Are you embarrassed to be associated with Ferrari as an owner now that they have dropped this ocular feces on us called the FF? I mean, it's like STD laden urine being poured in my eyes.
What they said. Unfortunately Ferrari has lost its purpose since circa 1990, but if you look back at the F40, Daytona, 250 TdF, SWB, etc., I think it's safe to say Ferrari gave us some of the all-time legendary road cars. Part of the problem is that cars now are all about electronics, engineering efficiency and mass production, which aren't especially Italian talents. Beautiful design, hand craftsmanship, etc., are things the Italians seem to do better than anyone, but you don't build efficient, smart 200 mph cars through passion and hand-finishing. You do it with computers and wind tunnels.
All I can say is that I'm guessing Pininfarina is glad they had nothing to do with it! (Okay, I'll also say that it makes the other four seaters -- like the 308 GT4, look like a 275 GTB/4 or 166)
I agree with you 100% here but the 458 looks great and has many great angles, the 430 wasnt an ugly design, nor was the 360, this car if anything looks back at the Chinetti Daytona Station wagons,cars I think most people have forgotten about. Surely beauty can be combined with technology.
Definitely, the 458 is a handsome car - impressive because it works so well and is cohesive design. IMHO, the 360/F430 aren't. I still think the 360 looks cross-eyed, the front looks squashed, and the tail is far too tall. The 458 looks tight and athletic, which is what you'd want to see from a company that has made its name in F1 racing.
I really couldn't care less. I like my car, it's fun to drive. I care about the Corp. about as much as they care about me. When they sell their name to sell $10.00 vaccuum cleaners at Wal-mart, then I'll start questioning things.
They have been whoring out the name and the logo since Enzo died. The FF makes even Ferrari's worst efforts look like heros. But every time they pull something like this it makes all the classic Ferrari executions like the 166, SWB, Daytona, Boxer, both GTOs (250/288), the F40 and even my CS, just that much more special.
Who are these people who come to Ferrarichat to bash Ferraris? Anybody who is embarrased of their Ferrari - be it an F40, an FF or anything in between, is welcome to mail me their keys (and spare key) with the address at which I can pick up my new car. PM me for my mailing address!!!
As my wise grandfather once said to me: "son, always remember that God must have loved ignorant people....he made so damn many of them!"
I'm really waiting for the real pics to come out of the car on the road and watching many eat their words...
I agree the FF looks kind of ungainly -- kind of like the BMW X6 is hard to swallow as an 'Ultimate Driving Machine'. The saving grace is that it will be probably be a low volume car, so I can't really see it hurting the Ferrari following all that much. (The 400 was built back during the Boxer era, and the ultra-conservative 250 GTE was contemporary to some of the legendary classics, so I don't see the brand crashing due to the FF.) To the second part of your post, IMHO it's stretch to compare the 360s to a 166, 250 GT SWB or F40. Different eras, different technologies, etc. The older cars couldn't even be sold today, and were hammered together by hand back when Enzo was around. I think the 360s were assembled by Alcoa. The 360 is a better engineered car, but I would call it the first really modern Ferrari, not really a classic. (Unless you're very young -- it's all relative.) The survey methodology may have a few holes in it...
The 308 GT4 is a piece of beauty unto itself. It certainly doesn't need the FF in existence to qualify it as a nice looking car such as the 275 or 166. It's classic 70's Italian car period.
