How do people react to your ferrari II

My conversation was very similar.

I just flat out tole her that this is my dream car. I also own a Ducati bike. We talked abou the pros and cons of bike rigding. She use to make negative comments about the Ferrari being a vehicle to pick up girls (which I do not deny) and society viewing as a mid life crisis car (no entirely trues). Had a smimlar discussion as yours and it helped. Everything is smoother now. She actually recently said she loves the gleam in my eye and how excited I get, like a kid in a cancy store (like when I was a 10 year old car crazy kid). when I am riding my Ducati or Ferrari.

A lot of it wasn't being jealous and it usually isn't (Srfcity or LA Swede seem to think so - don't know their case). She just wanted to e more involved and there is the element of fear because of the bum deal bikers and Ferrari owners get. Not all guys are the same. An no, I am not some wimpy guy. Just secure. I feel lucky to have Her (GF, car and bike)

 

I had quite a few experiences with the odd comments from many people both in Thailand and in the USA.

Back in 1994, I was driving then brand new Supra in LA. There was one guy saying this "Look!!!...that's the Nissan 3000GT!!"...ahh...what is it again??

Another time when I moved to Raleigh, NC...a nice old lady told me that my Supra was a very nice Hyundai...ha ha..my only reply to her was "thank you".

When I owned F355 in Raleigh and was living in the apartment, I was washing my F355 when the neighbor came up and asked my if I work as a car detailer or something and actually asked me to clean his car...I politely refused and told him that it was my F355....

I was parking my F355 at Target when a middle age man stopped to have a chat with me about this nice black "Mustang"...He thought it looked great, and didn't know the new model had come out... I tried my best to go along with his story.

Back in Thailand... I was driving my Skyline GTR and overheard a guy shouting to his friend that my R34 was indeed "a Sunny (sentra to you guys in the USA) with body kit"...ha ha

Just a month ago, I was driving my brother's 360 Modena back from Bangkok. We stopped at the gas station...the gas boy was telling his friend that "this is the latest Porsche!!!"... I didn't bother to correct them..ha ha.

I wonder how people will react when we get our new member this SAT...the 328 GTB....

 

In my experience, the best reactions come from young guys, such as 16-21 yrs old. Some of them flip out and follow the car for a while, getting a view from every angle.

It's also fun to see a young kid about 8-12 yrs old driving with a parent/guardian and having an expression like he just saw the best thing he's ever seen in his life. I felt the exact same way when I was his age and saw a TR in the 80s, so I know how it feels.

 

yeah, the two tidbits i remember from early on, after i
bought a 328 in the late 1980s:

* girlfriend: "Gee, if you didn't have the Ferrari, we could
buy a two story brick house and move in together".
Well, the 328 is still in the garage, and I do NOT live in a
two story house...no idea where she lives these days

* lots of trucks/SUVs around here, really took a while to
get used to pulling up next to vehicles at stop lights and
looking right at their hub caps...

 

Too funny!!

 

Around here, people tend to act with respect and contained enthusiasm. I never saw anyone touch my cars or behave improperly, people taking pictures is exceptional.

One story happened on a mountain road, overtook a bunch of cars but there was road works a few hairpins down so I end up stopped for a rather long wait with all the cars I had overtaken catching up. Suddenly, I see in my mirror a door open and a woman run down the road, told myself that I was going to get bashed for reckless driving.
The girl reaches my door, out of breath, and asks politely if ... she can take a pic of the car, which she did, then ran back to her car.

I also tend to take hitchhikers, this is pretty normal around here. I used to hitchhike a lot when young because of spotty public transportation so I remained grateful for the folks who stopped and took me, so I try to pay back when I can. Actually took 3 or 4 young hitchhikers in the 355, all very cool, except one.
I stop, the girl was going downtown, I wasn't, but being on vacation on a sweet summer morning, on my way for a jog in the woods, I thought I'd be nice and make a detour. We drive, chat politely (so this is a Ferrari huh ?) and when I coast to drop the girl, she asks "you would not happen to have 5 bucks for my bus ticket, would you ?". You can guess what my answer was ...

