05-25-2004, 10:25 PM
Pete, I often wonder too. And I can't really blame Ferrari for backing down and being "elitist pompous pussies". If some mag came to me asking to borrow a $200,000+ hand crafted car just so they could rag on it and "prove" something with a test that I already know the results of from much of my own (and probably more complete) testing, I wouldn't just hand over the keys. Especially when I know my work of art will be beaten by some supercharged American sled.
Although, apparently Lambo didn't mind subjecting their Gallardo to comments like:
"you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that your Vette trips the clocks with the same exact ET as the exotic Lamborghini, which costs more than three times as much."
Yeah, that does wonders for the marque. Maybe if Ford and Chevy want to RENT one of my supercars for a hefty price so they can pump up the image of their cars, I'd think about it.
AND DON'T GET ME STARTED on the tires. The biggest advantage to bringing all these cars together to do a test is remove the variable of the location and weather conditions. And of course, verification by a 3rd party is a good thing too. Oh yeah, and good pictures and bragging for a magazine article. BUT, why go through all that trouble just to run the test on whatever tires come on the cars? So:
A) You've completely thrown away the biggest advantage of bringing them together, you might as well have just compared someone elses #'s on paper. It would save a lot of $$ and time.
B) I'm never convinced any magazine that advertises for some of the cars they're testing is unbiased. Who really knows if #'s were massaged?
C) So we're left with the real reason the test is done. To get some good pics and interest from the readers of our magazine so we can justify our exsistance to our advertisers. Who really cares about making an unbiased test and eliminating variables when there's MONEY to be made!
I can only hope that the Ferrari that might have been subjected to this test was out conquering twisties instead. :wink:
Although, apparently Lambo didn't mind subjecting their Gallardo to comments like:
"you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that your Vette trips the clocks with the same exact ET as the exotic Lamborghini, which costs more than three times as much."
Yeah, that does wonders for the marque. Maybe if Ford and Chevy want to RENT one of my supercars for a hefty price so they can pump up the image of their cars, I'd think about it.
AND DON'T GET ME STARTED on the tires. The biggest advantage to bringing all these cars together to do a test is remove the variable of the location and weather conditions. And of course, verification by a 3rd party is a good thing too. Oh yeah, and good pictures and bragging for a magazine article. BUT, why go through all that trouble just to run the test on whatever tires come on the cars? So:
A) You've completely thrown away the biggest advantage of bringing them together, you might as well have just compared someone elses #'s on paper. It would save a lot of $$ and time.
B) I'm never convinced any magazine that advertises for some of the cars they're testing is unbiased. Who really knows if #'s were massaged?
C) So we're left with the real reason the test is done. To get some good pics and interest from the readers of our magazine so we can justify our exsistance to our advertisers. Who really cares about making an unbiased test and eliminating variables when there's MONEY to be made!
I can only hope that the Ferrari that might have been subjected to this test was out conquering twisties instead. :wink: