You can't haul people or stuff in a Ferrari. The largest selling vehicle in USA is a pickup truck.
Judging by the number of those that have pristine paint jobs I'd say practicality is not the only reason people buy pickups.
Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
91–100 of 222 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#92Pontiac launched the 'Fiero' with styling inspired by the Ferrari 308 in the mid 80s [1]. Around the same time, VW also launched the 'Corrado' as a possible 'successor to the Porsche 944'. Both models were pulled from the market after a few years of production and now have somewhat of a cult following among car collectors. They had good initial interest and sales, but were regarded as too expensive and unreliable, and so eventually so lost out to other, more practical competitors.
In my opinion, cheap luxury clones don't work because the market is too small. Plenty of people like the idea of a 'cool' car, but the car is a big ticket item for most people, so practical, reliable and having a good resale value tend to trump 'cool' as an important feature. You'll also note that classic, 'boring' colors tend to outsell flashy, 'cool' colors. Even the best selling sports cars in the mid-price segment, e.g. VW GTI, tend to have a hatchback and a large, useful interior that is workable for a family car.
Fun fact: The Fiero was featured in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off as the car owned by the feature character's sister.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Fiero [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Corrado
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#93The Datsun Z car was modeled after the Ferrari Daytona.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
This, this, this. In simpler terms: You can't build a "Ferarri shaped car" at the same price as an Chevy Impala because the shape is a part of the cost.
I'm not sure I really agree. It's been done. Mid-engined layouts are just a pain to do maintenance on, generally offer reduced cargo space and interior room. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/19... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Fe...
When has a mass produced middle class car ever looked like that Alfa 4C? It's neither mass produced, nor middle class. It shipped with a $67k msrp. You're talking about a car that sells in the hundreds of units.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#95I can offer an opinion not yet seen in this thread. It comes down to tolerances. My father works for GM as a tool and die maker. He says that GM is obsessed with tolerances in their panels. This means that the gap between the hood and front quarter panel is the same near the windshield as it is near the headlights. Same goes for all other areas of the car. It's hard to get right. If you start to get more complex desi…
Is this still true nowadays with almost entirely automated manufacturing? If you look at modern car models, even the cheapest ones have way more "shapes at odd angles" than sports cars.
Often, those panel intersections look like shit.
I have a Nissan LEAF and have owned it since new (so I know it's never been hit). Looking at the panel fit between the rear bumpers and the quarter panels, that car looks worse than some cars I've seen that have been hit.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#96I can offer an opinion not yet seen in this thread. It comes down to tolerances. My father works for GM as a tool and die maker. He says that GM is obsessed with tolerances in their panels. This means that the gap between the hood and front quarter panel is the same near the windshield as it is near the headlights. Same goes for all other areas of the car. It's hard to get right. If you start to get more complex desi…
This, this, this. In simpler terms: You can't build a "Ferarri shaped car" at the same price as an Chevy Impala because the shape is a part of the cost.
It gets even costlier when you take into account that the purpose of the shape of those cars is to increase downforce for better handling around corners. This causes the air drag and the fuel consumption to go through the roof, which is the opposite of what you want out of a four door Mazda.
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#97Typical super-car designs embrace wider chassis and lower-sitting suspension. Both are impractical for daily driving. Not to mention the absence of space for occupants or lack of trunk space. Try to sit in any coupe with the second row of seats and you'll instantly feel like a sardine.
I think an even bigger issue is that you can't have a car with the super-car design but without the matching horsepower. They just wouldn't sell. And if you added the corresponding horsepower you all of a sudden created something that most people won't be able to drive daily without major safety concerns, which is why these cars are in their own class to begin with. I drive a modified WRX with slightly over 300 ponies and I can tell you that when i first started driving it there were times when i'd gun it to get around someone and would just have a hard time slowing the car down. Same with taking quick turns where giving a bit of gas can send your car for a wild spin. This is why youtube is full of lambo and ferrari owners crashing their cars while trying to show off at intersections and turns beause people have no idea how to drive with so much horsepower lol
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#98Pontiac launched the 'Fiero' with styling inspired by the Ferrari 308 in the mid 80s [1]. Around the same time, VW also launched the 'Corrado' as a possible 'successor to the Porsche 944'. Both models were pulled from the market after a few years of production and now have somewhat of a cult following among car collectors. They had good initial interest and sales, but were regarded as too expensive and unreliable, an…
I had a 1986 Fiero SE v6 that we bought used in 1990 for $3000. I traded it in 3 years later for a Honda and they gave me $4500 off. Super fun car and looked great!
http://www.fierostore.com/Media/Wallpapers/Images/509_1920x1...
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a good answer. It boils down to what you're paying for. My dad was a suspension and steering engineer at General Motors years ago, and he impressed upon me the number of evolutions these designs go through. The current shape of a standard "middle class car" is highly optimized to give the best trade-off between aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, interior capacity, structural strength, etc. That's what a typical m…
> A Ferrari is entirely optimized to look hot and go fast, and makes a huge number of concessions to those goals. Just try using one as a daily driver and grocery hauler and you'll see why few people do that. But then there are sports cars that are meant as daily drivers, like the BMW M5. The former CTO of Intel said he owns one and uses it as such.
The M5 makes the same tradeoffs but in a different way. It takes a very good sedan and makes it even better. But, there's no question that it would be even better to drive if it wasn't limited to being able to comfortable seat 5 people or fit golf clubs. We might still even have a lovely NA motor like in the E60 =[
Also I don't think the M5 is actually a sports car? I mean don't get me wrong, it's completely awesome and I would absolutely love to have one, but it's also nearly 4400 pounds and a sedan.
Origins of the term "sports car": http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28225/sports-car-de...
Re: Ask HN: Why aren't there middle class cars shaped like Ferraris?
#100Typical super-car designs embrace wider chassis and lower-sitting suspension. Both are impractical for daily driving. Not to mention the absence of space for occupants or lack of trunk space. Try to sit in any coupe with the second row of seats and you'll instantly feel like a sardine. I think an even bigger issue is that you can't have a car with the super-car design but without the matching horsepower. They just wo…
Lotus Elise, BRZ, Alpha 4C, and others are very nice cars with lower horsepower to match the handling. It's nice to be able to drive something to it's full potential without electronics or loss of license. I haven't owned any of these cars but I do own a 600cc sport bike. Modern 200+ hp litrebikes are now mostly just computers on wheels.