MONTEZEMOLO'S DETROIT SHOW SPEECH

Photo taken exclusively for the Club by Matt L. Stone, Senior Editor, Motor Trend Magazine
and MCI VIP Member

Article by Marc Sonnery courtesy of Ferrari Market Letter.
Gerald Roush, Publisher. Subscriptions - Tel: (770) 381-1993

"Ladies and Gentlemen good morning. It is for me and for all of us a very important day to be here in Detroit and to celebrate the Maserati comeback in the United States after 12 years. Ever since Ferrari bought Maserati at the end of 1997, my goal has been to go back to the US market with Maserati. We were the last Italian manufacturer to win the 500 Miles in Indianapolis. We have many important collectors and many important Maserati cars in the United States. So I am particularly pleased today to introduce two brand new Maseratis. One model is new for the United States, the Spyder that we launched a few months ago in Europe in September at Frankfurt; and the brand new model, the coupe quattro mille due (4200) that is an innovative model and completely new for the entire world.

We have worked a lot at Maserati in the last five years and now we are particularly pleased to be ready to come back again in the US market. Maserati has four priority goals and four priority characteristics.

Number one is a car with Italian style, Italian flavor, thanks to the collaboration with Giorgetto Giugiaro. This is the first element. The second one is to have the best performance in the segment: both coupe and spyder have the best performance in their segment. Third is to provide a car, which is a GT, an Italian GT - quick, fast, but that you can drive every day. This is important: a car easy to drive, easy to use in every different occasion during the day. Four, last but not least, exclusivity. We are not going to build too many Maseratis, we are not going to send to America too many cars. For the first year we will send to the US 1,400 Maseratis between Coupe and Spyder. This is to keep the exclusivity of the name, to control the quality and to have a very important link with the client.

Of course the synergies with Ferrari are extremely important. Since the beginning, since 1997, we have done a lot to emphasize the synergies between the two companies, even if Maserati is a different company, different in terms of products, of clients, of volumes, different factories - Ferrari is located in Maranello, Maserati in Modena - different management. In the United States for the beginning [there will be] a common dealer network. We will start with 31 dealers, the best Ferrari dealers in the market, and we will give a lot of attention to the aftermarket. Four years of warranty, financial services with Chase Manhattan Bank, insurance services and of course a lot of attention to the client in terms of spare parts and in terms of technical assistance.

I'm very confident. I think that it is important to have again two Italian cars in a segment in which we see Porsche and Jaguar, our two main competitors. We are working on a new model. We are working with Pininfarina for a brand new sedan - four doors - that we will launch in 2003. But let me emphasize that in both the Coupe and Spyder we have a super innovative new eight-cylinder engine, the Formula One gearbox with the collaboration of the Ferrari racing team, innovative suspension and a brand new brake system. I feel that we have put in Coupe and Spyder all the most advanced technology that we have got at home. We are confident that these two cars have different characteristics. The Spyder is in our opinion extremely tailor-made for the American market. I call it a hedonistic car, with very impressive performance but very easy to drive. The Coupe is a four seat car so it is different from the Spyder, a car with a lot of room inside but, again, with the best performance in the segment. We hope to give to the American customer an Italian car, different from Ferrari of course. Ferrari is extreme, Ferrari is very low volume, Ferrari is not a car for everyday. Maserati, as I told you before, is something completely different but still with the typical performance of an Italian model GT.

With Ferrari we are facing really what I call a magic moment. We have closed a very important year. 2001 was historic in terms of success. Success on the circuits - we have won again both of the titles in Formula One four races before the end, the driver's championship with Michael Schumacher and for the third year, 1999, 2000 and 2001, the constructor's title that for me is very important because it means the victory of a factory.

We have been very successful on the road. We have achieved our historic record of sales in the world, 4200 cars that for us is a record. I am not going to build more than 4000 cars per year so we cannot beat this record next year because we are not going to build too many cars. We have sold 1200 cars in the United States, it means that the US is our largest market for Ferrari since more than twenty years. Our second largest market is Germany, third UK, fourth Italy and fifth Japan. These five countries represent for us our five key markets.

With Ferrari I am sorry that we have many clients in the United States who are still suffering a long waiting list - two years of waiting for a 360 Modena or a Maranello, but this is my policy, this is our policy. We want to protect the name, to protect the exclusivity, and we will do in a different way the same for Maserati. For us exclusivity and quality in the process [are crucial]: we have made a huge investment for a brand new factory in Modena for Maserati, extremely innovative for the quality of the product, for the quality of the process, because quality is with Ferrari, on the track, on the road and, with Maserati, our number one goal.

Let me finish with the price. The price of the two cars will be in average between $77,000 and $87,000. It will depend on Spyder or Coupe, for Formula One gearbox or for manual gearbox. This is again an important day for me and for all the team. I have here with me Mr. Stuart Robinson, the general manager of Ferrari group in the United States; engineer Felisa, the worldwide manager of Ferrari; and Mr. Parlato, who is sales and marketing worldwide general manager. We are approaching this important adventure for us in the United States with passion, with enthusiasm, knowing how strong is the link between Ferrari, Maserati and your country.

I don't forget what happened in September in New York. I remember when we sent on the track in Monza our cars with the black nose and without advertisement to emphasize how important is for Ferrari the American market, the American client, the American link and the American past. The history of Ferrari has been marked by important support from the American client.

In closing, let me say that I hope you will appreciate our new Maseratis. For us it is a very crucial challenge in which we believe a lot and we believe in the quality, in the performance and the emotional driving of our cars. Thank you very much and enjoy. Thank you."

Clearly two key moments were Montezemolo's emphasis on the word quality along with the officialization of the four-year warranty (three in other markets); and secondly, his description of chosen US Maserati dealers as the "best Ferrari dealers" keeping others on their toes! Very clearly considering the huge investment and commitment involved, there will be no tolerance for any dealers dragging their feet, and it wouldn't be inconceivable in a year or so to see one or two neatly struck from the Ferrari dealer list with one elegant swoop of a Pininfarina pen. After all, there are plenty of candidates to start new Ferrari dealerships out there who see the bottom line benefit of higher volume Maserati sales. Roger Penske, for example, within his business empire and among his many car dealerships owns Ferrari of Scottsdale in the upscale suburb of Phoenix: the company is already one of the approved Maserati dealerships.

Montezemolo's speech also indicated that the network would be expanded but the underlying message of the speech is clearly not to run before MNA and its network can walk. A very well structured and orchestrated approach. Considering the outstanding build quality, technology of the two new cars, their four year association and link with Ferrari, there is every reason to think the marque will once again be a great success in the US.