Whats wrong with the 458

Solid post here

 

How about a damn spoiler alert??????

 

+1 I haven't gotten my issue yet! Damn it!

 

This is an impossible task. To try to justify why one car is better than another is futile because of so MANY variables. Who said beauty is in the eye of the beholder had it right.
May of our desires are entirely subjective. Sometimes it is hard to explain why you feel the way you do about something but you just know its right or wrong. Your age has an influence on how you perceive a certain car. What's right for you just might be wrong for him or her. What's the old saying, one man's tea is another mans' poison?

In the end you the buyer/end user make a judgement based on a multitude of feelings and you may not get it right. Buyers remorse can set in after you live with your dream car. In the end you makes your choice and pays your money and hope you got it right.

 

I let a friend of mine take my 458 up to 163 mph on a backroad. He had driven an Enzo to 185 mph on a track and said the 458 feels 1,000 times safer and secure and easier to drive.

I tracked a scud, 458 and 599. The 458 is the only car with my limited track time I feel I could push hard and beat someone who has more experience.

If this is what u call losing excitement then all I can say is keep bringing that to me Ferrari.

The rest of you can try to drive a 599 gto on the track and try to live to tell about it.

 

Well writtin and %100 acurate in my view. Thank you for posting

regards,

Lee

 

I agree. I feel very safe and secure when I go for groceries. I drink coffee to stay awake for the drive Thank you for pointing that out

Lee

 

Now this is the way to disagree with someone. Well said my friend

I agree on yout point of view on 3 pedals. Since I do not race I like three pedals. Jay leno on his "Lenos garage says the same as does Clarkson on top gear so I am in good company.

No argument on brakes. Disc brakes are better to stop the car. So they allow the driver to drive more agressively.

Regards

Lee

 

But when i drive my 458 to star bucks I put it in sport mode and get it up to 65 mph between each stop sign in about 3.4 seconds. That is fun to me.

 

That is wonderful and I hope you continue to have fun

Regards,

Lee

 

The only problem here is it is not you who is beating the more experienced driver: it's the electronics. Again, the bigger question is which car is more fun. Not which car drives you better around the track.

 

On a track, all shifting is done in a straight line, so no impact on steering. A paddle car only benefits from upshifts. Downshifts should not matter time wise.

Truth be told, you need to take any Ferrari to a track to truly experience it, including 308s. However, very few Ferraris ever set a tire on a track and since they are road cars are not raced anyway. Therefore the fun factor is much more important than picking up a few tenths on a track which you can never tell by the seat of your pants anyway.

I enjoy my 3 pedal 430 on roads and tracks and, believe it or not, I can catch guys with paddles. Ability is much more important than the tranny. I have also enjoyed 308s on track days even though they are quite slow compared to most cars. I can even hop from my 430 to my 328 and greatly enjoy it. Fun is harder to quantify than 0-60 times.

I have not driven a 458 yet, so I have no opinion although I do find paddles boring. People tell me the car is an animal but more than once we hear an owner intimating the car is a little too refined and, well, boring. I don't remember anyone ever sayingthat about previous models.

Dave

 

With the opinions below, I do not mean to offend anyone in any way, but...

Personally, I can not see any way that a trip to get groceries in ANY car, can be made exciting, unless the grocery store is 20+ unpopulated miles away, through the hills on tree lined twisty back roads, unless of course there is black-ice in town and I'm forced into dodging inexperienced winter drivers sliding through intersections, caroming off curbs, trees and parked cars. (Now that's exciting!)

I find it tedious to to slumber through in-town traffic and traffic controls, while maybe once in a while abandoning reason to go around a 90º intersection turn without braking from 35mph and charging into a parking spot. But...If that's what you want to find enthralling, get a moped and run it about 15 PSI low in the tires, WHOOHOO!!!

I highly enjoy a vehicle that feels as if it is an extension of your body, doing pretty much everything you ask of it with aplomb, daring you to take it even further next time, challenging the limits of YOUR abilities, not the frustration of my abilities exceeding those of the tool. Maybe even scaring you a little, about what you may be tempted to do the next time you see those esses.

Regards,
Bill

 

Let me shake your hand and yes paddles are boring.

Yes if a owner who paid over $300k for a 458 is trying to warn potential buyers that the car is not exciting we should listen. Since the car should now only apeal to older people and at 65 years old I find it unexciting! maybe I will grow or age into it, I am guessing 90 years old and the car will thrill me .

Also I own 12 cars all for the excitment of driving and the 458 is the car I least want to drive! Okay it does drive better than my 1954 vette. I owned a 360 and a F430. They were exciting even for mundane missions.

I do like the looks and the sound. But in my view there is no reason to buy a Ferrari anymore, they have gone mainstream. Hmm should I buy a chevy a Buick or a Ferrari.

In my view the guy or girl running the company is ruining it. In a decade or so no one will remember Ferraris as we do now. So sad.

Regards

Lee

 

Bill you make a valid point. super Cars of this caliber have two general aspects, one is the thrill of driving and that is your comment area. I agree with you.

Yhe other aspect of excitment is the sheer adventure of starting the car hearing the sound and enjoying the feel of the car. Some cars have that some do not.

My Aston Martin does not have a key is has a device they call an "ECU". That stands for "emotional control unit" They want the car to be an adventure just by getting into the car and the simple act of starting it. Anyone who has started an Enzo knows what I am talking about.

regards

Lee

 

Hello Bryan.

I think they have another option past faster and easy to drive, how about exciting. The Mosler does this and is more exciting to drive and look at than the 458. The Mosler has a unique steering box. It makes the car handle better than anything else I have driven. They have three patents on the steering mrchanics. They are very small only two engineers a small work force and a passion for cars.

Also they are an American company. Cars are made in South Florida. I bought mine at the factory.

Check it out

regards

Lee

 

Scott,

lets all hope that happens and it will be as you say.

Lee

 

Hi Lee,
I guess the paddles are a personal thing, as for boring I don't know, I haven't had enough seat time with them to confidently say that, but I do like a clutch and stick, always have.

I suppose the paddles are sort of more in time and tune, for the video-game set. The same for a lot of electronic management systems. But I can see, how Ferrari and other mfgs of high-perf sports cars, might see stability management etc., as a hedge against liability suits. If the driver of a car, shuts off the computer, they could maybe find some level of relief in comparative negligence. In a more altruistic view, it may ensure that they have more clienti remaining among the living. Less "bad press," and more people to buy cars as well.

Cheers,
Bill

 

Hi Lee,
While I do find it amusing when someone riding with, asks "What are all those switches for," my enjoyment in the process of starting it up, are the sounds and smells as she awakens. Some of the sounds are muted and smells are all but absent in any of the modern cars (besides the leather and wool). ie: the difference in sounds and smells between the carbed BB's vs BBI's. I do like the induction howl of W-O carbs. For me, it's all part of the experience, a twisty road, choosing the gear and how the clutch comes in, modulating the throttle, as a rider once said, "...it's like you're directing a f-ing symphony."

Regards,
Bill

 

Lee,
Perhaps we can get together for an early bird special, than grab a quick beer before our 8PM bedtime!

Best,
Dave

 

Bill,
You bring up an important point albeit a bit off topic. Today's supercars are capable of such great speed and grip that they vastly outpace their owners' abilities not to mention they cannot be adequately exercised on public roads. But the speeds these cars are capable of on tracks brings up safety issues as well. No cage, no harness means no survival in a very high speed crash. Not to mention that most non pro level tracks have inherent hazards anyway.

Dave