Alfa Romeo 4C Forums banner

Why does Matt Farah hate the 4C?

12K views 88 replies 32 participants last post by  Telamir 
#1 ·


His response
 
#21 · (Edited)
What an idiot.
Getting into this car knowing nothing and immediately pushing it to near limits on civilian roads.

Later to bash the car in this interview.
So jumping on the "Lets hate the 4C !" bandwagon. Lemmings.
Remember the "experts" all hated the 206 Dino when it came out. The 996 was a huge positive jump over that air-cooled turd the 993.
BTW I own a 996 in GT2 form...different animal.

Screw "experts".
Listen to your soul.
The 4C is an icon. Bank on it.
 
#3 ·
I won't watch it, but then again, Doug Demuro, Matt Farah, and just about all of them make me cringe. First, I find them them and their like to be borderline morons, and they are in the business of clicks and entertainment.

I'm in this camp: I am happy if they all hate it.

I've had my month's quota for cringe, so YouTube's clown parade, which includes the Doug Demuro and Matt Farah floats, won't be attended by me.

I last watched Farah drive the C8. I threw up in my mouth a little. Not making that mistake again.
 
#27 ·
Then, I guess, the REAL question is why do so many people watch and subscribe to them?
Matt Farah has some convenience since he drives custom and unique cars that can generally inform how someone's tune or bolt on or mix of parts drive/sound/work. I do appreciate that endeavor and effort, but this dude simply cannot abide his absolute lack of original style and being "brutish", generally being "another 'Murcan fattie slob that drives sht" - but maybe thats just his character and it works(?)
Anyways from what I can tell from his videos I have seen, I think he hates the 4c because how much he wanted to LOVE it, and got disappointed it wasnt manual, wasn't a naturally aspirated inline-6 screamer (you read that right lol), have a McPherson rear, and have garbage interior ameneties that belong in a 80's car. Still, he does make a few inane comments, so maybe I'm giving him benefit of doubt.
Oh well: Each to their own, because together we'd get too much done!
 
#8 ·
Barely! :D
... which is probably part of the problem.

The matte grey car he showed in the video above belonged a member here until he sold it (sorry, cannot recall the name).

Yeah, the only thing that I like of his is a short YouTube set about how to drive stick. It was actually well explained.
As far as reviews are concerned, forget him and all his ilk!
 
#15 ·
It's not about cars or watch sizes that Matt Farah likes; it's about not concerning yourselves with what irrelevant people like or approve of.

Immediately, big watches had defenders.

I have watches from 36mm to 44mm and daily a Camry and drive a 4C for fun. I seek approval for none of the things that make me happy.

I hate when my favorite things go mainstream, so bring all the hate to all the things I love, irrelevant pseudo celebrities and celebrities alike.
 
#19 ·
Car whose charm is not for everyone is what makes certain cars so special. If it ticked the boxes that everyone liked to some degree, it would be a vanilla boring sports car like Porsche makes. Great cars, but lack the personality of cars that have flaws or the money was put into very specific things.
 
#24 ·
haha this is Matt in the Evora.

View attachment 105474

The 4C is not as refined, raw, just like an Alfa should be... not made for bigger guys( I barely fit)
I was there that day too! now that I remember I may have stolen some BBQ off your friends.

I remember he said he was doing low-mid 40s. That matches 4C times and the evora 400 is more expensive. So I dont know what he's on about.

Sure I may agree that the elise/exige is a better pure track car than the 4C, but that doens't make the 4c a "shit" car
 
#25 · (Edited)
Somewhere out there is a Matt Farah quote saying his ideal daily driver is a 911 GT2 RS.

I had this guy go off on me on the Toyota forum when we were in one of those, "what other cars do you drive'' forums, because as to the 4C: "How can you stomach not having a manual?!" By a guy with a "Save The Manual Wagons" signature. I think he had an older brown Accord 5MT and some other econobox with a manual. They can actually be fun. Hooning an econobox with a manual. Heck, I want a 500 Abarth.

I did not and do not judge his choices, but I just consider what his life, his wants and his sensations are to be completely unrelatable to me personally.

