Ferrari cuts emissions, admits irrelevance
Ferrari's lineup will spew less CO2 in the coming years. Setting a goal of using 40% less fuel by 2012, Ferrari is set to experiment with lighter materials and increased engine performance. Oh yeah, and since the luxury automaker expects to sell around only 6,000 cars this year -- most of which will sit under a car cover in a climate controlled garage 364 days a year -- they admit that it's kinda pointless.
So, why is Ferrari making this asinine press release? Good PR, free advertising from the press (blogosphere included), to ride this enormous and sometimes misguided tidal wave of eco-awareness? Really, I'm not exactly sure what it means that Ferrari has decided to get on the green bandwagon, but I am pretty sure that it's weird.
In a way, this says a lot about the state of the environmental movement. For one, people who can afford a Ferrari might actually care about its fuel economy, i.e. the ultra-rich are experiencing the pangs of eco-guilt. Second, the trend of "going green" has reached such an unprecedented height, that one of the foremost symbols of wealth and excess -- the Italian sports car -- is now having to grapple with the demands of a carbon-conscious society.
One potentially far-reaching benefit of getting Ferrari on the green bandwagon is that they spend 17% of their sales on research and development, a strategy that has made them synonymous with innovation. I'm not sure what that figure looks like on paper, but with models starting in the 100s of thousands, I'm sure it adds up. So, maybe that will go towards figuring out some practical solutions, and then again... it's Ferrari.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-21-2007 @ 1:14PM
Mark Richards said...
Ferrari does not need free PR and I doubt anyone who spews carbon by keeping a climate controlled garage for their car cares much about the fuel economy. Ferrari is probably just implementing technology that they are working on in their race cars (which allows them to go further before refueling in a race).
The end result is even better, however. If Ferrari can make a more fuel efficient sports car that still performs like a Ferrari, then Detroit can no longer use "performance" as an excuse for the gas guzzling pieces of garbage they keep turning out.
How would you feel if your Dodge Charger got 15 miles per gallon while some guy driving a Ferrari that could run circles around it was getting 30 MPG?
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11-21-2007 @ 3:01PM
Christophe Franco said...
Moreover, don't forget that Ferrari engines are used in much more than just the Ferrari cars. With moderate modifications, you'll find them also in Maseratis, and if Alfa Romeo goes on building exclusive sport cars like the 8C it could also go on using these engines (and in the past even Lancia has build cars with Ferrari engines, like the Thema 8.32)
And indeed, if you compare Ferrari engines with other european petrol engines of similar power (e.g. from BMW, Mercedes, or even Porsche), they really use much more petrol for the same performance... While it isn't always a criteria for sport cars or GTs, it can become one if that same engine is installed in a limo, a SUV, a station wagon... which is an ever-growing segment of the luxury/sport market.
However, it seems most of the effort from Ferrari will be spent on reducing the weight of the cars and improving the aerodymanics, not building cleaner engines...
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11-22-2007 @ 8:10PM
Jo said...
Marketing can convince people of anything.
You can thank all the SUV marketing of the past decade that's so entrenched today that makes driving hybrids tantamount to becoming an eunuch on the streets.
A better dent on wanton wastage is to allow fuel prices to rise more so consumers really feel the pinch everytime they guzzle.
In the time it takes to actually change the entire mindset of the population to support greener cars, for the total auto emissions to actually have an effect on the atmosphere, it will already be too late.
To complicate things further, auto gasses are not the biggest part of the equation, despite all the ink allocated to it. Deforestation, energy generation and factory farming contribute much, if not more greenhouse gasses that are more malignant in nature.
Sadly, these pertinent issues don't make sexy headlines.
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11-28-2007 @ 3:09PM
Mark @ TalkClimateChange said...
>>Ferrari does not need free PR and I doubt anyone who spews carbon by keeping a climate controlled garage for their car cares much about the fuel economy. Ferrari is probably just implementing technology that they are working on in their race cars (which allows them to go further before refueling in a race).
I'm not so sure. I think they realise that there is a substantial part of their market that has a green conscience, and that their products will become increasing irrelevant if they completely ignore green issues.
Additionally, economy = light weight = additional performance..
http://www.talkclimatechange.com
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