Ferrari Threatens Limo Builder with Legal Action
In September of last year, we brought you the story of a British man who built himself a twenty-three-foot-long Ferrari 360 Modena Limo, for the princely sum of £200,000. The car’s builder, Dan Cawley, may have expected to get chided for bad taste, or even rebuffed by the local Ferrari club, but he most likely didn’t expect to be sued by Ferrari itself.
But Cawley may well be facing a lawsuit if he doesn’t agree to “de-Ferrari
Comments
VMMVMMM
In my opinion, this is absolutely ridiculous. It reminds me of the hubbub all of the movie folks made of people editing their own dvd movies. I say that once you have purchased something, it's yours. Now if he were advertising this as a Ferrari 360 Modena for sale as a business, representing Ferrari, maybe that would be different. But if it's your personal vehicle, this move is downright stupid by Ferrari.
Clint
I agree with VMMVMMM, but also die a little death inside when I take a look at that picture and realize people would actually buy a perfectly good Ferrari and do such a thing.
mo
maybe the designers at ferrari got insulted.... if i am working in ferrari and it happened to see this, i guess i would sue the man.
that is when i would think back, is it worth the money i would spend. i will say no, and let the guy go along.
bobby
Is there no fun left? Keep da badges!
Dan
You know what you get when you file a suit like this? Free publicity. Ferrari has already accomplished what its suit seeks to do - spread the infallible gospel of Ferrari and get some inexpensive ink at the same time.
Scott in AZ
So if I go slap some Ferrari badges on my Toyota Minivan, are they going to come after me too?
Russ Bellinis
Scott, they would if your Toyota Minivan made national or international news. In the case where someone puts Ferrari badges on a vehicle that isn't a Ferrari, they are very protective of their trademark. In this case, I don't think they have a case. If they don't want to take a chance on someone doing something disgusting with a Ferrari in the name of personalization, then the solution is to quit selling cars! When a person buys a car or any other item, they have a perfect right to modify their personal property in any way that they want to. Ferrari gave up control over the issue when they sold the car.
fujii13
If Pininfarina can do to the Enzo what they did to the ghastly looking P4/5 and still keep the badges on it, this guy should certainly be able to do whatever he wants with this 360.
a_meehan
fujii13 - Pininfarina (and Glickenhaus) had full permission from Ferrari to make the (hot, IMHO) P4/5, so, by that logic, this guy should need permission from Ferrari to keep the badges too, right?
Either way, I think Mr. Cawley should be tried and executed for crimes against humanity, therefore rendering the point moot.
X3 SoB
"If Pininfarina can do to the Enzo what they did to the ghastly looking P4/5 and still keep the badges on it, this guy should certainly be able to do whatever he wants with this 360."
Excellent point fujii13. I feel that if Ferrari were to pursue this into the courts, they would lose. On the other hand, the P4/5 will one day be considered a priceless classic, while this limo monstrosity will not be worth much at all.
Evan Brom
As long as the badges are OE, And the same goes for the fascia that they are on it is his right.
soninlaw
I think Ferrari is full of s......
When the title transfers what I do with the car, is my business not the company that manufactured it.
Ferraris after all are still only cars!
Next, Ferarri will sue you if you take your Enzo out and total it (the ultimate modification!!)? They are quite a few of those bone heads out there.
Human powered
I'm not sure how I feel about this, but just for discussion, he bought a Ferrari, but not the brand. This is a branding issue. It was built for a business so it sounds like he would be making money off a Ferrari Limo and capitalizing on the brand, which is inappropriate to say the least.
mbslrm
Ferrari needs to suck it up.
94 Taurus owner
I agree mbslmn What that dude did to his Ferrari was his own business He bought the car he could do what he wants to it.
Ferrari should mind their own stinkin business.
94 Taurus owner
*correction*
I agree mbslrm
94 Taurus owner
But still this picture answers a question I had a few days ago.
Would a Ferrari make A good looking Sedan.
answer.....
Yes it does.
94 Taurus owner
Actually Ferrari can't really prove that it is not A Ferrari anymore because of the VIN and those annoying and distracting tags on the doors and in the engine bay that proves that this car was built in a Ferrari factory.
Josh
I think it's hideous, and I'd kick the owner in the balls if I ever met him for ruining such a vehicle, but I'd die to defend his right to do it.
bepsf
I agree w/ Human - It's a branding issue and the guy it trying to make a buck off the Ferrari name with this abomination.
If he had cut the roof off or reskinned the car like Zagato or VanWhatsisname, it wouldn't be so much of an issue - but in this case, I agree w/ Ferrari.
A. Wofford
It's stupid. If I buy a licensed Ferrari flag and put it up on my wall, does Ferarri then own my wall? Am I then trying to pass off my wall as Ferrari built?
