Fate of Luigi Chinetti Motors | Page 4 | FerrariChat

Fate of Luigi Chinetti Motors

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by Ed_Long, Mar 21, 2006.

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  1. El Wayne

    El Wayne F1 World Champ
    Staff Member Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 1, 2002
    18,043
    San Marino, CA
    Full Name:
    L. Wayne Ausbrooks
    I believe I do. Send me a PM reminder over the weekend and I'll dig it up for you.
     
  2. tongascrew

    tongascrew F1 Rookie

    Jan 3, 2006
    2,989
    tewksbury
    Full Name:
    george burgess
    I have dealt with Vaucher twice for my "Ferrari,The Golden Years 1947-1967' collection. He is the only dealer I have ever dealt with who won't take a credit card or PayPal,won't bargain and doesn't seem very friendly even though I bought a Ferrari 365 rolling chassis blue print from him. I still check his "Over $1000 listings" from time to time ,just in case. I had no idea he had a Chinetti connection. Coco never was the man his father was.Few in fact had the influence with E.F. that Chinetti Sr. did. From what I understand he was very influential in many diverse ways with the post WWII Ferrari image.I have a large historic file on Chinetti Sr. It really is one of the great "Ferrari" stories.. There really should be detailed bio. tonga's crew
     
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  3. El Wayne

    El Wayne F1 World Champ
    Staff Member Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 1, 2002
    18,043
    San Marino, CA
    Full Name:
    L. Wayne Ausbrooks
  4. WJHMH

    WJHMH Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2001
    25,364
    Panther City, Texas
    Full Name:
    WJHMH
    Excellent thread, thanks for sharing.
     
  5. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    33,736
    Austin TX
    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    Vaucher is now located out in the middle of nowhere near Harper TX. Interesting move from NYC.
     
  6. jjeffries

    jjeffries Formula Junior

    Sep 4, 2012
    250
    Connecticut
    Full Name:
    John Jeffries
    What a fascinating thread. If I had a time-travel device....John in CT.
    PS to the guys with these memories, please rest assured that when you write them down here for the rest of us, they DO get read and appreciated.
     
  7. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    +1000!
     
  8. John_K_348

    John_K_348 F1 Rookie

    Sep 20, 2013
    2,747
    Boston, MA
    Full Name:
    John E. Kenney
    ... and 1!

    Great read on a gray day guys. I was at Miller Motorcars a year or two ago for the supercar evant. A blue La Ferarri on the floor with the new owner's family checking it out. A fine set of the rest all the way back to the 288GTO. Around the corner there was another La Ferrari under it's cover. Downstairs a 599 GTB HGTE that really got me thinking. But I'm not doing well enough for a 12c yet ;). One of our FCA officers (New England) confirmed to me last year that Chinetti was at the Miller location. I think the most visible portion is in the garage where you can see the old lift mounts.

    And now I read all this... great stuff. Thanks for posting.
     
  9. mcimino

    mcimino Formula 3

    Oct 5, 2007
    2,262
    Long Island, NY
    In the 1970s I use to cruise into NYC with my XKE on Sundays and always stop in at Chinetti to see what cars Jacques had on display. One Sunday, the battery gave out on my XKE and Jacques pulled a Dino out of the showroom and onto the street to give me a jump start.
     
  10. ///Mike

    ///Mike F1 Veteran

    Dec 11, 2003
    6,097
    Bugtussle
    What a great story! Two electrical hand grenades connecting and achieving success. :D

    I love it!
     
  11. Scott98

    Scott98 F1 Rookie
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 3, 2004
    2,732
    Weston, FL
    Full Name:
    Scott
    Great story. Could you imagine that happening today?

    Scott
     
  12. tifoso2728

    tifoso2728 F1 Veteran
    BANNED

    Apr 30, 2014
    8,215
    IL
    Full Name:
    DRM

    Is the other Tom you speak of Tom Frasca?
     
  13. Bertocchi

    Bertocchi Formula 3
    Consultant

    Jan 28, 2004
    2,176
    Austin, Texas
    Full Name:
    David Castelhano
    Wow you are asking me to go back forty years. The was a Foreign car repair shop in Westchester County that supplied many of the people on my list because they were friends with MacMinnus.
    Because I worked with Iori I was not part of their click. The Italians and Americans ate lunch separately except me, I ate with the Italians. Never forged friendships with the Americans.
     