 

When I bought mt TR back in 92 I drove in from the UP of Michigan to AZ. On the last day of the trip...early in the AM somewhere in New Mexico I was trudling along around 70mph (for a change)...when I came upon a trooper who was with a customer on the oposite side of the highway. I saw him and his customer stare at the TR as I went by. I thought nothing of it...

About 15 mins later...way off in my rear view (5+miles)...I see what looks like a dark trooper car with lights a blazin'. There was nobody else on the road so I knew that he was for me. At that point I had a choice...wait to be harrassed or say good bye.....I said bye-bye....and punched it up to ~140 for several minutes...and low and behold...no more lights!

With my heart pounding I ducked into a rest area and for lack of a better word....hid! After what seemed like quite a long time there goes 'my' officer down the road...lights a blazin'. I sat in the rest area for a while longer...quite frankly not knowing what to do....I'm in the middle of nowhere...in a TR...trying to hide.....impossible!

Well I take off...at the speed limit of course! I don't get 5 minutes from the rest area and my V1 starts screaming at me! I come over a rise and there is my buddy with 3 more of his chums in the median. As soon as they saw me they threw on the lights.....and believe it or not....started waving at me! So....I waved back and honked!

That reaction from the law has never happened before or since...and the rest of the drive through NM was never a problem.

btw...when I saw them flip on the lights....I though I was dead! I still get that sinking feeling every time I think of those lights coming on 4 cop cars!

Ciao...Dino

 

Yesterday, I was driving up a rural stretch of US-52 in Davidson county North Carolina. I was probably only running around 80 in a 65 -- so nothing too dramatic. As I round a bend in the road, I saw a State Trooper waiting in the median, radar gun out the window aimed right at me. I immediately hit the brakes and brought it down to 65. I could already see the dust kicking up in the median as he started to pull onto the freeway. Obviously, I had that numb feeling in my legs, and the sensation of $500 flying out of my wallet (again).

As I passed the trooper (at about 50MPH by this time), he takes his hand off the wheel and makes a big friendly wave "hello" and smile on his face!! For a minute, I thought this was his way of saying "I got you sucka...". Nope.. he was just being nice and wanted to acknowledge the car, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Phew!

Suffice it to say, the car never exceeded 55MPH for the rest of the drive home.

-Daniel

 

A few experiences with the rental Ferrari's I had (saving for my own one, but 'till then I can't resist to taste the F-feeling from time to time).
There are some things you've probably experienced yourself too.

# Once I stopped with a F355 Spider at a local store, a mother with two kids saw me park. The two little boys looked at the car with big eyes like it was a miracle. Of course I offered them to have a seat behind the wheel. At first, the mother was affraid, her kids would incidently harm the car, but I convienced her it wasn't a problem. The smile on those kids faces was fantastic! Reminded me about the time I was a kid. I've always loved these cars and was happy I could share it.

# At a traffic light I pulled up next to a classic Rolls Royce with two Arabians in it. The driver said to me he didn't like "my" car 'caus it was too loud and wasn't exclusive enough next to his Rolls. The passenger however, said to me he liked the Spider above the Rolls and asked me to floor it when lights went green to hear the engine. Of course I did and left the majestic but heavy Rolls standing. Cars from different worlds, a matter of taste I guess?

# Negative reaction was when someone once asked me rather aggressive how much coke I've had to sell to obtain such a car at my age. I didn't quite know how to react to that.

# A bit after collecting the F355 Spider once, I was driving and enjoying the car at a 90km road (55 mile zone) without exeeding the speedlimit at that time (had to get the know the car), when a police car slowly overtook me. At the next traffic lights they took a right turn and seemed to be dissapeared. But they weren't, about 2 minutes later I see the same car coming fastly from behind me with flashing lights, pulling up against me, and signaling me to stop the vehicle. Officer came up to me, asked my driving license and said: "Nice car, but who told you we were on patrol here? Why did you drive so slow? and Ok, be careful, we'll be watching you!"

