Does any other manufacturer get the kid glove treatment like Ferrari?

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I realize that by starting this thread I will never be allowed to buy a car from Ferrari

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Now you know why the reviews are good

Former Top Gear employees had some great feedback on that process. You have to be bigger than Ferrari to eventually get them to come around.

Many many moons ago I was a writer for a national newsstand publication in the firearms category.

I wrote a legitimate and balanced review of a new handgun. It was a Heckler and Koch pistol.

Although a perfectly serviceable product, it had a few shortcomings which I pointed out in the article. My editor, under pressure from the magazine owner, sent them a pre-publication copy of my article. They sent back an edited version removing all mention of the issues I identified. My editor leaned on me to change my article. I refused. They threatened to pull all future advertising and “blackball” us in the industry. I stood my ground since it was a side gig and I could afford to be fired.

When the magazine hit the newsstand, I learned that the editor had brought in another writer last minute to write a glowing review of how this was the finest pistol since John Browning designed the 1911. They then cut my article down and put it after his review as a Point - Counter Point type pairing. With mine being shorter, and with no pictures, in essence rendering it moot. I was also banned by the manufacturer from any future press releases, new product review offerings or manufacturer events. Their PR person put a pic of me out to their sales staff at the next SHOT show to keep me out of their booth.

I would imagine Ferrari is very much like that.

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I was also banned by the manufacturer from any future press releases, new product review offerings or manufacturer events. Their PR person put a pic of me out to their sales staff at the next SHOT show to keep me out of their booth.

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Details that should be included in your next review of one of their guns.

They took some criticism for the Luce.


Ferrari Stock Dropped 5 Percent in One Morning After Critics Compared the New $650,000 Luce EV to a Nissan Leaf. The Former Chairman Said It’s the One Car China Won’t Copy

Ferrari are a sensitive bunch. You actually have to be approved and potentially sponsored to buy a new one on certain models. On super high end models you have to be invited to buy one.
Say anything negative and you’re out. That’s why Top Gear was careful when road testing their cars.

I've heard Beretta is a lot like that too.

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Many many moons ago I was a writer for a national newsstand publication in the firearms category.

I wrote a legitimate and balanced review of a new handgun. It was a Heckler and Koch pistol.

Although a perfectly serviceable product, it had a few shortcomings which I pointed out in the article. My editor, under pressure from the magazine owner, sent them a pre-publication copy of my article. They sent back an edited version removing all mention of the issues I identified. My editor leaned on me to change my article. I refused. They threatened to pull all future advertising and “blackball” us in the industry. I stood my ground since it was a side gig and I could afford to be fired.

When the magazine hit the newsstand, I learned that the editor had brought in another writer last minute to write a glowing review of how this was the finest pistol since John Browning designed the 1911. They then cut my article down and put it after his review as a Point - Counter Point type pairing. With mine being shorter, and with no pictures, in essence rendering it moot. I was also banned by the manufacturer from any future press releases, new product review offerings or manufacturer events. Their PR person put a pic of me out to their sales staff at the next SHOT show to keep me out of their booth.

I would imagine Ferrari is very much like that.

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This shite pisses me off.

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every review by a "journalist" or publication is paid for and edited by the company making the product and every "user" review you find on reddit etc is probably just plain fake and written by AI.

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And that is why I don't do it anymore. When I was writing, it took me a good month to put together a full article. I would receive the gun, take it apart and examine it top to bottom for manufacturing quality/tool marks/type of construction (milled, cast, mim, etc) and then I would clean and photograph it in a studio set up. Then I would handle it off and on for a week or so to get a feel for it. Then a couple of range sessions to test function, accuracy, overall "feel" of the firearm, etc. Along with some outdoor and action photos. Then and only then would I sit down with my notes and put together the article. For all this, I was making around $1,500 for a feature article and $750 for shorter one page "new product" reviews and non-firearms product pieces. Like I said, it was a side gig.

Nowdays, the articles are largely generated through AI writers, photos taken with a cell phone and websites pay authors between $75 and $100 an article. For that amount of money, you can't tell me that they are doing any real review of the product. I have talked to guys in the business who say they will maybe shoot 50 rounds through a gun if they happen to be going to the range that week. If not, they just write it up as if they actually shot it.

It's all about paid advertising and writing / publishing as many articles as you can. "Journalism" is dead.

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"Journalism" is dead.

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Oh, I dont know - you do it well.