My NYIAS expierence and a question

I'm sorry for your bad experiences, I can understand where you are coming from. One thing you have to understand about the higher end cars though, is... well they are expensive. They can't allow everyone near them or they will get damaged, believe me it happens. Even a 15 year old fanatic who would never touch a Ferrari in a harmful way or any other high end car will not be allowed on the stand, for both your security and the manufacturers'. They just can't take that risk, plus if they let one kid up because they are a fan they will get bombarded by everyone else wanting to get closer to the cars.As for their being rude, that is unacceptable, but you also need to realize they are standing there ALL day and answering the same questions time after time. Ex. How much is the car, how fast is it. It can get repetitive and annoying.

 

I think you should expect this for a little while, although it is not right. I have enough trouble being 23 and walking into a porsche dealer looking for a car. Who cares if i can afford it, i am 23 so by default no one pays attention to me. Its even worse if I go to buy a car before going to the gym or something in shorts and a tshirt. One of my clients is MB and we had the SLR there. Everyone was like "can i get in?" or "i have one on order." etc. Its really hard for the people there to deal with that all day. I wouldnt take it personally. We always have knobs missing, seats torn, etc on all our regular cars. Imagine if an AC knob was missing on the SLR. So dont take it personally, if there was a way to let you get in these cars, the makes would def let you get in.

 

on the first day or two of the event; usually the presenters are nicer; but after 7 straight days of talking, and answering the same questions... its quite natural to get tired; and cranky.

i almost always go on day 1/2 of an event to get the stories; and come back to shoot the cars on the second trip.

another thing...
Dont goto a motor show wearing the full Ferrari outfit, or porsche, or whatever... wear a hat if you want.... i cant tell you how many people wearing full garb F-gear made me sick; not just to see; but to smell (nearly each one had TERRIBLE B.O. ... no idea why; the Nascar jacketed people smelled much better...)

its kind of pompus to wear the gear, and expect to be entitled to anything. Usually, how i get into stands is because i either have a working relationship with the people running them... or i develope one on the spot (based on real interest) most of the time; i dont think its that fun to get into the stands; because it really doesn't have much room to take good pictures.

Naturally; the uber expensive cars aren't going to be sat in by nearly everyone... wear and tear from who knows what would be a real hassle for the person who owns, or will own that car.

 

Why do you feel you are entitled to go into the stand? You are 15, there would be no possible benefit for the dealer for you to be in there.

 

I agree about wearing the full ferrari gear. So tacky and lame...nothing personal mickeyyeety

 

Well i guess he is an enthusiast. But then again, when it comes to ferrari, everyone is an enthusiast. I think its totally ok for ferrari to only let in owners and real perspectives.

 

I think it is a good thing that all of the high end cars only let in possible customers. The negatives of letting in more people far out weigh the positives. Come to think of it, I don't think there are any positives.

 

Totally agree. If someone is going to buy a high end car, its not going to be because they got to sit in one at an autoshow. They would just go to the dealer and sit at one there.

 

I think the funniest place to go at an auto show is the BMW display. They let everyone sit in them. It is funny because then you get the people who go over to the people who work there and say, "yeah I've been looking into buying a new car. How much is that BMW 760Li? What about that M5?" And you know there is no way in hell they could ever afford it, and the worker is just standing there smiling while the guy makes a moron of himself.

 

We got a guy the other day who was like thats my next car (pointing to the clk63) and asked someone how much it would approx cost when it was released. When he heard that it could be 90k, he was like "oh ok" thought for a min and was like "yeah ill get one through my dealer". It was so funny cause he came on so hard infront of all his friends, and then he probably realized he couldnt afford it. He was sitting in it before he asked though, blasting the radio and such. It was quite humorous.

I just think you should know how much you can afford and just admit it. Theres cars I cant afford and I dont go around acting like I can afford them at car shows and stuff. Those people just annoy the hell out of me.

