Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Article About Fake Ferraris

[E M (pokiebaron]

Bolting bits onto a Fiero.  Isn't that what we call a Kit Car?  If a few Kit
Cars can harm your companies image, your companies image needs a little
work.  If Mr. Lewin thinks a Fiero Kit Car can lead to a real Ferrari losing
it colour, and appeal, maybe he needs to go for a ride in a real Ferrari.

Ed
911SC

On 28/02/2008, Larry B <larrybard [at] hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Italian Tax Police Bust Up Fake-Ferrari Ring
> Auto-Body Shops Built Counterfeits Using Pontiac Fieros
> By ROSAMARIA MANCINIFebruary 28, 2008; Page D5
> It was the ultimate face-lift: a sporty red Ferrari F355 on the outside, a
> used Pontiac Fiero on the inside.
> That was enough, apparently, to entice wannabe Ferrari owners to plunk
> down €20,000, or about $30,000, for the chance to own an approximation of
> the real thing.
> Yesterday, Italian tax police, the Guardia di Finanza, busted up a ring of
> auto-body shops across the country that were trafficking in one of the most
> high-end and high-priced counterfeit cars of all time.
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> The ring operated in a dozen cities from near the Alps in the north to
> Sicily in the south. Tax police rounded up seven completed fake Ferraris, as
> well as another seven that were still being decked out. Some of the
> counterfeit cars had already been sold. They also seized numerous spare
> parts, some of which were genuine Ferrari. Eight people were placed under
> investigation, but no arrests were made.
> The head of the Palermo unit of the tax police, Guido Mario Geremia, who
> spearheaded the investigation, said it involved "a sophisticated operation
> that was running throughout Italy."
> The global counterfeit industry has been one of the world's most
> inventive, churning out knockoff copies not just of Channel handbags and
> Gucci sunglasses, but also of products ranging from high-end wines to
> pharmaceuticals, telecommunications equipment and videogames.
> Even by those standards, copying a Ferrari seems particularly brazen. The
> company makes about 6,000 cars a year, and waiting lists for new models can
> run years. Most cost more than $200,000, but prices can soar far beyond that
> depending on the level of customization. The company boasts that its
> engineering -- much of which it also uses on its championship Formula One
> racing team -- is second to none.
> So who would dare buy a fake? "There are people who buy fake Louis Vuitton
> and Gucci bags, so it's not so strange that someone would buy a fake
> Ferrari," said Mr. Geremia.
> Mr. Geremia said he began working on the case six months ago based on a
> tip. He was able to trace the different cars and fake parts to cities
> throughout Italy, where specialized auto-body shops would strip down the
> body of the old Fiero, including its bumpers, hood and rear, and then mount
> parts to build the fake Ferrari.
> Once assembled, the fake Ferraris looked pretty close to the real things.
> At least when standing still. The Pontiac Fiero, whose production cycle
> spanned the second half of the 1980s, was considered a peppy, if not so
> dependable, two-seater. Still, its V4 engine is no match for the V8 under
> the hood of the F355, which boasts a top speed of 183 miles per hour.
> In a few cases, Mercedes and Porsches were used as the underlying cars
> instead of Pontiacs.
> Ferrari SpA, a unit of Fiat SpA, had no comment on the investigation.
> Spokeswoman Mariella Mengozzi said the company works side by side with
> authorities in Italy and abroad on these types of investigations.
> Last year, fake Ferraris were nabbed by the tax police in Sardinia and
> Rome. In 2006, the European Commissioner for Justice, Franco Frattini,
> protested publicly that fake Ferraris were popping up in China.
> The ring uncovered yesterday included salesmen who promoted what they said
> were "replica" Ferraris over several Internet sites. They also operated
> showrooms where the cars were displayed. Others provided parts, from
> headlights to steering wheels.
> The latest figures from the World Customs Organization show that all types
> of counterfeits result in about $500 billion to $600 billion in lost sales
> annually, which is about 5% of global trade.
> Harley Lewin, a partner with New York law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, who
> specializes in counterfeit issues and isn't involved in the Ferrari case,
> said that even a few fake Ferraris on the road could harm the company's
> image. "It starts to taint the brand," he said. "It becomes a big deal; all
> of the sudden legitimate products start to lose their color, their appeal.
> The fake cheapen and diminish the real thing."
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> URL for this article:
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120415357135797887.html
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