No bitterness mate, take the rough with the smooth The golf sim is basically a big screen that you hit the ball into and a computerised ball keeps going in the 'cyber course' on the screen. The sim itself is just a couple of grand but the GC2 launch monitor I have to run it comes in at about £8000 with the software. There are sims and then there are sims - I'm a pretty keen golfer and need the accuracy the GC2 gives, great bit of kit if you're a keen golfer. This is the sim I'm putting in as I need it to be pack away-able so I can reclaim the space when I'm not using it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Gn9mmesO8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kkIeZXWKrw I can live without the weather forecast, mate - bloody cold, bloody miserable here No, still got the 348 as designed by Leonardo Fioravanti, designer of the Daytona, 246 Dino, Berlinetta Boxer, 308 GTB, 288 GTO, F40 as well as his final masterpiece - the 348. If that doesn't qualify it as a true Ferrari ........ If you can, post back who designed the changes that made it the 355. Then name one true classic that's been designed 'by committee'
Denial I can't think of any car where the mark 2 variant isn't subjectively the better vehicle. I can't think of any classic where the mark 1, less technical, original, isn't the one to have. 348 prices overlap both 355 and 360 prices now in the UK and are still slowly climbing. The penny has dropped and there are people who now understand that there's something to be said for owning the last Ferrari Enzo commissioned and the last designed by Fioravanti. It was in development for 10 years with the earliest wind tunnel mockup being tested 8 or 9 years before launch and was developed by the same team that worked on the F40 - probably why it was such a leap forward in on track performance and why it drives like it does. But you can't see this Pete, because you don't 'get it' Organising a lunch in Feb for a bunch of owners, most of us will be in our daily drives with the weather over here. Asked one guy if he'd be in his 348 and he said "Don't be daft, she'll be tucked away for the winter with all the salt on the roads etc..... I'll be in the 430." Now that's a bloke who 'gets it'
England's best day since the first day in Brisbane. They bowled well. Some very poor dismissals by the Aussies. Played like a team who have already won... Oh hang on, they have! But, this is one match England really should win from here. Pete, that golf simulator is pretty cool but at that price I'll be finding something else to stick in the home theatre room!
Don't read this then! Melted Rubber: Ferrari F355 review Disclaimer: I do get 348s. They look superb.
It's about time England stood up to be counted. Actually be interesting if England do win. Not sure they will but it'll actually make the last match a little more interesting. Some were touting this as a 10 match series with 2 halves - an away and home leg for each team if you like, think you mentioned it during the England matches, Steve? Well at the moment it's all tied at 3 wins each. If England do we'd be one up with Australia needing the last match to draw the 10 match series. I don't wholly agree with the 10 match series theorem but it'd give your lot a reason to make sure they don't just pack up and say the series is already won, which is always a shame for the spectators when it happens. Re the sim, the actual enclosure is not that expensive and you can get bits of kit for a couple of hundred pounds to estimate what the ball would do and put it on the screen. But the kit I've got is used by many of the pros on the PGA and European tour as well as by the likes of Ping, Nike, Callaway I think, Titleist, as well as the shaft manufacturers. It really is that good. I'm new to golf but am pretty keen and am being taught by the head pro at our national academy where our international squad train. I got my initial handicap 9 months ago having unofficially played the odd game off about 18 (and still lost to my old man who's a 17 every time out!) and have made it down to a 5.1 handicap in that 9 months. With the odd round coming in at par or just under now my pro says I'm playing in line with his 2 handicap players now. Anyway, the kit isn't just for entertainment, I need it to be giving me the right info and spin numbers etc to keep the improvement curve going in the right direction. So, yes it's kind of pricey but there's nothing else out there that can compete and allow me to keep practicing inside all year round next year.
