I think I'm done with Ferrari

My adopted cat is sharpening her claws and wants to give YOU the lesson.

 

Excuse me - it is interesting, but it looks NOTHING like a Dino.

 

Agree!!!, The only way it resembles a Dino is that both cars have a steering wheel...Alex

 

I'm reading all this and agree with it fully, but it struck me that Ferrari is what it is today because of the way they have always done business. The cars have always been secondary to racing. A necessary means to an end. Their marketing philosophy has always been to make the car out of reach and exclusive only to those with means which coincides with many of the points you have mentioned. It's never about the customer, it's always been about the company. They let you open your wallet and buy their cars and in return they let you have limited access to the their world. Remember, factory tours are only for owners. Only good customers get the privilege to buy a car. Ferrari is brilliant and maybe the single best marketed company the world has ever seen. Based on their success to date I see no need for them to change now. Ferruccio Lamborghini once had similar problems with Ferrari as you do.

 

You mean the extra attention from undesirable bystanders? LOL! So seriously, if that's become a negative for you then why would you insist on a loud raw track-style car? You're not being logical.

At the end of the day, you probably want to enjoy your daily drive …and also have a bit of fun in a raw sports car. So you need 2 cars, one like the C7 to drive around the city with and something more primeval to drive away from the city with. A raw sports car will not work well as a commuter and you ought to know that by now.

In fact, an older stick shift convertible sports car would be way more fun because you don't have to break speed limits 2x over to feel connected with the car and you can hear everything with the roof open. That's why I drove BMWs.

 

Mmm, lovely car, wrong wheels, hilarious side mirrors.

 

If that's the case, just get a Subaru BR-Z or Scion FR-S. An old friend of mine just got rid of his 2011 Superleggera for one of those, and an M5, and hasn't looked back. (he also is race prepping a new M3). But I think his complaints about Lamborghini were much in line with your complaints about Ferrari.

As for my opinions on new Ferraris, well I don't buy items that depreciate that fast. I want a 3 pedal car, and maybe because I'm young..but every time I set foot in the dealership, I see the sales people in a huddle bull****ting. I don't expect to be sold a car every time I walk in, but at least have some warm and inviting "hello, how may I help you?" attitude. Maybe Im old fashioned, but in the nightclubs and restaurants that I've managed, my #1 rule was to ALWAYS acknowledge the customer when they enter.

My next toy will probably be a Maserati Ghlibi (4.9 ss hardtop would be ideal, but I don't know if those will be in reach when I can spring for one..I may have to settle for a 4.7). I've never been a Ferrari fanatic. They have some beautiful cars, and the 308 was on my bucket list. I've been there, done that. The 550 Maranello is the only car I really care to move up into.

 

The problem I see is (at least from my network) is I think Lamborghini is held in higher regards in terms of awe factor in my generation (gen y). I know 6 people my age with various Lamborghinis, and I am the only one in those circles with a Ferrari.

This is just an observation from my perspective, so maybe other people get a different perspective, but I dont think Ferrari has the poster car/playboy image that they did from the 60s through the 80s (I'll say it started to wane when production of the F40 stopped).

 

This, I think, is the central challenge of all sports car makers today. The horsepower wars, coupled with technological advances have yielded cars with capabilities beyond the ability of most drivers to enjoy.

I would hope that this technology might be shifted to focus in the overall package of driving enjoyment rather than raw numbers. I doubt that will happen but how far can the numbers take us? 1500hp? 0-60 in 1.5 seconds? Who cares? Bring on the fun!

 

Great thread.

I feel so much of what the Mayor does but having been addicted since 14, I just keep on accepting the abuse even knowing I am being abused. One day I may well wake up unless the factory does.

 

May I humbly suggest....
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Bob, you simply need another mid-life crisis to restore your love for Ferrari, then all those minor nuisances are meaningless.

The purchase and operating costs go hand in hand with the prestige, feeling of self worth and satisfaction that comes with owning a Ferrari. Nothing beats walking into the garage, pausing for a minute to observe the beauty of the car, sliding into the leather seats, firing it up and listening to the sounds only a Ferrari can produce.

I agree with each point you make, but I still love Ferrari.

 

Interesting suggestion .. I have a friend that bought a caterman several years ago and his logic was the power level was low enough that just driving the speed limit is a blast. In fact I get that sensation while driving my DINO .. with the lower power level a lot of excitement comes on at much lower speeds .. such fun vehicle.

 

Well said

 

That was certainly true for Enzo, but I doubt that's the case today with the execs of Ferrari. I'd be willing to bet that to them it's all about selling cars. Ironically, the "maybe we'll sell one to you" attitude may be part of their sales strategy. It maintains the air of uber-exclusivity and desirability of the marque.

 

Because you can't milk buyers with $100K worth of options in a smaller, lighter, less powerful car. Although the Elise/Exige handle as well as I can handle them, and 0-60 in under 5 sec is plenty fast enough.

