German Car Zone

Ferrari F430 impressions

My living experience with the 2005 Ferrari F1 F430. After I purchased the 575 Maranello in late June of last year, 2005, I immediately fell in love with Ferrari. I originally wanted a F430 but when I asked the salesman (Mike Finneran of MAG - Midwestern Auto Group in Columbus, Ohio) if I could get one of them, he chuckled politely and said there was at least a 2-3 year waiting list. But then he mentioned that they had a brand new 2004 Ferrari Maranello demo with only 110 miles on it. I asked why such low mileage and he said the owner was driving it as his demo and since they had 15 other brands of cars, he changed demos brands frequently, thus the low mileage. So we struck up a deal and I had my first Ferrari. Whoa Daddy!! It was all downhill from there! I was instantly a Ferrari addict! That's when I knew I had to have the F430! So my search began.

Since I didn't know where to look first, I thought, how about eBay? Well..... isn't that where you find everything you always wanted? After a couple weeks of searching, I found one at Scottsdale Ferrari in Arizona. She only had 117 miles on her but it was listed as used.... not a demo. This is where I begin to have trouble with Ferrari. They are SO much in demand that there's this outrageous game the dealers play. The following statement is MY belief and NOT a substantiated fact! They get someone to buy the car new and put say 200-400 miles on it. Then this person brings it back to the dealer who in turn buys it back (I'm guessing after giving the first owner the FULL purchase price AND a couple extra K dollars for his trouble). Don't you feel sorry for this poor guy? The dealership then sets the price to whatever the market will command because it is now a used car (usually something insane)! I've been told that Ferrari Proper does not allow Dealers to sell their cars above the Factory sticker. Thus the GAME! The sticker on my car read $187K but I had (well, they really weren't holding a gun to my head!) to pay $260K or else buy a Mattel Hot Wheels F430 model. You just can't get them unless you're on the 'so called list'! As the great comedian W.C. Fields once said: "Sometimes a man has to grab the bull by the tail and face the situation!"

I picked this particular F430 because of its low mileage (all the others on eBay had at least 400 miles or more). It also had the F-1 Transmission, Ferrari Red brake calipers, the Scuderia Shields, Carbon Fiber interior trim panels, rear Leather Shelf, the Leather Headliner, CD changer and the leather seats also had Red stitching AND Red piping to match. I actually didn't buy t it off eBay auction but called the dealer and hammered (yeah...RIGHT) out a deal. After closing the purchase, they arranged the shipping and I waited and waited and waited. Then I was told, all of a sudden, that the shipping was going to be a little more. All in all, it took close to a month to get my F430.

I had the trucker bring it to a small plaza in Poland because there was plenty of room for him to unload the car. BUT... the room wasn't the big problem.... the car's dead battery was! We couldn't even start the car to back it off the truck since it did have a dead battery. Wonderful! After much brainstorming and lots of swear words, we decided to manually push it back a few feet so he could open the side door of the car hauler and I was able to open the passenger door of the F430 and crawl into the car and take the passenger firewall kick plate off so we could get to the dead battery. Good thing he had one of those portable self contained battery chargers. I then touched the cables to the battery posts and BAM... a few sparks flew. Scared the hell out of me! Well, we got it started and backed it out of the truck. Then a small surprise arose..... the speedo was screwed up! It read 55.555 miles or something crazy like that. I was afraid that I had just zapped the electrical system! Great, just great!

I got her home that night, put a Battery Tender on and two days later after the battery came back to full charge, I read the owners manual and decided to try and reset the car's security system code. Bingo, the speedo was back to normal! Phew!

The F430 is absolutely the easiest of all my cars to drive. It's almost idiot proof (perfect for me!) You turn the key, put your foot on the brake, push the red start button, push the reverse R button on the console, back her out of the garage, touch the right upshift paddle for first gear and you're off and running! I like to keep her in the Automatic Mode. It's comfortable as heck and there's plenty of interior shoulder and leg room and the rear visibility is near excellent (probably the best of all the cars I have). The F1 shifts pretty smooth but sometimes in the AUTO mode, it tends to hold on to the Rs a little too long. The interior leather quality makes you feel like you're sitting on a King's throne! Absolutely stunning workmanship! The dash is laid out beautifully with red stitching everywhere and very easy to read gauges and a huge Yellow (in my car) RPM gauge. The radio is fairly easy to operate but the station digits and setting buttons are a little too small to see if you wear reading glasses (like ME) and don't have them with you. I also have the leather rear shelf and headliner plus the carbon fiber dash panels which really help to dress up the interior even more.

