OT: Gallardo in Temecula

Took a road trip a little bit ago to Temecula, a small town on the other side of the mountains from Orange County. Got a few shots of the Gallardo and thought I'd post. You can see the new wheel finishing and the smoked tail lights. Also, I started using a new wax that I think makes the car look more "blue".

Not sure what' next on the "list of things to do" but I'm sure there's something...
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No. Was done by this guy:

http://www.andrewstint.com/

The black Gallardo on his site is Dennis Rodman's car -- the one that's now gold metallic with the "Golden Palace" logos on the side that he drove in the Bullrun...

 

It's completely different.

- The powerband is much more broad. It's got torque from rev 1 and it just keeps going.

- It does not feel as nimble as a 360. But it can take certain turns much, much faster.

- There is no feeling of Ferrari frailty. Every switch, latch and panel feels solid.

- I did get spanked by w00dear's Stradale when " Da' EC Invaded Las Vegas". But after spanking the RennTech CL600 and a 911 GT2 from 0 to 200 a few weekends ago, I'm ready for a rematch!

- Women love this car for some reason.

That being said, as fast, as pretty, as rare as it is -- it's still not a Ferrari. I enjoy the Ferrari ownership experience and driving experience tremendously. It's thrilling to have access to both Ferrari and Lamborghini product. I do not know what I'd do if I had to choose...

As for the wax... It's a special blend from Barry Meguiar...

 

Yeah. It's hella-expensive, though...

 

The police out here do not understand the concept of "extending courtesy" so if you get caught, you're gonna get something. Generally, they are brutal on side streets and more forgiving on the freeways. State revenues are down and traffic enforcement is one of the strategic ways Arnuhld has decided to make some dough.

Check the article in this thread:

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69798

As for the roads, as you hit the hills you get on some amazing carving. The road with the marker in the attached picture is the Ortega Highway. It connects Orange County with Temecula through the Cleveland National Forest over an elevation of 2600 feet. It's a 1-lane in each direction path, but if you hit it early enough -- it's great. There are lots of nice roads like this all over with routes from 30 minutes to 30 days.

PCH is a fun drive, but too congested to be that much fun. That's the route for the poser Boxster and Dinan M3 driving crowd.

As for road conditions, I hit a pot hole about 1/4 of an inch deep this weekend and I nearly had a heart attack. It's been AGES since I took a rough road. By the evening trip, there was a cone placed in that tiny, tiny pot hole to keep people away....
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For me and my current situation, the Gallardo is the car for me. It's fast. It's reliable. It's comfortable. It handles like an 18-year-old gymnast (Named Julie -- because I know someone will ask). It gets great mileage when you don't drive it too hard. It looks good. It does not blow coolant in 105°+ heat when you run the A/C in traffic. And the ownership costs are arguably cheap.

If I had more room to park cars, I'd get a Bentley Continental GT and a Stradale. (And an Elise, and a Ford GT)

Oh and as for the "fun factor", yeah, it's all about that engine placement relative to the drive wheels. If Lamborghini put out a rear drive "SV" Gallardo that would definately throw in that "fun factor" of powerline instability under full throttle.

 

When I grow up, I want to be Noah's garage attendant.