Volvos and Fiats

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Deane
Posts: 141
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 11:43 pm
Location: Cupertino. CA

Volvos and Fiats

Post by Deane »

Tom,

I'm just as happy if people think my car is a nice Fiat spyder. They still enjoy the looks of the car, and I still get to enjoy the drive. People are often hesitant to talk to you once they figure out it's a Ferrari.

Deane
tyang

Post by tyang »

Hi Deane,

Someone wrote to tell me that maybe she thought it was a Volvo 1800. I guess I could see the slight resemblance.

Tom
Deane
Posts: 141
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 11:43 pm
Location: Cupertino. CA

Volvos and Fiats

Post by Deane »

Hmm. Maybe without my glasses on, and with my ears plugged...
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Art S.
Posts: 830
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:05 am
Location: Princeton NJ
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Volvos and Fiats

Post by Art S. »

Tom,

Aside from what she called it, I assume the lady who called your car a Volvo was trying to complement your car.

I have had a number of similar experiences with my 330 (7919). My favorite was when I was in a grocery store checking out (I used my car daily for three seasons a year for two years) and a lady came up to me and told me how pretty my Mustang looked. When I inquired why she thought I drove a Mustang, she said that she saw me get out of the beautiful car and when she took a closer look, saw the horse on the front; therefore she assumed it was a Mustang.

I thanked her but didn't correct her. I enjoyed the fact that she found the car appealing without really knowing what it was.

Actually, I have always wanted to remove all of the badges to be less conspicuous, but I never got around to it. Your car is beautiful regardless what badge is put on it.

Congratulations on the progress,

Art S.
tyang

Post by tyang »

Hi Art,

I absolutely took it as a compliment! If people only thought Ferraris were beautiful, there wouldn't be other old cars on the road! It was an honest mistake, but her admiration was genuine!

Tom
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lukek
Posts: 399
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 12:34 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

re: volvos and fiats

Post by lukek »

With my GTE, I always get "is that a James Bond car?". I guess the profile sort of looks like a DB 6, a fastbackish sort of shape. And when it exercised it this weekend, I did hear a couple of workmen in a utility van wonder if it was a T-Bird.

My 19 month old son was first introduced to Alfas ("Alpas") and then to Ferraris ("Rraris"). Now, he recognizes both badges, but also anytime he sees a Mustang and spots the "horsie" he yells Ferrari. This is always followed by an "Oh, Woooow !!!, so it just melts your heart.

thx, luke, SF, 63 GTE

PS. This weekend I met up with a school teacher one town away who has a late series (4th from last) GTE. We had a nice chat and a quick drive after comparing notes. I think I take a lot of things for granted living in California, arguably one of the better places if you have the sports car bug....
Neil Albaugh
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2002 2:47 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ

Three Inevitable Questions

Post by Neil Albaugh »

Owning any exotic car-- particularly a Ferrari-- is an interesting experience. There are three questions that people always ask:

1. "What kind of car is that?"

2. "How fast will it go?"

3. "How much did it cost?" (only people under 30 ask this!)

...and sometimes "Is it for sale?"
bill rose
Posts: 69
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2002 9:34 am
Location: Orange County, CA

Comments . . .

Post by bill rose »

I agree with Neil . . . with the exception that in Southern California, I rarely get asked what kind of car it is (I guess the emblems are all too obvious) However, I DO get asked frequently, "how many cylinders do it have?"

"How much did it cost?" . . . from people under 30 . . . right on, Neil!

Bill
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Bryan P
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 2:59 pm

Post by Bryan P »

I've always like Ferrari badging because it seems more discreet than other marques. As far as I know, there has never been any badging except for the coachbuilder badge on the sides of the cars. On the other hand, I saw a Dino a few years ago where the owner had gone to great lengths to demonstrate that the car really, really was a Ferrari. He had retooled the front indent from the horizontal (for the Dino badge) to vertical for the Ferrari badge. It had the Scuderia shields on both front fenders, the grille prancing horse on the rear valence as well as the fuel filler cap, the Ferrari script badge on the rear deck, and the prancing horse horn bezel. It really detracted from the innate beauty of the Dino.
tyang

Post by tyang »

Hi Bryan,

With that many badges on his car that really was never badged a Ferrari, I would have loved to have seen how many Ferrari icons he wore!

Tom
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