PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL THAT DON'T OWN A FERRARI!

It may be slower than some other cars but at the end of the day it is a FERRARI and until you have ridden/driven one you simply cannot put the experience into words. I have a Trans Am with a 350 engine and lots of fun mods, but it is simply NOT as much fun or as involving as my Ferrari.

The reactions from others around you is simply priceless!!!!

I pulled the trigger buying mine a little over three years ago and yes, I have had some maintenance issues, but I figured it out. I would daresay that my family income is probably one of if not THE lowest of any owner on the board - but I DID IT!!!!




PDG

 

I like your attitude!! The 308/328 is so iconic and such a joy to drive it can never and will never be replaced. There is one in my future, I hope.

Thanks for sharing,
Gregg

 

yeah, 308s are nice looking, but if I'm buying a sports car, I'd like some actual performance.

Hence, no need for a 308 (especially one that lunches engines)

 

I almost traded my '92 MR2T in on a '77-'78 308GTB back in '98. I paid $12K for the Toy and the 308GTB was somewhere between $16K-$18K and would have cut my monthly payments by 50% and maybe I should have made the deal but I want a GTS.

Oh great now I am regretting not buying it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I just don't get comments like these - a 308, in 2nd gear,will EXCEED the speed limit on any road you're likely to drive...

 

I agree with almost everything you said. However, for about $10-15K less you can get a Mondial QV Coupe. No it's not as iconic as the 308. And yes the 308 is a classic pinninfarina design. But they were built in the same factory and have the same engine, etc....

IMHO

Joe

 

The 308 doesn't need you even more than you don't need it.

Please. Go buy something else. Contrary to the title of this thread, you don't need a Ferrari. It's really best if stick with your Fiero, Camaro etc.

 

A dream is not measured in horsepower or dollars. Driving a new Camaro won't get the reaction and enjoyment of any Ferrari. Owners of lesser cars always compare themselves to Ferraris, but Ferrari owners compare themselves to the drive.

My 512TR wins all the races sitting still.

 

whoopdedoo. I can exceed the speed limit in any car built in the last 30 years. That said, 8.5 seconds to 60 is a snooze fest. The limits are simply far far lower than any of the sports cars I've owned. While sometimes its fun to enjoy the car just for the noise and the feel, I crave the performance more than the un-tangible things.

thats fine. For its time, it was a good performance car. But, alas, we are in 2012, and at this point, the performance is not there.

what an incredibly ignorant statement. First of all, "lesser" is entirely subjective. Is a 911 GT3 a lesser car than a Ferrari 430? To some, sure, to others, not a chance.

secondly, who cares what reaction the car gets. Some people prefer to worry about the drive, not what other people's reaction is.

Thirdly, how the bloody hell do you know what kind of enjoyment the camaro owner gets from his car. Maybe he prefers low end grunt and traditional v8 sound to the high pitched torque less wonder ferrari engine.

I know this will shock you, but not everyone longs to own a ferrari...in fact, many many people think they suck.

 

Hate to say it, but my Volvo wagon is faster and handles better than my QV. Fun car, but technology has come a long long way since then.

 

In older Ferraris, let's say +15 years, absolute performance is a secondary issue. By anyone with half a brain cell, these things should be assessed relative to the age of the car.

My modern Alfa outperforms my 32 year old Ferrari in most measurable areas. This doesn't stop me embracing my Ferrari as the more enjoyable driving experience in any way, whatsoever.

 

Look, if all you want to do is drive balls-out all the time. . . enjoy your Camaro. They go fast.

In 2012, nobody should even be talking about buying a 308 in order to make impressive 0-60 times on a drag strip.

Some people can appreciate a 308 for what it is. Some people can't see it. That's all okay.

What sticks in my craw, however, is the people who come on Ferrarichat and put down people's Ferraris. Guys, there are boards for Camaros, Mustangs, hell, I don't know, probably even a Fiero board. And I don't haunt any of those telling people their preferred car is a piece of crap.

And by the way, there are numerous mass-produced cars that have come out since about 2004 that are much faster than the iconic 250 GTO. And yet, the people who do own this beloved classic car still hang on to theirs; sales of them happen pretty rarely, and when they do, those who appreciate these cars for what they are pay tens of millions for them. The fact that certain Nissans, for instance, can gobble them up nowadays doesn't matter. Nobody's buying them for 0-60 bragging rights.

Some people get that. Some people don't. It's all good. Just please don't talk down other people's choices.

 

Just hearing a 250 GTO is a joyful experience. Not just a car IMVHO.

 

I probably should stay out of this, but I have the perspective of owning both a 328 and an EVO VIII.

On paper, everyone would say that the EVO will run circles around the 328.
But on the roads, the 328 is a far more versatile machine.

The EVO will certainly go from zero to 60 in a straight line very much faster than the 328.
I've even used that acceleration --- once, in 10 years of ownership.

