Pics/ Report : Ferrari-Maserati Group India launch party in Mumbai

[v1p3r]

Now we know why the GT40 and Lamborghini came into existence.

[axp817]

I am an avid car enthusiast and used to be very interested in the Indian Car scene (foreign cars in India included) until I moved to the U.S. and started losing touch. I have been following most TEam BHP threads for a few months now although I rarely post.

The first time I read about this doctor, I got interested seeing his signature and was looking forward to insightful information on Ferrari's strategy in India, events in the pipeline, dealer pictures, etc. but alas, what I/we got was a load of crap (apologies moderators, but using the word crap was most suited and inevitable).

I agree with his claims on dealers being able to control/dictate prices but that only makes commercial sense in the cases of rare, limited edition, novelty (owned by a famous/notorious person) cars.

We would all agree, and when I say 'we' I include those illiterate in the complex discipline of marketing management (myself included) that it would be absolute harakiri (a crazy form of suicide) to charge ridiculous prices for non - limit (non predetermined limit I mean) production vehicles like the 430, the quattroporte, and the like. It would also be harakiri to discriminate against customers to "preserve" the exclusivity of the brand.

here is a fictitious scenario which I am sure will serve to amuse everyone.

Me: walking into National Garage, dressed in simple attire with no fancy accessories (cellphone, key fob, etc.)

Mktg. person: Hello, How may I help you?

Me: I would like to get some information on the F430

Mktg. person: (to himself) hmm, he seems like ordinary riff raff and doesn't look like he can afford one and then to me: Yes Sir, certainly, but may I ask what you do? We usually like to understand a person's background and see if they would fit our image and preserve our heritage and build on it.

Me: umm, that sounds incredulous, but anyways, I won the megamillions in the U.S. last week and all of a sudden I have more money than I could ever imagine and would like to spoil myself with some toys.

Him: oh, does that mean that you are not a man of stature, a man of good standing in business, media, or any other such entity? We will have to consider your situation before we decide whether we can sell it to you.

Me: Well, in that case, I don't think I will ever pass your 'test'. I am a simple self employed person who is a nobody in the world's eyes.
Thanks, and I guess, I should go look elsewhere.

Okay, so that was a ridiculous scenario that could NEVER take place in real life. Even if Ferrari/Maserati followed such practices it would be utterly moronic to reveal all that on a public forum like this.

Ferrari s.p.a is a commercial organization. Commercial organizations run for one purpose - to make money. The products for said commercial organization fall in the very high end range thus only allowing a minority of the general population to be their customers.

Dealers can but never will do such a thing as to demand ridiculously high prices for production cars. The sources for buying exotic cars are so vast (1000s of dealers, importers, and resellers besides owners wanting to sell their exotics can be found here in the U.S. and so is the case with other developed nations around the world) that trying to dictate prices is being monopolistic in an oligopolistic (a few sellers unlike only one seller in a monopoly) environment. e.g. There is only one dealer in my state and the next one is 5 states away but if my dealer decides to twist my arm in selling me a Ferrari I will only look elsewhere although it will cause me some inconvenience in travelling 5 states to find the next closest dealer. But that inconvenience is not sufficient to not make me go elsewhere.

That, unfortunately might not be the case with India where if the only dealer in the country decides to be a prick you have to go to Italy (or Dubai or wherever) to find another dealer. But that is where the other factor, that of human emotion comes into play.

Every car has its price, those will novelty attached to them (F430 owned by 50Cent e.g.) might go for more.

It is only in cases where the selling entity is non commercial, e.g. a museum wanting to go a piece from its collection to go into trustworthy hands or Pranlal Bhogilal deciding to sell or give away one of his cars to a person of his liking. Even in those cases, we can safely predict that money being a major factor is highly possible.

Buying a car, be it a Ferrari or a Suzuki, is not a one time exchange but the start of a long term relationship. A dealer wants your business, your appreciation which will result in spreading the word and bring more business. A dealer's attitude can make it or break it. The Mercedes dealer in Ahmedabad was so nice to us and made us feel so much at home that I wouldn't think twice before doing business with him again, so striking was his attitude and treatment that I would also be happy to extend personal help to him in a completely non-car-related situation.

That being said, I highly doubt that even the promoters/employees of National Garage in their right mind, would do what the doctor claims, and if they do, God save them from doom.

To end my sermon, here is a link that y'all might find interesting.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferra...spagenameZWDVW

Yes, it is very common here to find exotics being sold on ebay. You will find quattroportes, SLRs, you name it. Just do a quick search for the vehicle you are looking for on Ebay motors and chances are that you will find it.

All the seller cares for is that I pay the amount I bid to win the auction. Whether I park the car in my yard and take a dump in it every morning or I take my 12 gauge and put 50 holes in it and use it for target practice is none of his concern.

