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Only yesterday did word begin to seriously leak out that Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo was about to retire after 23 years at the helm of the world's most exclusive automaker. Today, that news has just been made official. Ferrari has announced that di Montezemolo will step aside on October 13. His successor? Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne. Remember, Fiat owns 90 percent of Ferrari, so Marchionne will still continue with all of his other duties.

di Montezemolo has led Ferrari since the death of Enzo Ferrari himself, and during his tenure at the helm, Ferrari has expanded greatly. There's now the Ferrari World theme park, tons of merchandise, and many other things to boost profits that didn't exist when old man Enzo was running things. It's no secret that di Montezemolo and Marchionne have had major disagreements, notably regarding the Ferrari road car production cap of 7,000 units annually. Marchionne wanted more; di Montezemolo wanted to keep things limited and therefore exclusive. Another spat between the two is the situation today in F1.

Marchionne stated only last weekend that Ferrari's lack of F1 success is "unacceptable." Perhaps di Montezemolo realized the end was near, recently stating to friends that "Ferrari is now American," and it's "the end of an era." It certainly is for the man who brought us the Enzo, 458 Italia, FF, California T, and the LaFerrari. Speaking on his decision, di Montezemolo said: "I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvelous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari's side in the 1970s. Ferrari is the most wonderful company in the world. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been its leader."