Rage against the machine

Chris Harris, Evo motoring scribe, has unleashed a quality rant on the Ferrari PR machine over at Jalopnik that basically says “F@#k you, I won’t do what you tell me!” It’s a must read. Here’s a taste of why he’s fed up dealing with Maranello’s PR department:

“Like anyone with half a brain, I’ve been willing to cut Ferrari some slack because it is, well, Ferrari—the most famous fast car brand of all and the maker of cars that everyone wants to know about. Bang out a video of yourself drifting a new Jag XKR on YouTube and 17 people watch it; do the same in a 430 Scuderia and the audience is 500,000 strong. As a journalist, those numbers make you willing to accommodate truck-loads of bullshit, but I’ve had enough now.

“What does it say about a 458 if the only way its maker is willing to loan it to a magazine is if a laptop can be plugged in after every journey and a dedicated team needs to spend several days at the chosen test track to set-up the car? It says they’re completely nuts—behavior that looks even worse when rival brands just hand over their car with nothing more than a polite suggestion that you should avoid crashing it too heavily, and then return a week later.”

It’s a ripping exposé from Harris and the fallout could be very interesting. Will other journos stand up with “Monkey”, or will they quietly close ranks behind the alleged Maranello mafia?

[Source: Jalopnik]