A HORSE AND BULL STORY!

Good Morning! It is the first day of the new year 2018.Wish a very happy new year to all my readers world wide!At the same time I thank you for your continued support since you have been the driving force behind posting an article on first day of each month since November 2011.

While on my job in Qatar, I used to drive many hours daily, especially during my early years there.Visiting project sites,attending meetings with clients and consultants were very regular during that time.Many times it was literally race against time in the busy Doha traffic since I wanted myself always to be  punctual. One thing which I enjoyed during these drives is observing latest models of quality cars that I came across.In a country like Qatar, the richest in the world on per ca pita basis, one can imagine what sort of rare and expensive models of cars I can see on the roads...Maybach,RR,Porsche,Bugatti...Koenigsegg,Pagani the list is incomplete,though the most popular among Qataris  always remained Toyota Land cruiser and not any models of Mercedes or BMW or American cars.

Ferrari and Lamborghini too are  two famous manufactures of super cars that can be seen in Doha roads.They  have a lot in common to a person like me, who never owned or have driven them even once.Both are Italian,have  animals in their logos-in one it is a horse while in the other it is a bull.Both are flashy,sporty,luxurious and comes out in sleek models,anyone would like to own.Technically both are quite different as I understand,but still rivals in business.what I am to write here is not comparison of salient technical features but how they became business rivals literally.....A horse and bull story!

                                                         Ferrari and Lamborghini logos

Tough..tougher...toughest! Business opportunities knock at your door in the last hours of working week!
Any business is a complex and tough world.Establishing and running a successful  business is not every one's cup of tea.It is tougher.The toughest could be the ability to steer the company/corporate to glory with more and more profits each year-something the investors surely are more interested in!This could be full of challenges and uncertainties. It requires hard and timely decisions and above all, acumen to identify the opportunities as a visionary and work on them without looking at own watches or own wallets!!And opportunities never comes out as shining stars or even as stars.Mostly they do not come to you at all but you have to be after!Most likely opportunities or challenges happen towards the end of your last day of the working week.While you are  about to leave the office for a weekend break, it knocks-to put it in a lighter vein but true in my humble exposures!When I look back how one could manage this situation, I think it depends a lot on one's life partner as well!

Books say that successful business ideally runs on a high-demand-low- competition market.But I do not think such a market exists anywhere for long.Once a product hits the market, similar products are sure to pop up quickly.Business competition is good,they also say, if it is healthy.But it is never healthy,I can assure you.I am sure you have heard of cola wars,coffee wars or even burger wars!Business competition is not limited to FMCG but it is there in all fields whether it be commercial aircraft or computer hardware or construction. In few cases business competition can get into business rivalry where it is more personal. Competition between Ferrari and Lamborghini came out that way, which has no such parallel in automobile corporate history........

From a POW to an entrepreneur in tractors....
Members of Lamborghini family were traditional grape farmers in Italy but Ferruccio was not.He was interested in Mechanics instead, who attended a short technical course in the subject.Before he could gain some experience in the field of his liking, he had to join the Italian Air Force to participate in the WW2,where he was taken as a prisoner of war(POW) by the British. The British put him as a POW to work in their military services in the  motor dept where Ferruccio could work and gain experience first hand for the first time on automobile mechanism!

Once the war was over,he returned to his native town to pursue his dream.He purchased some of the old military machines and reconverted as tractors.His business with brand name of Lamborghini tractors was successful and soon he became a wealthy man.When he became wealthy he did something which anyone does in that context.He purchased some expensive cars including a Ferrari since he was interested in racing....

Being a mechanic himself,Ferruccio found out some short comings in the Ferrari car he owned.Too noisy and bumpy,clutch requires repairs very often, he noticed.He decided to meet Enzo Ferrari himself to air his views, both from the same region of Italy-Emilia-Romagna. Ferrari motors had established in 1929 itself and was basking in glory in 1963 by the time Ferruccio decided to meet him.

Birth of Lamborghini race cars...
Enzo did not like  the comments brought up, it seems.He could not digest the observations of a 'tractor mechanic'!He was sort of rude to Ferrucio,it is told."If you wanted a better car,you can make yourself" was the answer. Ferruccio could not digest the insult inflicted either.He decided to to work on a new car.He completed design in 4 months, fairly fast considering the fact that it was precomputer days.He introduced the first Lamborghini race car in the motor show of 1963!He chose the logo of a bull for the new car.It is not to rival horse, the logo of Ferrari but I understand that Taurus was his star.

In the first year he could sell only 13 cars but kept up the production to compete with brand Ferrari.Soon Lamborghini became a full time car manufacturer, eventually stopping their tractor business.Ferrari had a new rival!!The rest is history as we all know....

Ferrucio Lamborghini died in 1993.To best of my knowledge the Volkswagen group now owns Lamborghini along with Bentley,Bugatti, Audi, Ducati, and Porsche brands.Nevertheless this will not be the last corporate war in the automobile industry........

Photos:Courtesy Google.

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