Quote Originally Posted by Ferrer View Post
Today, however cars seem to be perfect. They are very fast and very technologically advanced and the racing team seems to be winning everything (or at least it used to). This however has created a problem for Ferrari. Aware of their success, Ferraris have become arrogant and selfish up to the point, that you are almost embarrassed to be in one. They also seem to have put science and maths before passion and soul. And that's so un-italian.

Old Ferraris may have been worse, they may have boked down every hundred yard and they may not have been as well built as Mercedes-Benzes. But when you saw one you knew that it was just right. Yes the electrics were temperamental and the dashobard had more lights on than a christmas tree. But they were making automobiles. Some of the finest automobiles ever made. Now they are just making giant 200.000€ posters. They may be perfect, but the magic is somewhat gone. And that's just wrong.
not arguing with your choice or the reasons behind it, but this way of how Ferrari is seen today is quite frequent over the forum, and not only here.
I ask you, since I think you have the ability to express it, what it is really the problem with their cars, this lack of soul, passion, magic.

I don't personally think Ferrari is that much different from other companies of the same level, even if surely Ferrari si the big guy of the block, the most famous, the most visible. The are present in F1 and GT races at the top level, and their cars are the most repeated argument in cars related discussions, but they are as technological as all the others, they give exotic names to their new devices (the Manettino) as others (AM's ECU key) and they are enlarging their portfolio and sales figures as all the other automakers.
Perhaps Ferrari is considered or supposed to be different, superior to the laws of the market and to the requests of the customers. actually they never were, enlarging the line-up since the beginning even if slowly, considering the dimensions of the company, revving up the production, creating one offs or small series of cars for special persons and so on.
modern Ferrari are tasteless compared to older models? don't know, even considering I actually like both the Testarossa and the 400i/412i, I never liked the 250 GTE for example, I found it unfinished and proportioned, besides loving the GT Lusso.
Ferrari built road cars for financing the racing activity, even using race derived parts or idea, and it's still like that, but we don't like it.
so the problem isn't Ferrari, but racing and how it evolved? not exactly, even if we already discussed which was the golden era of F1, for example, and certainly, obviously, it isn't this one.

even not being a tifoso, I fail to see this arrogant and selfish side of Ferrari. I understand the embarrassment Ferrer was taling about, but it's due to what people say of the car or of the brand, not to what the car and the company actually are, I would be absolutely fine with that, and even being the kind of person who doesn't care of what other people think of him, I don't want to be the more visible dude of the town, not because the car is red, but because everyone think I drive and arrogant piece of iron.

I also think Ferrari is still embarrassing what Italy as to offer, something positive of course. playing with the fact we aren't great workers, we aren't precise and perfect as the Germans and so on, didn't turn out to be a good thing, since that casted on us that view from all the angle of the world. It's not completely Ferrari's or Fiat's fault of course, and it's not false either, but it wasn't a smart move. If I had to express what being Italian stands for, I would summarize it in: genius, culture, elegance.
three aspects I can found in modern Ferrari too.
I know the F430 isn't elegance, I'm considering the whole company as an individual.

watching F1 races, I see the whole circus is made of arrogant folks, especially when they are important enough to appear regularly on tv. so I would say that of the environment, regardless of the brand or company behind the team in particular.
about road cars, claims made by Ferrari aren't much more pompous than those made by Nissan or Porsche, just as a reference.
so basically, I could say that generally the whole auto industry of exotic and luxury cars is made of sharks looking just for money, but I wouldn't pick up Ferrari as the best example of a company loosing its path.
even if my personal prize for that would go to Porsche for obvious but still debatable reasons, I really would like to understand what would make me feel embarassed driving my 599 GTB in blue tour the france down the Alps, because I'm pretty sure I would catch an eyed, sooner or later, saying "you stupid buyer of a badge" or something similar.
I wouldn't care actually, but still, what's the reason behind it?