All very true, but once you dilute the brand with a down market product, your brand quickly becomes worthless. How many products do you look at today and say "way back when, they made good stuff, I wouldn't touch their product now". The old man knew what it took to build a brand and everything he built was fast, and expensive. The Ferrari mistique is built around his savy manipulation of perceptions and branding. It took a hit during the 308 years (and yes, I know the old man was alive then, but I think he realized that he had to build more performance into the brand than the 308), but has come back a lot with each successive product.
Taking into concideration that Ferrari has always been recognized as an absolute crown jewel I don't agree, I don't agree at all. Best wishes, Kare
You don't agree that Fiat hasn't depreciated the brand by adding badge engineered cars or that its surprising that they haven't?
The old man started a Grand Prix team and developed a customer car habit as a source of funding. Now Ferrari is a car company with Grand Prix habit and shareholders to satisfy. The business model Enzo settled into was a failure (factory output could not match capital requirements) he knew it and was forced to sell out. Modern day equivalent of starting an airline. Customers rarely sympathize with business realities or anything that gets between ourselves and our individual fantasies. I love vintage Ferraris, but the reality is that these cars cost 5X the price of normal car because they had to finance Grand Prix team, which ultimately was not enough. Were they worth it? Yes. We can get back to the glory days. We can ban shields from being put on cars and we can eliminate all the nonsense commercialization and the need to out 20 logos on each car. Here's what it's going to require: We buy Ferrari from FIAT for 10X EBIT ($4 Billion sounds about right) take company private, and though the cars we will make (more beautiful than 275 GTB) will only cost $200,000 USD to manufacture, we need to charge $4 Million per copy to keep the fantasy alive. Who's with me?
This argument has gone on forever in the Ferrari World. It's the same old song. Buyers of new Ferrari's (in the 50's, 60's, 70's etc...same thing) are just rich guys trying to show off their money by buying a flashy fast new car. Apparently, when that car develops the patina of age and it becomes a work of art, it is coveted by different rich guys displaying their more discreet and refined taste. Not that different from building a new monstrosity of a house vs. buying and equally large classic villa etc..... Old v. New. I happen to like both as do many fans of Ferrari. I do think Ferrari has done a remarkable job of staying at the front of sports car development and F1 racing for 60 years.
Let's all be thankful that Enzo didn't have the formula for an addictive energy drink, there would be no road cars of which to have this discussion.
Unless "Uomo" smells like some combination of benzina and olio, they have missed the mark. At least that's what I smell like after I drive the old beast.
Eh...what??? To my knowledge "Big Mouth"-man De Montezemolo announced with Big Show -as always!- some years ago that Ferrari S.p.A. will enter the Stock Exchange - but this never happened so far! Am I wrong here? Ciao! Walter
The last photo I posted may in fact be the real issue here. Very few curves on that one. Personally I like the shape of the Babe that inspired this one... Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't agree with "What's surprising is how little Ferrari has been compromised since the Fiat take over not how much." They have compromized much. V8 cars painted red and carrying Ferrari badge (let's not go into wearing "shields", please) on street is too much for my taste - and yes, I am a car romantic. Realists drive new Nissans. Best wishes, Kare
I share your sentiments but I know how much worse it could be. A rebadged Maser is one thing (and that took how many decades to happen?) a rebadged Punto another. IMO were it any other company in any other country Ferrari would have become a complete and utter mockery of itself. Given the nature of the market if it weren't for ancillary merchandise support the marque would either disappeared or had to go much more mainstream to survive. Beyond all that without a large corparate parent no automaker could afford the design expense to meet today's regulations. If Saab and Jaguar couldn't make it as independents at their volumes Ferrari never could.
I've heard that from Porsche before. They said the same thing when the 996 GT3 came out (promising roughly 500 cars)...and then they blew past their first statement as demand was there, and then blew by that to end up with 959 total.
I sort of feel that the Ferrari I love did not survive, so in that respect it does not make much difference to me what or how they do these days. Last time I checked they were selling Chinese made key fobs at every airport. I was stupid enough to buy one, but put it out int the trash, it was not a Ferrari key fob to me - just junk. Best wishes, Kare
At the Nurburgring last summer in the new horrible shopping mall building which was built at the expense of the old historical wooden main grandstand, I was apalled but not surprised to see that the new Ferrari store is just where it belongs: between McDonalds and the toilets. MS
Have a Big Mac, take a pee and then do a few laps around the old long course.It's still woth the trip. just one man's opinion tongascrew. PS I just got a copy of the very first edition of Automobile Quaterly which is dedicated to Phil Hill. In there is a quate of Mike Hawthorn telling Phill "...don't start your career with Ferrari at the Nurburgring..." Well at least there is still Spa and Monaco.
Marc, not correct. The old wooden Grandstand was replaced in the mid-80ies by a Hotel and a modern Grandstand. This 2nd grandstand was replaced last year by the silly shopping mall. The old "classic" grandstand is long gone - yep, and now the Ferrari Shop is near the toilets.....! Ciao! Walter
Tongascrew: Oh I love nothing more than lapping the Nordschleife but it was a lot safer 20 or more years ago, now every wannabe is on there with more testosterone than talent. Also if you are going to really drive at the limit I don't suggest eating just before tackling the ups and downs of the old Ring! Walter, yes forgot that first Hotel built in the 80's, but end result is the same...as discussed that shopping mall is...how can I put it...Ecclestonian in its commercialism... MS