Ferrari should absolutely be playing in that space, but older guys of broad physique and broad wallet don't fit in an Elise. My reason for liking the Elise/Exige is that it has (had) a very sane MSRP, so the "status" of the thing isn't that you paid the price of a house for it but rather that you have to be a serious gearhead to know what it's all about. The car demands compromises on luxury and comfort in the name of speed, which IMHO is exactly what a sports car is. (Hell, my Speedster doesn't even have reclining seats... I have a daily driver for arriving clean and pressed, when I need that.)

As I've posted before, I think back to guys who paid $400K+ for a 599 when those were new, drove it 1800 miles and then traded it for $180K and all I can think is that they could have so much more automotive joy for that amount of money. That's what I don't get about the new Ferraris.

Agree mostly, although Ferrari (and Porsche) displacements have always been low. OTOH, with a Viper you can actually walk through the engine standing up and take a tour of all the cylinders.

Too true. When I see a 458 stopped at a light behind a Camry, it kind of says it all. One reason the Boxster is so successful is that it has all the performance and more that you'd need on any public road, and you can drive it however many miles you like without losing $200K to depreciation. The 458 is "better", but not in any meaningful way for the way most of us drive.

Can't argue with that. Although Dean died in his 550, not in his Speedster.

But yes, take a Speedster anywhere about 90 mph and you will feel like Chuck Yeager. The car's probably too much drama for anyone used to the security and quiet of modern Porsches or Ferraris. OTOH, it feels, sounds and smells like a vintage racer, and they are relatively cheap to run and repair. I certainly couldn't care less about putting miles on it, and it gets none of the attitude that people show to the guy in the new-ish red Ferrari.

Unfortunately, I think their differentiator right now is that the brand is very prestigious and there is still a wait to get certain new models. 40 years ago, Ferrari was night and day different than anything. As you say, high end sports cars are all doing basically the same thing, and there are more players. Ferrari has more brand cachet than Porsche or McLaren, but away from the valet stand I'm not sure it's all that different.

Good points, especially about sweating the details and de-emphasizing the GTs. I'm always awestruck when I see the inside of a Daytona or 246, impressed with the 308/328, and then appalled with most of what came later. As has been posted earlier, there is no reason for sticky plastic in a car when Honda seems to manage durable plastics in the Fit and Civic.

On the "customer treatment" point, the truth is they don't need you, or me. The brand creates its own demand, and the economy is global so there will always be buyers who have tons of cash and don't know how to drive well enough to exploit 10 percent of the potential of a 458 (or 991, or McLaren, etc.)

On the "gimmicks" and complications... that's just where high end cars are. I'm sure you've looked at Mercedes over the last decade, and the S Class is a rolling science fair. You can't differentiate a brand by a nice leather interior, because everyone offers those in cars that are one sixth of 458 MSRP. It used to be that a handcrafted Ferrari occupied a unique place in the automotive pantheon, but throw 200+ mph into the mix and it's all about carbon fibre, plastics and technologies. Unfortunately, Italians don't do that any better or any differently than do the Germans, Brits or Americans.

Exactly. You could argue that Ferrari doesn't want to be Porsche (which is hugely customer centric -- the dealer near me is like a non-stop motorsports lifestyle recruiting center that also sells cars).

 

^^^^ great post.

 

Get a GT-R and move on. You won't feel ripped off and will enjoy the seat time behind the wheel every time you get in it.

 

I have owned 3 Ferraris, but none of them new. I have never felt loved by the local dealer, if anything I felt that they think they are doing me a favor to sell me a car. I think the market for the car has become more the person for whom $300k is not a lot of money, and the car is mostly a fashion accessory to take you 1500 miles a year to swanky destinations. I know there are exceptions, but that is the sense I get and if you want to talk community, those are not my people, especially in that $300K is a great deal of money to me.

I have bought Vipers, Vettes, Lambos, and most recently a McLaren new, but never a Ferrari. I even bought a Cadillac CTS-V wagon. The reasons are varied, but in every case I thought the value and buying experience made it worth it.

But the biggest reason is that I think I am a bit of an iconoclast and a Ferrari does not work for that. Also, if you get very objective, a Ferrari starts to be an awful lot like the Emporer's New Clothes. Cognitive dissonance can work to overcome that, but my reaction is to be a bit ashamed of myself for being hoodwinked by marketing and non-critical thinking.

I also don't have a Rolex, anything Armani or Louis Vuitton, chateau Lafite Rothschild wine, and the like. So I suspect Ferrari is not marketing to me anyway.

I don't think I can say they are making any mistakes, though. They sell everything they make and apparently do so at top dollar.

 

It's simple really, if you not longer believe into the myth of Ferrari, time to move on. But deep down inside, no matter what you buy next, you'll regret not putting more work into the relationship. Because Ferraris are that good, especially the farther you are away from the valet stand.

 

FWIW Ferrari of Washington doesn't make me feel this way at all. The dealership deserves the lions share of credit but I think it's also an issue of different demographics in the d.c. area, more entry level 2nd hand buyers like me.

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Big fan of the Mayor. This has to win as thread of the month lol.

 

You don't think the subject kinda disqualifies it???

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For sure

 

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