1984 Ferrari 308: Not Quite As Cool As We Think

I like the old one better.

Get your F1 picks in, Donna! :o)

I like the 308, too. When someone thinks 'cool looking exotic', that's what'll pop into their mind.

That's it, Scott, we need a long-term F40 LM.

Might as well throw in a LT Porsche 959 while you're at it, Mike.

Only a brand new Ferrari could make a 308 look....bland.
 
I second the motion for a 959. ;-)

Don't feel bad. Red ones go faster!

The 599 doesn't look like a Ferrari, at least not what pops into my head as to what a Ferrari is. The 308 qualifies as a Ferrari in my brain, so does a Modena...or whatever it's called now-a-days. The first thing that poped into my head in seeing the picture of the 599 is...is that an Aston?

It's amazing how much larger that 599 is than the 308. Guess the NBA guys needed a bigger cockpit...

Is your friend really blocking TWO HANDICAPPED SPACES with that monster?

The 599 looks like a cross between a Viper and a Vette. The 308 is way cooler.
 
Driveing a 308 shows you love cars, driving a 599 just shows you have more money then you know what to do with.
 
I think Scott wins.

I would definitely take the 308. It has a thing my pappy used to call character. Character normally means it doesn't always work right, but you eventually grow fond of cars with character.
 
Also, isn't it a rule that sports cars have to be red? I only see one red car. I can't imagine the tension that comes with driving a vehicle worth as much as the 599. Take all the fun out of driving. I could see me and the 308 becoming good buddies real quick.

Umm - no. Beating the 599 would've required one of the two prettiest Ferrari's in recent memory: the F355 or the 456GT.
 
Gotta love '90s Ferraris!!!

The 599 looks like it could be the next Supra if ever Toyota gets around to it. 308 all the way!

elbee - You know, I always thought that, too. The Fiorano definately looks like a neo-Supra.

Thats true the 599 doesn't look like a true Ferrari the way the 575M did, but I think its the color, who buys a Ferrari in grey???
 
What does this friend of yours do for a living?

308's way cooler. Christie Brinkley and Tom Selek wouldn't be caught dead in a 599.

I have to agree too, the 308 is it for me too. That 599 looks like it could be a car for any other company like Toyota or Dodge. The 308 has character and it's a Ferrari that no one will mistaken for an Aston Martin look a like!

Pshhhh, I would take the 599 Fiorano in a heartbeat. =d.

What you need in the passenger's seat is a nice young hot blond;in her day Christie Brinkley was fine but this is the 21st century !

While the 599 is a monster in the performance category, I'd have to agree that the 308/328 and 355 were all much sexier cars. The 599 does prove you have money, though.
 
It's funny to think that someday in the distant future the 308 will be the more expensive car.

I think it's freakin hilarious that so many peeps posted they prefer the 308 to the 599!!!
I quote Scott:
"In an awesome display of one upsmanship, my friend showed up in his brand new Ferrari 599."
 
All those who pick the 308, put down the pipe and slowly step away...
(or at least hand it over to me so I can see things from your perspective..)

You just don't get it. The 308 is a cool car, quirks and all. The 599 is technically better but it is so expensive that is just a image symbol for rich guys who want show the world they are rich.
 
If I see someone in a 308, my 1st thought is that's a car guy.
 
If I see someone in a 599, my thought is drug dealer or rich jerk.

So, what are you saying about Scott's buddy? Hmmm?
Sounds like a leeeetle case of envy. Don't worry, I have it too!
;)

Nope, I think firstwagon gets it. The 308/328 are the last of the handbuilt Ferraris, with gauges, three pedals on the floor, etc. No computers to drive for you.
 
I think anyone's mom could drive a 599 fast, and once the 'new' wears off the price will drop a couple hundred grand. Then Subaru will reclaim its instrument panel/TV screen.
 
What I really wish is that Ferrari would make a light, sporting two seater with a manual gearbox -- sort of a bigger Elise but properly upscale in looks/construction. I wish I had the money to buy a new 599, but I wouldn't spend it that way.

I will agree about pre-OBD vehicles. Actually, I'd say pre-2001. I like having cars I can work on without a degree in EE.

"So, what are you saying about Scott's buddy? Hmmm?
Sounds like a leeeetle case of envy. Don't worry, I have it too!
;)"
 
Actually I'm not envious. I love cars for the character more then the shear speed. And I could afford a 599 but it would make a serious dent in my plans to retire at 50 (6 mores years :))
 
That said I am getting tried of only driving basic cars and the reviews of the 308 really have me thinking if I should buy a toy.
 
An exotic car (like the 308) that I can pay for without feeling bad and work on myself, that's what I'm envious at the moment.

The problem with the 308/328/348 is that they never differentiated themselves from other cars on a performance level. They only seem affordable now cuz they're used old cars! Back then they were considered quite pricey, as the new ones are now.
It was with the advent of the 355, then 360 and now 430 that Ferrari got back it's mid engine mojo. Sure they made the 288 GTO back then, which was insane as long as it did not puke up it's electrics every few hundred miles. And cars like the F40 rang the gong at over $500K street price...

Actually, if you look at contemporary road tests, the 308/328 were very high performance cars in their day. It's hard to remember now when every car on the road has 200/300+ horses, but the 328 easily outran the 930 and Corvette.
 
Today they're not "fast", but still a blast to drive.

billymay,
 
I second your request for a real driver's Ferrari. Sounds like the kind of car that would justify reviving the Dino name!

Both are nice. The 599 flaunts is muscle, even if it doesn't have as much character as the 308.

The 328 easily outran the Porsche 930 aka 911 Turbo????
Really? The 328 made 260 hp, the Porsche 300 hp.

"If I see someone in a 308, my 1st thought is that's a car guy.
  
If I see someone in a 599, my thought is drug dealer or rich jerk."
 
What would you think of the guy that bought the 308 when new? It wasn't exactly chump change.

Exactly elbee. I think it's because the 599 is out of the financial realm of most people so they harbour resentment to those that can afford them. But as an old 308 is the same cost as a Camry, well, as that is affordable to them, they must be car guys!
I guess Jay Leno and Ralph Lauren aren't car guys....

"What would you think of the guy that bought the 308 when new? It wasn't exactly chump change."
 
And do you remember dudes with the gold chains who drove 308's when they were new? Thus my point.
 
Once a car gets to a certain age, it becomes an entity on its own and not just a image mobile. Any fool with a big checkbook can buy a new car.

its a question of style.
the 599 and the scagliety got a very unusual design for what people are used to see in a ferrari.
aded on this, you have this semiautomatic gear box almost imposed in all the new model whith the ferrari people saying its the future of the sport driving!
for me , the new ones are saved only in 430 model .the rest its to japanese styled for me!!
yess i cant afford one! but its not this that make me dont like the new models,its the choices maded by the factory!
my opinion is, those who by a 599 are in almost all the cases people who already have one or two ferraris in the garage and wants to keep the image of a ferrari guy but driving a automatic .
thats why my respect for the porsche grow so much on the last years .
whith then with you want go berserk in the supersport ground you have to show some abylity in a authentic manual gt3 rs or in the new gt2!

"And do you remember dudes with the gold chains who drove 308's when they were new? "
 
No. I'm from Connecticut.

Peeps? desmo, it is not even Easter. http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/
 
I also choose the 308. Much more satisfying.