Ferrari's and the unexpected...

I am sorry to say, I have yet to have any babeilicous bombshells wantonly throw their naked bodies on my hood, but I did have an unusual twist the other day. I was driving through a small neighboring town, and I noticed, a car next to me. I got that sense of black and white so I did not immediately look over, hoping it would pass(the car). All the time, forboding thoughts creeping in, is the car too loud, too low, too fast! You know the drill, eh?
After a block or so of ominous black and white presence matching my speed exactly, I looked over and gave my most innocent smile. He lowered his passenger window and shouted, "Niiice Car, wanna trade for a while?"
Then smiled, "have a nice day" and sped away.

I don't have a problem with cops and appreciate what some of them do, but would rather see them going the other way than in my rear view mirror I must admit, so this experience was very refreshing. I don't think I can remember the last time I spent time in town that someone did not offer a joke about trading cars but this is the first time a CHP made the comment.
Besides the usual banter and admirations about speed, cost, mustangs, etc., what kind of things have happened to you on the road that were totally unexpected?

 

I had a Highway Patrol car track me for maybe 20 minutes, he'd be 50-100m back, pass me and stop and wait, waiting for me to do something - and when he finally pulled up beside me he yelled across "you don't have to go that slow" ( the speed limit - with a big lineup of cars behind me).

Actually I did - I didn't have any papers with me.

 

Hot chick: OMG.... can we like trade cars?

Me: Sure, if you come with it.

Hot chick: sure, why not.

Me: a big freakin' smile on my face and told her, I'm already married....

Not to mention, several "proposals" from random women.... at a certain seaside community....

 

I had driven a few F-cars, and nobody...I mean nobody ever asked me out for a date or hot sex in exchange for a ride. I guess, my face doesn't match the car very well...

I did got the High Way Patrol on my 355 butt back in '98. I didn't know it was him as it was unmarked. The traffic around us was doing around 70 in 65 zone. I sped up to be clear of all the cars...I was doing around 78-80 when the flash lid up my rear view mirror....

 

Not in a Ferrari, but I had a cop follow me for 45 minutes...literally from the driveway at my buddy's house to my driveway. No more than 10 yards from my bumper the whole way.

Mark

 

Two good CHP stories:

1) I was test driving a 360 in Los Gatos, got off the freeway and pulled up next to a CHP cruiser. He rolled down the window and said "nice car, do you mind revving it for me"? I accomodated him, at which he said "wanna trade"?

2) Many years ago, I was with a friend in his RX-7, late at night. Probably going 20-25 over the limit. Suddenly, we became aware that a CHP cruiser had pulled up along side. Then he said on his PA system, "isn't your insurance high enough already"? My friend slowed down to 55 MPH (that's how long ago it was) immediately and the CHP cruiser went on.

 

This story has nothing to do with Ferrari's but I think its pretty funny.

I was at a gas station filling up and there was a cop hiding behind the Exxon sign. I was watching him hoping something interesting would happen. The whole time I was pumping I was just looking over at him. All the sudden he flashed his lights and came over his P.A. "Stop Staring"

It was one of the most unexpected things I've ever experienced.

 

A couple weeks ago, on my way home from the office, i was going over a 4 lane freeway bridge in my new Murcielago. I had just put on that day Ohio's Temporary personalized cardboard license plate they give you until your real personalized plates come in the mail.

The officer was in what I thought was the turning lane and then I notice he's following me a few cars back going down the road home. I make a left had turn on my street after the stop sign and lo and behold, he's still following me! A couple hundred feet from my drive, his lights go on and I'm freaking out. I wasn't speeding cause I knew he was there. What the hell did I do?

I turn into my drive and start to get out of my car and then he says "Sir get back in your car"! I think maybe he's checking me for my concealed carry permit, so I begin to pull it out and I say to him, "Officer, I live here and maybe this is what you want to see" and I put my permit on the roof of the car. He then says again "Sir, get back in your car!"

I get back in the car and he grabs my permit and checks it over and then says "OK Sir, You can get out of the car now!" He tells me that my remaining in the car is a safety factor for police officers because he states I could have had an automatic weapon and put him at a disadvantage! Unreal! He then procedes to say he saw my temporary tag and didn't recognize it being from the State of Ohio and thought maybe I had just taken some cardboard, wrote some numbers on it and put it on the car which was possibly stolen! Wow!!

