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Did The Y2K Bug Bite Ferrari?
The following story allegedly came from Sydney via Reuters news service:
SYDNEY (Reuters) - One of the world's best known automotive names has fallen victim to the Y2K bug. Ferrari, known for making some of the world's most exotic and sought-after automobiles has reported that there have been several reports of their cars sidelined where they sat at the time of the rollover to the new millennium.
Arthur Wellborne, a spokesman for Scuderia Veloce dealership in Sydney, reported that he first became aware of the problem just after midnight when an owner contacted him with a problem. "The owner of a new F355 Spider contacted me and was quite irate at being stranded." The cars owner had purchased the car as a Christmas gift for his wife. "They were at a party and ended up going home in the back seat of a friends carburetted 308GT4."
Ferrari spokesman reported that the problem has been traced to faulty programming in the Bosch Motronic M2.7 electronic injection-static ignition management. The problem affects models ranging from the 512M to the F50.
Bosch technical advisor Helmut Einspritzer said that their units were examined and not found to contain any faults. "We find no faults with the units and so far, this is the only problem we have encountered. We believe there may have been problems with the manufacturer. In fact, Ferraris seem to be the only car affected. We have had several calls from Porsche owners in Japan who reported having more power and better response. We will, of course, look further into the problem."
Fortunately, most people who own Ferraris usually have another car they drive more regularly so they are unlikely to be left stranded.
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