I got to drive a Gallardo.....

Dan, When prepared to purchase, and faced with immediate choices on the showroom floor - or immediate placement at the factory (lambo) vs getting on a list ...for a subsequent unknown model (F-car) ... I would talk to the Lambo man. Ferrari would be my first choice ...but I retain the right to choose.

 

I think Luca's a stud, but I also disagree with Ferrari marketing's touting 399 as the magic number, I argue they undershot. Given that a handful of used Enzo's are trading hands at $1M (30% over list), it shows that the market was undersupplied - by at least 15-20 units (that's my guesstimate). I mentioned on another thread to maximize profits on it they should have priced it around $750-800k and not capped orders -- but closed orders after a certain date, say April 1/04.

The desirability and exclusivity factor is relevant though (see the Carrera GT threads where people nixed orders/plans to order because of the production increase... on a car nearly on par with the Enzo performance-wise). Ferrari's been playing this card forever though, and I think the new Audi-guided Lambo is making *huge* strides in the right direction (quality).

Would I want a 360 more over the Gallardo, because of the list?... I dunno, I'm obviously a biased tifosi, but I'm also big on "bang for the buck" (don't ask me why I'm not as wild about Porsche then

I think there are two big factors, if you assume that you like the styling equally (big, big economist-type assumption): 1) do you have something else to drive in the meantime? If you already have toy to boot around in, I think you could wait longer. If I was buying my first exotic, I'd want to drive NOW. For me, if I wanted a new car for whatever reason, I would go and buy a Gallardo. 2) Finding your personal balance for the desire for exclusivity/obtaining what others want, and patience. I love 360's, but am also impatient when it comes to things I want. Guys who wait 2 years for a 360 Spyder deserve huge props, because I'd just get something else and wait for used prices to cool off. For me personally, a 3-6 month waitlist is fine, maybe even a tad more for something like a CGT/Enzo/SLR. But something in the price range of the 360, once you've adapted to exotic car pricing, a 2 year waitlist is out of the question. I couldn't deal with it, unless, like #1, I had something else in the meantime.

 

I agree with you Clax.

 

I honestly don't understand why is everyone getting on KIDZAN's case. He gave us his review on the Gallardo that he test drove. He did not like it!! that's his opinion and he is entitled to it.

Do you guys think that he is actualy going to sell more ferraris if he bashes the Gallardo on F-chat. we don't even know what dealership he works out of so what benefits him by bashing the Gallardo?

As for the 360 waiting list , i don't think anyone expected it to last this long and this strong and contrary to what all the lambo fans say, there is still a waiting list. A very good friend of mine just signed a short term lease on the Gallardo and hope to test drive it next week. I will post my impressions as honestly as i can.

 

Firstly, I didn't critisize him except to say if you don't push a car you can't give a fair performance evaluation. I don't think many would argue with that?
Did he say he didn't like it? Guess I missed that?
Styling is another whole issue either you prefer it to the 360 or you don't.
The standard 360 really is not in the same performance class and( only
from what I've read) the CS is outperformed as well.

I'm in So california..I'm off on Sundays if anyone with a CS wants to
hook up with me and play or compare call me. 909 383-9000

 

It is interesting that every car test so far has put the Gallardo in front of the 360 both standard and CS. There may be waiting lists still, but there are plenty of near new 360's available here in Australia at a good discount to list.

 

it might be the case in Australia but not here in the U.S. Even from the begining of the 360 days, they were always cheaper and more readily available in Europe. why do you think there are so many euro cars in the U.S now.
Again no one is denying that the Gallardo has shown better numbers on all the tests. My only point was that everyone should not jump on a guy if he says that he prefers the 360 over Gallardo. its not all about numbers all the time.

 

firstly Please read my post carefully and note that i had never mentioned you personaly critisizing anyone. i was refering to the person that brought up the fact that he might be a ferrari salesman.

