Several months late to the annual Airing of the Grievances, Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne recently took the opportunity to mildly trash one of his company’s products.
The outspoken CEO, who donned the title last year, apparently takes offence to the company’s California T, complaining to reporters at the Geneva Motor Show that the droptop grand tourer just doesn’t feel like it belongs in the stable.
As such, the model will see changes made to pump more Ferrari blood into its veins, Motoring reports. It’s an odd situation, as Marchionne’s public poo-pooing of the vehicle hasn’t stopped him from owning more than one.
“The car I’ve had the most difficulty is the California,” he said. “I bought two of them — I bought the first one and I liked the car very much but it’s the one car that, from an identity standpoint, has the hardest time of seeing itself as a full-blown Ferrari.”
The CEO has big plans for the company, with a looming crop of new models and swag and gear galore, but he admits that the California T “may not be right.” Still, he claims there are no plans to evacuate its market segment. A market for a vehicle similar to the California remains, and a successor will likely appear after the Italian automaker finishes its product review.
As reporters tried to glean more information from Marchionne, the executive admitted that the manual transmission would definitely not return to the lineup. Also, the notoriously electrophobic executive claimed that any fling the company has with battery packs and AC motors is in the interests of speed, not the environment. Ferrari plans to debut a hybrid powertrain in 2019.
“We’re not trying to meet CO2 targets — we’re really trying to improve the performance of the car,” he said. “The real objective is to combine the petrol engine and the electric motor to produce the highest possible performance possible.”
Marchionne, who plans to stay on as Ferrari boss after retiring from his CEO role at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles next year, didn’t let a chance to trash a rival pass by. When asked about long wait lists, the CEO claimed the company would work on reducing the number of buyers it sends into the arms on another Italian supercar company.
“A lot of people buy a Lamborghini because they can’t get their hands on a Ferrari,” he said.
[Image: Ferrari]
He needs to prepare remarks in advance or have a PR person speak on his behalf. He’s missing prepositions and repeating words, etc.
A broken-English, Italian-speaking CEO is not a flaw, it’s a feature.
Like waiting lists, crap dealers, expensive services*, failing headers, sticky plastics, etc etc.
*Actually think new Ferraris come with 7 years free servicing?
“A broken-English, Italian-speaking CEO is not a flaw, it’s a feature.
Like waiting lists, crap dealers, expensive services*, failing headers, sticky plastics, etc etc.”
In the real estate world, the term used is “character”. As in, “This house has a lot of character.”
Jeep H Chrysler, he’s an older Italian speaking English so it’s hardly a big deal that his grammar is a bit of.
A bit of what?
A bit of off.
Sergio says Ferrari California really a Maserati wearing a prancing horse badge. Film at 11.
The California is way too good to be a Maserati.
Maserati makes $60K vehicles and then they either get actual Ferrari kit so they can sell for $130K+ or they get the Chef Boyardee Pentastar and move for the $700 – $1000 monthly lease payment.
Looking at it, it looks like an expensive, unreliable* Miata, only uglier?
(* It is, after all, a Ferrari.)
But I am obviously not its target market.
I think its target is people that want to daily drive a Ferrari and don’t want to mess up their 458/488.
Lamborghini isn’t “another Italian supercar company”, it’s German.
Hey ciuccio, you calla me German, I rearrange-a you face.
They don’t make ANY “full-blown” ferraris today. Not a single one is available with three pedals and a gated shifter.
Sergio displaying the same brilliant PR skills he used to ensure that dealers will still have inventory of 200s for years after production wound up.
This +1000
Article #2145 that Marchionne has no clue how to run his garbage company.
Well, Ferrari does have a waiting list and he is probably spot on about the California – earning him and his decisions street cred (an important thing amongst Ferrari buyers I’d imagine) – so I’ll give him a pass. I think Ferrari is the company he should and could run.
Ferrari would be a company that runs itself. They have a self imposed 7,000 car max per year rule. They make much more money selling the Ferrari brand in merchandise. They waste $250 mil. a year (at least!) on their F1 team.
To wit, I think there’s method in Sergio’s madness.
If they can only sell 7,000 cars then they better be prepared to have max profits per unit and thats not where the California is.
They want to push buyers into pricier units like the 488 and better so getting buyer to not consider the cheapest is just good business.
The original maserati Gran Turismo was suppose to be the Ferrari California. but Ferrari (when they owned maserati at the time ) decided it was too big to be a proper California and went to design their own.
I never really had a big problem with the California but it didn’t pay much homage to the original. Sergio isn’t far off from the mark when he says it’s not really a Ferrari.
Put a gated manual in it and it would turn it around (for me).
I don’t dream of driving (new) Ferraris any longer because the gated manual is dead; that Luca di Montezemolo is full of $&$?! man.
New headline: Marchionne views California as hormone-deficient guy attending a testosterone convention
I think the poor guy is missing the point. It’s the intro Ferrari, an estimated 70% of buyers are new to the brand.