It should not be a surprise that if you hire Ive to design something, it's gonna look like an iPad. It should not be a surprise that Ferrari stakeholders don't want an iPad car.
This is just gross incompetence all around.
Above all, Ive had an ethical responsibility to protect his clients from harming themselves by refusing the commission.
I hope that at least they keep the one great thing from this exercise, the controls-UI bundle. Looks really great, intuitive and unique enough for the brand
When I first saw this car, I thought it was ugly and expensice. Look at Chinese cars, they're cheap, stylish, and comfortable. I really envy Chinese people who can buy those cars.
Look at those tactile buttons and knobs. For cruise control and wipers. And the flip switches for Infotainment / climate.
The "LUNCH" mode button that you have to pull and then shows a glowing ring. Feels 90s science fiction. I wonder if I can 3D print a replica, not sure for what yet, but I want it. It's literally inspiring for me.
The exterior of basically all cars from Hyundai up to (now) Ferarri is currently stuck at some kind of aerodynamic / fuel efficiency local maximum that dictates that they all look like the same boring bar of soap. Nobody seems willing to budge on this and climb down the hill even a bit.
As problematic (quality-wise) as the Cybertruck is, at least they went full-send on the design. It might look ugly but at least they tried to not make it look like every other truck on the market.
With the kind of press it’s getting, I bet this model will outsell all others made in the last 10y. I don’t remember the last time a Ferrari was on the news.
Its ugly and not fast for its class, even compared to much cheaper cars.
That's a paradigm shift for Ferrari which has always been associated with exclusive performance and beauty - and the removal of that USP is why it is seeing such pushback.
I know there's reasons they don't, but just take a form factor that is already loved, and stick an EV drive train in it. There's nothing about electricity that requires everything to look like something from Star Wars.
Hilariously, the quote that comes to my mind when reading about this monstrosity, is one from Steve Jobs "Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you".
Ferrari sells dreams. That's not a car anybody will dream about.
I had a conversation with my industrial design teacher at university once about how slight ugly and uncommon design might have a positive effect on consumer demand over time.
I don’t know if there is a psychological term for that phenomena in design but I think it’s related with mere-exposure effect [1]. A design that stands out and is uncommon, will evolve a deeper relationship over time with the observer than a well-polished predictable design.
"Know your place" is what came to my mind when I looked at this.
I get that they think about going away from the combustion engine, but as a manufacturer of insanely expensive, loud and overpowerd sports car this doesn't make sense.
It's like if I as a software dev would be worried about the future market and suddenly advertise myself as a psychologist in search for clients.
This is a brand that permanently banned Paris Hilton for painting her Ferrari pink, Kim Kardashian for modifying her 458, and Justin Bieber for wrapping his in neon blue.
Where does that fall on the line between your product, your rules and I bought the thing, I own it, I paint it blue? My gut reaction was that this should totally not be legal, neither telling people how to paint their car, nor telling them what [not] to do with it, or to which places they can take it, seriously? And also banning people from buying one to enforce this.
I recognize Ferrari is one of our most iconic and exported brands.
Also I could not give any less fucks about the new Ferrari, the fact that it's ugly, the fact that it's probably going to tank or be a hit. They and their products are so detached from the lives of 99.9999999% of the population.
Also, what do you expect from a guy that used to design computer mice.
I didn't know Jony Ive was involved. That may explain why it looks so disappointing.
Jony Ive is a brilliant example of the role selection plays in evolutionary processes. It is the sorting method that punishes bad ideas with death and allows good ideas to survive. After Jobs passed away the selection mechanism that only let Ive's good ideas pop through disappeared. It is popular to accuse Jobs of credit hoarding, but in that relationship he was the talent. Ive just someone who could generate ideas for him to choose from.
More than a mutation agent, less than a good designer.
What makes Ive bad for Ferrari is that he operates under the delusion that he is a great designer. This makes him arrogant. Arrogance paired with mediocrity isn't the best of combinations. And Ive sans Jobs is mediocre on a good day. But his myth is persistent.
Ferrari has a long history. Ive completely ignored it and designed a mediocre bar of soap.
If he did so out of an abundance of arrogance, or simply because he actually doesn't understand Ferrari is unclear. But it is an undeniable fact that the car neither looks like a Ferrari, nor is it a particularly elegant car. If you saw it without knowing what it was you could be forgiven for thinking this was a more modestly priced asian mass market car.
For admirers of a brand that aspires to make iconic cars this is, of course, a disappointment.
I did like the instrument cluster though. It dials back the somewhat childish and gaudy displays that sports car manufacturers have offered for the past couple of decades and replaces it with something that is more tastefully retro. A lot of older Italian cars had beautiful dashboards that give off strong race car vibes. (for instance the Bertone-designed Alfa Romeo GTV from the late 60s and early 70s - those had gorgeous instrument clusters)
I think Ive deserves some respect. His portfolio makes it clear what type of car he will design, same with Newson. It’s Ferrari’s leadership that has to be held accountable for the decision, my guess is they wanted to break into a brand new demographic. Many say it should have been a sub-brand, for some reason they didn’t use that option.
I don’t lien the car’s look, but also don’t hate it. Let’s see it on the road, get some review on the comfort etc.