Secondly, if someone writes "Would I want one over a 360? Probably not. If it were between it and a Stradale - Stradale, hands down. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool car. It gets as many looks as any Ferrari, and is much faster than what most people will ever need. I'd love to own one, just not instead of a Ferrari" to me it means that he did not like the car. your take on this might be very different and it is obviously your choice or right to read into it any which way you want.

Thirdly, i am not a big fan of a 360 eventhough i own one but my whole point is that what i have observed is that if someone does not give Gallardo a glowing review then everyone tries to find an angle to bring his or her credibility down.

I am sure that you are enjoying your Gallardo as much as i do my 360. it is all about what rocks your boat.

 

I'm sure if you guys used left hand drive there wouldn't be any excess!
The Americans would be importing them from Australia!

Any Gallardos there? Just curious.

 

Anyone knows what is the sticker price on the Gallardo's in Europe? i wonder how the Eruo situation has affected them.

 

Well i guess i was wrong then about you not liking the Gallardo. i should have said not as much as Stradale.

 

I don't know all the stats, but the Gallardo looks much much better in my opinion.

 

You should not be comparing the Stradale and the Gallardo. The proper comparison is the 360 and Gallardo. In 1-2 years there will be a modified Gallardo to make proper comparisons with the Stradale.

 

why should not you be able to compare them? Stradale is a factory car being offered to public not a modified version done by an independent shop.

 

Why not compare it? This car as it is delivered deserves more credit than you are giving it.I must admit I have not driven a CS yet myself..for
now all I have to go on are magazines that have posted results.
Apparently The "G" car beats it. I'm in so calif ....if a CS owner wants to meet me compare notes,swap cars, or play I'm ready. car will have a 1000 miles by Sunday. call me 909 383-9000.
wayne

 

titanium360
Here is what I posted in a thread in general dicussion in response to allanlambo's post of 575M/Gallardo comparison:

"I find it amusing that despite review after review and test after test consistently placing the Gallardo in front of the Ferrari 360, there is so much resistance to accepting the facts. However, IMO, there is no way the Gallardo is a better car than the 575M, it may be faster and quicker around a race track, but to my mind it is not better. having said that, I believe the Gallardo is better than the 360 for me. It is also faster in a straight line, around a circuit and also has the benefit of 4WD, for less than ideal road conditions. In the lastets EVO it also beat the 996TT, completing its winning sweep of all known competitors. However, these are just subjective opinions On the downside the luggage storage in the Gallardo is a joke, I use the shelf behind the seats as this is the largest/easiest access space available. If you need to take more than an overnight bag and briefcase and also intend having a passenger, the car is useless to you. Oh yeh, the gear change is very notchy and takes forever to warm up. I hope, like a good wine, it improves with age. I tried the e-gear, but found it as involving as the manual mode with paddle shift on my automatic Merc.
At the end of the day the Gallardo won out for me, but only because I have an E55 to use when I need to take passengers and luggage."

So don't get your knickers in a twist, I agree with you. At this level, decisions are made on data that is as much subjective as objective. No one is going to laugh at somebody for buying a 360 over a Gallardo, or vice versa, unless they're total dicks. They are both awesome cars.

Here is a pic of my car http://www.ipn.com.au/mbworld/lambo2.1.jpg

 

You wouldn't like black cars by any chance, would you?
That car looks great.

 

Oh, and yeah, if you ever feel like taking a very enthusiastic and interested person for a ride, (yes, I mean me) let me know. I'm in Toorak.

 

Stephens, where do you see me resisting the fact that the Gallardo beats the
360? but saying you can't compare the stradale with Gallardo is obsurd.

 

I just don't get it Wayne, I've ridden in a 360CS at speed (didn't drive it however) and to me there's no real comparison between the two for my own needs. The Gallardo is my choice and here's why:

The 360CS's ride is extremely firm, you bounce over every pebble in the road even on a smooth CA freeway. The interior carbon fiber is nice to look at, but squeaks annoyingly over every road imperfection in a way that's worse than your neighbor's plastic C5 vette. There are no real luxuries on the car, and even with the optional leather underdash, the alacantra on the top still looks very much like a race car, i.e., not finished to everyone besides knowlegeable sports car people like us.