  14. Bertocchi

    Bertocchi Formula 3
    Consultant

    Jan 28, 2004
    2,176
    Austin, Texas
    Full Name:
    David Castelhano
    This was not the dealership the Chinettis owned, that was at 600 West Putnam Ave.. Miller Motorcars was at one time Chinetti International owned by Tom Parker who bought the dealership from the Chinettis.
    We were evicted from 600 West Putnam Ave. for non-payment of rent. A dozen or so cars went to Wayne Sparling in Florida for safe keeping and restoration and the spare parts and equipment went to an empty department store on Main Street in Port Chester NY.
    Eventually, Tom Parker, a wealthy Greenwich socialite reopened the dealership at a new location which I believe is 342 West Putnam. Tom had bad luck and had a floor plan when the prime went to a very high rate and he failed.
    The building was then occupied by Aston Martin Lagonda and purchased by a relative of the Livanos family. Aston moved to Stamford and Miller took over (also owned by the Livanos family).
     
  15. mrfissa

    mrfissa Karting

    May 27, 2005
    213
    Ivo Brillo Obituary - Norwalk, CT | The Advocate
     
  16. Classic Oldtimer

    Feb 3, 2017
    63

    Remember going on the 76 Cognac Rallye with some wonderful names from the past -- and one of the conversations was the Harrison brothers from Sheffield had just bought TWO 250 GTOs for under £6000 each !!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  17. Classic Oldtimer

    Feb 3, 2017
    63

    Loved mine and did many many miles in Europe for 14 years ---- what an amazing car a treat to drive and never failed to get me home even when it had a very hard weekend racing
     
  18. readplays

    readplays Formula 3

    Aug 22, 2008
    2,344
    New York City
    Full Name:
    Dave Powers
    3505GT and 3909GT. They also had at least one 250 TR at the time. Not bad work if you can get it!
     
  19. On Thermonuclear War

    Jan 7, 2018
    12
    Full Name:
    Andrew DeSalvo
    CHINETTI-GARTHWAITE IMPORTS, INC. v. FERRARI SOCIETA, ETC.Civ. A. No. 78-2998.
    463 F.Supp. 73 (1978)
    URL: http://leagle.com/decision/1978536463FSupp73_1519.xml/CHINETTI-GARTHWAITE%20IMPORTS,%20INC.%20v.%20FERRARI%20SOCIETA,%20ETC.

    INTRODUCTION
    Plaintiff, Chinetti-Garthwaite Imports, Inc. (CGI), is the importer and distributor for Ferrari automobiles in the eastern part of the United States. Defendant, Ferrari Societa Per Azioni Esercizio Fabbriche Automobili E Corse (Ferrari), is the manufacturer of Ferrari automobiles. CGI alleges that Ferrari violated the Automobile Dealers' Day in Court Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1221-1225 (hereinafter the Act), by informing CGI that it would not renew CGI's franchise and then attempting to negotiate another agreement less favorable to CGI.1 CGI argues that Ferrari used the notice of nonrenewal as a lever to force CGI to accede to Ferrari's wishes and that such an action is the type of coercion which the Act forbids.2 CGI further alleges that termination of its franchise will cause it irreparable harm and therefore seeks both temporary and permanent injunctive relief.


    Mr. and Mrs. Al Garthwaite at the Ocean Club in Palm Beach.

    Image Number
    BM01067
    Year
    1979
    Date Note
    Photographed on November 17, 1979.
    Series Title
    General: Bert Morgan collection
    Specific: Bert Morgan photographic collection, N2013- 16, Box 12
    Rights
    Public Domain
    Biography Note
    Al Garthwaite, amateur sports car racer, retired from Lee Tire and Rubber Company in 1964 and founded the Algar Ferrari car dealership in Philadelphia.

    Biography Note
    Bert Morgan was a photographer whose best-known work was his photographs of Palm Beach high society events and people taken by Morgan along with his son Richard Morgan. His work was regularly published in magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Town and Country, and The Social Spectator.

