Working toward sustaining the future collectibility of 308s and other 70s/80s exotics A group of six boys, I'm guessing 8-10 years old, were hanging around in front of my house a little while ago. My wife happened to walk out to her car (parked at the curb) to get something, and one of them asked her who owned the Porsches and Ferraris. "His name is Tony, and if you walk back to the garage, he'll probably show you them," was her reply. I heard the noise up front, emerged from the garage, and walked up the drive. The leader of the kids (the oldest) asked me what all of the cars were -- two Porsche, two Ferrari, and two Lotus I told him, and invited the gang to come back and see them. Of course, I did my duty and gave them enough specifics to teach them a little but not go over their heads. I showed them that the GTB had a roof and on the GTS it was removable, that the engine is "sideways", a V8, and answered for them the all-important question of "what's in the front, then?" A few observations: 1) The kids were very respectful. That was so reassuring. In turn, I made sure I treated them as responsible, intelligent individuals. 2) As space is tight in the garage, I told them to leave their bikes at the front, and check for any buckles or key chains that might scratch paint -- the leader of the kids was quite astute for his age, and practically finished my sentence for me. 3) He also corrected another kid who said "Porsh", knew the 308 was mid-engined and that the vents were for cooling. Overall, he was smart about the cars -- very encouraging to see. 4) The kids were polite and thanked me. I mention all of this because these kids were obviously "cool" kids, not goodie-two-shoes kids; the "cool" kids are usually the first to be lacking in manners and/or politeness. When they left, I walked back into the house to tell my wife -- I was obviously pleased that kids thought these cars were cool (they usually don't around here). I said to her, "I just did my part to sustain the collectibility of 308s and Esprits for future generations!" I told her how smart the one kid was, but that another looked straight at the LOTUS badge and ESPRIT decal on one of the Esprits and said, "ooh, a Lamborghini!" . . . and that I chalked that up to a failure of our public school system. She remarked that when those kids are older, the'll be those who has a story, "When I was a kid, this one guy had a Porsche, a Ferrari, etc. . . ." That made me think of all of the times I've heard stories like that on here, so I thought I'd share. Cheers, Tony
I was at borders yesterday and there were 3 magazines with articles on the upcoming collectible cars. All were focused on the 80's vintage. The 308 was at the top of list on all 3. According to one of the mags, one of the factors for making a car desirable/collectable in the future was recongnition........they stated cars used in shows and movies will always be sought after in the future.......thanks Magnum.........!
You know, its funny the car culture that *we* live in. I got into it from being one of the "Cool Kids" and having "Cool" people around like you to share in the hobby. Decades later, I have my own Ferrari and I share it with anyone who shows real interest. I have great stories from that. Today, it came full circle when a buddy showed me his car collection. It was like being that *cool kid* all over again! I'm still grinning from ear to ear. I can guarantee that the story you shared here will be told over and over again by those boys. Well done! JIM
Doing your bit for juvenile delinquency, I see<sigh> Kids are probably BEYOND ALL HOPE, now Years of torture & lust ahead of them now... That said, nice job, stokin' the furnaces of the future.
Best to avoid juvy delinquency is withhold all things electronic until their 18th birthday. Several studies find an inverse relationship of 'hours of tv watching' to desirous character as is commonly defined.
I have a few stories like that from when I was 5 to 10 yrs old. Believe me, youve made an everlasting impression.
giving a ride to a 4 year old grandson of someone down the road. Coming out of the garage he cried: A Ferrari!!. Image, just 4 years old and already he know the brand! Amazing how well know the Ferrari brand actally is. Today a 4 years old, just the other week an over 80 year old lady stopped and politely asked "is that a real ferrari? Anyway, we all should putting some effort in creating these age kids with a 3x8 dream.. There might be a future buyer in one of them ( not for mine, i'll keep them for my own kids )
I keep a handful of Ferrari Hot Wheels 308s (or GTOs 'cause you can find those now) in the Ferrari to give to kids who seem deserving in parking lots. I hope that kindles a flame in one of them. I also remember a kid with dirty clothes on a bicycle showed up to look at a 70 Nova SS we had for sale. Did not look to have 2 pennies, but treated him with respect, as you did your visitors. He came back later with his Dad, who bought it for him. You just never know someone's story.
The were probably just doing some research to come back and steal them later.................. Just kidding, cool story and I am sure you made them very happy.
Excellent thought! Where can you buy these lil' cars in bulk for this give-away purpose? It's always hit-or-miss for me to locate them at toy stores and the like. Maybe some web site has them?
Awesome job man! We all should play our part however we wish to do it to keep the flame alive for the next generation. At some level we all still have the feeling of a little 8 year old kid when we get in our Ferrari's and take them out for a drive. I think we become complacent here every now and then in regard to how "cool" these cars are to young kids and what a huge impact we can have on some of them just by being kind and generous like you were with this group of boys. Again, nice job and thanks for taking time to pass the torch! MB
Yeah, me too! Great story... It happened to me that way, I blame Ed Waterman for my exotic car habit. He used to own a place called Thouroughbred Motorcars in Arlington, Va. My dad used to take me to a little place across the street for ice cream.. and of course I wanted to go and look at all the "cool cars" in the window. Ed always talked and gave detailed info if had time.. if not he'd just say have look, but please don't touch. As I got older that turned into hey Paul, good to see ya.. got some new stuff, feel free to look around. (How about a 275 GTS for $35,000? Ahh, just out of reach for a college kid) After a string of Porsches and BMWs and other stuff.. I finally bought my first exotic. An 85 Pantera GT5-S, unfortunately not from ED who had by then sold the business and moved to Fla and opened the MotorCar Gallery. I always stop in to see Ed when visiting S. Fla, and just as the old days.. he's always got a number of choice vehicles on his floor, and is always engaging to chat with! yep, way to keep the flame alive! Paul
Great story, Tony! Well done! About a year ago, while at a gas station with my 328, a kid comes by and asks me if he can take a few pictures. I told him "Sure, go ahead, but the pictures would look better with you at the wheel!" He took a few seconds to give me the camera Then his older bother joins him and I suddenly realize he must be around 12 (the one at the wheel, now) "You must be around 12, right?" "Yes, sir" "I've started dreaming about these cars at your age. 29 years later, I bought mine. Don't give up, if that's what you want" I could tell he was very impressed. In the time it took me to pay, he was gone ... I'm pretty sure he will remember that day
I did a touch better I let my 18 yr old daughter take her best friend and their dates to prom in the Mondial 8. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You have inspired me to give our 12 year old daughter driving lessons in the Mondial! Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login
Seems like a good safe way to get her started....lots safer than when I was actually driving at 12...=)
Thanks, no the seat backs were a little loose. Just tightened up the screws and put them back in. dave
Very nice move, Dave! Way to rekindle the thread, too! The family/children pictures people share here are always a treasure.
Any chance to get the next generation interested in cool old cars is a wonderful thing - the alternative (unfortunately) for many kids is more hours spent playing Grand Theft Auto or Doom or some other violence-inducing fantasy escape game....or listening to some similarly violence-inducing music like 50 cent. To many 12 year olds these games and music are their reality, or at least they struggle to distinguish from reality. Face it, when you're 12 you haven't done enough in the world to really have any clue about what's real and meaningful, and what' not. When he gets older, my son (who is 3 now) is going to be out in the garage with me changing oil and brake pads and hammering out a dent on a fender...just like I was with my dad...not in the basement with Grand Theft and 50 cent. He'll have a great time, just like I did. I'm clueless as to what my three daughters will be doing however....