-The Gallardo on the other hand outcorners the CS with zero body roll yet somehow manages to do it without turinging your kidneys into dust.

-It outhustles the CS from 60MPH and up in a dramatic way.

-It gives me full leather luxury including an integrated sat-nav and trip computer, a great stereo/cd system, and dual zone climate control.

-It doesn't beat me up audibly below 4,000rpm if I don't want it to, so if I want to CHILL and take a date out, or whatever in it, I'm not sweating taking the G as I would a CS.

And the coup de grace, which NO ONE has brought up on F-chat ever when debating the two cars:

-In the REAL WORLD, as opposed to a closed off track, the Gallardo is 100x safer than the 360CS, and that's a critical benefit to me.

Hmmmm, got you scratching you head? Wow Mako is really reaching here... Well let's break it down:

The Gallardo offers side curtain airbags, which is much more important than I realized after watching crash tests with SUVs t-boning normal sedans at intersections where one driver has run the stoplight. Much more important. You watch a few dummies dent an SUV's bumper WITH THEIR HEADS through the driver's side window, and tell me that you're not then a side airbag convert.

Next: The Gallardo offers full time 4WD, which is great on it's own merits for safety, but they then pair it with a sharp stability control system that's very effective.

Let's compare this to the 360CS, which doesn't even have a rudimentary traction control system. Nada. Zero. Zip. You're on your own Schumacher.

So let's say you're driving home from a light track event, and it starts to rain. Your P-Zeros are a bit worn in the rear from all the days festivities. Little nervous yet? You should be tough guy. Because even in a docile NSX like mine, in which this scenario actually occurred, the traction control flared up and saved my a$$ at speeds BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT four different times. Each time I thought, "Wonder what would have happened if I had forgotten to turn the TCS back on after I left the track...Ah I would have caught it, I'm a PRO baby!"

But deep down let's just say that I'm a believer. This is real life, and if you think you're Joe Pro Race Car Driver and you're either too good or too macho for traction control on a daily driven car with r-compound tires on it, then good for you buddy. I however don't make my living off of my lap times, and I believe in the safety net that TCS and Stability Control provides in a 400+HP car when not on a track.

So there you have it. So far the G has beaten the CS in the following categories:

Styling
Speed
Handling
Luxury
Safety

The first one is subjective. The rest are not.

How is this even a debate on this board? LOL!

 

I don't really like the looks of the Gallardo, but other than that, it kicks the 360 (including CS) in every other way. I wish it's exterior was more appealing to me, I'd buy one. Oh, and the Gallardo engine bay trimmings could look better (lots of cheap looking plastic). But performance wise, no comparison.

 

makko if a gallardo owner says those things here, similar to your comments, he would seem arrogant!
You've met me you know I'm anything but that. So what I try to do in my posts ,without ranting and raving, is to get guys who are interested in the car to drive one.
They can use their own expletives to describe the car. I want to promote
the car, I think it is great, but I'm not trying to alienate Ferrari owners.

 

Wayne believe me, the board is very aware of your outstanding hospitality and great open mind, you're a multiple F-car owner. I think readers recognize editorial posts that are based on that original poster's opinion, which is what I meant with mine. To be clear to all, my comments don't reflect anyone else's opinions or viewpoints, including Wayne's.

To any CS owner that's offended, my post is just an illustration of how the Gallardo happens to be a better fit for myself, and the majority of others in this market, than the CS is. I personally would own both if I had the funds, and if the G didn't exist I'd go with the CS. That's my take on it.

But the G seems to dominate almost every category that I can think of and I don't think that will be changing anytime soon.

 

Chill man, I was quoting from my post in another thread. What is up with you guys, why all the stress and grief?
As to your question, you're right, why not compare them? Even though it is just a magazine review, EVO did and the gallardo came out on top. I haven't driven a Stradale so cannot comment.