Why has Ferrari abandoned the upper middle class ?

Jerry, from the information being presented, it appears that nothing has really changed.

1980's: price of new Ferrari was 2 times the average yearly salary.

Current times: price of new Ferrari is 2 times the average yearly salary.

...IF upper middle income class is roughly defined as approx $125-150K/yr and new Ferrari runs approx $250-300K.

Am I off here?

 

in 1985 it was 2X the average Americans wage...not the average estimated upper middle class.

1985: Median income $38k/ Price of 328 $60k thats 2X

2010: median income $ 50k/ Price of 430 $ 230k thats more than 4X

 

Come one, Bob. You gotta admit the Cali (front end & profile-wise at least) looks more like the Maser GT than it looks like the 458...

Like the Opel GT of the '70's kinda looked like a baby Corvette of the era...
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THAT's the parts I missed...thanks.

I still like the answer someone gave about how the pre-owned market is the answer for the middle or even (lower) upper middle class. It makes sense if you absolutely don't just HAVE to be the first one with the newest toy on the block (over-paying), and you have a little patience.

I'll get a 458 one day, but just not now....355 or 360 will come first.

 

I think it is the tail wagging the dog in fact.

In any distribution of anything there has to be a top, a middle, and a bottom.
People with wealth, most anyway, feel a "need" to display that wealth. It is the very excess of power and wasted money that metaphorically is the same as the "wasted" biological energy that goes into a male peacock's feather display. What it says to potential mates is, "look, I am so 'fit' biologically that I can afford to waste all this extra energy above and beyond what is needed for survival."
We don't drive our cars at 200+ mph or corner highway exit ramps anywhere near the potential of these race bred cars are capable, but what we are saying to the world is, " look, this car has crazy excess horsepower and technology I'll never use, burns gas at an alarming rate, and costs a fortune to purchase, maintain, and repair...and know what...I have the money to do it all...and then some."
Now I admit there are many wealthy people who don't feel the need to do this with their cars, but then they do it with their houses, vacations, gambling excesses, charity balls, society pages, boats, planes, etc.
Ferrari became "that" brand, and then they needed to back up that blustering bravado with a product that can support it. They had to produce the technology after they realized they had morphed into that superstar brand, not the other way around.

 

The easiness of driving these modern Ferraris along with the introduction of "automatic" F1 shifting has made all kind of really wealthy poseurs turn to Ferraris.

Give them a BB, 328, F40, 348 or vintage Ferraris and they wouldn't want to touch them. A day in one of those and they will sue whoever gotten them into that type of a car and prepare the dealers to offer full body massages, manicures, pedicures, mental therapy and diapers.

This is the mental picture of many modern Ferrari drivers; lets go to dinner in the Ferrari, lets go to the mall, lets have mimosas, my Yorkie rides shotgun honey... Don't forget the Celine Dion cds and Yanni is in town!!!

She says, "oohh oohh my dear do we really need front row tickets!!!"

He says, "no darling lets not get to close, it might be too loud"








Remember the old days when we were proud of our chest hair, today people shave them off.

 

Ah.... no. Unless you think everything looks like everything. We have people in the FF section comparing it to an AMC Gremlin!

No, the Cali looks much more like the 458 than it does to any Maser.

 

i think cost of ferrari vs decent house correlates better than vs avg salary. i remember thinking back in the 70's that $50k can get you a ferrari or house. i think that still holds true today at $300k. also ferrari at 3x corvette or 2x porsche still holds somewhat true.

 

There are new houses for half that.

A Ferrari three times a Vette, ok. Twice a Porsche is wrong, back in the 80s a Turbo was as much as a 328GTS, a 928S4 could be had for much over a 328. The entry level Ferrari should be today around $130,000 base price.

I think there's plenty of room for a $130,000 to $150,000 dollar Ferrari and I think it will happen at some point. That was what everyone expected the California wasn't going to be before we found out that it wasn't the car we expected, a smaller and nimbler Ferrari.

My dream car is and I cross my fingers for a Ferrari with a six cylinder high revving motor and as minimalist as a Lotus exige for $125,000.

 

From one professional designer to another...

I couldnt disagree more.

 

Speak for yourself. A lot us are just car guys with money. Personally, the "show" of a Ferrari is its least desirable feature. Not saying there aren't poseurs, there are, but the cars still appeal to hard core enthusiasts even if the entrance price is steep.

Dave

 

Who are kidding? Enzo was more than happy to sell cars to celebrities and royalty. No doubt that's how he got free advertising. You think all those GTs and 2+2s were built for hard core racers? Enzo was only interested in supporting his racing. He was plenty mercenary when it came to taking people's money.

Dave

 

Try a little more self examination.

 

really? ah...ok.

 

Ferrari is a Louis Vitton hand bag wih wheels. Nothing more. You want it..you pay for it. Your not really getting anything more then what other cars can do other then the flashy paint and a name.

