I found this video interesting - Why he sold his 308

I notice the porto potty but I thought the was the James May version of the Time Lord ship.

 

Old James may be fighting his age by lashing the old and praising the new but not me, I want to blend them all together like wisdom.

In many ways I enjoy a 308 more than any other Ferrari. It is the Led Zeppelin opening of the door to 288 GTO and F40! A work of art/ sculpture with not too little nor too much, timeless yet iconic balance of never get old, subtle sweet character that rewards the driver with hobby and excitement which can be fully exercised on public roads.

That car deserves a more enthusiastic custodian. Just think of the musty neglected surroundings it has endured including the dusty fart driving it.

Finally he set the horse free.

 

My 328 is like a time machine. It takes me back to a simpler time without all the modern day aero and electronic overload on modern sports cars.

Takes me back to a teenager watching Magnum, watching 1980's movies where the rich guy had a 308/328 to drive around in. Before the internet, mobile phones and Instagram.

I understand times move on, things change, roads get more congested, speed humps get higher, but that's the point of classic cars. Where everyone and everything around you conspires to make you want to sell it and get something newer, faster, more comfortable... you resist !!

Anyone can go into a Ferrari dealer and drive out with a brand new F8, but to see a mint condition 308 on the road or parked on the street is a real thrill. Think of all the extra love and attention that owner has gone too to keep it looking like that. The hours spent searching for parts online, paying for expensive servicing, fixing it, cleaning it, preserving it.

It's not for the faint hearted, but that's what makes owning and running one of these cars such a special challenge.

A challenge very many out there would not be up to.

 

That analog/mechanical feel from the cars of that era cannot be achieved by newer cars that were built under stricter regulations. The way I summarize it is a lot more fun at much lower speeds, with tremendous connection to the machine.


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I had to sell my 308 because it was just too damn slow. Loved it..but it was almost embarrassing to drive. People thinking it was this fast jet plane of a car when in reality it could barely get out of it's own way. I loved driving it regardless..but was it ever a snail. I replaced it with a 355..much better in the power department..but dumped it before the service costs got outa hand. That said.. the 355 is the car o wish I had kept..

 

that’s why I turbocharged my QV. Best of both worlds

 

wow... his loss but someone else's gain!!!! Sell my 308... NEVER!!!!

 

As much as I agree with May, I'll sell my 355 before I sell my 308.I bought my 308 new and aside from feeling it's a prettier car than the 355, I have an emotional attachment to it. It was something I work for and a goal achieved. The 355 was just a used car that was on my bucket list. I just bought it when the right car came around. I also consider the 308 as the last real Ferrari. Everything that came after, with the exception pf the 288 GTO, even the 328, was in response to competition in the market.

 

If I want more power and flappy-paddle shifting and torque-vectoring and all that modern stuff, I can just jump into my wife’s RDX.

 

I just don't get the "too slow, can't get out of it's own way" comments. You know the 0-60 time for a 1962 250 GTO was listed as 6.0 sec. If a snappy off the line whoosh is all you need out of a car get a Tesla. I find the 308 is a decent, spirited GT sports car that's a thrill on a twisty back road and has never been a "disappointment". Driven flat out between 5-7k it's got plenty of whoosh for street use. You don't hear Dino owners constantly harping about a lack of power, the 308 was the new Dino and was never meant to smoke your neighbors Countach but it could certainly hold it's own against a 911..

 

I saw the video too and I must say James has dissapointed me big time.

I loved his 'standard!' videos and I really thought he was more emotional driven and wont sell the 308 ever, or at least not so early. We will all sell at some point anyway.

I found his video full of weak excuses which made me look at the car in detail.

The car doesnt look to me 100%standard at all, starting with that red carpet..

So yes I believe he feels the 308 is too tough to drive, but I strongly think that the real reason is he feels the market going down and wants to make or save the money because his 308 is not a top one as he made us to believe

Standard James Standard!!!

 

Funny, I think I like the 308 for exactly all the reasons he doesn't like it.

 

I was first in Hawaii in the early 80's. I asked one of the rental places how much to rent a 308 (they were everywhere). I recall it was about $500 a day. I thought that was a ridiculous amount of money at the time.

 

Hard to know with James May if those are his true thoughts or he is just trying to get eyeballs to his channel.


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Someone once told me when people say a car has character or personality they mean flaws they are trying to overlook...that seems to be inline with the video. I do product development as my day job....get feedbck on ideas, turn them into concepts, more feedback, preproduction samples, more feedback, final product, more feedback just to be sure. I understand how a Honda happens. It does absolutely NOTHING wrong, there is never anything to complain about, they are fine cars......that you couldn't pay me to own.

There is a difference between doing nothing wrong and doing something, ANYTHING right. People will overlook flaws if it means they get a "delighter", something this and only this product delivers that is a step above what they get or experience with other options.....that is what Ferrari has always been good at delivering and all these years later a 308 still does delight, at least for me. Mine hasn't run in some years now (hopefully that will change soon) but I cleaned out the shop to get back to it so its out and easily accessible.....I just had to sit in it and....wow. Yes its getting harder and harder to get in and out of and no the stupid wheel well shouldn't be pushing the pedal box off center, but sit down and the memory rushes back, the sound, the smell, the vibration that all produce the delight I always got driving it.

Screw air conditioning that works or a stereo I can hear, I couldn't imagine wanting to sell it.

 

Deserves to be back on the road.

 

It's a complex video post, with lots of angles, and maybe deliberately so to generate discussion in threads such as this. He is a pro, after all. And here we are.

I'm looking for an early GTB right now, especially because the market is soft and it's a good time to buy. But before I buy I am asking myself pretty much the same questions as May, in the context of having lived with Italian cars of different eras. Question is, what is it that I want from a 308 at this point in my life?

Older cars, from the 50s and 60s, the heyday of Italian automotive design, they have an abundance of style and flare and are from a romantic time. But they are slow, less useful, and harder to keep in shape, especially with kids and other demands of mid career life.

Modern cars are better for speed and handling, and they are easier to live with. But I've grown bored of modern car designs, with some exceptions of course. I don't even keep track of new Ferrari models anymore.

So where is the sweet spot? That's different for everyone, of course. But an early 308 GTB might be an interesting mix of these things for me. A semi-modern car that is easier to use and live with than its ancestors but simpler and more raw than its descendants, with enough noise and feel to be viscerally satisfying, and all packaged in a shape that is nothing short of iconic.

 

May was always a dolt...now he’s an old dolt. The porta potty is his Retardis...

 

That’s exactly what it is

 

Very well said

 

That was my first reaction too... why does he have a porta john in his garage. And why haven't Clarkson and Hammond come along to tip it over?

 

He probably just keeps some of his cars in a rented warehouse or hanger which doesn’t have plumbing.