Montezemolo on 348

Let's agree to disagree. I think it is applaudible that a CEO comes out and admits that his produkt was below standards. And I think he refers to the very early 348's. Later on, they were much improved.

 

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PAP! I just peed my pants. That's so funny!

 

Somewhat surprised that it took until post 19 for some one to mention the faults with the 355
Every time there is a discussion about allegedly how bad the 348 is, the 355s faults are always mentioned. Maybe in an attempt to deviate away from how bad the 348 actually is. But i think the 355 owners are at one and at Peace with themselves and there 355s
There, that should stoke the fire Little

 

You know what we need?? Someone to photoshop that dude "flogging" my 348 like he is flogging that dead horse!

Can anyone put that together for me? Flogging the 348 to death?
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No need to compliment my skills
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"Waves his magic wand" saying "abracadabra, you will now become a 355"
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Lol lol!! *******s!!

 

LOL!! Love your car brother

 

A few things to put into perspective. LM took over after the 348 was released, right? And, his mandate was to improve the fortunes of the company, which he did by introducing the 355 and moving away from the very 80's style TR back to a front engined 550 (preceded by the 456).
I owned both cars back in the day, among a number of other Ferraris. The virtues of the 348 were that it was small-- smaller than the 355 and the lack of power steering gave the car a real go-cart quality. The shifter was kludgey, the dash looked cheesy with that cheap little digital clock, but it was a nice looking car (mine was black over tan- it looked pretty sexy). As to 'fast,' and bang for the buck, the car got trashed in a couple of reviews given the NSX which was cheaper, better made in the japanese sense of the word and probably as quick. The 355, on the other hand, while faster than the 348 was bigger, i never liked the power assist, and while its cosmetics were far better- particularly the appearance of the interior if not its ruggedness- it was refined in a way that the 348 was not.

 

Cheers mate.

 

To admit you made a faulty product this many years later is kind of stupid. People are vary aware of the problems of the car and this will only hurt the resale for current owners because the CEO of Ferrari has labeled the 348 a **** car. He is trying to distance the company from the high maintenance, temperamental image of the past. Kind of comes across as "Yeah we sold you junk in the past but check out these new models!". It's something I would expect to hear from a salesman in a plaid suit at a GM dealership.

 

Actually, an American car CEO (just a well-paid salesman in a plaid suit) would never admit selling a bad product.....too much liability dontcha know, and the circling plaintiffs' lawyers are ready to pounce. LdM's comments may have been ill advised but frankly I find it kind of refreshing. From a purely economic point of view he probably realizes that he isn't going to lose a lot of new car sales to current 348 owners. Still, I wish he would have come out and said the 612 is a Buick.

 

Yeah, but why take it out on the 348. I'd like to hear him say "...and we've been ****ing you for years with those timing belts". Now that would be honest and refreshing!

 

lol...and likely true

 

You're kidding right? You honestly believe that us "nobodys" of the world have the same status as the CEO of Ferrari? If that is the case, then I want his paycheques too.

Nobody said he can't have an opinion, but as CEO of Ferrari he shouldn't be talking like he was raised in the projects....get real, we're talking about the head of Ferrari, not the head of the Gambino crime family.

Why would you assume that? And who says we don't enjoy them? From our reaction, this should indicate to you that we DO enjoy and are very passionate about them.

 

I once owned a 348 Spider and loved it...it was silver with black interior and top. My wife and I drove it from Atlanta to Indy for the 1st USGP(modern era) and had a blast. It held enough luggage for a perfect long weekend getaway. I owned the car for about 4 years/20k miles and the only problem that I recall was a faulty battery cable that was replaced by the dealer. It was plenty fast for a Spider and had a great sound...much better than the later 355, 360 and 430 IMHO. That all being said, you must remember than at the time of LdM 348 disparaging comment, he was justifying his value as the then new leader of Ferrari and had to establish he was needed to improve Ferrari road cars and move them into the post-Enzo era. And, I believe he drove a 348 as his daily driver at the time so he did have the ownership experience to make such a comment. I sure wish GM and Chrysler CEO's were more candid about some of the crap their companies have produced and make it a their goal to improve like LdM did.

 

It might have been necessary to say it internally when he first became CEO, but I personally think it was crass then to say it publicly in quite that way. Now, years later, when both his position and his place in the history books are secure - and his views are already in the public domain - I think it's unnecessary to justify himself any further and unacceptable for him to repeat those comments during the 458 launch to the angst of current 348 owners and those who are passionate fans of the car.

This isn't delayed outrage at something he said a decade ago - this is dismay at something he's said virtually last week.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

You wanna know why the 348 is "the worst Ferrari ever made"?

I'll tell you.

Because the FACTORY did a SLOPASS job on it that's why. Funny how he doesn't say anything about that. Yeah it wasn't great right out of the factory, and guess who is to blame for that, FERRARI! Funny how he never says "WE did a piss poor job" when "WE" put the 348 together. How he never says WE should have done things right form the get go. How the FACTORY should have never let the NSX show up the 348. He also fails to mention how the 355 is just a refined 348. Funny how he never says that. Yeah thanks to people running Ferrari the 348 rolled off the factory floor to be know by them as "the worst Ferrari ever". Nice how he avoids mentioning it was THEIR fault.

But now that the Brotherhood is on the case, our little unloved 348s are starting to turn out how they should have from the get go. It will be thanks to all the members of the Brotherhood that the 348 is being made right.

One more thing.

This is the idiot that forced Schumacher, to date the greatest F1 driver off all time, off the Racing team. The guy that ended one of, if not THE MOST, dominant Formula 1 teams to ever race. Another idiotic decision, brought to you by the guy that condemns the 348. And now the song from the Bud Light commercial "Reeeeal men of genius". Yeah Luca is a real "genius" isn't he. Uh.............NO!

Long live the 348 Brotherhood.

 

AMEN Ernie!!

 

The 328 is also just a refinement of the 308. The 355 is just a refinement of the 348. In the same way the 430 is just a refinement of the 360. All three models are naturally a better progression than the last. As well as all three also have a very different designed engines than the original units they were refined from. Its way more than a "just" a refinement IMO.

 

LdM was not in the Ferrari road car division when the 348 was designed and made...so he was correct in not saying "we", as it was them at the time, not we or us

 

But the company was still Ferrari, and still is, hence "WE".

And I still think he's still an idiot for cutting Michael loose. Biggest mistake ever, even bigger than "the 348". Completely ruined the dream team dynasty.

 

You are absolutely correct. I don't care if he joined the company 1000 years after whatever product he is talking about - it is still "We" or "Our previous project..."