The Ferrari 456 Is Ferrari’s Forgotten Beautiful V12 Supercar (Doug DeMuro Review)

What a surprise - this car is for sale through C&B. Who would have thought...
I loathe this carpet seller.

 

It's just the general tone of his reviews that I don't like, as if he was addressing an audience of 5 year olds.

 

Seriously, who gives a **** what he thinks. His opinion is worth nought

 

I don’t understand the hate for Doug on here. People love him on YouTube and in general

but I feel like people on Ferrari chat have a superiority complex and anyone who seems very successful or anyone who has a powerful opinion/voice is seen as a threat and talked down upon

 

Its a combination of at times coming off as a self promotor/sales man first more than an enthusiast. YMMV but once you start noticing how aggressively he self promotes it gets tiring quick for those who have been around and seen people like that come and go. He also over fixates on at times inane details that come across as strange to people who have been doing this for years.

I have been on there for over 20 years now and while there are definitely a select few that fit, that is such an over generalization would be reductive and rather speaking to latent insecurities.
Trust me very few people give him more than a passing thought and to call him a "threat" is bizarre.
Seriously, these are quirky (at times old) cars with little monetary let alone cultural significance compared to the truly high-end/cultural touch stones and his 'hot take' doesn't change that.

Personally for me I find his stage persona to be a bit childish/goofy, his road 'tests' to convey very little to the viewer, and his 'factoids' to be more generalizations but not always quite right. To be fair, he shouldn't know every car but it rather speaks to at best average research done by his team. Put that together, I don't get much out his videos. His website C&B I like only in that it is a competitor to BAT and the like, further driving down prices as buyers can have more options. Competition is good. Would I ever sell a car on his website? Nope

 

I should add that personally, I hardly 'hate' on youtubers (again being reductive is not smart here). Quite the contrary, I really enjoy and get entertainment out of several. Doug is not one of them and that is ok...no one needs to like everything. PS Doug is hardly the worst of the lot...trust me there are far, far worse out there!

 

I confess that using the term "loathe" was not appropriate as I have better things to do and energy to spend on than waste it on actually "loathing" anyone.
The only aspect I find interesting about his videos is the nerdy side where he goes checking details that most people do not care about but unfortunately he sometimes labels as quirks things that are just features. For instance, that the main light over the back seats cannot be turned on by rear passengers is certainly a safety feature as the driver would not want to be blinded through the rear view mirror when the car is moving. That he cannot seem to understand such things and end up call it quirks is a little pathetic.

 

Absolutely true (and even more evident on the P&R subforum).

 

I'm trying to figure out why this video rates being posted in 4 different threads.

 

Lol, yes P&R forum definitely collects a certain type but not one reflective of the site as a whole, IMHO

 

I hope you are correct.

 

I actually really liked this review. When he isn't trying to over emphasize his syllables. Its a great pitch for the red headed stepchild of 90s V12s.

The driving portion of his commentary was absolutely the quiet part out loud about how great they actually are. On a few spirited club drives I have done, it has hung well with much higher performance cars in tow.

If all he has to say is the dome light and trunk release, then it shows the car is done well. I thought he could have showcased the design of the center gages. He also had it wrong about the engine bay, it's missing the labeled covers over the fuel regulators. I think the engine looks well done for the era (when complete) And he missed a good design point not mentioning the hood scoops and side vents. I guess for all of us here IYKYK.

I don't agree with him on the heaviness of the clutch, on my car it's a nice third pedal that's intuitive to drive smooth.

 

Yes the clutch pa

yes the clutch part was an over exaggeration I think meant to make the review seem more “interesting”
The clutch on the car is perfectly weighted and feels like your racing a real well built race car when shifting gears and driving it hard

 

A heavy clutch can just be the sign of a tired pressure plate.

 

Not on the 456

 

Yes, on the 456. As the clutch nears the end of life, the geometry causes clutch linkage to go near over center and force required goes way up. Even though it is hydraulic, like the 550 and 575M.

 

I’ve enjoyed Demuro over the years.

Before Doug took off he actually even emailed people (full disclosure myself included when years ago I asked via email a follow up question about the 1G Nissan Leaf — when we bought a 2012 in 2015).

Havent watched much of Shmee given what he typically showcases.

 

Doug is ok, he has his lane great info and details. on the cars. Shmee I respect a lot. He is a OG in the game, I can remember watching Shmee nearly 20 years ago. He helped paved the way for auto channels and many auto content creators. And his longevity is hard to match. He is no tester/ track driver but he has his lane.