Why isn't Ferrari at LA Auto Show?

They are not there because they don't need to be there. If someone wants a Ferrari they know where to buy it.

 

Porsche sold so many. everyone knows Calif. is running out of water and the all thought they were buying bath tubs

 

Don't feel too bad; supposedly our auto show here in Chicago is the nation's largest, by attendance (and I think exhibitor square footage), and we get snubbed, too...by lambo, aston, mclaren, bugatti, rolls, bentley and Ferrari. The local dealer franchises wind up sponsoring a Chicagoland dealers' "exotics" booth off in some far corner where no one can find it. Maybe half a dozen to a dozen total cars, all the same color, crammed together like a valet lot parking job. Frankly, an ignominious presentation for our country's most-visited show.

 

They will be when they have inventory that won't sell

 

Ferrari hasn't been there in years. Lambo pulled out a few years ago as well.

My beef with Ferrari was that if you went on the "exclusive charity preview night" before the Auto Show, and paid the $150 per person to attend, you still couldn't get near the Ferraris. (Every other exotic/luxury automaker opened the "velvet ropes" for the private preview party... except Ferrari.) Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Maserati, Lamborghini, Lotus, Fisker, etc... etc.. let the people on premiere night into their areas and cars. Not Ferrari.

 

Maybe not in LA because they just did the huge 60th Anniversary Event on Rodeo Drive, which is where they showed their models (old and new)? Maybe.

 

Auto shows are for the masses and are a complete waste of time. If you've ever worked one you would see that 99.9% of the attendees are regular joe tire kickers who have no intention of buying a high end exotic. It is a huge amount of time and money invested with zero return. Other than the shows on the worldwide stage such as Geneva and maybe Detroit they have no reason to be there.

Ferrari knows that legitimate buyers and potential future buyers will simply visit the dealer network.

 

Ferrari hasn't participated in the NY Auto Show for years either. They don't have to, plus FNA maintains an altier location on Park Avenue that always has three cars on display. Porsche, McLaren, Bugatti, Lambo, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo all participate in the NY show.

 

Actually McLaren, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Aston Martin do not participate in the NY Auto show. Those are dealer displays (Miller Motorcars and Manhattan Motorcars) Alfa was part of the Maserati display. Now that Maserati is more of a volume manufacturer they will be at the major shows. Previously like Ferrari and Lamborghini they conducted off-site private events during press preview days.

 

I agree.

the big luxury brands (Bentley/RR/Lambo/Ferrari/et al) should skip the big car shows altogether and hold something akin to the NY Fashion Week, where the press, dealers and significant clients can all hobnob in luxury.

the concept of taking over a 100k+ sq ft convention center and filling it with cars so the masses can kick tires seems passe, a bit like the shopping mall or black friday....smart shoppers go online. high end shoppers have concierges and personal assistants. not sure why the "car show" business model still exists for consumers.

 

There is no longer a need for auto shows, really, given the advent of the internet and its instantaneous communication of information and phototographs.

 

Concours d'Elegance like Pebble Beach with a $300 per tire kicker entry fee, will stay and continue to offer insights into the most relevant luxury brands. The Concept Lawn was pretty darned cool this year and Ferrari had its own stage for the 60th Anniversary with new and vintage examples. Ferrari does way better for the money they spend to market the brand.

 

You guys could take a page out of the Hawaii book and turn things around. Ferrari is represented at our car show, and Lamborghini but it is arranged by the dealership! The dealership arranges for the floor space and then they have a roped off area, VIP party with cocktails and pupu, music. The management and sales folks are there and always some of the stunning female staff. They have a photographer and you can get a nice picture with your date that is given to you as you leave.
Ferrari may not need the show but the Ferrari community is so much better with a gathering in a car setting.

We don't have as many cars here as the mainland so customers cars are brought into the space, co-mingled with dealer cars to showcase. We eat and snack at visit with each other at standup only tables right next to the cars. The tight space allows for certain interaction among the attendees.

It would be great for the local FCA chapter or dealer(s) to get together and give back to the customers by organizing such an event. I know a lot of you guys would attend because it is pretty nice to be treated like a VIP and mingle with other like minded folks. The car show provides the occasion, add some special parking areas for the guests so they might even consider bringing their special cars, get some red ropes, sprinkle in a few babes and notions about and you my friend have created a nice environment for the masses to envy and the salesforce or other sponsors to have a selective pool of clients.