# A nice girl in a VW Beetle asked me if we could switch cars. I reacted; "Mmm, I don't think so, but you could leave the Beetle here and join me as a passenger". And she did!

# On a trip to the Belgian coast, I stopped for lunch, almost at the same time a nice recent Porsche 911 arrived there. Most people looked at the Ferrari and didn't see the more common 911 anymore. The older owner of the Porsche didn't like that at all and I heard him say something like "stupid youngster with his stupid car". He was just jealous the Ferrari took away attention from his Porsche and left to another restaurant.

# When I was stuck in a traffic jam, a jealous man in the lane next to me (with no traffic for taking a turn right) stopped his car and shouted to me " so much noise and still not moving an inch!" then drove away in his old Honda. Sad. Some people just don't understand the passion for a Ferrari.

# Further more, I really enjoyed the "family feeling" when I met some other Ferrari-drivers on the road (flashing lights, waving, honking,...).

Greets, Alex.

 

Sorry Alex, I'm a little confused. Your profile says you don't own any Ferrari's, but you obviously discuss your experiences as an owner in this thread. Have you bought a 355 Spyder, and just haven't updated your profile?

 

Hi ghost,

Sorry for the misunderstanding, got a little carried away, didn't see this was a owner only thread .
The cars I was talking about were both rented. I mentioned that in the first lines of my previous comment BTW I drove about 1000km (625miles) in a rental 328GTS and rented a F355 Spider 4 times in 4 years (did about 4000km (2500miles in that car). I know, not that much if you look at it from an owners perspective but wonderful enough for me. I just posted the experiences because it were fantastic weekends but I'm not (YET) an owner.
Believe me... I WILL be someday .

Greets, Alex.

 

Didn't mean to imply at all that this was an owner's only thread. Just wanted to know if it was time to congratulate you on a new purchase. Sorry if the rental comment was made earlier -- it slipped by me. I'm sure you will own one someday soon, and we will look forward to your comments then, as we do now. As somebody who has just bought my first one (a 355B), I can tell you it's the best feelin' in the world.

 

No problem to believe that .
Congratulations, good luck and have a lot of wonderful moments with the F355!!!

Greets, Alex.

 

Hi Prancing_Horse,
You know how a lot of teenagers are like they won't give you the time of day? Well every teenager in my neighborhood and the little kids too are my best friends, since they know about my TR.

Photo shoot - went to a resturant with my friends who drove their cars (M3 coupe, M roadster and a 500sl) the waiters and bus boys went nuts when they saw my TR. One of the kids, I think he was 12 or 13, bought a disposable camera and asked for some pictures of the TR. We did that and I let them sit in it while they hammed it up with their friends and took their pictures. Never dawned on me people like these cars as much as I do. I'm glad I can share my car (to a point) with others.

Get a lot of thumbs up and yells "Cool Ferrari". Now if the snow would go away I could go driving.

Keep in the fast lane,
Jim

 

BigRed,
That's a great story. However, it's too bad people just can't accept others people being succesful or having something nice. Does your wife have any more insights? If so please have her pass them along.
Thanks,
Jim

 

Well, not to be off topic too much, but when I had first bought my Europa I quickly got used to a crowd gathering wherever I parked it. Once in a Dominick's parking lot (supermarket), I was coming back to my car with my cart of groceries, and a woman in her 50's was slowly walking arond the car sizing it up.

I start loading the car and say, "She's a beauty, huh!" and with a thick German accent (Porcshe fan I suppose) says in an even voice, "Ish so ugly, ish beautiful". I never did figure out what she meant but the fact she paid so much attention at least made her a car enthusist.

