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I just finished reading Jason Camissa's mini-review of the Ferrari Scagletti.  He sums up his review of the vehicle that the car is overpriced, and that -if it were him - he would prefer to purchase an F430, a Quattroporte for evenings out, and a diesel Jetta as a daily driver (manual transmission, of course, since only retards would buy an automatic).  IS HE REALLY THAT OUT OF TOUCH ?????

Who who can even hope to afford any Ferrari would even remotely consider anything remotely similar to a Jetta - diesel or otherwise - as a daily driver?  That's doesn't even make the list for a rental car - much less a daily driver.  What kind of idiot would have two nice vehicles in the garage but drive an econobox - unless he was parking the car in NY or SF?

I for one will NEVER be in the position to purchase a Ferrari, but my daily driver is a C6 Corvette.   My wife drives a CLK550 convertible and our family ride is a Range Rover Sport.  Not Ferrari quality, but a whole lot nicer than a Jetta!

Why is it that automotive journalists are so far out of touch with their audience?  They rant regularly about items most of us buy:  automatic transmissions, keyless ignition, i-drive type interfaces, etc.  Then they evaluate may dad's Grand Marquis based on cornering ability - like the average Mercury buyer would ever enter a corner at anything over 50 mph.

Come on, guys!  Wake up and learn about your target market.  We aren't like you.   We actually buy our own cars, care about features, convenience and comfort (as well as handling and performance), and we like technology.  Wasn't it the car magazines that trashed the C4 Corvette for having . . . of all things . . . DIGITAL GAUGES.  After all, the last thing a performance driver needs is MORE detailed information about his equipment.

I'm to the point now that - although I take every major automotive publication - I just look at the pictures and specifications.  The editorial bias is so infantile and out of touch that I just end up shaking my head and cursing under my breath.  Ross Perot told the execs at GM to go out and talk to the guys on the factory floor.  Maybe you guys should spend some time talking to real people - the ones who plunk down $20 - $100K for new cars.  You might actually learn what WE are interested in - assuming that even matters!  

LOL well written.

The wife and I don't go march into Bentley/Rolls Royce/Land Rover etc etc, and tell them we are cross shopping for a Jetta + 2 Tata nanos, we'd get laughed off the dealership premises.

The writers should keep in mind when consumers go in for a purchase, we are generally very purposeful.
Sure it may take us a while to configure, and have our vehicles commissioned.

But we certainly don't go in humming, and hawing over whether to purchase el cheapo brand + 5 other cars for the money.

If we're going to see our Ferrari contact, we're going to buy the latest and greatest because we feel it best represents the purchasers passion about driving.
Buying and driving a Ferrari is about emotion, and the sporty lifestyle.

If I gave a hoot how much it costs me for gas, I would go buy a 4cylinder car or hybrid.

People who buy X brand low performance, high fuel mileage, are not going to be taking corners at 130km/h
People who buy ABC brand for its ultra high performance, stick to the road, eyes popping out your eye socket performance aren't going to care too much for fuel.


Leave your personal budget out of the automotive commentary.  

I'm not really that out of touch, just (to quote a very funny movie from twenty years ago) "congenitally insane and irretrievably stupid."

But I did have a point. My reason for my conclusion saying that I'd buy a F430, a Quattroporte, and a Jetta Diesel is simple: The F430 does a better job at being a Ferrari than the 612 does; and the Quattroporte does a better job at being an elegant GT for four adults than the 612 does. And I could buy both of them for the price of a 612... and still have more than $20k left over. That buys me a diesel Jetta. (Which, IMO, is a much better vehicle in just about every way than your Rover. Unless you count off-road ability... because I'm sure you take your Range Rover Sport off-road.

The point is that the 612 is a hell of a lot of money for a car that doesn't evoke the emotional response that it needs to in order to get people to plunk down three hundred thousand dollars. In fact, that there are 612 Scagliettis sitting unsold on Ferrari lots (while the similarly-priced 599 is sold out until the end of time) is proof of that.

Of course no one is cross-shopping the 612 with a Jetta; don't be ridiculous. They sure are, however, cross-shopping it with a 599. Or an F430 -- with or without a matching Maserati Quattroporte as an accessory. Or maybe they're even considering a Maserati Gran Turismo, which looks even sexier than the 612, has a much larger back seat, and costs half as much. Why just the other day, I was standing inside a Ferrari/Maserati dealer when someone asked me "why would you even consider a 612 when the Gran Turismo is just as gorgeous and has a bigger back seat?"

I'm sorry if your fantasy of the "Quintessential Ferrari Driver" doesn't include the assorted Maserati. Or Mercedes. Or Jetta. I think the average Ferrari owner is a little less stuck-up than you think. Especially the 612 buyer. You don't buy a 612 to be ostentatious... having an inexpensive, understated, but socially acceptable runabout car isn't absurd at all. In fact, it happens a lot. Look around in Beverly Hills or Palm Beach and you'll see an awful of a lot of Jeep Grand Cherokees. And Priuses. And other assorted horrible-mobiles that park next to Ferraris at night.

If you think I have no experience with the real world and real Ferrari owners, my apologies but you're very wrong.

I'll use as an example my business partner G whose F430 replaced the 360 Challenge Stradale he owned before that. His daily driver? An E30-chassis BMW 325i. 20 years old. No A/C. No power windows, even. It's his favorite car in the world... he'd rather drive it every day than the Ferrari. Or his wife's Audi A3. (Oh wait, isn't that just a Jetta with a different body on it?)

Or F.W., a wealthy businessman in Palm Beach, who has several S-Classes, a couple of Rolls-Royces, three Ferraris, a Porsche 959, a whole bunch of other cars, and a base, stripped out VW Golf. Why? Because sometimes he doesn't like to be ostentatious. And sometimes he lets the cook drive it to deliver that messy lasagne to his neighbor. The maid might occasionally even use it to go pick up the dogs. Or sometimes he'd rather that out-of-town guests borrow it, and not the Corniche.

The man's worth almost a billion dollars, and he's not embarrassed to be seen in a Golf. So none of us -- whether we have Ferrari budgets or not -- should be looking that far down on a Jetta.