He finally tells me everything is OK and he's sorry for stopping me but he had to check the situation out and possibly protect a car from being stolen. Then he says, "Maybe someday you could give me a ride!" "No problem I reply..... stop by anytime and I'll take you around the block!" Went home and changed my pants! Michael

 

Some good stories. I love the loudspeaker warning about insurance rates.
So do you guys think humerous warnings and being given a break is more effective than a cop being a hard ass and writing you up for a ticket?
Seems to me a humorous warning and a more sympathetic approach are more effective than alienation and fear, unless of course the driver is doing something reckless and endangering.

 

Last summer a guy pulls up next to me at a stop light in a 4runner, rolls his window down, and shouts, "your car is a total piece of s***!" Then he rolls his window back up and sits there the remainder of the light. I was just dumbfounded.

 

That was Ellen Lamebo yelling while drinking cow juice from a mason jar


I was driving my BB down a main street in a small town and a 90+ year old man who could barely walk stopped and waved at me with his cane hello with a big grin I'll add!

Guess you had to be there

 

I was stopped on Christmas day by a highway patrolman. As I see him walking towards the car, I am thinking of a good story for driving 20 over. He just wished me a Merry Christmas and said that the TR was his dream car and that he was sorry for stopping me, but he just wanted to look at the car.

I offered to let him take it for a spin, and I would follow him in the patrol car. He thought long and hard, thanked me, but turned me down stating that he would love to but if we did, his supervisor would certainly drive by....and that would lead to a decidedly unmerry Christmas for our Highway Patrolman.

 

It was New York City, night, summer and in the late 70’s. I had just driven in from East Hampton and was heading for bed, sober, awake and feeling alive. At 3:30 a.m. the streets were almost empty, which was part of the idea. I was in a ‘67 Lamborghini 400 GT and the engine didn’t like traffic, in fact the car wanted to overheat if it was so much as shown a postcard of gridlock, but right then, in the almost-cool of the morning it was running well. I was sitting at a red light on 3rd Ave when a cop car pulled up beside me. He wound down his window and gestured. I buzzed down mine and regretted the implied distinction inherent in that small action. The fact that beneath the upholstry a mess of pink wires ran between the switch and the lethargic window motor was an apology known only from my side of the door.

“Hey! What’ll it do?” called the cop, leaning forward to have a better look over his partner’s beefy shoulder.

“Well, let’s think. 55 officer,” said with a smile.

“Okay, then to 55.”

He switched his focus to the light, which was still red, and so did I. There was a sort of pause and then the green winked on and we both hammered the gas, his torque converter throwing Detroit horsepower into a beam axle, me burning too much clutch and yet still chirping off the line in parallel. I could hear the bellow of his V8 as we tore across the intersection and then the wail of the Lambo’s triplex chains drowned it out, the V 12 sounded like a jet engine, only louder. I was fairly certain that the 400 could hit 55 while still in first; the lack of a gear change was a secret weapon, and by golly it was, for as his auto box shifted up a cog the cop car suddenly lost half a length before again settling into position. The road was atrocious, potholes and buckles were making us both skip about and lurch as we picked up speed and shrank 3rd Ave intersection by intersection, and then as it shifted from a competition of torque to one of horsepower I saw that I had him, really had him.
It was then that a light went on in my small brain and I realized that there would be consequences to winning this bout. Race a cop car? Okay, okay, you could do that and live. Race a cop car and win? Now, that took serious bricks in the head. Race two Alpha males, with guns no less, that have the law on their side? Hmm.
My left foot pressed the brake, something between a caress and a stomp, all the time my right kept pushing the six Webber wide open. The 400 paused, dulled by the wrong input, and suddenly the black and white was a whole car length ahead and the cops were punching the air in happy victory. They flashed me with their roof lights and then, while still waving, took off, doubtlessly laughing about them Italian sporty-cars and how they were all show and no go, and how you couldn’t beat American iron at the end of the day.

And what did I learn from all this? I guess in life you always got to know when to slow down.

 

Not really what you are asking but on the caravan down to the FXX / 430 Challenge Homestead event a small pickup truck dropped two camping chairs onto the road just two cars ahead of me. Scottie dodged to the right and I went a little off road to the left leaving a big cloud of dust. A few rock chips but no big damage! Unexpected for sure!
BT

 

Great writing! I guess you could say that the gum popper on the roof of that black and white was the first 'slow down' light you ever saw.
BT

 

Mark... I hope one day I'm able to write as well as you... That was a beautiful story; thank you...