 

you can tell the real ones from the fakes when they ask for the price. If you can afford it, you would have already done the research and made your mind up, and the price wouldn't be that important.

 

I guess there is an advantage having gray hair.

They let me on the Manhattan Motorcars stand (initially not knowing I'm a customer). The CEO of Spyker was there, taking his time to show his cars to me and my wife (he is also Dutch, so thats not fair). However, he invited me to the factory in June and will have a car ready for us to take for the day. Incredible.

At the Ferrari stand my salesperson was there, so no difficulties to get on the stand. However, the second Lionel Richie with his entourage showed up, he suddenly had something better to do than talk to us.

 

Mick, don't be offended, but you're 15. Imaging if they let you in, all the other kids would want to sit in the car and touch it. And quite frankly at the autoshow, that's just not a great idea.

No fret, keep up with the passion when you are old enough to drive (and gainful employed) I'm sure it will a different attitude when you walk into the dealership

BTW, I can personally vouch for most of the guys from the Ferrari dealerships...they are all really good guys.

 

last year at NYIAS i saw a woman get up onto the hood of the bmw m3 so her friend could take a picture of her laying on top of the car. she ended up making a long scratch on the hood of the m3 with her belt or something. she noticed it and quietly sneaked off somewhere.

makes you realize why the higher end manufactures don't let common folks near their cars...

 

was she at least good looking or naked to make it worth BMWs while?

 

My friend sometimes its the case of Not what you know, but who you know. I sat in the Spykr Peking to Paris at NYIAS it was odd, but does anyone know about the brakes on the S63 AMG, those things are rediculous looking, any info?

 

s65, what do you want to know about them?

 

Actually, some people are not fortunate to get even close to a exotic car or sit in one. People get a power trips, I think what Dream Photo is doing at the car show is great. Im not saying Ferrari, Masserati, Lamborghini should be open to walk in, but they should have something to include everyone visiting the car show to feel welcomed, not just throw it in their faces that they dont have enough money to buy one. And really you gotta treat people equally you never know how much money people have, wether they be 15 years old or 80 years old. My Fathers in the car business I see this crap all the time, the most unexpected people have the most money.

 

The brakes on the S63 are just so modern and different looking to the old body style AMG Brembos.

 

I went when I was 15 back in the 1990's, and I got into every area. Tie, jacket, and polite English can still do wonders nowadays.

 

He's right, to a point, that's why you should start a relationship with a local dealership. Go there with your father or someone just to check out the cars. Go a few times, get to know some of the salespeople and for the most part they will respect you. Will they give you as much of a time of day as someone who can actually buy a car? No..but they will know you. If you have a working relationship with a dealership, next year you can go to the Ferrari stand and perhaps they will recognize you there and let you in as they know you're not a liability. I'm only 21 and was allowed to sit in the MC12 that was at the Chicago autoshow, something hardly anyone was able to do. Just build a good relationship, it really is about knowing people.

 

Don't forget though, that is a persons car who lent it to them for the time period. They are aware of the risk they are taking but know the car is protected. With the major manufacturers, if you let one in then you need to let all in. So imagine trying to show a real client a car with 500 people crowded around it, jumping in and taking pictures. Also, the cars used are from Ferrari Headquarters but will most likely be sold eventually. Try selling the car to a client and telling them it was show car at the NYIAS and had a million hands all over it.


Also, not being able to get near the car gives it a sense of mystery. It keeps the Ferrari name at a level in which you think it is unobtainable and wonder what "that guy" behind the rope did to get one. This keeps Ferrari as exotic as it is.

 

I remember 20 years ago at the autoshow, my Dad somehow knew a guy from high school, and he got me into the lambo exhibit. I think at the time it was the dealer on rt.3 near Secaucus, Natasso/Nasso something or other.
I still have the pic of me sitting in a Countach 5000z.
Still one of my favorite cars of all time.

I agree, the ferrari exhibit people are less that cordial.