Ken

 

I went up to NW NJ to pick up a Bosch Fuel filter last weekend & brought the 308 per the owner's request ("your not going to tease me about this filter being for a Ferrari and not show up in it, are you?!?!"). A couple of people were in the shop and I told the owner I brought the car after he sold me the filter. The guy behind me said "I thought that was a kit car." We all went outside so they could check it out. Nothing but praise for the 308. The kit car guy said "What's a tune-up go for?" I mentioned it was generally a couple $K. He turned to his VW Vanagon & said "I paid less than that, $1200, for that whole beauty!"

'nough said.

 

I'm at the local Chevron, filling up, when I see dad and two kids unloading from a suburban. The son is really shy, but his daughter, who couldn't have been more than 4, was quite vivacious. We managed to get both kids in the car and the son (older) pointed to the V1, asking Daddy what it is. "A fuzzbuster, for people who drive fast." "But daddy, mommy drives fast and she doesn't have one!" Dad asked me whether it worked, blah blah. The daughter had a good time though.

Went to a cell phone shop to buy a phone for my uncle who was visiting, and the phoneguy saw me pull up. Most people don't notice my car (black 550 is very stealth), but he was going on and on. So i took him for a short ride and he was overly enthused (cut me a deal on service and phone). As we're there, a couple walks to their car two spots away. The husband heads over and the wife sits (with a glazing look towards me). Seeing the airboxes, the guy goes on and on about how cool turbochargers are, and how all of the turbocharged ferraris have the engine in the front, etc. His wife, clearly not amused, gives him the "ahem." I didn't have the heart to explain half of what this guy had wrong.

I had to drop some documents off at court, and the cops inside heard me pull up. On the way out, I asked them if they'd like to come check it out and go for a ride. They weren't allowed to leave the building grounds, but they consistently pried to find out how fast I had driven. My response: "thanks you to guys, the limit and no more!" One found it amusing, the other didn't take to it too kindly.

Other silly ones. But stealth factor is good. I've watched other people drive my car, and most people don't even notice. Good to me.

--Dan

 

Dan,

How come no pics in the profile / no avatar. You trying to keep it "stealth" from F-Chat too?!

 

I went up to NW NJ to pick up a Bosch Fuel filter last weekend & brought the 308 per the owner's request ("your not going to tease me about this filter being for a Ferrari and not show up in it, are you?!?!"). A couple of people were in the shop and I told the owner I brought the car after he sold me the filter. The guy behind me said "I thought that was a kit car." We all went outside so they could check it out. Nothing but praise for the 308. The kit car guy said "What's a tune-up go for?" I mentioned it was generally a couple $K. He turned to his VW Vanagon & said "I paid less than that, $1200, for that whole beauty!"

'nough said.

 

There are picts in the drives and showroom sections I think. At least on the old board. I was one of the anti-avatar individuals (less clutter), so I'm trying to keep on with that.

The real answer is laziness.

--Dan

 

As a new owner of a 550, I have already had a couple of startling experiences. The funniest was when my son and I went to the local car stereo place to get a new amp for one of my other cars. The car stereo guy was changing the head units in their display board. He remembered that I was considering an F-car purchase and asked if I had bought one. I said yes. He asked which model, and when I said 550, he dropped a $900 Alpine head unit that fell about as fast as and further than his jaw. Never will forget the sight of that head unit dangling from its wires and banging against the display board.

Mike

 

"HOLY S%*T" is a pretty normal response.

 

Last Saturday I took the car out for a spin to our local Chevy's restaurant. After waiting for a parking spot near the entrance for a few minutes, so that I could keep an eye on it, I parked and my wife and I got out. No sooner then stepping out, 3 gentlemen (wait, I need to retract that...) walk past the car and one says, "...It's a 308. I'll bet a box of viagra comes with that..." My wife turns slightly and says, "Jealousy rears it's ugly head once again..." Needless to say, that shut them up, and their smiles became frowns as the got into their Maxima...

 

Bully for her, she seems really cool !!