Ford buys Ferrari

kernals12

Banned
You know what would've been awesome? If Japanese automakers bought up all the European exotic brands. Imagine if Jaguars were as well built as Toyotas. Alfa Romeo did form a partnership with Nissan resulting in this car, the Arna
280px-Alfa_Arna.JPG

Unfortunately, they screwed everything up, they gave us Japanese styling with Italian Engineering. The complete opposite of what we all wanted.
 
Americans ...
The people who bought most of these expensive gas guzzling exotics.

If Americans are buying them IOTL why do they need to be changed for the worse in terms of outright performance.

I would. If I was a rich guy in 1965, I would want my Sports Car to have the level of features that I could get on a Ford Mustang that costs less than half as much.

There are plenty of cars that meet that niche without the need to adapt Ferrari.
 
More curious to know the impact Ford buying Ferrari has on Fiat, perhaps the latter is motivated to Maserati from Citroen or even both Maserati and Citroen?
 
So that they'll buy more.

How many more cars can Ferrari build and still be Ferrari?

I see you guys don't like me approaching this from a cold business perspective.

QANTAS CEO Alan Joyce had a background in budget airlines, so when he took over QANTAS he cut service and rationalised maintenance by sacking apprentices etc. The result was that QANTAS lost money, I for one got pissed-off that I slept through the only food service during a 15 hour Pacific flight. It turns out that people fly QANTAS because of the Aussie full service, the high maintenance standards done by our friends, family and neighbors that we know and trust, not because of the price.

I'd suggest that people drive Ferrari because they are typically Ferrari; rare, highest performance, quirky, beauty over mere function. Making it more like Ford will ruin it, and it will end up collapsing and making no money.
 

kernals12

Banned
How many more cars can Ferrari build and still be Ferrari?



QANTAS CEO Alan Joyce had a background in budget airlines, so when he took over QANTAS he cut service and rationalised maintenance by sacking apprentices etc. The result was that QANTAS lost money, I for one got pissed-off that I slept through the only food service during a 15 hour Pacific flight. It turns out that people fly QANTAS because of the Aussie full service, the high maintenance standards done by our friends, family and neighbors that we know and trust, not because of the price.

I'd suggest that people drive Ferrari because they are typically Ferrari; rare, highest performance, quirky, beauty over mere function. Making it more like Ford will ruin it, and it will end up collapsing and making no money.
Porsche now sells 200,000 cars a year, they're still Porsche.
 
Well if Fiat owns all that, would they still buy Chrysler?

Fiat already collaborated with Citroen (who owned Maserati) in OTL via the PARDEVI agreement, resulting in Fiat owning a 49% stake in Citroen. It however entails preventing Citroen's OTL bankruptcy and Maserati being sold to De Tomaso, which in Citroen's case prior to collaborating with Fiat means approving the Citroen C-60 prototype for production (desperately needed by Citroen), not handicapping Panhard and while establishing ties with NSU not investing in the Wankel engine.
 
Porsche now sells 200,000 cars a year, they're still Porsche.

I don't consider Porsche in the same rarefied league as Ferrari, more like Jaguar.

Also there were only 3 billion people in 1965 but now there 2.5 times as many people to buy that many Porsches.
 

kernals12

Banned
I don't consider Porsche in the same rarefied league as Ferrari, more like Jaguar.

Also there were only 3 billion people in 1965 but now there 2.5 times as many people to buy that many Porsches.
In 2000, they only sold 50,000 cars. Then came the Cayenne and the Panamera, also China got rich.
 
In 2000, they only sold 50,000 cars. Then came the Cayenne and the Panamera, also China got rich.

There you go, they make regular production cars and SUVs now, and therefore are shit.

Ferrari sold ~1800 cars in 1977, and ~8400 cars in 2017. There are a totally different beast than Porsche, totally!
Lamborghini sold 353 cars in 1968 and 3457 in 2016.
 
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Anderman

Donor
I don't consider Porsche in the same rarefied league as Ferrari, more like Jaguar.

Also there were only 3 billion people in 1965 but now there 2.5 times as many people to buy that many Porsches.

Another way to show the difference between the two companies was made by
IIRC Wendelin Wiedeking who said when he was asked about the difference between Porsche and Ferrari said that there are snow chains for all Porsche modells.
 
A Ferrari has soul, it is art, it is feminine and mysterious, it is not just another car, barely machine it is emotion made of metal, leather and rubber. Ford would destroy it they build a commodity, they build a function, they market emotion but do not actually have any. Look at Continental, an ultra luxury brand that became a badge, a model, an option, and who really even remembers? Look at each luxury brand they bought, it was nothing but an investment, and the GT 40 was how long lived? How many sold to the public? It was ego and once Ford was proud they walked away, they would fold up Ferrari in the same way, the thing makes no more sense than falling in love, it does not translate into Dollar and Cents or survive it. Ford did better giving its engineering support or money, Ford does best making F150s. What we would get is a Ferrari II suitable for the mass consumer, power everything, anemic fuel efficient and soulless commodity, another reason to cry at the state of our world.
 

kernals12

Banned
A Ferrari has soul, it is art, it is feminine and mysterious, it is not just another car, barely machine it is emotion made of metal, leather and rubber. Ford would destroy it they build a commodity, they build a function, they market emotion but do not actually have any. Look at Continental, an ultra luxury brand that became a badge, a model, an option, and who really even remembers? Look at each luxury brand they bought, it was nothing but an investment, and the GT 40 was how long lived? How many sold to the public? It was ego and once Ford was proud they walked away, they would fold up Ferrari in the same way, the thing makes no more sense than falling in love, it does not translate into Dollar and Cents or survive it. Ford did better giving its engineering support or money, Ford does best making F150s. What we would get is a Ferrari II suitable for the mass consumer, power everything, anemic fuel efficient and soulless commodity, another reason to cry at the state of our world.
I'm glad that I unleashed your inner social critic. I personally believe a problem with our world is that people yearn for Ferraris when a Corvette offers as much performance for 1/3 the cost.
 
Even though the idea of Ford owning Ferrari makes one feel nauseous, it does at least potentially provide the Ford GT70 project with a suitable V6 via the Dino unit.

As for the Lancia Stratos, other engine options included the Maserati V6 (the prospected of it prompting Enzo to allow Fiat to use the Dino engine in the Stratos as opposed to another rival's engine) and a 1840cc+ Abarth 16v twin-cam 4-cylinder that was likely later carried over to the Fiat Abarth X1/9 1800 prototype. - https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/145213057/
 
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