In yo face, doctor. (seriously no offense Dr. Arora, I still appreciate reading your posts as some of them are infact interesting but it would only make sense if you used some common sense with your "Ferrariously excited ego".)

God bless,

Apologies for the long post

[Guess?]

nayakn: great post and you explained just about everything that I couldn't.
Again, one more proof of Ferrari not being selective: The recent accident of the Ferrari Enzo by the Dietrich guy. Now I don't know the complete history but am aware that he has TWO Enzos to his name and if you search for his history, you will definitely find that he doesn't exactly have a clean record what with allegations of him running the company (Gizmondo -UK gaming co.) into ruins. I'm aware that I probably will never be able to own a Ferrari, but don't come in a public forum and try to act god and try to say that only people with 'heritage' and those that 'fit-the-bill' are able to buy such cars. Its a downright shame that a person whois supposed to sell a company to its customers is infact doing more to tarnish the name than anything else by placing the company as the be all and end all.

[Klaus17]

Sorry to say Doc but you are giving your principal a bad name.
Like nayakn said you shouldn't be discussing such stuff on a public forum. Firstly I doubt Ferrari has such preposterous strategies and if they do (highly unlikely) you are leaking them to the public(bad for a marketing executive)! You stand to even lose your dealership if Ferrari gets to know of this!!!
Be a little more responsible and harness your "prancing" horses

[axp817]

Originally Posted by Guess?

I'm aware that I probably will never be able to own a Ferrari,

heh, Guess, the amount of money you spent on your M5 would get you an F360
(http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferra...17548827QQrdZ1)

and an M5 here in the U.S.
(http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-M...17764186QQrdZ1)

Unfortunately it will never be the same in India, with the 100+% duty charged on imports.

Murasoli Maran is dead and gone, The whole idea of having a duty structure to "save" the indigenous automobile industry from dying is ridiculous.

heh, On a funny, non serious note, I look at it as communism. Instead of making Maruti bring up its design capabilities, parts sourcing and supply chain practices, and manufacturing technologies, the Govt. decides to impose heavy surcharges and duty on imports to keep the consumer from looking for better options and forcing him to stay with the indigenous brand.

In the 1960s and 70s, the U.S. opened its doors to Japanese and European imports. The quality (engineering, design, etc.) offered by these imports made it only logical to prefer those over local American makes like GM, Chevy, Ford, Chrysler, Oldsmobile, etc. which were infamous for their build quality, life, and in some cases performance too.

Fear of Americans choosing foreign brands over local did not deter the Govt. from imposing duties and taking away a level playing field from these foreign companies. Doing that forced the American brands to look at their processes and innovate to fight the competition to survive.
Imports still have an edge over American cars in some segments, but the fight is getting closer by the day.
Fear of failure or having to shut shop is the strongest catalyst for innovation.

If that hadn't been the case my Jeep Grand Cherokee wouldn't feel and drive the way it does and I probably would be driving a Toyota Forerunner or some other non american SUV today.

apologies for posting non relevant material/going off topic.

[nitrous]

Being a huge ferrari fan,I'm really ashamed with what ferrari has done in India and i hope they kick out this "Dr" guy.

[Mumbaiya]

Guys,
Ferrari has not yet stepped into the Indian Market as yet by the way. National Garage is just a dealor who is selling a few cars. The Company has not yet come into India per say. National Garage is just being the middleman in this.

[abdul 65 amg]

thanks Dr for informations.How many cars are yet sold???

[Psycho]

Why do these posts continuosly get interesting, I first the claims, then a part of Doc's signature goes, next a huge argument, another part is gone and today the signature is gone altogether. No offense doc just something I saw.

Well I still say Ferrari is a great brand and hope that you are the person who will lead it to greater heights, however the future gen on here may too someday turn out to be your customers.

Well if not anything at least it is great to see that the citizens are so well informed.

[2L8uLoose]

Doc.. you at it again... or is this someone that's got a hold of your password again??

[Psycho]

Well here goes I just got a PM from DR. FARHAD VIJAY ARORA saying that the id is still being misused. Mods, can you please contact hiim and confirm if this is true and ban this ID so that the true FARHAD VIJAY ARORA can create a new ID and continue posting rather than this cat and mouse game that has being going on.

At least that way we are sure whom we are talking to on the Forum, Doc can you please contact Dippy and confirm and close this issue at your end.

[Rtech]

We all got that PM psycho. We are checking it out.

[GTO]

Absolute rubbish. We just did an IP analysis, and all the logins have been from the same IP address. The PM and posts are from the same very IP address.

Also, It is impossible to hack a password on Team-BHP as our software uses among the best available encryption solutions. Even any member of the Support team cannot view anyones password.

Its just a huge waste of time. Bottomline.

[moralfibre]

Mods this is getting interestingly sick now. We dont want Ferrari's here. We are satisfied and filled with Quad crap by now.

[Rehaan]

Let stick to the topic of the thread please

cya
R