Cars n boats

Portofino

Portofino

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Saw one of these the day before Cannes boat show anchored in Villfranche
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( that's not me on the paddle board ) -it's a Merc 40 something ?

Wonder what people think of car Co, attempt to do boats- enter the boat mkt ?


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A Porsche -never seen one


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Ferraris go -actually its a Riva 32 dating from 80 ,s -seem hard to sell ,find a home ?
Currently the ex Ferreri /Fiat CEO has taken some shares in Ferretti earlier this year -not a lot -
But I can't see em associating both brands agian ? Dunno
 
I've never really given them (boats made by car manufacturers) a second look, I always just assumed they would be poor yet very expensive, just like when a car manufacturer has a half arsed attempt at making anything else other than cars. See push bikes from BMW & porsche as examples (although the lotus design time trial bike was pretty good).
 
Yup your first pic is the silver arrows "mercedes 46" boat. Stylish, but completely pointless in my view as a boat. The car-boat linkage is deeply flawed - people will not prefer boat just because it is has a car brand. Car brands might matter while you're buying a car, but if you're buying a boat you'll care if anything about boat brands, just as with buying a computer you'll recognise Apple, and so on.

Indeed the car brand on that Mercedes boat is just decal marketing - the thing has yanmar engines

There is an Aston Martin boat out and about too.
 
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jfm said:
Yup your first pic is the sliver arrows "mercedes 46" boat. Stylish, but completely pointless in my view as a boat. The car-boat linkage is deeply flawed - people will not prefer boat just because it is has a car brand Car brands might matter while you're buying a car, but if you're buying a boat you'll care if anything about other brands, just as with buying a computer you'll recognise Apple, and so on.

Indeed the car brand is just decal marketing - the thing has yanmar engines

There is an Aston Martin boat out and about too.
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I agree but there is one exception that is Uber cool in my book...

https://youtu.be/HIKmydA3WhY
 
Yep fair enough the bmw 507 is special.

But this Mercedes thing is baffling. At what point in the design process did someone realise there was nowhere to mount the plotter screens? How is it a good idea in the med to have a boat where underway only 2 people are in a slightly comfortable place, and everyone else just worries about falling off the back? Perhaps it is meant as a billy no mates boat. For a boat in this category you are much better just buying a stock Itama or Riva, for example.

When you've finished your car journey, you get out of it. In a boat other than a tender, that's just the start of your day on board. The last thing you want in a boat is car design DNA.
 
Agree pretty much my thoughts ,thus far a every car maker entry into the boating world -has been pretty much a commercial disaster .
DNA is just incompatible - basically -does not work .

The Riva 32 was different is that it was a marketing collaboration between then alive decision makers Carlo Riva and Enzo Ferrari -way back in the 80 ,s - I think they made low a number . It's a boat 1st -- just dolled up -spoiler being very 80 ,s
Fast fwd 36 years and they are hard to move on today asking €80.000 etc
Red ,s not the best colour in the Med .Its a dry stackable day boat .
But if you are into that and want a Riva ,such is brand strengh stand alone ,it does not need any other brand linkage thesedays / today - then folks who are interested may go for an original Riva .
Which leaves stuff like that @ that price diff to find a home ?
 
jfm said:
At what point in the design process did someone realise there was nowhere to mount the plotter screens?
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Its a design descision - they do it in all the new merc cars as well. instead of a nicely intergrated screen you have some ipad clone masticked to the dashboard.

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Its why I wont be buying another Merc after this one, unless I go for a CLS which has a more traditional dashboard.
BMW are at it as well - they say its 'design language'.
 
Dash of latest E-Class looks ok to me: it's all one screen running across the dash.
The layout is customisabubble.

2017-mercedes-benz-e-class.jpg
 
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Whitelighter said:
Only because they have yet to update them.

E class has 'gained' a stick on display and no doubt the 5 will go the same way as the Germans all follow each other.
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Just picked up a 5 GT. 'king ugly, but sooo refined and comfy. Has an integrated 10.2" screen. Given I drive it, and don't have to look at it, I am very happy :encouragement:
 
jfm said:
There is an Aston Martin boat out and about too.
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Pulled up on the fuel berth next to me the other day. Brand new, off to the boat show I assume.

Teenager loved it but I thought it was all style and no substance. You needed a special tool to take the fuel cap off and they could not find it. Took them ages with two pliers and a screwdriver. Why couldn't have a popup twisty thing like all other boats?
 
PEJ said:
Pulled up on the fuel berth next to me the other day. Brand new, off to the boat show I assume.

Teenager loved it but I thought it was all style and no substance. You needed a special tool to take the fuel cap off and they could not find it. Took them ages with two pliers and a screwdriver. Why couldn't have a popup twisty thing like all other boats?
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So people can't siphon your tank.
I have a tool for my filler caps as well
 
MBY have a story on the aston martin boat on the homepage today http://www.ybw.com/pictures/motorboats/aston-martin-quintessence-yachts-am37-powerboat-18807

I'm struggling to love this boat. AM cars are among the most beautiful things ever made by mankind, but this boat contains very little of the car DNA in its looks and frankly looks quite ordinary imho. That huge expanse of teak on the aft deck isn't pretty. OK the steering wheel and throttle detailing is gorgeous. There is a clever, if pointless, piece of compound curved glass for the windscreen but no windscreen wipers so how do you see when you get spray on the glass? The teak margin detailing is all messy, and I'm worried from some photos that the triangle side "windows" are solid so they block the view for back seat passengers - why do that, when an Itama-ish window line is the obvious way to do it? And bottom line is that its only 37 feet, so all the bigger Itamas et al will handle the waves better and look far more king of the hill than this thing.

If I'm missing the attractions of this thing I'm very happy to be corrected, because as I say I love their cars
 
I always think there's a bit of arrogance in a car maker thinking they can build a better (or even competing) boat than boat builders can. If Fairline or Sunseeker said they were going to build a car to be admired in a way that we admire Astons we'd all think they're deluded.
 
How are suppose to use it?
Where do you sunbath ?
How do you eat "al fresco" ? Er all 8 adults?
How do you get to the bow ?
Well plus point it has a loo, they tell us -:)As if @£1.2M the prospective owner can not rock up @ Eden Roc ,Martinez (Cannes) Forte Village ( Sardinia) -
Another pointless carmaker s idea what a boat should look like, who,s hardly ever been on a boat !

That's the point of the thread --- still waiting --?Or leave to the experts ,
I feel it's a completely different set of "how your brains wired " cars n boats -if you are good @ one -then 99% sure you €rap at t,other .
 
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