Then there's that that ENGINE..... oh my God!! It screams like a dozen hornets nests that were just broke open and they're all right behind your head chasing you ass wherever you go! Even if you get on it just a little, she whines and screams with an intensity that's hard to imagine. You absolutely have to hear it to believe it! There have been several posts elsewhere on the web that have said "forget the Tubi and other aftermarket exhaust systems, the F430 factory exhaust is absolutely perfect." Boy are they right and not kiddin a bit! Not only does she sound great, she flies with the 'greatest of ease'. The F430 just wants to try and chew up anything in its way. Touch the throttle and she jumps like a beautiful woman that's just been goosed! I'm telling you, this car is a rocket ship in the true sense of the word!

I've read various road tests all over about how fast the Murcie , the Carrera GT and the Ford GT are and you and I both know they're true. BUT, I think the F430 may be able to tickle their asses a little and give them a surprise. One thing you must remember: I personally haven't thrashed any of my cars yet because of needed break-in mileage. Although in reality, I usually don't try to set any Land Speed records anyway. IMHO, the F430 is a fantastic car that any owner would be proud of and never regret purchasing. Plus, I'm pretty sure their resale value will retain the highest percentage of the purchase price of all the supercars I own. That's certainly worth a little smile anyway.

There may be SLIGHTLY faster supercars cars (acceleration and top speed) around, but none that I think are so easy to drive and enjoy. The F430 is the true meaning of the phrase 'Let's Rock and Roll!' p.s. I accidentally forgot to put on pictures of any of the previous car interiors. Starting with this F430, I will do so and hopefully I can send the other interior pics to TT and he will put them on for me in the Gallardo and Murcielago reviews. Sorry about that! I hope you enjoy this review and the others (the Ford GT, the Porsche Carrera GT and the Ferrari Maranello) will follow shortly in a day or two.

this guy is nuts. And he only owns a small bussiness? God, i have a small bussiness, too, but i can't afford to buy a car more than 15.000eur. right now!

Anyway, nice collection of cars, but why didn't he buy any supersedan?

What we all been waiting for: Carrera GT impressions

Ahhh, now it's time for the Terminator, the fabulous Porsche Carrera GT. Here's the story. I had just purchased the Ford GT in January of 2005. I was very happy, sitting at home and quite satisfied with the Ford GT and my ass kickin 2003 Yellow Porsche GT2.

So, one day I'm talking to a friend of mine at a restaurant and he mentions that he just saw an outrageous car up in Cleveland at a Porsche dealer. He says it's a called a Carrera GT and it's unreal. Oh yeah, I tell him, I've seen that car online and in magazine pictures. It looks like a spaceship on wheels. He gives me the dealers name and I tell my girlfriend that night that she and I are going to go to Cleveland one day to JUST look at it. Yeah right! Why is it that every time somebody mentions a neat car to me, I hear a lot of oh damn, look at his eyes!

Well, I was eating my guts out wanting to see the car so guess what? We went up two days later. The salesman takes us over to see the CGT and UH O...... I'm in trouble! There's drool running down my face, my girlfriend's talking to me and I don't even know she's there and on top of that, I just wet my pants! You gotta be kiddin me! Is this thing real or is it a concept car that NASA developed?

He sits down inside the car and starts it up. Revs it up and up and up and then asks me what I think? Huhhh.....? I'm busy catching flies with my mouth wide open. I close my eyes and imagine that I'm in the movie 'Grand Prix' with James Garner and Yves Montand or in 'LeMans' with Steve McQueen!!!

My head is spinning and I got this s _ _ t eating grin on my face. How the hell can I somehow manage to buy this car? He asks me if I would like to sit down and try and work out a deal (we drove the 03 GT2 up there to show them we weren't pulling their chains about being serious on the car). Nah, I don't want to try and work out a deal just like I don't want to make love to Pam Anderson, Elle McPherson, Jessica Simpson and Jessica Alba all at the same time!

So we sit down and pound numbers and then I say the heck with it. I give him a number I think is right and tell him if he can get the deal to that number, he's got a sale. He asks me to give him a day and he'll get back to me. I'm waiting the next day with my head down on my desk crying cause he hasn't called me back yet.