I'll read it but the writer quite clearly hasn't done too much research In 1990 the 348 had the longest waiting time in the US and UK of any car in Ferrari's history - 5 years in California at one stage and 4 and a bit in the UK; the 348 was (at the time) winning almost every comparison test out there * and it wasn't until it became 'trendy' or 'knowledgeable' to knock the 348 that it started to have problems found with it; the 348 wasn't the entry level - the Mondi T was in just about every way; the Spiders were the only ones that WERE selling at the end which is why they went on selling them along side the 355 for a year and in fact a 348 GTC was more expensive than a 355 when the 2 were being sold along side each other and sold fine; LdM didn't ever say the 348 was the "worst Ferrari he had ever driven"; the NSX was launched first not as a response to the 348 as they imply in the link - people always get that wrong .......... and I'm still on the first paragraph Seriously, knocking the 348 is old news and only really done by journalists who don't 'get it' (or by Pete in a vain hope to irritate me ). The 348 is old fashioned, a bugger to drive fast, a bit quirky, not overly comfortable and they leak - they are an old fashioned Ferrari. It was designed and built at a time when, to Enzo and his designers at least, that wasn't what was important. The 355 took all of those things and 'sorted' them - in a lot of ways they are the first modern Ferrari (or the 456 is....). Either way, there is nothing you'll find criticised in a 348 that you won't find in a Testarossa other than the fact that when LdM took over at maranello the Tessa was taken off the line virtually that month whereas the 348 stayed there with only minor tweaks for some time to come. My 348 is in mint condition and people are just starting to look for them in that kind of nick. My main dealer recently asked if I would sell it to them (but she's not for sale just yet). I could go and swap mine for a 360 at the lower end of the 360 market in the UK and maybe I will (we'll see, it kind of appeals) but I still love the 348 because it's quirky, old fashioned, and tough to drive well. THAT'S what some people don't 'get'. And comparing it unfavourably with an NSX by saying an NSX is great because it drives so easily and can be used every day - just like any Honda - is entirely missing the point. * just a couple of early examples but I could give you about 20 others.... Esprit Road Tests Esprit Road Tests Edit: Sorry, very quickly back to the article as I've read the rest - it talks about switching off the computer adjusted suspension - thought you could adjust settings but not switch it off, and all the 355s sold over here were with power steering (I've heard people say it was an option but never seen it or heard of anyone who has). Anyway, about that Cricket........
Yes there are obvious factual mistakes in that article, but I don't think the whole thing can be dismissed because of that. Without reading all 20 of your pro 348 articles I'd bet they're not perfect either. Let's face it, millions of people listen to Clarkson but virtually every car review he's ever done is chock full of mistakes and more about entertainment than anything else. But for goodness sake, please don't sell your lovely 348 to buy a 360. A 458 (or a 355); fine. But not a 360. Right, back to the cricket. Even if we do consider this a 10 match Ashes, I'd still wager the Aussies will end up in front.
I wouldn't dismiss it all, and the 355 is one of my favourite cars, it's just that some people compare the 348 and 355 and say the 348 is lacking because of everything that was 'sorted' in transforming it into the 355. It's just that, on a classic Ferrari, all those things are things I don't want 'sorted', they are what makes it a classic, old school Ferrari. You'll find them on every Ferrari pre 355/456 from uncomfortable driving position, tricky handling, offset pedals, quirky gear box, noisy, leaky.... it's what makes them what they are and I love 'em for it. You're not wrong about Clarkson - one of the most positive, possibly THE most positive, reviews on the 348 I've ever read was written by him after he first drove the car....... but he later wrote comments totally to the contrary. Following the crowd as many journalists have done Anyway the 360 idea would just be for a total change - saw a red Modena I liked the look of but haven't driven one. I normally get the urge to change during the winter when the 348's tucked away. I normally change my mind on the day she comes back out in the spring and we go for a blast. Cricket, Ok will take that bet. At worst you have to win and draw the last 2, if we win one you lose the wager. What are we 'playing' for?
Nothing against 360s. There's one that lives around the corner from me and every time I see it it looks better. However, I wouldn't trade a 348/355 for one. On reflection, I may have set myself an uphill task with that wager, but I wouldn't be surprised if we could still pull out a win from this game. It won't be a draw, that's for sure. I think tomorrow will be the day which decides the result. If England can bat well and be 300+ in front at stumps with several wickets still in the shed, they will be hard to beat. However, if they set the Aussies any less than 400 for the win I'll be pretty confident. Well, we're coming over again for The Ashes in 2015, so let's say if I win you can take me for a drive in whatever is in your garage and buy me a beer. And you have to wear one of those "Broad is a wanker" T-shirts! If you win, I'll buy the beer, but you can still wear the T-shirt
Trent Bridge is just down the road from me, how's about we meet up to pay the wager in 2015. T-shirt is a little steep (for an Englishman in England ) so how about lunch is on the loser?
No, it's about cricket. Well... sort of. There are plenty of threads for you lot to do your GGing and whomosexual stuff if you don't like this one.
Guess we did get a little off topic for a while, talking about cars on a car forum. I'll have stern words with myself. It won't happen again, Simon.
Would you like to join us on the GG? Or you're welcome to join Carl in the whomosexual stuff if that's more your thing. NTTIAWWT
Find me someone who wants a 348 and I'll show you someone who is either mentally challenged, thinks it's a testarossa or both.
Thanks for the invite. Hmmm... Let's see. Bunch of blokes with guns and bows and arrows. Strong possibility of homer sexual behaviour of an evening... I just remembered I'm busy that week!
1963? Better be careful I don't get in trouble for not respecting my elders - I know what your 'generation' can be like about that sort of thing. Wasn't at school until the 80s myself. Even more strange not getting the old school Ferrari thing though, what with being an old bloke and all.....
