Our First Prancing Pony

First world problems - drive Ferrari or watch Monaco GP qualifying?!?
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Problem solved!
Eclipsed 12,000 miles (20 Kkm) on our watch this AM.
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BBQ run with the wife.
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Somewhere in Texas. [emoji848]

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Avorio looks great on a [emoji274] day! [emoji2]

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First stop at a barbecue joint near the Motor Sport Ranch. No one racing today.☹️

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Did 200+ miles, ca. 400km, in near triple digit heat. AC blasting (i.e., the wife was with me! [emoji6]). Cali didn't miss a beat.

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Another great trip Tom and the Avorio showing all it's discrete beauty. Pity you couldn't take your Cali to the sports ranch track for some strong emotions.

 

Thanks, Mario. She's been out at that track. Was organized by local dealer.
Had a blast. It was about a year ago.
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Last pic taken by our then-president of the FCA, is one of my favorites.
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Pics of the barbecue! [emoji39]

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Potato salad. Cornbread salad.
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Ribs & brisket. [emoji106]
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Spicy pickles @ 2nd joint. [emoji91][emoji91]
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Brisket. [emoji106][emoji106]
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I thought this was artsy pic. Wife not convinced.
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Inside looking out through screen door.
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That’s your view for when it gets impounded due to you enjoying the day a little too much.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

Lol. No kidding. Since I knew of a speed trap town down that way (Rio Vista), we took the wife's radar detector. It was quiet until we got into vicinity of Whitney. Then, the detector was squawking routinely. South of Godley, Texas, a state trooper followed me for about 5 miles on a 55 mph road. Wasn't using his laser or radar near as I could tell. Had to reacquaint myself with cruise control! [emoji2] Set it to 5 below the speed limit. After 5 min of that, they got bored and went looking for other fish to fry. When we were in Flores bbq, which is a little east of Whitney, 2 local LEOs popped in for lunch. I was starting to get paranoid! Don't usually run into the popo too often up north where I usually drive with the exception of Northlake, Texas which is near Texas Motor Speedway. I avoid that place scrupulously!
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Tom when I had a first glance at this picture what immediately came to my imagination was that police locked you behind bars for speeding and that was the sad view you had from your cell of the Cali parked outside. After reading your last post now I'm sure that would never happen to you since you are a great specialist in the art of avoiding being caught by the police while speeding.

 

Lol. My wife, as with most things, deserves the credit. She operates the radar detector and the Waze app to keep me up to date on the police. Also, I try not to speed in small towns, as many are enthusiastic writers of speeding tickets...T

 

Then you wouldn’t want to hang out with me at my house lol. Most of the time there is always at least nenoff duty Leo at my house as I’m good friends with nearly all of the local city and county Leo’s and even several from the next town over. Heck 3 of my part time employees are off duty police officers.

I have it on pretty good authority that when I get what ever I wind up buying so long as they get a ride I should be ok locally lol.

 

I’ve been looking at models with the Cruze control and understand there is a complicated process to engage it. What all is involved in operating the cruise on the California t? Should I just skip that option? Sure seems like something I might use on longer trips so figured id ask.

 

Sweet. Always good to have friends in high places. [emoji2] Cops aren't too numerous NW of the Metroplex, which is where I try to drive. I'm more likely to encounter frack trucks, livestock and such. North and NE of Dallas, there's been much more growth in the past decade, and with it, more traffic and local LEOs. I usually avoid that unless it's an early morning spin...T

 

Desirable? Yes IMO, but not a deal breaker. Desirable especially if you (a) plan to take it on long road trips (every hour or so on long road trips, I like to do the kind of exercises you see airlines recommend for long flights to avoid DVT; can't do that unless CC is on); and (b) take longer trips on interstates, it is hard to 100% precisely keep track of speed after a couple of hours, and in a Ferrari, a little bit of extra right foot pressure and in a few seconds you're doing the kind of speeds that will catch the attention of the popo! CC helps to avoid that. I tend to dial it in to speed limit + 3 mph (since these always read too low) on road trips.