But the EVO only knows one way to get around a corner -- slam on the monster Brembos, turn in and jump on the loud pedal, and pray the turbo scrolls up in time to power you out of the turn.
The 328 doesn't have brakes as big as the EVO's, but it doesn't have to slow as dramatically for a corner, either.

It just feels quicker through the turn -- and it feels like there's more reserve capacity, while the EVO feels like it's on edge.

When I turn from a main road onto a side street, the Italian can do "fast in, slow out", to avoid holding up traffic on the "from" road, while the EVO eats its tires if you try that.

BUT -- as has been noted in numerous reviews -- the EVO is a lot easier to drive quickly.
The 328 is more demanding of the driver.
You could dislocate an ankle trying to heel/toe the EVO ... and with the turbo lag and the hydraulic clutch damper, it wouldn't work worth a durn, anyway.
But the 328 doesn't really come alive until you pilot it con gusto.

So those who don't have advanced driving skills might well see the 328 as a "blah" machine. It is, until you push it. (And push yourself.)
But properly caressed, the 328 will sing.


That may well be the "magic" of a Ferrari -- the cooperative venture that blends driver and machine into a road cyborg.

The EVO is an appliance you operate. The Ferrari is a designer suit you wear.


I did test drive an M3, back around 88. It just felt, ... well, *German*.
("You vill go left, you vill go right.") You sit back and give it orders.
It didn't have the feedback and cooperative feel of Italian cars.
(I drove Alfas for 20 years before I bought the Ferrari, so I was comparing the M3 to a magnificent Tipo 75 chassis (GTV-6).)

My 2p's worth, FWIW.

Oh yes: one other thing. When that flat crank passes 4K on the tach, in the crisp morning air, the noise it makes is spectacular.

 

I have not met a Ferrari I didn't want! It should be on everyone's bucket list, to own a Ferrari at least once in their life! Having had over 29 cars since high school, you name it and I prob had one of those, there is no other cool feeling then driving a Ferrari and smiling ear to ear that you are one of the lucky few in the world! No regrets folks, buy the best example within your means!

Cheers

 

WHY ARE YOU HERE??????

Seriously - does the word 'troll' mean anything to you?

 

He could have been less condescending with his words and chosen a more productive path, I am the 'poster child' for such things lol, so lets see how this goes. Sounds like fun!!

 

Once again I proven to my wife that Ferraris are not great for picking up girls...... just young boys!

Great story

 

Ahhh.... Another superb analysis from a jealous non-owner. It's pretty simple, if you don't like the marque, you don't have to be here. Having said that, I'm sure that you are still annoying whether online or in person.

 

I'll play. I have the perspective of owning both a 308 and a '98 M3. The 308 is everything you said and being a euro GTB, is just a bit more con brio. But the M3 is every bit as involving, just different. Mine is a convertible which makes a massive difference, and really sets it apart from the 308. I think that was the key choice, since the 308 is a hardtop. However I also upgraded the brakes and installed a performance exhaust, and let me tell you she sounds fantastic, especially with the top down. Totally different experience, and some days it's a coin flip which one I'll drive.

I worked hard for years saving my pennies to buy my 308, a dream since I was a kid. Totally worth it and I absolutely love driving it...slow or fast. And it's faster than most people think, because you really have to press on to discover just how beautifully balanced it is. A couple weeks ago I got the drop on a 996 going down an onramp and had no trouble pulling away from him. Fast? You bet it's fast.

(but part of me lusts after a GT500 too)

 

Yeah yeah yeah.. just like that teenage kid that I see around my car when I park it on the street saying to his friends how my car is slow, how his souped up camaro can beat mine, etc. etc. Then he walks over to his modded camaro with the blingy wheels, opens the door and looks back for a split second before he gets into his car... that final look of jealously.
Get over it.

Really? Especially on a Ferrari forum. Like people are going to take the trash talking guy who shows up in a beaten Honda. Here's an analogy: There are guys that are attracted to ugly fat chicks. Most men are attracted to Victoria's Secret models... even Justin Bieber. Ferrari's are dream cars because many many men want to own one. Some dream about Camaros, some dream about Tractors (low end grunt). What the FCar has is what it does so right in so many ways (cars compared of course in year to year equivalent comparison).

Sounds jealous dude..

 

I also test drove a '97 M3, and it did have better road feel than the '87 I test drove earlier.

But I didn't buy it, partly because it couldn't decide whether it was a luxury car or a sports car, so it wasn't fully either, and partly because the dealers in the area, servicing cars for Biff and Buffy, would feel that it was "good enough" if it just ran at all.

That's another difference I've noticed between ricers and the Ferrari:
Most of the Toyota dealers had never even seen a GT-Four (AllTrac), so they had no idea how to service it.
The Mitsu dealers are out of their comfort zone with the EVO.
But a Ferrari shop is slumming on my lowly 328.

So if you want the shop to get it right, you don't want the extreme end of the distribution curve for that marque.