Discussing about it with someone else. How broad is it ? My view is that they are pretty much independant and that Fiat would only intervein ( sp ? ) if the CEO does something pretty stupid ( like an SUV ).. or if they decide to sell..But appart from those hypothetical cases , Ferrari seems to be 100% independant and dont need the Fiat ok every 10 mns ? Am i wrong ?
Explaining further how it works, to be a wholely owned subsidiary, in simple terms: The profits go upstream. The directives come downstream. HTH PS Enzo knew that. That's why he waited so long........and kept 51%.
not really. profits up and directive down is the basic of a subsidiary. I want to know if its the case for Ferrari Spa.I know Ferrari profits help the Fiat group but i want to know how broad is their autonomy ... I dont think Fiat holds Ferrari with a strong wrist..
Public companies owned by banks need to make a good business case for expenditures. The nuts and bolts of construction are irrelevant, only cost/benefit/yield. An SUV would generate short term sales, conquest sales, but would pander to a fickle market. Sportscars seem inflation/crisis proof, only yielding to consumptive stigma. And the philosophy of keeping demand high stymies sale numbers, but builds brand mystique. F-1 costs are astronomical, as Ford have noted, but,Ferrari WINS, so add that to advertising budget. I suspect it is business as usual, and fortunately the sale to the banks last year or so was to avert the Fiat morass. SpA can build whatever is logical( not necessarily pretty) and it will return on investment. Banks like that. Even BMW is learning that, but sadly the sales sucesses of today will not sustain. Factor in service costs per unit, and a bad/troublesome design will have banks pounding on your door. So, didja do a search??
Since Enzo has passed and Fiat took over majority control, production of cars has skyrocketed, Ferraris have gone more mainstream with every accessory available on models, FIAT is in control and calls the shots.
That was more the result of Luca I think then Fiat. Recall Luca made the 355 more 'user friendly' then the 348 to respond to demand.
I wouldn't blame everything on Luca, I am sure it comes from the top at FIAT and he answers to them, yes all cars have become more user friendly, easier to get into and out of, less noisy, power steering and driver aids to help the new demographic drivers thru corners faster, basically making the cars more sellable to mass market. When Enzo originally made the GTO he needed to make 100 of them for homologation, he stopped at 39 and convinced the FIA that the market was saturated and he could not sell anymore and that very few men in the world could handle the power of the car so they allowed him to only make the 39.
Luca IS the top @ Fiat now, and FIAT is no longer in control of Ferrari. They haven't had active role in much other than the upgrading of physical plant @ Modena. Mediobanco and a few others I believe own 30+%. The market drove the easier to drive,etc. Corollas have pw,ps,CD's now. F-cars have no hands-free phone capability, no significant warranty, no standard CD changer in road cars, etc, stuff that is de rigeur in anything under 80K (Porsche excepted). This is not a subsidiary like corvette @ GM, it is much more hands off, using the corp to ease production economies, i.e. Aston, Bentley. Or, I may be full of crap.
This is an interesting story. What's your source? I read that Ferrari promised to build 100 GTO's but never delivered, so, next time around, when he tried to claim the 250 LM was a 'modification' of the GTO, they didn't buy his story and classified it as a prototype. Anyone got the answer?
That's closer to the truth, IMO...he promised to meet GTO standards, but never did...the number of cars did vary from year to year, but that was my understanding... The 250LM was caught up in it, as you mentioned, when they did not let it count as an "evolution".....as the engine had moved a little...to the rear!
100 sounds very high for some reason, even much later the number required was a round 50...I think the 250GTO made it, as 25 were produced at the time....
I was under the impression that the GTO was only homologated because Enzo claimed it was only a modification of the SWB.
That sounds right...thanks! It did n ot have anything to do with the muscle required to drive it... Sterling Moss listened to the radio!!!! LOL!
From the book Ferrari by Dennis Adler 1997 Total GTO production 39 "In order to be homologated, Ferrari was supposed to produce 100 examples however when pressed by the FIA Enzo said the market for the car had already been saturated and there were only a few men in the world that could master it's ferocity!"
