Greetings and ramblings from a new member and Ferrari fan

Hello everyone. After several years of lurking about on this great site, I've decided to come out of the shadows and actually post something. I've learned and laughed my way through many of your posts and I feel I almost know quite a few of you. Here, I have highlighted some of the 'milestones' that fueled my passion for Ferraris and led me to the recent purchase of my first Ferrari.

My journey into Ferrari ownership began when I was 6 years old when my dad purchased an MG Midget in 1962 as his daily driver. At the time, it was the only foreign sports car in our neighborhood. We drove everywhere in that car, mostly with the top down; even in the rain. It was so much fun and cornered better than any other cars I had ridden in. It taught me that cars could be fun and more than just transportation. But, the thing I remember most was the wonderful 'exotic' aroma of the carpeting, upholstery, paint and oils of that car which smelled very different and in my opinion much nicer than American cars I had known. That smell has never left my mind and has been a constant beacon leading me throughout my car addiction.

Shortly after my dad purchased the MG, one of our neighbors drove slowly past our house in a brand new Corvette convertible with the top down on a bright summer day. As it moved down the road, it sparkled all over and rays of sunlight shot out from it's chrome knock off wheels. I nearly drooled, it was so beautiful. I asked my dad if we could get one, but he said no, it was too expensive. I then asked him what the most expensive and best sports car in the world was. He thought for a moment and after mentioning Maserati and Aston Martin, he said Ferrari was the best of all. I knew at that moment, I had to have one someday. From then on I was hooked. I read every Road & Track magazine from the early 1960's through the mid 1970's from my dad's subscription, paying close attention to all the Ferrari articles. On Christmas 1968 I received a memorable gift, my first Ferrari book, “Ferrari - The Sports and Gran Turismo Cars”, which taught me a lot about all the models and is a book I still have in a much larger collection of Ferrari books and literature.

Of course I would be remiss in recounting my milestones to Ferrari ownership if I didn't mention the strong influence the Aston Martin DB5 from James Bond's Goldfinger movie had on me as a young boy in the early 60's. It fortified my addiction for high end sports cars.

Growing up in southern California I remember going each year to the Los Angeles International Auto Show with my dad and always being mesmerized by the Ferrari display which was the highlight of every show for me. The cars were so beautiful, but it seemed they were always roped off and you couldn't get very close to them, although that just added to their mystique, which made me even more intrigued by them.

The first time I ever touched a Ferrari was in 1970. We were on a family vacation driving through Reno, Nevada when we stopped off at Harrah's Casino for site seeing and lunch. I remember wandering through the casino to an area in the back away from all the action and opening a door to the outside. To my surprise, there were 4 brand new Ferraris from Harrah's collection parked in a row alongside the building. Two 365 GTB/4 Daytonas and two Dino 246 GT's. They each still had plastic covers on their seats and no license plates. There was nobody around, so I walked up to them and peered through their windows. They were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I couldn't help myself, I tried the door handle on one of the Daytonas and to my surprise, the door opened! The smell of leather wafted out from inside the car and with my heart pounding I carefully slid into the driver's seat. It was so perfect. It didn't get any better than that. Then, paranoia struck and I felt someone might see me and I could be punished for getting in the car, so I quickly got out and closed the door. Still, no one was around so I went over to one of the Dinos and its door also opened and I was able to quickly sit in it and dream for a few moments. It was an experience I will never forget.

Another Ferrari first happened a couple of years after my experience at Harrahs and was the first time I ever got to ride in a Ferrari. I was in high school at the time and was hitch hiking to a friends house a few miles away, when a 330 GTC pulled over and picked me up. I was so nervous and wide-eyed I couldn't think of anything to say to the driver. Every hair and nerve in my body was at attention taking it all in. I had a huge grin on my face for the entire ride up the winding hill as the driver down-shifted into the turns and accelerated out of the corners, all the time I was listening to the glorious sounds of the V-12 and watching the gauges on the dash board. The ride ended much too quickly, but I will never forget it.

Growing up in southern California I regularly saw a lot of great cars on the streets and some of the kids in my high school also had some very nice cars which fueled my car addiction. But there was one kid in my high school that (after inheriting some money) had a car that stood out above all the others - a Ferrari 275 GTB. During lunch he would race his car up and down the winding street in front of the high school. You could hear the screaming howl of that car bouncing off buildings and echoing through the canyons long before you saw it, and in a blur it would disappear around the bend in the road with that amazing sound following after it. The site and sound of that car is forever ingrained in my soul.

Finally, after many years (decades) of listening to well-intentioned advice from family and friends on NOT buying the car of my dreams, or buying a more 'practical' alternative such as a Porsche or Corvette, etc., I decided to throw caution to the wind and just buy the best Ferrari I could find within my limited budget. I wanted an Enzo era car, and there were several semi-affordable possibilities when I first started looking, but they all appreciated beyond my budget rather quickly before I had the nerve to pull the trigger. Very sad for me – very good for the people that already owned one! Although I considered every model Ferrari within my budget, in the end I realized I wanted the most reliable front engine V-12 that could be driven regularly. Since some of my favorite Ferraris include the 2 seat, front engine, 12 cylinder, GT coupes and competition berlinettas of the 50's and 60's, the choice became obvious – a 550 Maranello. After watching the Ferrari market for years and closely watching the 550 market daily for over 2 years while investigating every car I found on the Internet, I finally bought my first Ferrari in August of 2010 - a 1999 550 Maranello. I absolutely love this car and can't stop driving it on nearly every dry weather day I can. If it goes more than 2 days between drives, I start to go through withdrawals. I have now driven it over 12,000 amazingly fun filled miles, tearing up the semi rural countryside where I now live in Pennsylvania. It even won a Platinum award at our local FCA Concours this past Spring after putting my first 8,000 miles on it. This car is a keeper. I just have to exercise control and stop putting so many miles on it before it eats me alive – lol. I should have done this years ago.

Sorry for this very long winded introduction, but I just had to tell someone about my passion for these cars. If anyone is on the fence about buying one, just do it and don't look back. You'll be amazed at how much fun you will have. And besides, you can always sell it if its not right for you.

Attached, is a photo of my car the first time I saw it as it came off the truck.

Cheers!

Rick
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