06 Ferrari F430 Spider F1 28k Matte-black-wrap Daytona-sts Shields 19s Jl-audio on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chris Harris reviews his personal, two-year-old Ferrari FF [w/video]

Here's the kind of take you don't get too often. In fact, it hardly ever happens. Fan favorite Chris Harris has wanted a Ferrari FF since he saw it for the first time, but he couldn't get his bank account to comply with his desires. So he waited a couple of years for the price to come down, and found a specimen he could talk himself - and Ferrari Finance - into: a 2012 in Tour de France Blue with tan leather and 6,000 miles for the 'What, me worry?" price of 160,000 pounds ($249K US). Harris said that after putting 45,000 pounds down, his monthly payment is 1,400 ($2,177 US) pounds per month. He also said, "Sometimes you just have to do stupid things because you want to do stupid things." Five months in, Harris has no regrets, and in the beginning of the review he gets to one of the primary points that makes us fall in love with cars that can never be exploited on public roads: They make you feel equal parts badass and beastly and baronial at every speed. Or as Harris puts it, it's a "frankly ridiculous motorcar." In the best way. Check out his always-compelling take in the video. Related Gallery 2013 Ferrari FF: Review View 35 Photos News Source: Chris Harris on Cars via YouTubeImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Ferrari Hatchback Luxury Performance Videos chris harris ferrari ff

FCA is setting a five-year strategy: Here's how the last one played out

We're slightly more than four years removed from Sergio Marchionne last five-year plan for FCA, a tell-all where the Italian-American automaker divulged its plans for the 2014 through 2018 model years. It was a grand affair, where Sergio told FCA investors that all was right in Auburn Hills, Alfa Romeo and Maserati were making comebacks, and the fifth-gen Dodge Viper received a mid-cycle refresh. You can read every last one of those past predictions right here. We're on our way to Europe to see Sergio's sequel, coming out Friday straight from FCA's Italian headquarters. (Bloomberg reports a plan to expand Jeep and Ram globally, combine Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single division for an eventual spinoff, and downsizing Fiat and Chrysler. Also, EVs.) But before we arrive in Italy and find out exactly what Marchionne has planned for 2019 through 2023 as his last act as CEO, let's take a minute to tally up the results of his last term based on the same scoresheet we used in 2014. Now, we're only five months into 2018, so much of this — including vehicles like the Ram HD and Jeep Grand Wagoneer — could still debut this year. For those, we'll mark things TBD. We're not going to draw any conclusions or make any objectionable remarks. We're simply going to let the stats speak for themselves.

Ferrari steering wheel may hold key to rocket F1 starts

Ferrari's brilliant getaways at the Australian Grand Prix were key to its early victory challenge – and could well be the result of a unique approach to new start restrictions that Giorgio Piola has uncovered. Although Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid in Melbourne, it was a sensational getaway from Sebastian Vettel that helped the German swoop into the lead by the first corner. As team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said: "The start was super. I have to say both of the drivers, they start like two rockets. After that they were able to take an advantage, and that was good for us." Such great starts from Ferrari are nothing new – just look at Hungary last year – but as Piola's exclusive drawing reveals, the team may well have taken things to an all-new level in ensuring it does not miss any detail in this area. In-built advantage As early as pre-season testing, rivals had been alerted about what Ferrari was capable of by monitoring data from Barcelona. Red Bull boss Christian Horner said: "We saw that in pre-season testing their starts have been really strong." Even ahead of the race, there were rumours that Ferrari knew it would excel in this area. Its decision to not do a second run in Melbourne's Q3 was mainly fuelled by its desire to save a set of super soft tyres for the race. But another suggestion also emerged – that the team knew just how good its starts were so securing the second row of the grid was good enough for it to believe it had a shout of the lead on the first lap. A single paddle As Piola's comparison of Ferrari's 2015 and 2016 steering wheel arrangement shows, the team has been the most aggressive in changing its clutch configuration for this year. New rules mean that drivers can only use a single hand on a single clutch paddle for the race start – even if teams choose to keep a double-paddle arrangement for emergencies. Ferrari has opted for something totally different to its main rivals by abandoning a double paddle arrangement (see red arrows on above left image). Instead, it has a single 'rocker' paddle that stretches all the way across the back of the wheel. Investing in such a dramatic design change clearly points to it having unlocked a decent performance advantage. The exact reasons for this configuration are unclear, but it may be that it allows the driver a greater feel for the clutch bite point – and means he is better able to judge how to deliver the perfect getaway.