Ferrari chairman Luca Di Montezemolo to quit after 23 years

I agree with your sentiments. I would add that Ferrari was already well pointed in that direction under LDM. I fear it will only get worse.

the good news is that the pre-LDM cars will continue to gain in desirability one would think.

 

Piech is merciless, even to his own family. Sweater-man won't have a chance......

 

http://links.em.autosport.com/servlet/MailView?ms=OTQxODc1NQS2&r=MTM1NzExNzk3MzgzS0&j=MzgwNzkzODE4S0&mt=1&rt=0

 

Ferrari Chairman Quits After Clash Goes Public - WSJ

 

The Viper is a million x better than a Cali

& why is F making the silly FF station wagon ?

I'd love to see a new Dino, would b very cool

 

I think all of the nostalgia will elicit an emotional response when we see things related to Ferrari. Especially owning and using something that you have dreamed of for so long. I wouldn't confuse that with soul.

 

In your story, you said the police officer was a petrol head. Therefore, he will have heard of Pagani.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

"OK, OK, you got me!"......

Cheers,
Ian

 

Luca understands the brand's "magic" (the unpredictable, crazy hot chick of car companies!) and did pretty good bidness with the Atelier concept, where they can peddle an Alfa 4C’s worth of carbon doo-dads and special paint to a single car - adding exclusivity and revenue (decent margins?) - w/out having to add to production.

Still ...

Paris and the Kardashians will continue to buy new Ferrari’s no matter who’s in charge, so the company will be okay.

Sergio needs to do a Dart Hellcat.

 

I'm afraid this isn't good news.

Marchionne's visions and policies change very often.

Lancia:
I once heard a speech of him where he was unfolding a bright future for Lancia.
Now, several years later,
After no new model releases
After trying to sell Chryslers with Lancia badges
They pulled the plug and only the Ypsilon will stay on the production lines, but only for Italy. Why? Ask Marchionne!

Alfa Romeo:
Alfa had a nice gamma until approx. 2007. The flagship 166 stopped, no new model. Later 147: same problem. Now, the gamma is a small Mito and a Giullietta.
I'm sorry, the 4C is very nice, but Alfisti want family cars.
The lease market/company car market was flooded with Alfas (147, 156 and later 159). Why no new models? Ask Marchionne!

Fiat
The only light in this dark story is the Fiat 500. It keeps the group floating. I'm not a brand strategic, but putting all your hopes on 'milking the 500-cow' will not be my strategy.... But time will tell if Fiat will end on Marchionne's failure pile or not.

Chrysler group
Who on earth would drive a rebadged Chrysler? Chrysler people don't want to drive Lancia badged cars, Slancia people don't want to,drive Chrysler cars.
Sales dropped in Belgium. Other countries also? Why? Ask Marchionne.

Ferrari
I'm not in the knowledge to make a statement on the Ferrari brand, but it seemed OK under LdM's leadership.

Maserati
For the only brand that growed under Marchionne's wings. They now have a gamma every car brand would be jalous off.

For me, Mr Marchionne is a big nono. Please keep em away from our favourite brands. He allready killed one.

 

To which vintage model this specifically refers to ?

 

Ferrari president Montezemolo to leave the company - Netscape Money & Business

 

The Viper and the Cali are two very different cars, so difficult to compare, but I would definitely own the new California over the boyracer Viper.

I guess they build the FF because people buy it. It isn't a station wagon, strictly speaking, as it has no real cargo area, but I get your point. Frankly, having driven one, it's difficult to imagine a car that is dynamically superior. Yes, the car is huge, and the styling is well, not to my taste, but that is strictly subjective.

Yes, a Dino would be nice.....as long as it's not a badge engineered Alfa. Or Dart.

 

This has to be bad news. Luca was an extraordinary leader. Under his leadership Ferrari road cars actually became much BETTER, and the brand became one of the most powerful in the world. Enzo picked him out at a very young age, and his judgement was correct. Ferrari successfully bucked the trend that when the originator/founder and charismatic leader leaves the scene, the brand goes downhill (look for example at Apple). We will see what happens now.

 

Re the importance of F1: look at the poseur Lambos, they sell just fine. If Ferrari detunes thier emphasis on F1 the brand is now bigger than F1. From a business standpoint I don't thing Ferrari needs it.

 

Some more they want to launch a turbocharged V8 super car, what a steeper downhill.

 

I would really like to see Ferrari split its production into Hard and Soft cars.

The Soft cars would have the manettino, DCT, luxury features, very expensive, and pretty much drive themselves. Very much in tune with what they are making now.

The Hard cars would be cheaper, lighter, smaller, traditional MT, little or not PS, for traditionalists who want the onus on the driver. More in tune with their limited addition Speciale, GTO, (etc) - without the fluff.

 

Nice link. Should rest some worries here with respect to Ferrari and Fiat in a larger sense. Thank you for the post. Clearly if true, SM is not blind to a unique Ferrari status at all.

 

IMO Marchionne is not a real passionate Ferrari guy. Luca was.

I think this is a big deal and not good for Ferrari... hope I'm wrong.

 

Same could have been said about Lamborghini 30 years ago.

 

Will Ferrari follow Porsche, produces SUV?

 

You got talent!
Who or what the hell were Todt, Brawn, Byrne, Schumacher, Raikkonen, 6 World Driver Championships, 8 World Constructor Championships, record skyhigh sales, Ferrari being most powerful global brand,....

You should write articles for Playboy, so there's only a minimal chance that someone really reads your nonsense.

 

Definitely won't be good for production #s aka exclusivity. Interesting times ahead, but at least the commitment to be winners in F1 won't change. I just hope Alonso doesn't leave the Scuderia because of this spat, he's the best driver on the grid today...

 

I always wanted a new Dino too. The 4C could have been the new Dino. It has a lot of the exotic elements you would want in a new Dino. Ferrari could have specifically engineered it to look, perform and hopefully sound like a real Ferrari too. The engine could have been more special and the interior could have been improved as well. If Ferrari made that car the 4C would never have needed to be made. I imagine Ferrari would have been able to sell a lot of them at twice the cost of a 4C. It all seems like common sense to me.

Isn't Alfa going to use a Mazda chassis for its next Spider? That was the plan but it looks like that may have changed. There have been countless plans for Alfa and almost none of them ever come to fruition. I think that could be why some have concerns with someone other than Luca running Ferrari, especially someone who has tried to revive Alfa with not much success. I wonder now if Ferrari will produce a rebadged 4C? Rebadging doesn't always go over well. Both the R8 and Gallaro seemed to work out ok for VW. Do you think SM believes people would buy a new Dino that is basically a rebadged 4C? If he is trying to keep up with FP I could see something like that happening. Man this could get tricky