The kiss of death that Ferrari is in danger of getting...

I really hope that they do not stoop to this level. Sacreligous!

 

Wrong!

Think Maserati and Alfa Romeo and you will see that the FIAT group already have that market sorted out.

Pete

 

IS 300 in college is relatively absent. it's all 3-series. They are so ubiquitous it's incredible.

 

Maserati solves that problem easily. Or Alfa Romeo, which is palnning to produce an "affordable" convertible through some affiliation with GM. Alfa is also planning to produce a Maserati, Porsche Turbo, and Aston AM V8 rival that looks better than all of them.

This level of automobile is not and should never be Ferrari's concern. Ferrari is a boutique designer all in one; the Brioni or Caracelli of automobiles, not Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein or even Armani.

 

I disagree. All depends on what college you go to. Plenty of IS300s here and the kids will be moving up to the Gs430 line.

 

LOL, yes, it does depend on the college. Everyone here has a 5 year old Toyota or truck. They will probably upgrade to $50k diesel 4 door duelly trucks and new Camery's with leather.

Back to the question... I don't think Ferrari or Lambo will stoop so low, IMO. Whenever anyone in the company speaks of the cars they all talk of the prestige of the mark etc that IMHO would be lost if you saw 32 Ferraris in every suburban neighborhood. Everyone wants to turn a profit, but I think Ferrari would rather put their name on a DVD player then sell a car to every other soccer mom on the road.

Happy Driving!

 

And that German car maker even go as low as bringing out a truck. These are days of quarterly profits, cashing out stock options, and Enron accounting. So, I will not be surprised that some execs will decide that the House of Italian horse needs a low-end car or truck, because he or she needs a big score and a bigger paycheck now.

 

The business model you mention is designed to create brand loyalty and have people move up the model ladder as their incomes improve. With shrinking margins, you have to increase your sales numbers to get the same return on investment.

I'd really like to see the actual numbers on the new AMG models. I'm guessing that MB is really loosing money on the 65 series cars. Maybach wasn't even designed to break even for 10 years!!!

Welcome to the world of image and ego, screw fiscal responsibility!!!

I hope Napolis chimes in and lets us know exactly how much these companies have lost in the last 3 years on the niche brands.

 

I agree with Pete: Ferrari's been quite clear in their marketing - Maseratti is the volume product, Ferrari is limited-volume and should always have waiting lists. So I take that to mean that we could see a Maseratti SUV but not a Ferrari?

 

With a two year waiting list on the 360, what would be the point of building a "Cheap" Ferrari?

 

I diagree with this in every way. I'm an LS man and I really don't care what "kids" are driving these days. Every been in an IS300?? It's not hard to tell why it's less than half the price of an LS.

The Jag X-type, LOL. Trust me, the people who buy the XJ sedans really don't care if someone else wants to buy a fancy contour.

You surely must be joking about the Hummer. The H2 has been a home run financially and in no way turns off the H1 customer. Polar opposites as to the customer they appeal to.

Saying that these decisions will ruin the brands is a stretch. Look at Cadillac. They have good sales, even though once a decade they launch some $hitbox car that they stamp Cadillac on(catera, cimarron). The only thing that gets hurt by Caddy doing this is the low end consumer who buys this garbage to begin with.

I'm gonna take a moment and don my Nomex suit....OK....here it is Juice, Ferrari allready has an entry level new car. It's the Modena. Though many don't like to admit it, it IS the entry level new Ferrari.

Now, to be practical, there are lots of "entry level" Ferraris on the used market. Exotic cars are like planes and boats, because of their high cost there is an incentive to take care of them and that creates a great secondary market. Like planes and boats, lots of people start with a used one and work their way up.

 

What you say might be an accurate rendition of the market If Ferraris long term strategy is to grow as big as it can and sell as many cars as it can.

However, Ferraris current strategy is to make a few cars and make them so good that people are willing to wait years to be able to buy one new from the factory. Under this model, building more factory capacity than fits the demand in the worst sales year possible, it a loosing tactic, not a winning one. Many famous products are made in the handfulls where demand in the several-handsfull. Those who can find such a niche can live a long and prosperous life.

Forza Ferrari.

 

Totally agree - it makes no sense to tarnish 'Ferrari'. Maserati is a good name within itself, and most Maserati owners know of the connections with Ferrari, these cars filling the gap at 60K

 

To me, the "inexpensive" Ferrari already exists, and it's called.....Maserati!

 

Why do you think you'll be flamed by that? I thought it's generally known that the 360 is the "entry level" Ferrari. The V8s have alway been the "affordable" line of cars for Ferrari.

I freely admit that I own an entry-level Ferrari. A pretty good one at that!

 

A few points.
Ferrari makes more from licencing revenue than selling cars.
Ford will NEVER recoup the 5 billion it payed for Jag.
VW will NEVER recoup the $ it payed for Lambo, Bugatti, and Bentley.
MB/C speaks for itself.
It's a tough business and it's getting tougher.
Ferrari is doing fine and with the economic expansion in China and Russia will be able to sell every Ferrari it can produce. Maser is IMHO more problematic but they do have a certain something and over time they'll get that right too.
The Enzo and their F1 cars set the standard and the new 360 will a be nice answer to the Gallardo. Their next car always is.
As an aside the Cayenne is a MAJOR homerun for P.

 

The Enzo and their F1 cars set the standard and the new 360 will a be nice answer to the Gallardo. Their next car always is.
As an aside the Cayenne is a MAJOR homerun for P.[/QUOTE]


Problem is Ferrari is not setting the standard but rather trying to play catch-up. By the time the 360 replacement hits the bricks Lamborghini will probably have a Gallardo SV?

 

The real "problem" here is that people are still thinking of Ferrari as a car company. They're not. They're a business conglomerate that happens to build street cars for discerning customers. Like Mr. G pointed out, F makes more on it's name and street cred than it does on it's car sales; F can afford to bank on it's name, ad infinitum. You don't have to catch up, if you exist within your own niche. Whether or not you feel that Ferrari's cars are aptly valued per the current market is up to your own discretion, but most every personal opinion is. Lastly, Lambo, et al, are trying to crash in on Ferrari's self constructed niche, and this is why they're releasing cars that offer more "value"; however, as I've already pointed out, Ferrari's got the ball in it's court.

 

Problem is Ferrari is not setting the standard but rather trying to play catch-up. By the time the 360 replacement hits the bricks Lamborghini will probably have a Gallardo SV?[/QUOTE]
Wayne
As last sunday showed their F1 cars are fine. In the FIA races their 550's and 575 are also winning. The Maser/Enzo will probably be a contender something the Murcie GTR isn't looking like.
On the road there is no Lambo like the Enzo. As for the next Gallardo if you read VW's latest financial's you'll see what's happening to developement spending at Lambo. It's being cut.

 

Porsche can barely build its sports car for $75k... that is a pretty bare-bones 911. What makes you think Ferrari could ever do that? Maser's aren't even that cheap. I'd be shocked to see any new Ferrari list for under $130k in the future.

 

You may be right..time will tell.... your point certainly has some validity.

 

I honestly think the core buyers of ferrari's just dont cross shop...whether its a 360 or an enzo, they dont look at whats available from other builders...just what the newest fcar is!

 

And that's bad because....?