OK, well then I'll just call other dealers to get a quote and to keep him honest on top of that. I call Columbus, Ohio, Byers Automotive Group, talk to Michael Kirkham and he along with his GM are pounding numbers left and right. They get within a few dollars of where I want to be and I say I have to give the Cleveland dealer one last chance to give me his price. Just for the heck of it, I also called the Cincinnati Porsche dealer and they want time to work out a deal. I DON"T have time..... I want that car RIGHT NOW! You guys know what I mean, don't you?

That afternoon, Cleveland calls and gives me a price. Good but not there yet. Anyhow, to make a long story short, Cleveland and Columbus are battling it out to make the sale. Columbus gets to the price and even below and I'm happy. Cleveland ain't and they try and make another offer. I'm having a mental breakdown answering my cell phone every 5-10 minutes. Finally, I tell my girlfriend I'm done, I can't take it any more. You make the final deal. Whatever it is, I'm OK with it. I not talking to anyone else! Honest!

She makes the deal at 3 or 4 that afternoon and Columbus wants to deliver it that night! Huh? OK with me!

They deliver her in an enclosed trailer around 7 p.m. that night. I guess they were worried I might change my mind. Felt good though getting approved on a $443,800 car in only an hour or so..... Thanks again DAD!!

Well, we're trying to unload her with regular aluminum ramps and 12-14 ft wooden extension 2 x 12s. First try, craaaack, the wooden boards break in half. After close to an hour or so, we finally get her off the trailer. Damn does she sits so lowwww. Anything taller than an ANT on the road better get the hell out of the way!

This machine is unreal, honestly! It really IS a race car on the street. You try and get in.... of course it's easier if your related to Harry Houdini cause you have to be a contortionist to have a chance of sitting down. Well almost.... I have the XT or XL seats which means they're made for us fat ass Americans. I almost fit... just gotta lose 50 or 75 lbs. Just kiddin...... they really hug your butt. If you're claustrophobic, this is not the car for you. If you and a passenger are in the car, don't both of you turn toward each other at the same time or one of you will wind up with a broken nose! I guess I'm trying to say, the cabin is certainly cozy. The gearshift lever in the middle of the upright console is surprisingly easy to operate and has a great feel.

The instruments are easy to read. The radio is pretty good, but unless you've got reading glasses of about 5x, you've got no chance of seeing what the hell you're doing or what station you're listening to. The car's leather seats and dash are of excellent quality. Great seating position. You put the key in, start the car (hope I remembered to wear my diaper) and ohhh my good God! What I have I got in my hands. Darth Vader doesn't have anything on this ride.

You start to back her out of the garage and then hey..... what's going on. There's nothing behind me. That's because you can't SEE squat behind you! The only car with worse rear vision is the Ford GT. Women, children and pets, run for your lives!

When I first tried to drive the car, I remember reviews telling me not to give it gas at first but to just slip the clutch and as she starts rolling, then give her some fuel. They were right! 2 to 3 times in the first few weeks that I drove her, I stalled it in heavy traffic making a turn. Really makes you look like an ass and scares the hell out of you! I think I've finally got it down pat now, but it's still in the back of my mind and haunts me. The gas and brake pedals are floor mounted, which may contribute to the lack of ease starting out because it's a different feeling for me.

The ride is pretty firm and the first time we took it on the road, we both looked over at each other because neither of us could hear the radio and had to speak fairly loud to be heard owing to the fact of the road noise and engine whine. I guess we're use to it now.

This car is 'stupid fast'. If you're an idiot you'll be in trouble very quickly! One night coming home from our restaurant, some jerk off was playing with me and since I had a few drinks in me, I said like in the movie 'Network', "I'm not going to take it anymore." We're going over a freeway bridge at the time and I goose it and she starts going sideways a little. Whoaa Daddy! Brilliant! That took care of my desire to be Evil Knievel.

As you'll see in the pics, there's carbon fiber everywhere. Seats, door sills, dash, rear wing struts and the complete belly pan. They said don't run over anything bigger than a pebble or your insurance company is not going to be too happy replacing the belly pan to the tune of $30-40K! (That's what the dealer told me)

Other than the clutch, the only other minor pain seems to be that the transmission is a cold bugger.... especially in Winter. She takes at least 2-3 miles or more to warm up so you don't have to granny shift to avoid grinding some gears.

Probably the funniest thing I've been told is this girl that I eventually met at a later time said she saw and heard me coming down the street in her Porsche Boxster's rear view mirror and didn't know what the heck it was. She said as I flew past her, she STILL didn't know what the hell just zoomed by.... but she told me she definitely heard it! This CGT sounds just like a F1 in the right rev zone at speed or when revved up at a stand still. Wanna be just like Michael Schumaker someday? Start saving your shekels cause this is the car you want!