Seriously....how much sense does this make?

 

What he said. Although I also thought Detroit was something of a waste of time when I attended years back.

 

Wow, kinda saddened by the posts here. I was a kid in one of those regular joe families, and loved seeing the exotics at the shows, going there with my dad. Now my household income is somewhere in the top one half of one percent in the country, I'm barely over 30, and it's 100% self-funded and self-made. I was put off when I visited some dealers for their attitude, but felt most people on here seemed decent and interesting. I still feel that way but, c'mon, how short-sighted or oblivious are some of you?

These attitudes will absolutely destroy this brand over the long-run. Porsche, despite building SUVs and saloons, knows that at their core is the enthusiast. That attitude has made them a far more powerful company, and now with the 918, they also mfr arguably the most impressive of the high-end exotics.

Maybe these comments aren't intended to come off as I'm reading them, but these attitudes will absolutely put the nail in the coffin of the whole concept of car enthusiast. When cars become purely lux brands and nothing more, Ferrari will fall behind Bentley, Rolls and who knows what other companies....

 

how so?

Ferrari has treated their customers and fans like crap for 60 years and look where it's got them

 

You're wrong on 'biggest market' claim - CA market is stagnant and would not move up or down regardless of having a CA car show display; FNA's marketing dollars are focused squarely on Asia, specifically China. This has nothing to do with 'attitude', but has everything to do with a booming marketplace and (maybe) a looser regulatory environment for its vehicles.

Does discovery and subsequent purchase of a vehicle happen at these shows? Perhaps for a Chrysler 200 but I just can't see it happening for exotics. People with the dollars to spend are savvy consumers and are not gegawing at display cars, cellphone camera in hand.

 

I don't understand why you need to tell us (strangers on a car forum) all about your financial situation, Sounds like BS to me when I see that on a Car forum.
NO ONE CARES.

If your put off by dealers talk to another salesman. Think about it, I can go to just about any dealer and find a clown shoe that you just dont want to work with.

 

Exactly, it is starting to look like a brand for snobs and not enthusiasts -- not everyone, but clearly a significant share of owners.

I couldn't care less, other than it changes my interest in the brand. Still love many of the cars and consider myself a fan of at least some of what they're now producing... but I don't look to my car as a way to show off or prove anything. I appreciate nice cars in terms of their capabilities and their art form.

When the brand goes further and further down a path of just being a status symbol, it loses my interest pretty quick. This is all "my" perspective and maybe doesn't speak for a large enough segment of potential buyers to matter, but I think it ultimately will, over time.

Also, I'll be the first to admit that maybe most of this is just me who has changed... I can now afford to buy one, and so I'm closer to beast... and all that stench that goes with it.

 

Okay, apologies for the context. I thought my point was clear -- and the financial situation of a huge percentage of posters here is quite obvious to anyone with a bit of sense...

I'm put off by the attitude where people say, "yeah, why should Ferrari bother sending cars to these car shows when the poor people who are attending can't even afford to buy the cars"... that is just so elitist that it boggles my mind. My point was that I was one of those people, now I'm not... I'm a buyer, but I'd like to think that kids or enthusiasts that want to admire the cars in the context of a car show, are given that opportunity. I'm not just saying this is out of good will, but rather long-term business sense for aspirational enthusiast brands...

 

The major auto shows are just not where Ferrari spends their money. They spend it trying to win F1 back and separating from the FIAT legacy, which has blemished the brand. Elitist? Absolutely and anyone who questions that is California Spider dreaming. Ever since Enzo started the company, that mystique has stuck. If you made it to the top half of the one percent... good job man. You also found Ferrari (or many it seems) and I imagine anyone in that top one percent knows where to find one.

 

Wow....our Seattle Auto Show....which is far from the most important on the calendar had Porsche, Aston, Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, McLaren and even Caterham.

 

That is one time it doesn't pay to be from LA or NYC.

 

In Chicago at least one dealer may not participate in the future. A person rubbed their purse across one of the cars and of course was clueless to what they did.

If you owned a company of any kind that sold out its product every year would you spend the money at a consumer show? Not me.