(The watch thing: Sold a very, very expensive watch back to my dealer to get by and some people who knew I had such a watch were almost appalled to learn I didn't somehow do other things to keep it. Like, Matt Farah never considered, "Who can I recommend this car to? Take that approach, and you start to see the car as a product with a base you're attempting to sell to. Instead, Hey, this thing is wrong for me! Hot take level: 1/10)
 
#26 ·
Funny that you mention selling a watch to get by. I was self employed for about 15 years, and after the recession totally collapsed the market for my business, I sold my watch to get by. I had bought a fun boat for the family back in like 2004 or so, and the next year bought a Rolex Yachtmaster in 18k (sort of as a joke since my boat was anything but a 'yacht'). Anyway, sold the Rolex in 2010 or so. Had to sell the Ferrari in 2009. It never really bothered me to sell those things, as luxury items are nice but not necessary obviously. Makes me crazy when I hear the government whine about 'cuts' when in reality they are just cutting the amount of growth. I went from a typical year of $350-500k in billings to $2,500 in 2009, and $4,000 in 2010. My dad gave me his 18k Daytona about a year ago, so I have a chunky watch once again.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Gentleman.... I think we need to accept a few things about the 4C... It is a flawed car. When the original car came out several of the auto journalist slammed it, such as Matt Farah and Jason Cammisa. A lot of the auto journalist have to sell an image/car, review the car based on what the "general consumer" will like in a car (storage, cup holders, infotainment system, people carrying ability, etc), and their own "image" of what a car should be (partial enthusiast) so it should be taken with a grain of salt. However, they have driven FAR more cars than most of us do....

I think most people would agree that the 4C is a very beautiful car and showed great promise for the enthusiast (Carbon fiber tub, etc). However, it wasn't really the best driving car. It follows all the contours of the road and is a weird mix of "old school" and "new School". No power steering, but no Manual?.... As i said "weird" for the enthusiast.... Plus, it isn't the easiest to drive at the limit and the gearing is a tad short for track use (Works on the street, but the gearing can fall into a "no mans land" on some tracks). What Matt & Jason noted is this this "let down" from a beautiful exterior but "drove like crap and interior is sparse/plastic". Plus, when you are comparing it to a Porsche, the Porsche has ALL of the modern amenities, outstanding DCT, excellent driving characteristics at the limit, and is what most consumers would pick..... Even if it has a boring exterior and they all look alike.... The Alfa is not for "everybody", but that is why most of us love it.
 
#41 ·
I would not use the adjective "flawed". I would use "eccentric". Its different than the norm, its very unique, it is very colourful, and its not for everyone, but to those that dig it, its a real interesting and entertaining treat ;) You mention Porsche as a "benchmark" vehicle but I traded one in on my spider and am very happy to have traded up!!
 
#33 ·
Yeah. I suppose my old Ginetta would be a crap car to most people, but I absolutely loved it. Same with the 4C, but I think maybe 20% of the car enthusiasts 'get it', and would love the car. The other 80% want something cushy that goes fast, even if it is less exciting. I am looking for a fun drive, that's all. If it happens to be in a beautiful package, then that is a bonus.
 
#35 ·
Yeah, I don't understand the obsession that reviewers have to comment on the stereo in the Alfa. I remember picking up a brand new Testarossa at Shelton Ferrari back in 1986, and it had a terrible Pioneer unit and two crappy speakers. Nobody seemed to care back then. I'm glad the stereo in the Alfa is just for music, but I will change it out like I do in every car for better sound. It may be that I am getting older, but I don't find the exhaust terribly loud at all in the car.
 
#36 ·
I can't argue with the 80%... Many of the cars in the past 5 or so years have gotten crazy fast, and much MUCH more capable than 95% of the drivers. Not that long ago I was at the track with one of my instructors, and we gave a point by to a Ferrari, and the guy in front of me gave a very late point by. The Ferrari took the late point by and came into corner fast and WAY off line. He just whipped the car around the corner. Both the instructor and I made a few comments on how the driver didn't setup properly and that the car was doing more of the driving than him...
 
  • Like
Reactions: lpspeedster
#40 ·
The thing is, most Canadian press “got” the 4C right away. By and large, it got excellent reviews up here for what it was. Not sure if ours are just more polite (likely, but I’ve seen the same journalists give scathing reviews so not probably the case), more professional, or more realistic. No doubt the car can be called “flawed”, but that description is totally dependent on the lens with which you view it. Same can be said of EVERY car out there, from at least one perspective. In Matt’s case, the perspective is merely “click bait”.

I think that Alfa hit its target brilliantly. That is why I own two! I get why the next guy may think otherwise, but his opinion is of no value to me (nor mine to his choice of car).
 
#42 ·
I have my son in law a spirited ride yesterday. About 5 miles into it he said ‘okay, that’s enough’. I’m not sure what it is about the car, but being a passenger is pretty scary. I let a friend drive my car and it is the only time I have been scared as a passenger in the last 20 years. That was on the old AR tires, but it really felt like we were going to crash.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top