I think the plate ' ILL B BAC' fits her perfectly...... how about you? Michael

p.s. Couple things I forgot to mention. First the letter T on the back of the car is off. I was drying the car off one day and a string on the towel snagged the letter and pulled it off. It's stuck on with something like double sided tape. You'd think they would mount it better. Cheap ass car!!

Secondly, The lugs that hold the wheel on are spinoffs. Notice the difference in the color of the spinoff on the right vs the left. Again this is so dumb asses like me don't screw things up.

Lastly, TT had asked me to send some cutom pics to verify I was a true owner of these cars. After we got things straightened out, I started thinking..... hmmmm..... custom pic. Well, you'll see one pic of 'the Terminator' between trees to kind of give it that artistic look. What do you think? Let's see now..... if I buy another dozen cars or so and do write-ups and pics of them all, I'll bet I could get pretty good at my literary skills and my photography excellence. Ernest Hemmingway and Ansel Adams...... lookout !

All right. Well, thanks Just_me for these incredible stories. What a life, plays with his wife and girlfriend at the same time in a two seater?! Well, I guess with his money the wife couldn't give a hoot what his perversions are as long as she is the wife. I never imagined hearing stories like this still in my lifetime.....At least it's nice that someone gets to live out their dreams...

I have just finished reading his CGT impression. Boy that car seem to be fantastic. He sure lives the life I want to live.

I've read it today but didn't reply.

It just confirms my expectings, I love it even more....

This thread is actually a keeper with all those reviews by one and the same guy. The reviews he gives are in a way as unique as is his own life. His life being the kind probably very few have been endowed with, and the reviews are honest and true feelings of the cars by someone who just wants to enjoy them - and can do so.

Good on the guy, but boy, those plates on the cars are lame.

His 575 M impresssions

Here's my review of the first Ferrari in my life, the 2004 Ferrari 575 Maranello. This review may not be as exciting or as long as the others, only because the transaction went through fairly smooth.

Well as you remember, I had bought the Ford GT in January of 2005 and was in pretty good shape with a Ford GT and a 2003 Porsche GT2 in my garage. But then I got the itchies for the Carrera GT and traded the GT2 on it in...... damn, do you believe that I can't remember off hand what month I got the Carrera? I think it was in April or May of 2005. Anyhow, I'm smiling even more than before when I get the Carrera and then I have this brilliant revelation come to me! I don't have a Ferrari!

But there's a big problem, the closest Ferrari dealer is in Columbus, Ohio, Midwestern Auto Group or as their affectionately known, MAG. Dang, that's a really far away to take a car in for an oil change or anything minor that may pop up. I think it's a 120 miles or so and about hour and a half driving time in freeway traffic from me. Wait a minute, isn't that where I bought the Carrera GT at, Columbus, Ohio? Oh yeah, OK, well then it must not be that far to have the pleasure of owning a Ferrari!

So now what do I do? Hmmmm, I've heard Ferraris may be a little temperamental. Do I want to possibly go through the hassle of owning a car and having to figure out how to get it back and forth, back and forth if the car's going to act up on me? Hell yeah..... It's a Ferrari!!

It's time to call the dealer and see what's going on. I give MAG a call and reach a salesman by the name of Mike Finneran. Really nice guy to talk to. I tell Mike I'm interested in a Ferrari F430 preferably cause I don't know anything about Ferraris or the various models and that's the only model I've really heard something about. He could of told me he had a 6 door coupe, 10 speed hatchback that had 10,000 HP, did 350 miles and hour and I probably would have believed him! That's how ignorant I was of my knowledge on Ferraris.

I ask Mike if he possibly has any sitting around? Mike? Mike? I'm not sure but I think I hear the sounds of muffled laughter and a chair being picked up off the floor! As Mike gains his composure, he says no Sir, I don't happen to have any F430s laying around (still that mysterious sound in the backround). He then starts to tell me that the F430s are sold out for at least 2 to 3 years and there are 'millions and millions' of people on a 'waiting list'. What waiting list? I've never seen it in a magazine or advertised anywhere. I could just see it now.... "How would you like a new Ferrari F430? Just fill in this form, send it in to us, and we'll call you in a couple years and let you know how many spots you've climbed up the list and when you'll be able to put your deposit down!" Thanks a lot Mike!

