My 6-speed saved me!

I would have wanted to kill the guy. Did he apologize? anything?

nice skills though. Did the wheels hop in reverse?

 

Probably not.

My new 430 has the F1 paddle shift. My prior 2001 360 had the 6-speed manual. Getting into reverse in the F1 is a more deliberate act.

The steps are: foot on brake, puch the R button on center console, wait for the periodic beeping to start, slowly give it gas to start backing up.

I park my 430 in a two-deep garage where my front bumper is only inches away from another one of my cars. So, when I back out of the garage, I have to make sure I'm actually in reverse (not accidentally in first gear, going forward) otherwise I'm going to bump the car in front of me. Because of this, I'm extra cautious to wait for the reverse beeping to begin.

 

Good save, Mike! You're a very observant fellow!

I always look at my rear view mirrors at a stop light, ready to catch first and accelerate into a safe direction should someone have a brain fade and forget to stop -- I'm guessing you do the same thing!

 

Nice reaction timing! I'm glad you didn't hit someone backing up trying to avoid the other car.

 

No Lie. Good save. Dont think you could have pulled that off in a F1. Either hunting for the reverse button on the 430, or reaching down for the T-Handle on the 360.
I did something similar in a parking lot a few years ago in the Vette. Parking lots are nerve racking for me, especially this time of year.

 

Nice driving, but these stories scare the cr@p out of me.

Ferrari's + parking lots + holiday traffic = impending disaster.

 

Let us not forget that these cars low profile makes them very hard to see from the rear view of most cars, especially the 80's and early 90's vintage. That certainly doesn't excuse morons like described above, but certainly a good reason not to get in that situation with an F1 gearbox.

 

Absolutely!
I'll be teaching this to my children for years to come in order to prepare them for driving. It is always a defensive engagement.

 

Good save! Reflexes plus brain plus quick car = some accidents avoided.

I just had my 348 in mall parking today. Builds character and cojones.

 

You said it! Those driving Jeeps and SUVs don't see you at all!

 

Part of the problem is that Americans have been born, bred, and raised to aim their side mirrors to incorrectly peer at the rear quarter-panels of their own cars, rather than at the spot that would be occupied by a car that would need to be avoided (say, for a lane change) in an adjacent lane.

Some Detroit side mirrors won't even swing out far enough to be useful...instead, their useless view is limited to the rear of your own car.

An easy rule of thumb is that if you can see the sides of your own car, your mirrors are mis-aimed.

 

I assume the same, and they usually don't disappoint!

 

I used to try to think of the stupidest thing the other cars could do.

But drivers today have stupidity that exceeds my imagination.

Maybe we need a pole mounted yellow rotating beacon to let the SUVs know there's a car down here.

Or just a couple of sidewinder missiles.
(Defensive driving american style -- the best defense is a good offense. )

 

A LOUD exhaust system would have prevented this........

 

EUREKA!! I know how to get SUV drivers to pay attention!

Where do I get a cell phone jammer?

 

San Jose was a mess today, shouldn't be taking a ferrari out in that kind of tempest

 

And I thought it was just my wife that does that !
It drives me nuts; every time I take her car I have to swing out the mirrors!
A.

 

I think EXACTLY the same way, which is why I had this made for my Jetta (daily driver) side view mirror:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I wish that were so! I have had people try to merge into me on my Big Dog. It ain't quiet by any stretch!

 

i dont understand how someone can not notice a red 360 behind them. i bet everyone within viewing distance had their eyes glued on it except that guy apparantly.

 

i had a very similar thing happen a few months back. This older couple stopped ahead of me, then slammed it into reverse and headed back without looking. I don't think they even saw me or bothered to look. I had the car in reserve (manual 6 speed) in record time! Saved the front bumper for sure.

Ray

 

Same thing happened to me. Came up to a 4-way stop and the car ahead decided they were too far in the intersection and threw it into reverse. I was in one of my re-sale cars at the time a auto equipped Corvette so it was easy to throw into reverse and light em up. The people in front of me never knew I was there. Unbelievable!

 

Did you try the very unique Ferrari horn during any of this?