Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Article About Fake Ferraris

[Matt Boyd (ferrari308driver]

FYI, I recently changed the plate on my 308.  It is now:

NO FIERO

No kidding.  :)

-matt
'85 euro 308

On 2/28/08, 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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