A letter from Ron Dennis
#1
A letter from Ron Dennis
From one of my McLaren customers:
Last week I received a personally signed letter from Ron Dennis, it read:
"It is with both pleasure and frustration that I am writing to you at this early stage in your ownership of the McLaren MP4-12C. Pleasure because you are now part of our McLaren family and have bought into what I believe to be both the best car in its class, and the most exciting automotive adventure in decades; but frustration on a personal level because we have not yet been able to deliver on the high standards that we have promised and that should come as given with the McLaren brand. We have built up our McLaren businesses over the past decades based on our determination to be the best, and that is no different for the MP4-12C and all of our future cars.
When we began working on the MP4-12C, we were determined to deliver not only the best car in its class, but also the best ownership experience. We believe that the performance and driving experience of the MP4-12C is world class. However, along the road to achieving our goals, we will experience challenges. As you will have already heard from my staff, we are experiencing some early software bugs resulting in unnecessarily sensitive warning lights, battery drainage in certain conditions and IRIS performance issues. My team and the McLaren retailers are working with the pace and intensity that the McLaren brand demands to fully resolve these bugs rapidly and effectively to ensure that any inconvenience to you is kept to a minimum. It will however require your 12C to come back to your dealer at some point so that we can upgrade the software on your car. I hope that the way we deal with these issues sets us apart and is to the standard you would expect from McLaren.
We know you share our passion for racing, therefore as a token of my appreciation for your support during this time, your retailer will be giving you a pre-release copy of the new 'McLaren: The Wins' coffee table book. I hope that you enjoy the stories behind what makes McLaren winners and that this, in some small way, reminds you how much we appreciate your faith in us. We want to win on the road as well as the track, and we will work tirelessly to achieve this goal.
I would like to extend my personal thanks for your support and patience at this time. Should you have any questions, please contact your retailer in the first instance. Alternatively, please call my staff at McLaren Assistance on 0800 975 8285."
All I can say is that I know of no other marque whose chairman would personally confirm in writing that their product has fallen short of their standard and commit to rectifying the issues...
Source ML
#3
while this letter is certainly commendable.. its no surprise to me, its actually what i expected from mclaren....
i doubt you would ever see a letter like this in a million years from any italian marquee... i wonder what kind of letter ferrari sends you when your new car lights itself on fire?
Mclaren +1
i doubt you would ever see a letter like this in a million years from any italian marquee... i wonder what kind of letter ferrari sends you when your new car lights itself on fire?
Mclaren +1
#4
Since when did they start selling the MP4 without traction control or brake steer and with a manual transmission?
#6
The letter should have read "McLaren strives for excellence in driver emotion, and in following its unsurpassed heritage that is the F1, has decided to ditch that rolling computer ugly POS that is the MP4, and replace it with a lightweight sportscar, with power nothing, stick shift and the most enthusing driving experience you should've expected from us in the first place."
#7
I'm sure I remember getting a letter from Luca regarding the 458 problems/recall
#9
Sounds like Kevin and Zorro want a Rossion at one-third of the price. No official manufacturer can delivery these requests in the US.
As my Mom said, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes....it is how you handle the mistakes that makes the difference.
As my Mom said, no one is perfect and we all make mistakes....it is how you handle the mistakes that makes the difference.
#10
Greg A