On my Cali, it is two rings. One to turn off/on. One that you twist (CW, I think!), when you have accelerated to the desired speed.
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The T is different.
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I drove the Porto, and I remember CC being more intuitive than the 2-ring system on my Cali, but I can't recall anything more than that.
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To quote Glenn Fry "The Heat is On!"


So, I've been waking up @ the crack of dawn to get in some Cali time before work.
It also makes it more enjoyable to put down the top before the sun gets too high in the sky.
Avorio and cioccolato may look even better in the early morning sun!
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We moved into our town 29 years ago. At that time we met a nice couple at the other end of our street. After a number of years they had a son. He has since grown and is now a police officer in the town. I figure if he ever stops me, I'm going to tell him if he gives me a ticket, I'm telling his parents!

 

LMAO! I figure if I ever get pulled over, I'll just tell them it wasn't me, must have been some other jack a$$ in a beige Ferrari!
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I try my best to not be a neurotic F-car owner, but when your favorite Starbucks has construction & the parking lot is no longer "Ferrari worthy," it's time to ratchet things up to threat level orange! So, I carefully inspected possible new candidates on Google Maps/Earth & Street View. Top candidates are vetted with a drive by in the wife's truck to identify parking spaces worthy of my Cali - i.e., wide, protected on one side, and as far from the front door is possible. It's not perfect, but I guess I'll have to live with it.
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Was driving up near the Red River (border between Texas & Oklahoma) in the town of Gainesville, and, apparently, they named a street after my car! Cool.
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Major metric milestone this week, 30,000 km. Yeah, I know, I'm a science guy & 18641.136 miles = 30,000 km, but it's close enough.
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Drive those F-cars people!
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Tom, California and Ferrari as you know are two words which have been close together since the end of the 50's and the interesting thing is that the idea of the first Ferrari California wasn't Italian but entirely American.
“In the late 1950s the California-based Ferrari dealer, ran by John Von Neumann, put in a special request to U.S. Ferrari agent Luigi Chinetti. With the Golden State’s near flawless weather, Neumann suspected a drop-top GT would be a hot seller within the West Coast’s elite enthusiast circle. The idea: build a stylish sprinter that’d soak up a California commute and have enough performance for the wealthy weekend racer. Chinetti got the green light from Enzo and coach house Carrozzeria Scaglietti was hired to construct the sleek bodies. From 1957 to 1963, Ferrari made just over 100 Californias; the first 50 Spiders were based on the long-wheelbase 250 GT chassis and the last 56 produced were on a short wheelbase variation—this being the latter.”

Some models names like for instance "Superfast" aren't very consensual but "California" is one of those names we all love and associate with some kind of Nirvana life.

PS- Ferraris are made to be driven and enjoyed and that's exactly what you do so congratulations……….

 

^Thank you, Mario. I didn't know any of that! [emoji2] Hope you're doing well and driving your fabulous F12...T

 

Picked up the Cali from Boardwalk after a spa day. Had the guys install a black cavallino on the front grill. Thought it matched the black grill better. And, would make the Cali a tad stealthier. Apparently, not stealthy enough. I stopped off to gas up before heading home. Apparently, I am now on the Snapchat. Nice young man asked if he could take pictures of the Cali and post to Snapchat. I said sure. It's not Autogespot, but I guess I'll have to start building my social media "brand" somehow!
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Tom after seeing your new black stealth cavallino it came to my mind the discussion we are having on the F12 section about putting shields and emblems or not in our Ferraris. The fundamentalist purists say the use of emblems should be restricted to one tiny one on the bonnet and shields are unnecessary and just for show off. The black cavallino on the black grill is very discrete and almost unnoticed so I doubt any purist will dare to criticize it. Concerning the Scuderia Ferrari shields they look perfect on your Avorio and without them the car would loose a lot.

 

I saw your recent posts on the topic. Some of the better ones I've read in a while on F-chat. I'm torn on the matter, because I think it depends on the car, it's color and perhaps its intended purpose. This is the only cavallino I care about!
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Took the Cali out to dinner the other night with car friends. New Porto parked, dealer demo, next to the Cali.

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Took a drive the other morning and for the first time used the NAV to get myself un-lost! (iPhone had no signal). I take back all the ugly things I've said about the Cali's NAV!

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