    EXHIBIT A

    GARTHWAITE - Albert Alexander, Jr., philanthropist and businessman, 81, died November 6, 1998 of heart failure at Bryn Mawr, PA. A resident of Ocean Ridge, FL with a summer home in Bryn Mawr, PA. He was born November 6, 1916 in Conshohocken, PA the only son of Albert A. and Elsie Lee Garthwaite. A graduate of the Haverford School in Penna., Mr. Garthwaite received a B.E. degree from Yale University in 1936. Upon graduation he joined the Youngstown, OH division of Lee Tire & Rubber Co. founded by his maternal grandfather J. Ellwood Lee. Known worldwide as manufacturers of "Lee of Conshohocken" tires, the company was an offshoot of the J. Ellwood Lee Chemical Co., which had merged with Johnson & Johnson in 1905 to form what was then the largest pharmaceutical company in America. In WW II Mr. Garthwaite served as a Lieutenant in the Cruiser and Submarine Division of the U.S. Navy. Upon his honorable discharge in 1945, he joined Lee Tire & Rubber Co., and was named President in 1957. In 1963, he resigned to pursue his long interest in autos and philanthropy. A sports car racing enthusiast during the late '30s and early '5Os, he was one of a small band of amateur auto racers including Briggs Cunningham, Miles Collier and George Rand who established the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). Cars he raced at Lime Rock, CT and other tracks included Bugattis, Alfa-Romeos, and OSCAs (later known as Maserati). He returned to that early interest in exotic autos in 1965 when he established Algar Enterprises. Algar became the importer of Ferrari and Lancia for the U.S. and Canada. A network of dealerships was set up which still exists. In 1966 Mr. Garthwaite sold his interest in Algar to give full attention to his philanthropic interests, primarily The Elsie Lee Garthwaite Memorial Foundation which he has headed since 1963. (Formerly known as The Leeland Foundation). Under his leadership and largely through his personal giving, the charitable trust's assets have increased and its program of giving has been broadened. The foundation grants go principally to help support activities directed towards youth and the disadvantaged. He is survived by his wife, Ann Bennett Garthwaite; daughters, Diane G. Brennan of Belmont, MA and Wendy C. DeMarco of Malvern, PA; and 5 grandchildren, Albert A. Ridley, Darcy F. Brennan, Colin C. Brennan, Kirsten A. Kling and Andrew A. Garthwaite. He was predeceased by his sisters, Dr. Bettina Lowerre, Lee Stronach and Elsie Acuff. Mr. Carthwaite's Florida club memberships included: Gulfstream Golf Club, Gulf Stream Bath & Tennis, Country Club of Florida and The Ocean Club. In Pennsylvania he belonged to Gulph Mills Golf Club and Merion Cricket Club. Services will be held at the Chapel of the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Tuesday, November 10, at 11 A.M. Memorial donations may be made to The Elsie Lee Garthwaite Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 167, Rosemont, PA 19010.
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  20. On Thermonuclear War

    Jan 7, 2018
    12
    Full Name:
    Andrew DeSalvo
    REFERENCE

    Maguire Industries Inc.
    Thompson Tool Division
    (formerly Auto-Ordinance Corporation)
    342 West Putnam Avenue
    Greenwich, CT

    AUTO-ORDNANCE GREENWICH, CONN TOOL DIVISION

    When Russell Maguire bought Auto-Ordnance and started to establish the first factory at Bridgeport, Conn., the clouds of war were already plainly visible. Maguire realized that one of the problems with his production needs was going to be finding and hiring skilled tool makers and craftsman. Without tool makers nothing would be made in the factory.

    On May 1, 1942 your company leased a building consisting of 30,000 square feet at Greenwich, Connecticut, for its research and development laboratory. The building was promptly revamped and equipped into a modern research and development laboratory. In September, 1942, the space was increased to 45,000 square feet by the construction of a third floor. The work was departmentalized into the following categories of operation: Ordnance Division, Electronics Division, Thompson Tool Division, Food Processing Division and Chemistry Division, with adequate facilities for drafting rooms and administration. The Thompson Tool Division has been fully set up and in operation in the Greenwich plant since September, 1942 and has not only continued to supply Bridgeport with some of the necessary cutters, gauges and fixtures for gun manufacture, but has accomplished creditable results in the completion and sale of manufacturing fixtures to other companies (including our subcontractors) engaged in war work. In general, the work of the Research and Development Department in the future will be largely directed towards the objective of completing the development projects already instituted and commercializing the resulting prod-ucts at the earliest practical date. As shown in the Auto-Ordnance Thompson Tool Division letter, May 15, 1944, the Tool Division produced for other customers after the needs of Bridgeport was satisfied. According to the letterhead their specialties were the “Willard Tool Holder” and the “Thompson Milling Fixture”.

