HOW TO SAY “VROOM” IN VULGATE LATIN? PART 1

AN INTERESTING, IF UNEXPECTED, JUXTAPOSITION OF ARTICLES appeared in my Automotive News recently: One is titled “No V-12 Rumble for Ferrari’s New EV, But the Sounds of 1,050 Electric Horsepower,” Automotive News online, May 25, 2026; its print title, “Ferrari Gives EV Its Own Roar With Acoustic Sounds,” Automotive News, page 29, June 1, 2026.

The other article, overleaf on page 30, June 1, 2026, was  “Luce a Vacuum Cleaner? Ferrari Sucks It Up.” Online it’s titled “Ferrari Aims to Prove Doubters Wrong After Divisive Debut of Electric Luce,” Automotive News, May 28, 2026.

This print article, sourced from Reuters News, began “If Ferrari wanted to grab the world’s attention with the Luce, its first full-electric car, mission accomplished—even if much of the reaction was shock and outrage. The new model is a four-door, five-seat family car that looks nothing like the Italian marque’s usual fare of low-slung, gasoline-powered sports cars.”

Reuters News/Automotive News continued, “It was unveiled at a gala here late May 25, then shown the next day to Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Leo XIV, a well-known car enthusiast who appeared happy to take the driver’s seat.”

Pope Leo XIV, Stallantis Chairman John Elkann, and the Luce. Image by Ferrari via Automotive News. Thus (in the title above and see below) the matter of “Vroom” in Vulgate Latin). 

Several of the car’s details appeared here in SimanaitisSays “Pause Here for 21st-Century Reality,” June 3, 2026: “A Ferrari press release notes: ‘From 78 years of racing heritage comes the first full-electric Ferrari. Built for pure performance, precision, and sports-car thrill.’ ”

The Luce’s Styling. Noted the Automotive News article, “Social media was awash with unflattering memes, comparing the Luce variously to a vacuum cleaner, a rubber clog or the much-maligned Fiat Multipla, a 1990s people carrier often cited among the world’s ugliest cars.” 

“Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini,” it continued, “publicly wondered what founder Enzo Ferrari, who died in 1988, would make of it. Former Ferrari CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said the car should be stripped of the prancing horse logo.” 

On the other hand, Reuters News reported Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna saying, “If you see it and try it, you immediately understand it was not copied and it has nothing to share with other EVs you have seen and are produced by others, in terms of interiors, exterior and performance.” 

Any Publicity is Good Publicity. Reuters News continued, “Felipe Munoz of Car Industry Analysis said Ferrari likely anticipated the uproar, given the deliberate break with tradition, and noted negative publicity is still publicity.”

“ ‘From a communication standpoint, they have managed to get the world talking about the electric Ferrari,’ he said. Munoz described the Luce as a ‘statement product’—unlikely to be a big seller but key to showcasing technology and repositioning Ferrari in the electric age.” 

Tomorrow we hear from Automotive News’ Luca Ciferri describing EV noises from Ferrari and other automakers. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays, 2026.