 

Mine is a somewhat similar story. I was heading south on a small road north of home when a motorcycle copy went by going north- he immediately turned around and ended up pulling along side me in the next lane, I was a little nervous since I didn't have a front plate and thought he might of spotted that fact. Instead he just wanted a closer look I guess, because he turned in the opposite direction and sped off (after a long glance in my direction).

 

Awsome story, thanks for sharing.

 

Kram, great story. Funny especially because I have a 400gt S sitting in my garage as we speak. I love the pull of that car.

 

No doubt 'bout that.

 

Great stories. One of the great joys of owning an exotic car. One friday night about a month ago in Newark De. my 12 year old son and I are in our 79 308 coupe. Lots of traffic and a new 911 changes lanes in a real hurry to get behind me. Starts revving it up. Next stoplight a Newark cop pulls into the turn lane next to me and rolls his window down. I think"oh no what did I do" With a huge smile he says "I think this buthead behind you thinks he has something for you." I told him the car was almost 30 years old and a 3 litre so he probably can whip my butt." He said" my God 30 years old. Damn that's gorgeous" Smiled, said "have a great evening" rolled up the window and rode away.
The best part was that my son got a great lesson that Police are just people like you and me and has made a point to be very friendly to them ever since.

 

One time I was on the new, at the time, extension of interstate in northern New Jersey. Since the road had just opened, the New Jersey troopers were making a show of force and were highly visible.

An SUV and a pickup truck passed me at close to the century and I figured that they would make good 'rabbits' for me. I fell in behind them so they would hit the radar first and I was watching the back door. Every thing was fine for a few miles when I saw in my rearview mirror a rapidly approaching car. Assuming it was a trooper I slowed as fast as possible by downshifting, so as not to have him see my brake lights. As my rabbits sped away I fell off to 65 and waited to see if the cop would go after them.

To my surprise, the cop pulled up along side of me and gave me a long hard stare. Then he floors it and takes off, presumably after my rabbits. However, something did not feel at all right, as this particular trooper was far to interested in the bright red exotic with the top down. Feeling cautious, I kept up the exact speed limit for about the next ten minutes. I crested a blind hill when suddenly there is my friend on the side of the road holding a radar gun propped on his open door. As he sees me he squeezes the radars trigger. Before I could even react, my Valantine lights up and bleeps loudly in protest.

65. As I approach the cop he looks at the guns readout, smiles and waves to me as I smile and wave back.

 

Sadly, this isn't a Ferrari story - I don't have one, yet.
Last summer I was taking a road trip from San Francisco to Portland in my '68 E-type, top down of course. Cruising a particularly nice stretch of Hwy 101 at 80mph just before Humbolt National Park, I was nailed by a CHP cruiser hiding under an overpass. As he walked up to my car I played dumb and asked what I had done wrong. He said "besides the fact that I clocked you at 83mph there's a forest fire 5 miles up the road and it's very near the freeway. I stopped you to suggest you might want to put up your top or risk choking on the smoke when you get there". Incredulous, all I could do was sit there and smile and thank him. Of course he admonished me to slow down but was far more interested in the car than giving me a speeding ticket. Made my day.
Randy

 

It was late Saturday afternoon and I was coming back from a spirited day at the track. There was a construction zone on the interstate that lowered the speed limit to 55. But I wasn't looking at the speedometer, I was just cruising. Then(all of a sudden) with lights flashing in my rear view mirror, I'm pulled over by the State Highway Patrol and told I was doing 85 in a 55. I'm thinking, this is going to be very expensive. But we start talking about cars, horsepower, etc. and he gives me a warning ticket. Then another Highway patrol car pulls up. So, here we are, 2 Highway patrol cars, 2 officers, me and my red Ferrari, sitting on the side of the road for 30 minutes talking cars, etc. No telling what all the traffic thought driving by.

 

Also not a Ferrari story...

I was driving across the Navajo Indian Reservation in the 4 corners area and I blew past a car in the middle of nowhere doing about 90. My friend says, "man it would suck to be that guy... stranded out here in the middle of nowhere."

So, I decide to go back and see if the guy needed help. I pull up behind him and walk up to the drivers window... as soon as it starts to come down, I relize that this is an unmarked car. When the window gets about half down the officer asks "Can I help you?" All I could do was sputter something along the lines of, "Uh, sorry, I though you might be stranded and need some help."

The officer said, "No I am fine, but you could use a little help slowing down. Think you might consider that for me?"

"Yes, sir," I sheepishly replied as I turned got back into my car and then had to explain the whole situation to my buddy. It was somewhat of a humbling experience for me.