Filed under: Euro, Earnings/Financials
Is Pininfarina's future in doubt after CEO's death?
Click above for hi-res gallery of the Pininfarina Sintesi Concept
Even prior to Pininfarina CEO Andrea Pininfarina's untimely death while out riding his scooter, the market for coachbuilt automobiles was shrinking fast. To wit, the Italian car design firm had recently just managed to sign an agreement with its creditors to reschedule the company's debt and is now asking for an extra one-hundred-million Euros from shareholders for future product development. Pininfarina is also planning on designing and building its own electric car using batteries and technology supplied by a French company known as The Bolloré Group. Currently, many questions surround the storied Italian marque. As of today, for instance, Pininfarina is without a leader as the company has yet to announce its next CEO, despite the fact that it is knee-deep in a turnaround plan to bring the company back to profitability. Can the storied design firm and coach-building company survive these tumultuous times without a leader? Time, as always, will tell.
Gallery: Pininfarina Sintesi concept
[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard 7:52PM (8/08/2008)
So..........
Pinin has yet to announce a new CEO on the day - or day after - their CEO is tragically killed.
Hey! AB Guys. Skip the drama and give the company a break. I am sure that they'll figure it out once the initial grieving is over. Doesn't Pininfarina still design for Ferrari?
Please leave the false drama to NBC for the next couple of weeks while they broadcast the Olympics.
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Artie Lange 8:51PM (8/08/2008)
Pininfarina hasn't produced a good design in 20 years (or more). Maybe a little shakeup is in order.
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oZone 9:05PM (8/08/2008)
Yes, death usually brings something similar to that to the table. :ugh:
Mobius_1 11:36PM (8/08/2008)
Come on that's not true, are you saying Quattroporte and GranTurismo and Volvo C70 and P4/5 and Alfa GTV & Spider aren't good looking? They still manage to make masterpieces despite the ocassional cock-ups, but their contribution to car design even today is huge
tom 12:36PM (8/10/2008)
I might be alone here but I always thought the 612 was a beautiful car. Way underapriciated IMO.
Hike15 10:04PM (8/10/2008)
have u ever seen some of their newer cars?
they have designed some of the most beautiful modern cars
my personal favorites are the alfa romeo brera maserati gt and ferrari enzo
Torrent 9:12PM (8/08/2008)
This Sintesi needs to be made though.
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Big Rocket 9:13PM (8/08/2008)
In my opinion, Pininfarina's future has been in doubt for quite some time. In terms of appearance, the Ferrari Califoria was competent, but hardly a stunning home run. Worse, Pininfarina's designs for Chinese automakers have been major disappointments, ranging from the highly derivative Chery M14 and ChangFeng Leopard to the downright hideous Brilliance Jinjue. And let's not forget about the Cadillac Allante; then again, it would be better if we just forget it.
Sources:
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/29/ferrari-releases-more-photos-of-the-california-now-with-the-top/
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1990-to-1993-cadillac-allante.htm
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/10/chery-may-bring-m14-convertible-to-u-s-next-year/
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/14/detroit-2008-the-return-of-changfeng/
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007-zhonghua-jinjue-chinas-bmw.html
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RIck 10:22AM (8/09/2008)
Everytime I look at a Caddy built in the last 15 years or so, I see an Allante. So I guess the influence stuck and worked, didn't it?
As for Pininfarina, Bertone and other coachbuilders in general, it's just a shame and a sign of the times. Why bother hiring artists when you can do the cookie cutting with your bland, corporate design department...and keep the bean counters happy at the same time.
Luckily, I've had the privilege of owning several coachbuilt cars in my collection. The want and desire is no different than comparing a fine art collector to someone who simply makes do with mass produced posters taped to their walls.
BowserUSC 6:26PM (8/09/2008)
I wouldn't say any of those cars are bad looking, not spectacular but it's not like they're designing ugly cars. And as for the Chinese ones, I bet there were certain constraints put on Pininfarina that make them a little bland.