What's the first thing people ask you...

I usually get, "Is it red?"

It used to be that I would drive my Austin-Healey, or just mention it, and a great conversation would ensue. People just don't ask about the Ferrari like that - somehow the car has made me less approachable? Anyone else notice that?

 

usually they ask "is that your car". i guess i don't fit their notion of a fcar owner.

 

How many horse power?
What year?
How long have you had it?
Are you the original owner?

 

What model is it?
What year?
It appears very few people know the 456 and they all like the looks of it.

 

It depends.
Younger people don´t care too much of a model (Ferrari or any other car) with more than...4 or 5 years. Only the last model matters!
Guys with more than 40 years old, ask about the feeling of driving a Ferrari, the engine sound, fuel consumption.....

 

All of the above + E) Do you have a girlfriend?

 

Most of the comments I get is "Why didn't you get it in red?".
Others "Who services it?" considering there are hardly any Ferraris in Egypt.

 

what year

 

The one I get from younger guys is "what will it do" At which time I ask "what do you mean" And they clarify "in the quarter" at which point I turn away in disgust. Jon in Delaware

 

I usually get "How much did it cost" followed by "I hear they're a nightmare to maintain."

 

how much it cost?

 

I guess that's one of the dangers of working in banking. We do tend to have a money-centric view at times...

 

"Is that one of them new Corvettes?" and, of course "Can I have a ride?"

 

How much did it cost?

 

I never tell anyone I meet but if people see me and chat me up...

Do you work for Dell? (Austin/Hill Country)

Can I be your girlfriend? (San Antonio)

Can my sister be your girlfriend? (RGV)

Y U wearin' tha Lamborghini hat? (car people)

 

Do you have a small penis? j/k

What color? is usually what I hear.

 

Are you married?

 

I get the same thing all the time from younger guys, several of whom have asked whether the OMP fire bottle is a nitrous tank! Trying to explain road racing to these guys is usuallly a waste of time.

 

They ask what color you Pnis is ?

 

How much does it cost, I drove the space shuttle and it was faster

 

Usual order:

1 Is it real?
2 How much did you pay (cost-worth)
3 they cost a lot to service, don't they.

 

How much did you pay for it?
How fast does it go?
Do you ever really get to drive it?
Where can you drive it to really test its limits?
What kind of Mustang is that?
When did Ferrari start making Testarossa Convertibles? (mind you, it's a 348 Spider)
What kind of Lamborghini is that?
Is that an Enzo? (again, it's a 348 Spider)
What does your Ferrari have that my Toyota doesn't have?
Is it yours?
Do you want to trade cars?
Do you know [insert name here]?
How many tickets do you have?
Why doesn't Ferrari paint their cars anything but red? (Believe it or not, I have been asked this question - when I start listing colors, they always seem to think I'm trying to pull a fast one on them!)
Why didn't you buy an Enzo?
This has a 12, right? (And is sometimes followed up with) I thought Ferrari only made V12's, then they really think you're pulling their legs when you tell them about the vast history of 4, 6, 8, H12, V12 engines in Ferrari's extensive history.
Can I sit in it?
Can I drive it?
Is this a race car?
Do you track it?
How fast will it do the 1/4 mile? (I explain that although I've never tested it, according to the owner's manual, it will cover the 1/4 mile in 13.25 seconds.
What is the point? (I usually explain that if you have to ask, I'll never be able to explain it to you, you either get it or you don't, and that is really okay)
Why spend that kind of money on a car, afterall, it's just a car
Who makes Ferrari? GM or Ford?
Are there even any Ferrari dealerships in Michigan?
Have you ever seen Ferris Beuhler's Day Off?
Why doesn't Ferrari run in NASCAR?


This wasn't a question but it goes down as my most favorite statement I've heard: "Sorry about your p*nis!" I laughed so hard, I almost soiled myself!

Then there are a multitude of non-audible communication, positive and negative:

I've been flipped off for absolutely no reason
I've been given the thumbs up
I've been randomly waved to
I've come back to the car to find spit dripping down the door

A Ferrari really brings out the best as well as the worst in people. I was really shocked at how forward people can be about how negative they feel about the car: It's a gas guzzler, it's an example of excess, you're dumb, you're compensating for something, you must be a drug dealer...on and on.

 

Yes, it's a great ice breaker!

 

Is it real?
How much did it cost?

Man, reading some of the above stuff makes me glad I live in Florida (well, the non-Miami part anyway). The only people who notice what I am driving seem to be "car" people. I'll get a smile or a nod. (Or in one case, nice car, what year, lets hear her!) I've seen one other 308 in the area and it was about year ago. So it isn't like she is a common car here. But, people here are on Coconut Time and really don't care what you drive. (the worst experience I've had was when I was test driving a Mondial north of Tampa and a guy in a pickup was scowling at us) Vast difference from where I used to live in Charlotte, NC. Way uptight banking town where people crowd you, wanna race, assume you are automatically an ass, etc.