leads the recovery. Not taking the 50% drop in January YOY US Ferrari sales into account when posting that Ferrari's 2008 sales numbers prove all is well is silly. Best
While there is a lot of blood letting yet to come the Trillions of Dollars of spending that Governments will do to keep the system from total collapse will start to take hold. SLOWLY. Smart investor's read tea leafs. Look at the Baltic index, the rate people pay to charter ships that move the worlds food and raw materials. It fell from $11,440 in may to $715 in November. Today it's recovered to $2055. Another tea leaf is the comment a Chinese official just made to the effect that US Treasuries are still a safe haven. This too shall pass but it will take time, much more time than most people realise, Buying a viable Dry Bulk shipper in November for $1.50 per share is a bit different than buying a 599 in November for 385K. Best
. many americans, including some ferrari and exotic car owners, have been living beyond their means. the cars and some of the other luxury items that we have purchased are not a necessity, therefore when times get rough, they are the first things to be sold or not purchased. (personally, i am not selling anything, i am buying) it is simply supply and demand. with high supply and reduced demand, prices can only go down.. oil, cars etc. we are seeing the effects of spending more money than we have (collective we) , a severe housing bubble (including putting people in homes who couldn't afford them) poor direction and management by politicians and ceo's and .... LOTS of greed. speculation is when buyers assume prices are going up.. but when the music stops, there are NEVER enough chairs for everyone. these are very interesting times and i am anxious to see how Ferrari addresses the future. their plan to ramp UP production in a substantial way only to have the economy take a dump makes for a change in corporate philosophy. The large profits that Ferrari and Porsche etc. have made in the past are going to look very good for a while. we live in a global economy and loss of jobs affects everyone, even Ferrari. for those who can't make their mortgage payment or car payments, the sky may not be falling but it is certainly dark. does this stimulate any thought processes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD8viQ_DhS4&e from CSPAN - 1/22/09: Rep Paul Kanjorski Reviews the Bailout Situation .
It is, where have you been? Anyone over leveraged and unable to manage it, has had a serious awakening over the last while. Over leveraged represents most Americans. If you're in the minority then congrats as most aren't so lucky.