"Audi does not own Ducati; Lamborghini does"

[hbliam]

actually, 1st it was a Ferrari Daytona Spyder

That was actually a replica built on a corvette chassis but I still thought it was cool.

[zooom]

If one is really into a fast car for the purity of driving why buy anything besides an Ariel Atom?  I can crash five of those for one cheap Ferrari or ten for a decent Lambo.....

the Atom is sweet, but I am also slightly partial to a Caterham Super 7....

[Skybarney]

the Atom is sweet, but I am also slightly partial to a Caterham Super 7....

Also a great and fun toy.  Silly as it sounds I am as happy racing a shifter cart as I would be racing a Ferrari.  When you get low to the ground everything is fast ( :

When it comes to racing I have had a ton of fun on 50cc pocket bikes with my buddies at a go cart track.....  Instead of trading paint we traded dye, from our leathers. 

[Dirty Duc]

I came to Ducati by way of turbocharged RX-7...

My wife bought me one of those "drive a Ferrari on a track" experiences for people DP's age who are scared of motos.  After the drive, I told her if I couldn't ride I would have to own a Ferrari, even given the atrocious maintenance (remove the engine and replace the clutch every 10k). 

[Speedbag]

the problem with "most" exotic cars as I see it is this....most of them are WAAAAYYY over engineered for any kind of normal civilian street use and suffer issues from more or less atrophy because of being run in a manner less optimal than what they were origionally designed for....this based mostly on the fact that US streets don't provide legal opportunities to drive them as intended....kinda like the principle idea of the newb on a Hayabusa puttering around on a road while being passed like he is standing still by a guy on a 400cc motard....cars that are built to be used more within the realm of real potential on real roads are much more impressive to me.....hence why I give more respect to a car like Statler's Ferrari Mondial over a guy in a 599 or other cars of that ilk....especially when they are driven and done so regularly....

This.

I parted with my '07 GT500 primarily because after three years I came to the realization that 0-60 is all the fun I could legally have with the car on any regular basis without putting myself in serious jeopardy, plus the thing was a magnet for cops. Luckily I was never caught exercising the beast out in the boonies on a couple occasions. 

Throw in winters that last half the year and it just seemed like too much money to have tied up in such an animal. Fun? Hell yes, but on a nice summer day I'd prefer to ride one of the motorbikes. 

[Triple J]

the problem with "most" exotic cars as I see it is this....most of them are WAAAAYYY over engineered for any kind of normal civilian street use and suffer issues from more or less atrophy because of being run in a manner less optimal than what they were origionally designed for....this based mostly on the fact that US streets don't provide legal opportunities to drive them as intended....kinda like the principle idea of the newb on a Hayabusa puttering around on a road while being passed like he is standing still by a guy on a 400cc motard....cars that are built to be used more within the realm of real potential on real roads are much more impressive to me.....hence why I give more respect to a car like Statler's Ferrari Mondial over a guy in a 599 or other cars of that ilk....especially when they are driven and done so regularly....

That's the problem with any Superbike as well. I took my RSV4 on a ride, and besides being uncomfortable at every single light & slow traffic area, I never needed to get it out of 3rd...even on the freeway! At least the Ferrari/Lambo/whatever has a comfortable seat! 

[Speeddog]

1996-2005 Ducati was owned by TPG, a private equity investment firm.

I'd much rather have Ducati owned by an automotive company than a pack of soulless vampire beancounter sharks.

[DRKWNG]

the Atom is sweet, but I am also slightly partial to a Caterham Super 7....

Thank you.  Make mine a 620R please.

http://uk.caterhamcars.com/cars/seven-620-r

[Rudemouthsky]

1996-2005 Ducati was owned by TPG, a private equity investment firm.

I'd much rather have Ducati owned by an automotive company than a pack of soulless vampire beancounter sharks.

Certainly can't disagree with that...

It would just be nice if Ducati was just Ducati...MV was just MV...BMW was just BMW, etc. That's how brands keep their individuality while being pushed to improve by competition. Those days aren't coming back and it is what it is, but I'm jus' sayin'.

[hbliam]

It would just be nice if Ducati was just Ducati...MV was just MV...BMW was just BMW, etc. That's how brands keep their individuality while being pushed to improve by competition. Those days aren't coming back and it is what it is, but I'm jus' sayin'.

I agree.

[Triple J]

1996-2005 Ducati was owned by TPG, a private equity investment firm.

I'd much rather have Ducati owned by an automotive company than a pack of soulless vampire beancounter sharks.

TPG did a lot for Ducati though. I'm pretty sure they are responsible for installing better QC procedures, which was good for all of us. I also know that at least one of the TPG partners was a motorcycle guy, and a fan of Ducati...owning several.

That said, it would be nice if Ducati was just owned by Ducati. I don't think a car company is automatically any better than a private equity firm...seems the motorcycles could always just be viewed as the red-headed stepchild.

[duccarlos]

I think we see more around where I live then almost anywhere in the world and I never tire of them.

If you lived in Dubai, you might be driving one for work.

[1.21GW]

1996-2005 Ducati was owned by TPG, a private equity investment firm.

I'd much rather have Ducati owned by an automotive company than a pack of soulless vampire beancounter sharks.

Grass is greener, as far as I'm concerned.  As a former Saab owner, I can say that having your favorite cult brand run by a massive international automotive conglomerate ain't so fun either.  In less than a decade of ownership, GM killed an iconic 60 yr-old brand.

Besides, I'm no Duc historian, but I thought the TPG years were prosperous compared to the dreadful eighties.  Lot of good bikes from '96-'05.

[abby normal]

That was a testarossa


.... unless I'm missing the joke (which happens often)

in the first year or so it was a white daytona (replica).  the characters crashed that one and
miami PD somehow got hold of a testarossa (replica).