Quote:
Originally Posted by eisenb11
I don't think much came out of this. Jalopnik posted a big thing when he wrote this article. This is old news however, I remember reading this a year, maybe even more, ago. It seems this was written people ranted for a few days, then went back to drooling over the ferraris.
Personally, if I were in the market I could care less because this level of performance is (currently) well beyond me... But I'm also more of a lambo fan anyway. Aventador... Mmmmm...
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The article is a critical piece of information for any car enthusiast that's picked up a car magazine or read an article involving a Ferrari. Btw this was published nine months ago. It certainly had a huge impact on how I view Ferraris in comparisons now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTM
Exactly. This has been going on since the muscle car wars of the 60s and hasn't gone away. A while ago I read about a press Audi TT vs. a showroom Audi TT, supposedly identical cars, and the press car was quicker in nearly all regards. Porsche is also notorious for fiddling with their press cars.
As such a respected journalist, I found it odd for him to single out one manufacturer for engaging in these practices. While on the one hand, it did seem Ferrari took it to an extreme, in providing separate cars for acceleration and handling tests, it came across to me as an attempt to garner some attention and "bring down #1" rather than to bring to light what is a clear discrepancy between consumer cars and the versions the press test, which would have been a noble effort. Instead, he simply attacked one manufacturer, it came across to me as if he had a grudge of some sort anyway. A respected journalist, and I have sought out much of CH's stuff and liked it, should be capable of producing a balanced perspective within the automotive industry as a whole.
I said it when this first came to light and will now, misleading consumers about your products is inexcusable, and Ferrari was rightfully put on blast. It's just the way that it was implied that the cars Ferrari was being tested against, and winning against, weren't guilty of the same thing.
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After re-reading the article, it looks as though his singling out Maranello stems from personal frustration, and rightly so if what he's saying is the truth. As you and I said, other automakers are sure to fiddle with their press cars a little—I'm certain BMW had a slew of beefed-up 335i's back when they were running consistent 4.8-4.9s 60mph runs in '07—but I doubt the degree of interference is anywhere near the level of bullshit that Ferrari's pulling.
I've grown increasingly critical of comparisons/first-drive articles of any sort since I read this article.