The other reason why the prices now are so high?? Leasing, and financing. You would NEVER been able to finance a car in the price bracket of a ferrari 20 years ago. You had to have the cash or a huge down payment or the banks would laugh you out the front door. Ferrari can charge what ever they want, and as long as the bank figure the buyer can make the payments with interest, they will finance what ever you want.

 

"Finance?"

Maybe I'm way off base, but if you can't afford to pay CASH for a Ferrari ...

 

I think about half of all new Ferrari's are paid for with cash. I bet the California has the highest lease to purchase rate of any.

 

Gimme a break, most new cars are financed whether it be a Hyundai or a RR. Personally I've always paid cash but that's my ethics. Others will finance and that's their prerogative; whom are you to judge?

 

A lot of the luxury car makers sales would be DOWN today if it weren't for the FED and his trillions (qe1, qe2....). It is bail out money and a false sense of stability driving sales up. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche are not immune from the down cycle in the economy regardless of who they sell to. Lamborghini sales waayyyyy down. Porsche almost went bankrupt in the early 90's recession and the economy wasn't as bad as it is now (44 million on food stamps, 17%+ unemployed). If people want to buy a Ferrari buy a good used one as mentioned. Look how many of these 360's and 430's are for sale. The sellers who are clueless with their pricing are just wasting time. Those cars are just sitting for the longest time. It is a BUYERS market. We are in for periods of deflation (except for food and energy). These used luxury cars prices are still falling just be patient.....

 

Q: Why has Ferrari abandoned the upper middle class?

A: Because they CAN.

What they've done is remarkable in that they haven't had to widen their market breadth income-wise but instead have increased their depth into the upper market. Porsche, Aston Martin and Jaguar all have lost some of their brand image by selling to lower brackets but Ferrari has not only increased it's price but been able to do so while increasing it's numbers of units sold per year (except for the last year or so).

Like the old adage goes "make enough Cadillacs and their no longer Cadillacs" but to this point Ferrari has been able to make more and more Ferraris without diluting the brand and charge more while doing it.

 

So your position is that all Ferrari owners are peacocks?

Please.

I don't pretend to know you, don't pretend to know me or anyone else. Amateur psychobabble is of no use to any discussion.

Dave

 

People who would have previously bought those brands to pose in have now been attracted to Ferrari because those brands have lost their "Peacock" value. Porsche was once an exotic brand, their cars now have become extremely bland so posers dont get the "Peacock" value from a 911 that they used to. Ferrari still allows them to be seen as elite.

Its a bonus for Ferrari that fell into their lap. Its not every Ferrari owner but probably a very high percentage that buy a Ferrari just to show that they can.

If we bought cars just for performance we'd all buy GTR's... if Nissan had half a brain theyd design GTR's so they were a good looking car as well, they have no idea how many sales they lose because the car is ugly. I wouldnt buy a GTR as a daily driver because it is so ugly. If they looked good I probably would.

People buy Ferraris because they are beautiful as well.

Ferrari has managed to market itself using the worldwide coverage of Formula one. People who will never be able to afford a Ferrari buy overpriced clothing and goods which prop up Ferraris ability to not need to mass sell.
How many people do you see in Jaguar or Lotus t-shirts compared to Ferrari t-shirts? (shorts, shoes, socks, watches, jackets.....)

Ferrari is all about marketing now. Enzo would never want to take over the Ferrari owners clubs of the world like his company has now done. Its the bean counters that have taken over the company and if you ever expect Ferrari to bring out a car for the middle class you'll have to wait until someone from Volkswagen or Audi takes over running Ferrari like has happened at Porsche.

The made in China, built on a Golf platform Porsche will soon be in a dealer near you. One day we might see a similar Ferrari but for the meantime the t-shirt and socks sales will keep that from happening.

 

As true as it is, one only needs to look at the recent housing crash and how many $1m+ houses were foreclosed upon in states like CA, NV and FL. Many Americans simply live beyond their means, trying to keep up with the Joneses.

If banks or finance companies can make money off people trying to live beyond their means, they will do it. You know you can finance televisions and vacuum cleans, right?

 

Did I hit a nerve?
It really isn't that hard to imagine, and no...no comment is expected to typify 100% of people 100% of the time, that is so obvious it doesn't need to be made into a paper tiger argument.
If all one cared about was technological performance that could be safely and reasonably applied to 99% of driving situations then any number of "lesser" cars would suffice. And if the goal was pure track performance then there are a multitude of superior track car options like the Ariel Atom and dedicated track cars.
The point is that spending $250K on a high performance Italian exotic is precisely about peacock feathers, and if you don't think it is...then I would suggest you haven't given the topic a really thorough introspective examination.
The same can be applied to all sorts of expensive "habits."

 

agree completely.

Regardless of how hardcore some enthusiasts are, the vast majority of ferrari owners are not upset about the attention it garners.