458 at Long Island Ferrari

I totally agree with all aspects of what FundLawyer has comment on. He must of been the gentleman next to me when I heard him comment that he didn't like it all and I agreed, he said and I quote " we must be the only 2 with enough balls to say it out loud ". But he was incorrect, I heard many negative things from more than a couple of others. First I really don't think Ferarri should have sent a basic one. They should have sent a totally awesome 458 around for people to see. One with a beautiful interior and color scheme, but they choose to send one with no flair, no nothing, and for lack of a better words, WOW factor. Just a basic interior, and just a another plain red Ferrari ( I can not believe that I just said that. AMERICA is the best and has been very good to me. I would never have thought I would be in the position to say those words GOD BLESS AMERICA ) . Now I know all you Ferrari purest will say it's the car, the engine and ......, and that is ture, but when I am spending $300,000.00 I want someone to put thier best foot forward and Impress me for my money. I am not a trust fund baby I work really hard for my money and just as I do in buiness Ferrai should have done also. Or are they just so full of themselves they think they don't have to and we will all line up and buy their cars anyway no matter what they do . I was just suppose to send my deposit in, but at this point I am holding off and keeping my LAMBO

 

I've seen the 458 and I actually like the standard seats. For some reason, the Daytona's don't really seem to fit well in this design, at least to me. I think a lot of people will save the money and not order Daytona's over what is almost in 100% of the 360's and F430's.

I do think the F430 is "edgy-er" but the 458 is more subtle. It's sleeker and seems slimmer. Personally, I like it. It's like saying the 308 is more "edgy-er" than the Dino gt. It is, but is it better? Maybe, maybe not.

I can't see anyway anyone could call the dash "cheap". The die cast aluminum is first rate and I really like the "layered" effect of the leather wrapping. It's much more interesting than the F430.

Bottom line: each to their own. I'm just offering a different opinion. And, I'm waiting patently for a 458 Spider to appear in my garage.

One last comment: This looks cheap???
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It looked great from the east bound lane of the LIE, I will have to take a closer look .

 

I was there Thursday when it rolled off the truck. The body looked better in person than in pictures to me. It has a lot of interesting lines that u cannot appreciate in pictures. My friend was working with Calvin who was very helpful. I did not ask to sit in it so I cant comment on how the interior felt. I agree with the above the interior looked a little plain.

 

Tour car? Is the 458 travelling across the country (a la the 599 Panamerican tour across the U.S.A.)? If that's the case then why would Ferrari load it with expensive options like carbon fiber and sports seats?

 

just keep your 430 and leave us alone.

 

Each to his own...

 

I'm trying to figure out what your problem is here.

You're upset that Ferrari sent a car that doesn't have about 50 grand of extras around for a demo for people to evaluate if they want to buy one or not?

So, if they sent one around that was completely optioned out, you wouldn't complain that Ferrari was "cheating" on the car or pushing expensive options by not showing potential customers what a less expensive base model looks like?

If you don't like the car, you don't like the car. Fine. But complaining about somehow Ferrari is being arrogant in it's presentation of the car because they sent a base model is to me an over exaggeration of the situation at best.

 

How many 458 models did Ferrari bring along to show in Japan at the recent Ferrari event?

Not to mention; for how long now have we been seeing pictures of OWNERS driving their shiny new 458 in Europe...
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1+

 

It's a normal reaction to be less than thrilled with a new model that comes out and makes your car no longer the latest and greatest. There's usually an adjustment period, after which you upgrade. All Ferraris are beautiful. But the 458, inside and out, is the most shapely design since the Dino and 308. Sexy is back.

 

It's group psychology. Playing down excitement in a crowd so supply is available for the interested party. They were all emailing the dealer on their iphones in the parking lot to get an allocation. Better hurry

 

Sooo true...

 

What I think he was saying is that Ferrari thinks they will have no issue selling these out so they don't really care what they are sending around for people to look at. I agree with the point that a demo car should be loaded so potential owners can see what each option is and how it looks in person. Every other highline unveiling I have been to brings out the best of the models they are trying to sell. I agree at the end of the day its not a huge deal but it doesn't make much sense to not bring the best.

 

If Ferrari didn't care they wouldn't show anything and just ask people to pick off the website. Your proposing the classic no win situation. If they send a base car, they don't care what they show. If they send a fully optioned car, everyone complains the price shown is too high or they are pushing options.

The only solution would be to present two cars. But I don't view it as Ferrari being arrogant because they don't. In fact, it's arrogant to be upset if they didn't.

 

This is exactly the same way I view the situation. I saw the "demo" car in Austin & I liked it. Sure, IMHO it would have looked better with carbon fiber instead of the aluminum but I liked the feel of the seats. I LOVE the exterior design! I think it looks elegant compared to a F430 or Scuderia.

 

Even though I have warmed up a bit to the front end of the 458, which is different, I never liked the dash board design. It looks overly-designed like a Hot Wheels car, all of those pods and shapes. It tries too hard to be futuristic. It looks like you could take one of the dash pod trapezoidal things and just snap it off, like a plastic model. Actually the whole dash with paddles and steering wheel looks like a snap-together plastic Revel model kit. I'm certain others share this opinion.

 

I like the Daytona seats...think they look great. As for the dash ... carbon fiber is the way to go.
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The left hooker they sent down under was the boring red with tan interior. I too felt the interior was average in build quality (the carpets weren't finished in the corners, you could see holes) and looked tired as hundreds of people must of sat in it. Ferrari could of done better with a few basic options, which in turn may of helped them sell more options to buyers. The options list on this car is a bit rude price wise, considering the initial purchase price. But the buyers will pay for what they want, and Ferrari know this. I'm a fan of the car, but I guess after seeing hundreds of photos before seeing it in the flesh took away some of the appeal.

 

Maybe the answer is to take two cars on tour - one stock car with no or few options, and a fully tricked car in another colour. They might sell more options that way too.

 

I briefly sat in the 458 tour car at the Reading Concours. I like the interior, but agree that the dash design would be better complimented by the carbon trim rather than the aluminum. The aluminum trim looks ok, but not great.

The seats were comfortable, IMO. Also, the interior's overall quality/fit-and-finish seemed very good, though I didn't have time to really look at it well. I was just happy to be in the new Ferrari. IMO, the 458 dash design is more sophisticated yet less sporty than the 430's.

I do think the exterior design is better looking in person than in photos, but IME that's always the case with Ferrari...they always look better in person. I like the front better than I thought I would. The profile is beautiful. I'm just not 100% sure about the rear, though.