Ferrari Responds To Chris

Now this is a real article, thanks for posting this.

 

Such a head-shaker that FIAT-owned Chrysler's big ad campaign is focused on "Imported from Detroit" implying that it's an all-American company.

 

Jim,

If I were a betting man, I'd bet on the newspaper getting a call from their large Chrysler dealer advertiser threatening to pull their ads. Most automotive sections in newspapers are actually run by the advertising departments, because the content is specifically designed to lure advertising.

Unfortunately, in my dealings with newspapers over my career, I've learned that the feeling by everyone associated with the business and advertising side is that advertising runs the paper...because nobody seems to understand that content drives readership, which in turn causes businesses to advertise. One of my client newspapers dropped my collector car content, because the new VP of Advertising decided "our Autos section is for people to make car buying decisions. While buying a Stutz or Ferrari might be a decision for a privilaged few, that's not who we're targeting." Interestingly, my column space was replaced by expanding the pictures of the vanilla Cars.com "every car we review is great" articles and and an every-other week advertorial about how one of the local dealerships is great to do business with.

It never crosses newspaper ad people's minds that the quality of journalism is at the core of whether people buy the paper, which drives the advertising need (and rates.)

Dealers know they have the power, so they use it to influence content.

And in regards to your comment about Ferrari needing to appreciate its clients: that's why you're successful and Ferrari (and plenty of other auto manufacturers) have teetered on the edge.

 

Great Pic! LOL

 

Did you read CH's article and the Telegraph link? I think you have been drinking the Ferrari Koolaid way too long.

 

I hate to say it, but..

Scott Burgess didn't know his ass from his elbow when he was reviewing cars for Detroit News.

I go on the web site every day www.detnews.com to read the automotive section, and almost always I could find at least one mistake in his columns. I even emailed him once or twice about him giving misinformation about the new mustang and GT500, and thought there might be an editorial correction or a email reply, but nothing, like he didnt even care.

Doesn't surprise me or sadden me to see him go.

 

It's one thing for manufacturers to supply ringers, it's another for the press to understand that this is going on and say nothing. The Jalopnik article is standard Jalopnik gossipy tea-bagger get folks into a rage stuff. The source is much more balanced.

It's really much, much more an indictment of the automotive "journalism" practice and not much ado about Ferrari. I doubt Chris Harris will ever work again for anyone other than himself. Magazines have to make money and they do that by selling ads. Should be fairly obvious that the whole thing is a setup, no need to bite the hand that feeds you.

The talk about how Ferrari tunes a test car per track and supplies different test mules for different purposes really impresses me, actually. To take that much care shows a level of care and a level of engineering excellence that is hard to match even in the lower volume auto manufacturers.

 

Don't believe the fairy tale. The one who announces that the Emperor has no clothes is never a hero.

 

That was my impression. If this were REAL journalism and not just a personal rant, someone should have done some real investigation and evidence instead of running at the mouth.

The Telegraph article says it pretty clearly: everybody does it and the journalists know it.

The day the world worries that someone cheated to get 0.1 sec faster on a 0 to 60 time is the day we all need our priorities examined.

 

Ranting about an issue and actually doing hard research into it often give different results to the minds of the uninformed.

 

True enough but good deeds are often punished. People like to continue believing what they believe.

 

Good deeds are often rewarded to.... even if they are not well received at first.

It's a two way street.

To me, if you're going to go after a company like Ferrari or Porsche or Ford or GM with a hit piece, you should do a little actual research and present real data and information first.

It's one thing to say you think your local police department is corrupt. It's other to have some evidence to back it up beyond just your "feelings".

 

I don't think you read the Telepraph article very well.... It very clearly says that every manufacturer does this!

 

I totally agree that Ferrari should appreciate their clients a bit more.

But Ferrari teetering on the edge (of being unsuccessful I guess) I think is a little over the top don't you think so? For many years now they have been selling more cars and making more money

 

+1

 

I think what Chris Harris did is to be applauded and as Ferrari customers we should appreciate and take note of such articles. I don't know the guy but he seems to have a good deal of integrity and evidently a personal responsibility to report his findings and beliefs from his perspective. His credibility is all he's got to earn a living and if he felt it was important to say we should perhaps take notice. Heck, the SMART car builders get far more scrutiny over battery life numbers.

