[Westworld]

Hi guys,
I am new to the forums, and a fan of the beauty of Ferrari cars. Being from the States, it seems that the auto industry is really killing the spirits of brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Bently, ect. by doing downmarket big-time. They aren't even the same companies or brands they use to be. I was wondering, what is Ferrari's plan? Are they going to increase car production, or go down-market? It seems that they are trying to make Maseriti (?) the new "ultra-luxury" brand in the mold of BMW, ect, and limit production to a max of 10,000. Even Bently, a prestige brand, will pump from 1,000 some cars to a 9,000 a year over the next decade. Also, Porchse, Aston Martin, Lamborgini are going "downstream" and out of class from what they stand for. Is Ferrari going to do the same? What are they doing to respond to this? What is the plan with Maseriti (?)? How are these other car markers doing?

 

[Dr. Bob]

Maserati's will become top of the line cars in the BMW/Mercedes segment I think, and the number of Ferrari's will increase since they want to get to the Russian and Asian market more.

 

[tmeranda]

Read the current issue of Forza. Ferrari’s strategy is to build the same number of cars it is currently and keep the brand exclusive. Even for the Maserati brand, the volume goals are modest. Quality and exclusivity are the key issues.

 

[Westworld]

Thanks

Read the current issue of Forza. Ferrari’s strategy is to build the same number of cars it is currently and keep the brand exclusive. Even for the Maserati brand, the volume goals are modest. Quality and exclusivity are the key issues.

Thanks. Any websites of Forza?

 

[Dj Dirk]

http://www.theautochannel.com/publications/magazines/forza/

but they haven't updated in 6 years

and i don't have the latest issue yet, we get that about 4-6 weeks later

 

[Westworld]

http://www.theautochannel.com/publications/magazines/forza/

but they haven't updated in 6 years

and i don't have the latest issue yet, we get that about 4-6 weeks later

Is the article on it then?

 

[Dj Dirk]

no, their website is unbelievably horrible
i don't know where you can vieuw it, unless an american user posts it here

 

[adlinyusman]

is forza an american publication? can't seem to find a website for subscription. Any suggestions?

 

[Rosso]

I subscribe to the magazine. I personally like it.

There's nothing about subscribing online, but you can send your subscriptions to:

FORZA
PO Box 1529
Ross, CA 94957-9987

Got that off the subscription card, but that's about it...not even a phone number or anything for subscriptions, so it's kinda tough.

I would offer scans, but Andrew put an ad out in the magazine, so it wouldn't be the smartest thing.

 

[Westworld]

No prob Rosso. Thanks for the info. I am curious though, is it possible to give a short review of the article discussing the future of Ferrari/Maseriti (?)?

 

[Stradale]

Ferrari just can't produce more than 5,000 cars even if they want to. The factroy can only handle that much. Unless they expand. And that is one thing Luca will not do. He is trying to develop Maserati as the brand to challenge Prosche in sports cars and Mercedes and BMW in the saloons. Any expansion in volume will be done at Maserati, thuis keeping Ferrari exclusive. It is a tough job though especially so in the US where Maserati has had a poor name before. Sales are slow world-wide and Ferrari's profits have been sucked by Maserati. Luca has to come out with a winner soon because the 4200GT is not the car to beat Porsche, not by a long shot.

 

[Dj Dirk]

stradale

that's strange the the masers don't sell in KL
around here they sell pretty good
i practically see 3200 & 4200 daily.
and i know from one of the maser dealers here that the entire yearproduction for the Quattroporte was already sold out in january, don't know how many cars that are though

 

[Stradale]

Dirk, we have very strange/unique purchasing habit here. People in the market for Porsche will buy the Turbo and not the Carrera 2 or C4, even though the Turbo are 30% more expensive. The importer brought in 9 units of Carrera C2 and sold only 2 in the first 6 months of 2003. Yet he sold not less than 10 Turbos in the year 2003. Buyers go for the premium model rather than the cheaper ones. Not many really understand what they suits them, they buy because it's more expensive, so it should be better.

It's what the Maserati is suffering from here. Buyers are pejudiced, because in the same showroom, they would buy the Modena rather than the Maserati 4200, even though the price is double. And the Quatroporto is also suffering because they would rather buy the S-Class or the 7-series. Partly it's because the 2nd hand value of Maseratis drop like bricks whereas Ferraris and Mercs and BMWs hold their prices much better.

And also our Ferrari-Maserati importer is rather naive at promoting his brands. But that is another story. They are also importers of Bentley and until the Rolls - Bentley split were the importers for Rolls as well.

 

[adlinyusman]

Yeah it is unfortunate that the way people shop for cars here is totally different to the way everyone else shops for cars. I love the Masers, and if it wasn't for the high cubic capacity i would've leaned strongly towards procuring one. Unfortunately our tax system here is a little unreasonable especially when it comes to cars. Maser's 4.2 litre V8 would probably cost a pretty penny in terms of road taxes. The SL costs more than a Modena for goodness sakes!

It's funny how Malaysians always go for the best 'sports car' (irregardless of displacement), but when it comes to saloons, they cringe at high displacement models! (S600s are extremely rare, so too the 760Li..)