    FURTHER READING

    Paid Notice: Deaths
    FORD, NATASHA BOISSEVAIN

    Published: February 15, 2005
    FORD, NATASHA BOISSEVAIN"

    FORD--Natasha Boissevain, died quietly Sunday morning in Greenwich Hospital after a very short illness. She was 72. The cause was complications of lung cancer, said Dick Ford, her husband of 24 years. Mrs. Ford was born June 14, 1932 in Nice, France of the late Mrs. J. Russell Maguire of Greenwich, CT and the late John Magee Boissevain of Newport, RI and Nice, France. As a New York debutante in 1950, Marjorie Farnsworth referred to her as ''a glittering deb who was one of the most beautiful girls to come out in New York society that year.'' She began her career in 1953 as a receptionist at the Steuben Glass Shop of 5th Avenue; later joining The American Mercury Magazine where she was Managing Editor from 1954 through 1958, at the time one of the youngest managing directors for a national magazine. She also served as Board Chairman of HOTLINE, a telephone crisis and counseling organization. Mrs. Ford is the owner of Natasha & Company, an interior design firm, and was the past owner and president of The American Fitness Institute, Inc. before it was sold to The New York Sports Club in May 1999. Mrs. Ford is an alumna of The Ethel Walker School and received her degree in Psychology, summa cum laude, from Manhattanville College in 1978. Mrs. Ford was an extremely dedicated and loyal supporter of The New York Botanical Garden and its mission. She was a generous Patron of the Garden and was a valued member of the Garden's Horticulture Committee. In addition, she served on many committees for the Garden's fundraising events, and had served as a Vice Chairman for the Garden's annual Rose Garden Dinner Dance and Orchid Dinner. She is a co-member of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club. In addition to her beloved husband and best friend, Dick, she is survived by her three daughters, Sabrina Pray Forsythe of Greenwich, CT; Melanie ''Lilly'' B. Pray of Boulder, CO; and Natasha Justina Gagne also of Greenwich, CT. Her son, Malcolm S. Pray III predeceased her. She was also predeceased by a half brother William ''Billy'' de Prorock and a half sister Marina Maguire. A half sister Cynthia Madigan resides in England. A cousin Odette Terrel des Chenes lives in Austin, TX. She had five grandchildren, Courtney Margaret and Nicole Suzanne Fischer; Portia Boissevain Pray; Natasha Alden and Malcolm Parker Grayson. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Natasha's memory may be made to Channel 13, The New York Botanical Garden, or Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders). A service in celebration of Mrs. Ford's life will be held at Christ Church, 254 E. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT on Thursday, February 17th at 11AM, followed by a reception at the Round Hill Club, Greenwich, CT.
     
  21. Bertocchi

    Bertocchi Formula 3
    Consultant

    Jan 28, 2004
    2,176
    Austin, Texas
    Full Name:
    David Castelhano
    A boys afternoon at Lime Rock Park. I was the Chauffer for Mr. Chinetti and Brillo. I am saddened to read of Ivo's passing. We were close friends at one point.
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  22. jlonmark

    jlonmark F1 Rookie

    Mar 29, 2005
    3,173
    Beverly Hills, CA
    Full Name:
    Jay
    Look at that 328 BMW! Awesome. This thread reminds me of the Max Hoffman Imports story. How these guys really changed the world. The Hoffman dealership was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and was on Park Ave. Later the building became Mercedes Benz of Manhattan. Great idea! Sadly it's a Chase bank now.
     
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  23. Fennicus

    Fennicus Formula Junior

    Apr 10, 2015
    592
    Helsinki, Finland
    Full Name:
    Pekka T.
    Hi,

    I have some pics regarding the Hoffman showroom, of course you can also use google to find some, but as it has nothing to do with classic Ferraris nor Chinetti I'll post those in the Other vehicles/British section. Cheers!
     
  24. Ed Niles

    Ed Niles Formula 3
    Honorary

    Sep 7, 2004
    2,493
    West Hills, CA
    Full Name:
    Edwin K. Niles
    Just getting into Luca Dal Monte's 900+ page tome on Enzo. Ferrari and Chinetti got their starts on OPM, and apparently it was not that difficult as there were plenty of sportsmen who wanted to be part of the action. Those of you on the East coast would know better than I, but my impression is that Chinetti had a number of partners, some for the entire biz and some for specific cars. Their lives were in parallel in some ways; both got their starts as better than average drivers and both had the necessary ambition. Comments?
     
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  25. 375+

    375+ F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 28, 2005
    11,882
    I agree. LC had a rotating band of customers/occasional investors. George Arents, John Cuccio, Jan de Vroom are a few who come to mind.
     
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