"Groagun" (groagun)
04/30/2015 at 22:11 • Filed to: None
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"Groagun" (groagun)
04/30/2015 at 22:11 • Filed to: None | 0
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Like Di Montezemolo before him, I have had a tone of negative views to share about the trials, tribulations and musings aloud, bull shit , the head of the Fiat empire has trolled us with over the last decade or so.
Di Montezemolo, the Ferrari man, expressed some fairly notable fairy tales regarding what Ferrari was and will be moving forward. All the while knowing full well what the next five to ten years looked like in the product department.
Di Montezemolo also reined over the period in which Ferrari exerted it’s power over the ‘free press’ with stunts like the one involving Chris Harris !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
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Frankly, I think most OPPONaughts and Jalops saw this as juvenile chicken shit and it tarnished the brand and image for us. Ferrari did not have to and truthfully did not care what we thought so really, did this mean anything in the ‘big picture’? Probably not but I still think it’s beneath them and made them look foolish: this is a practice that seems to continue under Marchionne as well.
Speaking of emperor Marchionne, the real focus of this blog, how about his latest diatribe, some say tantrum, over industry consolidation. Seriously what does he mean?
Most have written and talked about FCA merging with another brand: GM, Ford, VW, you name it, people have speculated about it. Is he also talking about parts supply? That is a whole other bag of trouble.
The idea being that most people simply do not care about what is underneath the skin of the car. The transmission in your ride for instance: who makes it, do you care, where was it manufactured and any other question you can think of, does the average “Joe” care?
In the Morning Shift for April 30 Travis Okulski addresses this question in brief: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
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Mr Okulski started to steer down the right path but needed more ink to examine and expand his premise further. “Marchionne seems to think it’s for the good of the industry, but it sounds a lot more like the sole beneficiary would be FCA.”
This is almost, spot on and what I’ve slowly been getting too!
This is about consolidation, for the benefit of not FCA, but for Emperor Marchionne himself. He has made several audacious, bold, foolish or however you wish to exult them, promises and predictions that look shaky at best and liquifying at worst for FCA.
To meet his targets, the industry must consolidate so that he can take advantage of potential lower prices and shared expenses with others. It seems fairly clear that most if not all are not interested.
His answer is just plain wrong and all it would accomplish would be to have one or two Goliath companies producing everything automotive. The phrase ‘too big to fail’ comes to mind.
He isn’t totally wrong however. His motivations are misplaced and his intentions are selfish for all to see if they choose to be truthful but, he is right about the future of the ‘car’ and the ‘car company’ moving forward in the direction it is: it can’t and wont survive as is, today.
No, the industry needs a revolution, a complete sea change. The question isn’t whether or not it can do it, the question is when will it have to do it and who will make the best of it and survive into the next iteration of the ‘car’.
The question for you is simple: are you ready for the new, next and version 2.0 of the ‘car’ and the ‘car company’? Can you give up today and accept that what constitutes a ‘car’ and how you own, operate and experience it, will be very if not totally different in the very near future?
It really is new and exciting with the benefit of being more exciting, accessible and way more environmentally neutral to beneficial for all. My company and I will have something to say about this in the very near future!
Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed
> Groagun
04/30/2015 at 22:28 |
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The industry will consolidate next financial crisis. I doubt another bail out.
I won’t give a shet about anything FCA does until RWD Alfa Romeos start showing up in US dealerships. Give us what you promised Marchionne.
dogisbadob
> Groagun
04/30/2015 at 22:33 |
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The airbag industry is an example of what happens with all this consolidation. Many automakers relied on megasupplier Takata, and that didn’t turn out well.
If he wants to sell more cars, then make better cars! That’s what worked for Toyota.
I also like how he wants to spin off Ferrari in light of his views on consolidation. He should’ve gotten Ralph Gilles to head Ferrari. Also, Chrysler could’ve copied VW’s R8/Gallardo/Huracan strategy with sharing between Ferrari and Chrysler. For example, the Viper could be a decontented 458/488 with a manual transmission. The Viper wants to stay manual-only even though it’s hurting sales, and Ferrari has become automatic-only, so this would be a great solution. OTOH, if you want a V10 and automatic, they can double the price and put a horse on the front, Ferrari 810 Viperelli.
Merging with a huge company like Ford, GM, or VW, would that get past antitrust commissions?
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Groagun
04/30/2015 at 23:07 |
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There’s another dynamic going on from what I see... FCA is weak when it comes to hybrids and EVs. I think he’s looking to merge with a company that has made big investments in these two areas already.
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Groagun
> dogisbadob
04/30/2015 at 23:22 |
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Your Takata point is bang on!
The idea of sharing, of any kind, between Ferrari and Chrysler/Dodge/SRT, yada, yada, yada, I think would or could be disastrous for both. Ferrari would never go for it and doesn’t have to. Chrysler/Viper needs to but is ‘chicken feed junior ball’ to the well suited Italians.
As for antitrust: I’m not sure but I don’t think it would be a problem today. There is more than enough competition and a case can be made to show how the disaster may unfold under Marchionnes’s assessment of the car industry today.