So I guess if I bought Erikson's Enzo remains, and made a couch out of it, I'd have to take the badges off. Hmmm... wonder if that little horse is pressed into the seat leather, how does he get that off? How about all the castings thgroughout the car, surely they have some branding on them like my VAG.
selrahc1963
In my opinion, it is no longer a Ferrari in the same way that Mercedes Benz vehicles cease to be considered Mercedes, and can no longer wear any Mercedes badging, once they have been extensively modified. As for the3 lawsuit, I think it could be handled out of court without costing each party the high cost of the suit.
Bald-win
In this case, I believe Ferrari doesn't have a leg to stand on. The only way they could prevent such a modification is if Ferrari had a specific clause written into their sales contract. The only other method which comes to mind is if Ferrari were to make their cars available as "lease-only".
Dennis O'Keefe
Feffari should be proud of the Man for doing all that work/"ART".
Make your self happy.
Dennis O'Keefe
chartguy
People forget what property rights are. When Ferrari sold the car, they sold the right to make a mess of it. They didn't sell it with a contract that said that any future owner would have to leave it untouched. What's truly stupid is that Ferrari has succeeded in drawing attention to something they claim to be embarrassed by.
jc
jason
If he is forced to take the badges off, then every business owner to owns a stretched Lincoln or Hummer must also take the badges off their vehicles. Does Ford or GM go after those people? I think not. Stop being whiny bitches Ferrari. Do you think Honda was happy when people started ricing out their Civics?
blue-coupe
I agree that Ferrari is probably reaching here, but I can also see Ferrari's point.
They engineered the 360 using exacting standards to reflect their vision of an automobile. This guy stapled some steel & plastic to a great car and is driving it around town, presumably to paying customers. Is it still a ferrari after all that? I don't really think so.
AlfaElan
I think he should slap the words 'Not Ferrari' on the part of the car he created then tell Ferrari his derivative work of art is no longer able to be considered infringing.
Since he started with a Ferrari, to me those parts are still Ferrari.
As for the Pininfarina P4/5, well as far as I'm concernd it is the beautiful car the Enzo should have been.
Sublime
If Ferrari wants the badges off, they can pay him for them. I assume what he paid for the badges is reasonable. So lets see a Ferrari 360, is a less of a performer than a C6, but has a nicer interior, lets call it even.
2004 Ferrari 360 retail is $150k
2005 Corvette C6 retail is $45k
So if Ferrari will kindly send him a check for $105k, they can have their little horsey badges back.
Mena
Ferrari has a loooooong history of suing companies for similar doings. And they've won everytime too. Don't expect this company to be able to keep the badges. I remember a company that forced not only remove the badges but they had to make new cam covers without the Ferrari name on them too.
ITI
wooww...soo that means you cant change rims...your own paint designs...or modify the car in anyway....to me once you pay for the car and walk out of the dealership ITZ YOURS NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO SAY WAT TO DO WIT YOUR CAR...
Gary
Personally, I think Ferrari needs to sue whoever created that pink Hello-Kitty themed 512TR...
Legally, they really have no chance in the present case. This guy bought a 360, and is free to modify it to his heart's content. There are worse things one can do; besides, now we all have the answer to a question no one asked: "What would a Ferrari limo look like?"
What does Ferrari think about the bumper stickers that it sells? If I put a huge prancing horse on the back window of my truck, will I get sued because it's not a Ferrari? Where do you draw the line? Ferrari's action here makes me dislike my favorite car manufacturer...
ZeRinger
Tough cookies there Ferrari. I hate to be the one to rain on your parade but people have been putting your badges on far worse creations over the years. Fiero 308 anyone? I wonder if they plan on going after all the "Ferriero" owners with lawsuits as well? Silly Italians, you're becoming as silly as us Americans with your lawsuits.
rbk4ut
Why is it ok to have Hummer limos, Excursion Limos, Lincoln Towncar Limos, PT Cruiser limos...all of these are made for limo companies intending to make a profit. If someone wants to pay to ride in this as opposed to an equally hideous H2 Hummer limo I say so be it. Why is Ferrari any better than the rest?
Urbanpower.cl » Inglés es obligado a “desferrarizar” su Mode
[...] Fuente: Winding road [...]
Viperous
Here we go again the Facist Italians are trying to get their way again. If I remember correctly England is a free country and he can do whatever the hell his bad taste wants him to. I just want to see how mad ferrari get when my buddy puts a 360's badging on his 93 ford escort. Of course Ferrari isn't exactly the most stable car company (they are horribly bi-polar). Remember the Dino? They wouldn't even call it a Ferrari because they had V6/V8 Engines. The 360 was the crappiest Ferrari of the last 40 years anyways it doesn't even deserve to wear the badging as is so screw Ferrari. Oh no now they will sue me for that too using my freedom of speech.....
koeingkid
Suing ???? Now that a bit of a STRETCH !!!!
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