New Member & a soon to be owner of a California

full electric seats are quite important because otherwise the passenger seat will not go up and down! one customer at my dealer returned the car because his wife could not see out of the passenger seat.

i am very happy with the excellent control over the bolsters and lumbar support. best i've ever experienced.

expensive? of course. essential? absolutely!

 

Hi Ignacio. I did not know that the passenger side cannot go up or down without the full electric seat option. Interesting.

Today, I think I began to appreciate the full electric seats more. I was driving with the top open, and it was a little breezy out. With the heated seats, everything was more comfortable and cozy. However, because I am quite thin, the side bolsters do nothing for me. Even at maximum inflation, the side bolsters still don't hug my body much. Guess I'm going to have to eat more.

Still, I find it quite ridiculous that full electric seats does not come standard on such an expensive car!

 

i agree it is ridiculous that full electric seats are not standard but it's common in high end sports cars including porsche.

i do appreciate the adjustable bolstering because i am more broad of beam than you are!

 

I was looking at my California the other day, and I feel that it looks much better in real life than in photos. Anyone else feel the same?

 

+1. Yes, a beautiful car. Don't know why many people bash it so much. I'm not an owner, but I've driven the California. Very impressive car in all avenues. Though not as hardcore as a Scuderia or Challenge Stradale for track use, it does everything else impressive for the ultimate DD or weekend fun car that is very livable in. Heck, it will beat the crap out of my 355 in a drag race and do it all in total comfort.

 

Yep, I was looking for a used 430 spider at MAG in Columbus OH last fall because the photos of the California just don't look good ... and then the salesman asked why I was looking at a 430, why not the Cali? Then he pointed to the Cali in the corner, and I about crapped. Then I ordered mine a couple weeks later.

 

Yes, in photos, the California looks very conservative. But in real life, it does have sex appeal.

I was surprised however that it only took me 10 months to get the car from the first time I placed a deposit. I thought many websites said the car was sold out for 2 years. And as well, I had always thought that Ferrari had long waiting lists. Is this just a myth? Maybe Ferrari is not as exclusive as I would have thought. Opinions?

 

RF- It depends on the model. No wait to order a 599 or a 612 (special order only), fairly long wait for a 458. There seems to be a reasonable supply of Californias with the new factory complex being used. 458 wait also seems much shorter than it was originally for the 430. More production capacity helps. Also helps that it is Ferrari enthisiasts and not speculators buying most of the Ferraris now.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

There are more Californias allocated for than there are buyers.

 

I thought the motto of Ferrari is to make "one less than they can sell". If there are more cars than buyers, sounds like over production?

 

if this were ever true, it was only for modenas and 430's. the gt cars have always been readily available.

 

There's a funny story to my first purchase of a Ferrari. I had always wanted one, but for years and years, multiple people had told me that a person could not just "walk in" and buy a Ferrari - they were only sold to current owners due to their limited availability. You had to buy a used Ferrari first to ever have a chance of buying a new one. Hence, I never bothered to visit the dealership until one day, I just decided to try anyway.

And now I'm driving the California. I think these myths sometimes get ahead of themselves. I think the difficulty of buying a Ferrari only applies to the limited cars, such as the Enzo, F40, F50, and the recent 599 GTO. My dealer said you have to apply to Ferrari to request an allocation of the 599 GTO as only 599 units are being built. That I believe.

 

RF- You got it. For a while you had to buy a Maranello or 456 to get on a 360 list. Buying a $250K car to get high on the list for a $180K car did not pass the sanity check.

Production capacity is now much enhanced.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I'm just wondering what reasons other people in the forum chose the California over, say, the F430.

Does anybody here regret not buying the 458 over the California?

 

The Cali is exactly what I want. I do use the back seat to take my 6 y/o to school. It has all the amenities that I want (satellite radio, good i-pod connection, navigation not essential but nice, seat heaters, etc.). Not to mention the hard top convertible. The 458 is indeed a beautiful machine. I may consider it but I must take it for a drive first. The California is really quite a comfortable ride, especially in comfort mode. When I want to throw the coals on it, it is ready to rock! The 458 is an evolution of the 430. That is an awesome car, but it is a bit more raw. I had a 360. I really liked it. I like the Cali better for many reasons. It certainly is not as an aggressive styling as the 458/430, but certainly no slouch!

 

Are the headrests removable? can't you just order new headrests with the stitching in it?

 

Probably they are. I need to check on that!

This car is simply way too much fun to do without for more than a couple days!

 

Then ordering another set of headrests sounds llike the perfect solution!

GOOD LUCK!

 

Hey Forge, can you elaborate on why you like your California more than your previous 360?

 

Torque, I bet. Wonderful, wonderful torque.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Torque and smooth, fast shifting!

Rick

 

I had a 360 and traded it in on a new California. Definitely the wide torque band is very nice, makes it a much more sane car to drive. It is faster and accelerates harder than my 360 did. I haven't tracked either so cant; speak to handling at the extremes. It is a smoother ride in comfort mode but stiffens up and gets with the program in sport mode. It truly is a touring car that would be fine on longer trips. The one minor maybe negative: braking. Since it is a touring car when you brake aggressively you don't get that boat anchor, brain in your lap, feel that the 360 (and 430) give. It still stops in a big hurry just not to the level of inducing discomfort.
It gets much more commenting and attention than the 360. This surprised me. With the 360 guys would want to see it and talk about it. With the California guys and girls want to see it and talk about it. Kind of a shame taht most of the time I'm old enough to be their grandfather ;-)

 

Your braking comment is interesting since Road & Track says that the California stops from 60 in 106 feet and from 80 in 188 feet http://www.roadandtrack.com/content/download/58776/1593829/version/1/file/2010-Ferrari-California_data-panel.pdf ... and a 2006 article about the 430 says that the 430 stops from 60 in about 118 feet and from 80 in 197 feet. I would assume that the 360 with smaller brakes and smaller tires would be similar or worse? I could not find data in R&T on the 360 braking.

I give a lot of rides in mine, and if the road is not slippery the passenger usually has to peal their eyeballs off of the dash. Stand on the brakes with all you can muster ... It still impresses the heck out of me after 6,000 miles.

Rick

 

It does stop really fast, fast enough to shock to unprepared passenger, but it just doesn't feel as brutal as the 360 did. Maybe it has to do with how the braking is applied (maybe slower at first and then harder as opposed to full out hard all the time)

 

That may be it. I had the privilege to drive a 599 HGTE this week. Its brakes were much more touchy than the California. Difficult to get used to in the ten miles or so that I was able to drive it.