Quote:
4trac said:
If Ferrari does look to copy Porsche and its sales growth, they must have also realized that the daily (and all season) usability of the 911 has been a huge factor in driving sales. It must drive Nick crazy to hear the knocks against the 360/430 as being unsuitable as a DD, but the street views, rightly or wrongly, see virtually all mid-engined sports cars as compromised from a usability standpoint. Just look at Easy_rider's post re. the idea of trading up from his 997 - immediately lots of Rennteam views that the 430 is not usable enough to justify as a DD (or perhaps as a sole vehicle).
The Cayman has brought mid-engine feel to a much larger audience while solving much of the storage complaint, and still the sales are not telling P that this is a direction that the mainstream sports buyer wants. So - I think Ferrari has concluded that it will never achieve the sales volumes the brand could generate for an entry level car in a mid-engine layout that "common wisdom" says is not a daily driver car - and the F149 is the result. We talk all the time about performance here (yes, we like driving) but most car purchases at least consider other factors.
PS; If I am even remotely correct, then:
1. sales of the Audi R8 will also never approach 911 sales no matter how many they are able to hand-build.
2. The rumoured mid-engined Aston Martin (or Corvette for that matter) will not happen, as they will decide to keep making money with front engined cars and leave the mid-market to others.
You make some good points. However, I do not see high performance cars for daily driving as the wave of the future. If anything, it will be the opposite. I have always felt a daily car should not be high performance but economical, comfortable and safe.
If Ferrari is headed in the direction I think they are they probably will loss a lot of customer. I use my Ferrari as a retreat, sanctuary, play room etc. and to use everyday greatly diminish the enjoyment of ownership.
I have cars for daily driving. They are safe comfortable and very utiliatrian. You cannot say that about any sport car.