Interest in 308's on the rise

Well, much like Miss Universe, they must be test driven to find a winner!

 

Well I guess I'll play and suffer the flame..

In my opinion... the 308 is the car that made Ferrari somewhat of a "house-hold" word here in the US. Kinda like the 911 is to Porsche or the 2002 is to BMW... there is a particular model that etches the Marque into the minds of the masses, for Ferrari it was the 308! Followed closely of course by the Testa Rossa but that's another story. Sure, there are a lot faster, better equipped, and even sexier F-cars out there.. but even the casual passer-by sees a 308 and knows it's a Ferrari!

When I decided I needed another Ferrari fix I new that I wanted an off color QV car.. was leaning towards GTB but couldn't find anything that really did it for me. Friends of course suggested that I buy a 328 as it is a better runner, more modern etc.. I looked at a couple as I had in the past and the same feelings came rushing back.. not as sexy, timeless and classic as the 308.

For me, it was the little things like:

- the petite/odd outside door latches.. (the ladies wait for you to open the door because they're not sure how, and your buds look at it like WTF I don't break your little car)

- the sparseness of the interior.. pretty much the bare essentials..

- the small switches, controls for heat, defrost, a/c etc.. as opposed to the big electronic looking stuff

- the chrome bezels around the gauges as opposed to the big Fiat style in the 328

It just looks and feels like a classic sports car... not the oxymoronic "luxury sport cars" of today.


As far as run-ability is concerned, I love the fact that these cars are relatively simple to work on. Lots of people love to complain about the injection when in reality it is pretty simple. It’s Bosch, and there is a lot of interchangeability available as they hung K-Jetronic on almost everything coming out of Germany... your average BMW or Benz tech can diagnose the issue if you can’t.

Once you get past belts and tensioners and all the crappy hoses they come with your good to go. By far the best mod I've done to mine was the Birdman fuse box update!! Thanks Bird.

Like many of you, I plan to keep my 308 and enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed (that means drive to more than just F-car meets).

Paul

 

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LOL!

 

WRT 328 versus 308, this is very similar to how I feel. I went so far to sell my US 328 to get a Euro 308 QV.

At this point, the only car that would replace my Euro QV is an F50...Perhaps, this says something about how much I like the Euro 308 QV.

 

I LOVE my 308's! I have 2 1980 gtbi, they are my favorite with all the funky little things about them. Yes i have been snubbed on occassion by the elitist (how much does your ferrari cost) group, who only drive their F-cars on occassion. I drive mine daily and as much as i can. Never bought them for resale or investments, purely for enjoyment. Yeah and those are the same guys that want to hang out and talk cars with me when i rock the F40....jerks.........i park with all the other cools gents in the 308 section............thats my family.......daytona guys are cool also..........

 

I find it very funny when the comments come up about "entry Ferrari" or the "low budget model" or the "everyday mans Ferrari". When I was looking for my 308 I learned that a mid 80's Porsche 911 is about the same price if not lower. Nobody ever looks at an '85 911 owner and says "entry Porsche" do they?

 

compared to a ferrari owner nobody ever looks to a porsche-owner anyhow

 

That was part of the point I was trying to make. The 308 is an extremely "cool car" in the "in" car crowd around my age at the moment, irregardless of value and the price it takes to procure one. Perfect example; just drive up to a local Euro car shop in 308, and then drive up to another local shop in a 430 and see what kind of reaction you get from the mechanics there.