Are F Cars getting cheap?

It seems Ferraris used to have a feel of "old world craftsmanship" I agree they are loosing it a bit, the interiors are becoming more "machine-produced" looking.

 

Interesting comments on the interior.

I just toured the factory in Maranello. I can tell you that the interior leather is all manually assembled. Stitched by seamstresses using electric sewing machines, not computer stitchers. The cowhide is custom ordered from one supplier in Italy. Very labor intensive.

To a large degree, the car is manually assembled. Very few robots.

It appears that great care is taken. So, not sure why the cars have a cheap feel, it certainly does not appear that way in the factory assembly process.

Mark

PS I like my old Ferrari, but I am not fanatic about it. Have visited Mercedes, BMW, and other assembly plants. Ferrari is definitely much more "old world" than any of the others.

 

Interesting thought coming from a 360 owner. That's the car that I think has the cheapest feeling interior, although I am sure that it's probably a step up in materials from the 355 and older models. It just doesn't have that classic Ferrari interior feel.

 

THose are minor things or cosmetics,...cheaper...may be.

But the main things involving the drive of the car itself... all aluminum engine block and head, more aluminum, kavlar, carbon fiber, ceramic, titanium are used more and more in the car.

 

The deal is that Ferrari does 'production cars' now...........not boutique cars. Ferrari has lost alot of its specialness as a result.

 

When I saw the interior of 430, I was impressed, and appears much better than older Ferraris I have seen in person. I guess I never expected luxirious appearance in Ferrari though.

Which model are you referring as better/luxirious look?

The best interior for cars according to my taste is Aston Martin (DB9's especially) or Bentley (Arnage's). They are both luxirous & elegant.

 

Old world craftmanship was based on old world craftsmen.

In a world where people make instant coffee in the microwave, taking the time to pay attention to details is becoming a lost art.

Today, a janitor is a "building maintenance engineer", and "manual labor" is a cliche joke for a mexican immigrant. Pride in a "mundane" job well done is also something that seems to have left the building.

If you do a sloppy job, where nobody will see it, who will know? You've heard the cliche: You'll know. And that has shaped modern society: Every time you take the cheap and easy alternative, you drop your self-esteem a tiny bit. And when enough people do that enough, and you wind up with the modern world: full of people with no self-esteem, and even less regard for anyone else. (Thus reinforcing the belief that "the dumb public" will never notice a slip-shod job.)

It's not just Ferraris that are getting cheap. We the people are.

 

Take a look at the build and material quality in a new Aston Martin DB9. Ferrari would do well to try to mimic their QC.

 

Funny you bring up the DB9, the quality of that car is amazing. It feels and drives like a solid bank vault...something usually reserved for german cars. However the design of the interior is bland ie no stiching or the equvalent of daytona-style upholstery. Theres an example of an interior that doesn't have enough old-world craftsmanship! Otherwise the DB9 is a wonderful car, save the fact that it could be a touch faster.

 

No. Ferrari interiors and nicer than ever before. On the the luxurious models, they don't skimp on the leather, not anywhere. On the racier models, they don't skimp on the carbon fiber, not anywhere. 360 was leaps and bounds beyond the 355's interior. 430 is a step further. 612 - great interior. etc. etc. FAR exceeds Porsche standards in level of quality. Lambo has high quality but is dull and clynical (in short, Audi-ish) - very very nice, but less style.
Ferrari build quality has never been higher, in my opinion.

 

I owned a 360 and now own a 430 (as a 348), and I think the int of the 430 is mutch MUTCH better !!!
I never liked the 360 int !

YOU ARE REALLY WRONG !!!

 

Just looked at a neighbor's new Enzo a couple of weeks back. While the tools are all nicely encased in that great leather pouch, the tow eye, which one might actually USE, had no place to store, so we wrapped it in a 7-11 sack and stuck it in a convient crease up front. huh? 'cousre the Enzo itself was AMAZING!; rumor has it, though, that it waited its first 4 months of life awaiting a replacement engine, so go figure? Maybe mere people aren't smart enough to build these hi-tech machines anymore. I'll stick with my carbed V-8!

 

When i was in a 612 i thought the interior was great.

I really like the bare bones interiors of the CS and Enzo most though, makes the whole experience more racy.

 

imho, the new 430 interior is kind of ugly. the 355 and slightly less so the 360 had a very clean, function design. the 430 has too many pods and too much "cheesy" looking carbon fiber.

maybe thats just me.

 

Maybe, but the Boxster and 996/7 interiors are way below par for their class. The Stuttgart guys should pop over to Munich to watch the BMW guys design their interiors.

(And if they ran over Bangle in the parking lot that would be a nice bonus.)

 

Hell, I don't think anyone has ever dyno or track tested Connolly leather or burled walnut! I think Ferrari interiors are best left spartan but functional and durable. An entry level Lexus or even a top of the range Hyundai will have a better interior. I recently got to drive a friend's Porsche 930 twin turbo: neck snapping acceleration!... and an interior so precisely crafted that it was almost sterile.

 

Yes. That's exactly what I said. Porsche interiors are awful.

 

Yep - I got your point and agreed with it. I was just saying that Porsche is bad benchmark for a quality interior, so that saying Ferrari interiors beat Porsche isn't aiming that high. Frankly, Audi does better for a lot less $$.

I'd also wonder how much safety and ergonomics have made those 'classic' Ferrari interiors the kind of thing we'll never have again. Airbags influence steering wheels and dash shapes, for example. Multi-function displays replace gauges, and F-1 paddles replace those very cool open gated shifters.

Just a thought.

 

Since the 360, they have been feeling more and more like "Production" cars.

 

That's deep!