I don't know what Ferrari meant exactly by their reply but they should not take for granted the automotive environment that is here today. Enzo himself spoke of 3 customer types: the weekend racer, the gentleman enthusiast and the status chaser. Let's hope Ferrari doesn't assume we're all the third type, which will chase the logo without regard.

After all, the Aventador is here and it's 918 Sypder ordering week.

Happy Motoring

 

I'm not really sure how I feel about all this. Of course, we know that manufacturers tune their cars. I'm not sure we knew (or know) the full extent to which they do so, but it's somewhat eye-opening. Regardless, the rub is whether this is a fraud or misrepresentation. Now, no one is alleging that the cars didn't actually achieve the results they did. They did. So, it's not really a fraud, perhaps. But, it could be argued that this is NOT what's sold to the consumer. The consumer reads articles that says X, Y or Z. Perhaps they've relied upon those articles when considering whether to purchase the vehicle. And, if their car doesn't perform as-advertised, then, really, something isn't kosher. I'm certain neither SpA nor FNA will dispatch a team of set-up experts to tune our cars one-by-one so as to achieve those numbers.

Most of these numbers, at least as they pertain to Ferraris, though, are academic. I mean, does it matter if your car makes it to 60 in 3.5 or 3.7 seconds? Does it matter if your car makes it to 201 mph or merely to 199? And, while it's good to know that your car can get around a track, it will almost certainly do so faster with Alonso at the wheel than you. So, does it matter that it can lap Fiorano faster than the last model? Improvements are anticipated and expected. From a purely analytical standpoint, yes, it's interesting that a 458 is x seconds a lap faster around Fiorano than an F40, but other than that, it's somewhat irrelevant.

What frustrates me the most is the heavy-handedness of SpA. I'm not surprised. Just losing a bit more interest in a paranoid marketing juggernaut...

CW

 

Good point.

 

I think its a mistake to equate Ferrari "road tests" with those of mass market cars. Most mags treat Ferraris as fantasies and their tests are more features than reports.
If Ford or Toyota were (are?) up to similar tricks it would be rather more serious.

BTW Has anyone ever bought a Ferrari based on a magazine road test?

 

WOW! That is truely some Grade A Bullcrap!!

Btw - I don't understand why Ferrari owners are being so defensive. I would think you guys would be just as disappointed with Ferrari's behaviour or not care at all and just enjoy the car you own. I realize that ALL auto manufacturers do this but it seems that Ferrari takes it to a different level.

 

While I can't specifically remember an instance where someone purchased a car solely based on a magazine article (although, you do "put your name on the list" with the expectation that you'll get what's advertised, don't you? And, all you have to go on are the published photos, statistics and impressions of automotive publications and journalists, right?), I certainly remember instances when magazine articles were used in the pursuit of lemon law buy-backs.

The F40 comes to mind. Decades ago, now, buyers who paid $1MM+ for them (and who had subsequently experienced financial difficulties) used a number of issues (one of which was that the published weights, acceleration times and top speeds weren't what buyers got) to force buy-backs.

Manufacturers who "monkey" with their numbers do so at their own peril.

CW

 

Or is it just that your hero Chris Harris takes it to a different level...

 

Well, Ferraris are largely sold as "performance cars", so when the performance doesn't meet expectations, people feel duped. These cars aren't inexpensive to purchase, own, insure or maintain, either. It's not like we're getting an X% discount when Ferrari delivers a car that performs at X% less than the claimed figures, now, is it?

I can't say that I am deeply disappointed when a car fails to perform as advertised, and there are many reasons why people might purchase a Ferrari (heritage, looks, lifestyle, exhibition of wealth, etc.). But, to say I'm not disappointed at all, isn't true. If SpA says it can do X, it should do X. Delivering something that does X minus something is ... disappointing. So disappointing that I would never buy another Ferrari? No, not at all. But, nevertheless, it is a let down.

CW