I honestly think it will be all fine, once the current wave of criticism blows over.
I wish there was an article on this matter that wasn’t written like a capitalist industrial consumer taste manufacturing piece. Takes longer to get to the point too, but that’s just me.
Also relevant: the “swallow my pride and do this for the clicks” videos in the day of release that YouTubers began posting once the embargo was lifted. It was obvious no matter what they actually thought they were going to toe the line Ferrari wanted. Sad but hey, lie with pigs expect to get dirty…
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 23.8 ms ] threadThis is just gross incompetence all around.
Above all, Ive had an ethical responsibility to protect his clients from harming themselves by refusing the commission.
Or it look like a modern successor to the Pontiac Aztek.
I can only imagine what the Italian designers have to say about it…
Look at those tactile buttons and knobs. For cruise control and wipers. And the flip switches for Infotainment / climate.
The "LUNCH" mode button that you have to pull and then shows a glowing ring. Feels 90s science fiction. I wonder if I can 3D print a replica, not sure for what yet, but I want it. It's literally inspiring for me.
The outside though :(
The exterior of basically all cars from Hyundai up to (now) Ferarri is currently stuck at some kind of aerodynamic / fuel efficiency local maximum that dictates that they all look like the same boring bar of soap. Nobody seems willing to budge on this and climb down the hill even a bit.
As problematic (quality-wise) as the Cybertruck is, at least they went full-send on the design. It might look ugly but at least they tried to not make it look like every other truck on the market.
I get the history with Ferrari cars and their aesthetic and all.
But it looks like what one would expect from the man who designed iPhone.
That's a paradigm shift for Ferrari which has always been associated with exclusive performance and beauty - and the removal of that USP is why it is seeing such pushback.
From manufacturing luxury vehicles they are now manufacturing gadgets.
If someone is interested in buying a tablet on wheels, he can shop Tesla or Xiaomi, they don't need a Ferrari.
Ferrari sells dreams. That's not a car anybody will dream about.
From some point on, people buy stories, experiences, luxury. Gadgets don't provide the same experience.
I don’t know if there is a psychological term for that phenomena in design but I think it’s related with mere-exposure effect [1]. A design that stands out and is uncommon, will evolve a deeper relationship over time with the observer than a well-polished predictable design.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect
Ferarri took the bold action to not be tied with it's past.
One of their director explicitly said they used an external design company to intentionally to avoid a minor refinement of its ICE cars.
They knew how this car will be perceived, if only because surely there must have been fierce internal resistance.
I get that they think about going away from the combustion engine, but as a manufacturer of insanely expensive, loud and overpowerd sports car this doesn't make sense.
It's like if I as a software dev would be worried about the future market and suddenly advertise myself as a psychologist in search for clients.
Marc Newson is also on the team, and there striking similarities to (t)his 27 year old concept car[1]: https://marc-newson.com/ford-021c-concept-car/
Regarding the UI: This is miles ahead of any other digital cockpit made by Ferrari. Also pretty good overall.
[1] via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48271629#48278841
This is a brand that permanently banned Paris Hilton for painting her Ferrari pink, Kim Kardashian for modifying her 458, and Justin Bieber for wrapping his in neon blue.
Where does that fall on the line between your product, your rules and I bought the thing, I own it, I paint it blue? My gut reaction was that this should totally not be legal, neither telling people how to paint their car, nor telling them what [not] to do with it, or to which places they can take it, seriously? And also banning people from buying one to enforce this.
I recognize Ferrari is one of our most iconic and exported brands.
Also I could not give any less fucks about the new Ferrari, the fact that it's ugly, the fact that it's probably going to tank or be a hit. They and their products are so detached from the lives of 99.9999999% of the population.
Also, what do you expect from a guy that used to design computer mice.
Jony Ive is a brilliant example of the role selection plays in evolutionary processes. It is the sorting method that punishes bad ideas with death and allows good ideas to survive. After Jobs passed away the selection mechanism that only let Ive's good ideas pop through disappeared. It is popular to accuse Jobs of credit hoarding, but in that relationship he was the talent. Ive just someone who could generate ideas for him to choose from.
More than a mutation agent, less than a good designer.
What makes Ive bad for Ferrari is that he operates under the delusion that he is a great designer. This makes him arrogant. Arrogance paired with mediocrity isn't the best of combinations. And Ive sans Jobs is mediocre on a good day. But his myth is persistent.
Ferrari has a long history. Ive completely ignored it and designed a mediocre bar of soap.
If he did so out of an abundance of arrogance, or simply because he actually doesn't understand Ferrari is unclear. But it is an undeniable fact that the car neither looks like a Ferrari, nor is it a particularly elegant car. If you saw it without knowing what it was you could be forgiven for thinking this was a more modestly priced asian mass market car.
For admirers of a brand that aspires to make iconic cars this is, of course, a disappointment.
I did like the instrument cluster though. It dials back the somewhat childish and gaudy displays that sports car manufacturers have offered for the past couple of decades and replaces it with something that is more tastefully retro. A lot of older Italian cars had beautiful dashboards that give off strong race car vibes. (for instance the Bertone-designed Alfa Romeo GTV from the late 60s and early 70s - those had gorgeous instrument clusters)