Of course, I let Mike know that I've just purchased a 2005 Ford GT and a new 2004 Carrera GT thinking maybe he'll think I'm not pulling his chain and hopefully move me up to spot 999 instead of 1000! Then Mike tells me he has a 2004 Ferrari Maranello that has 110 miles on it. Number one, it's used isn't it? Number two, it's a 2004 and were in the summer of 2005. Why would I buy a year old car? Number three, I don't even know what the heck a Maranello is. Sounds like a brand of Merlot wine or an Italian Pasta Speciality dish! When asked why such low mileage, he tells me it's the owners DEMO and since they have 15 brands or more of cars, the owner takes one here and takes one there. Ahhhh, now I understand the low mileage!

I don't want no Maranello or whatever it is. I want a Ferrari 'SUPERCAR' What's so hard about understanding that?

Mike calms me down and proceeds to tell me that he has an outrageous Saleen S7 'Supercar' with 500 or so horsepower that might fit my desire. Oh yeah, I've heard of that car. Wasn't it in a movie with..... who was it? Of course, Jim Carey in 'Bruce Almighty'. Hey, didn't he get to play God for a while doing all kinds of unreal stuff including enlarging his girlfriend's breasts and beating up punks all over the place? And he's gets to go cruising around in that rocket ship of a car. OK I tell Mike..... That's for me. How much is the car? HUH? WHAT? Did you just say $450K large ones or so? Jeez..... I just did that on the Carrera GT. Hey Mike...... I'm really not looking to see if I can go into Chapter 11 over here or anything!

As I start to simmer down from hearing that number, my mind swings back to the Ferrari Maranello. After all, it is a FERRARI! OK Mike, give me the details on the car. As Mike begins to explain the car's dynamics to me, he states that the real goal of any True Ferrari owner to be is to have the twelve cylinder Ferrari because that's the true engine of what Ferrari history is made of. OK, I'll buy into that. What else Mike? Well he says, "It has the F1 transmission which is a real pleasure to drive." F1 transmission? Isn't that just a fancy word for an automatic trans? "No says Mike. You have an Auto mode and you have a Manual mode. It's just like they use in Formula One racing. You know, Michael Schumaker, Kimi and Jacques and those other guys." Uh, yeah I say. We'll if it's good enough for whmoever those guys are, who am I to say otherwise!

Mike continues with spiel on how this is a GT Touring car, a real 'gentleman's ride'. It's very comfortable and luxurious inside and the outside is truly a work of art.

OK Mike, you've sold me. How much? Hey, I can live with that. And you'll even give me a slight discount because it's an 04? WOW! When was the last time you ever heard of anyone getting a discount on a brand new Ferrari?

Mike meanwhile sends me pictures of the Maranello parked next to a Bently parked on their dealership ramp. Damn, that IS a really sharp car after all! We work on a deal where I'm putting down some cash and I'm trading in my 2001 BMW Z8. Beautiful and fantastic car the Z8 is but give me a break....... I'm getting a new Ferrari! He checks my credit out and bingo, we set a delivery date and time. Mike says he going to be delivering the Maranello personally with the transport truck driver. Whoa..... how's has that for personal service?

My lucky day comes and I waiting in the drive of the house I purchased next door to me. I kinda had to buy it protect the land running along my main drive (2500 feet long- almost like a drive in a park lined with trees) or else someone could have bought that house and land and started cutting trees down to sell for cash. Other neighbors have done just that. Sick bastards! I love nature and animals. We call it our 'Vacation Villa'. Since I don't fly, we pretend to take vacations there. Real ball of fire, aren't I?

Here comes Mike and the truck and my new Ferrari down the street! Let me tell you, the picture didn't do it justice. It's beautiful! Sleek, small, sexy, fantastic, outrageous and much more all in one! They unload it and Mike goes over the car with me. Then we jump in the car and go down to the main house because Mike says he would like to see the Ford GT and the Carrera GT. (I hope not because he thinks I was bullshitting him!)

I open the garage doors and Mike is ecstatic. Tells me how nice it is to see both those cars next to each other. He then wants to take pictures of my two BMWs outside in my drive. One is a 04 645 convertible and the other is a 04 M3 convertible. Don't know why I buy convertibles, I hardly ever put the top down! He especially likes my license plates: 'DPRIVD' on the 645 and 'DMENTD' on the M3. 'DPRIVD' is a little pompous (don't have it anymore cause of that!) but it was fun for a while. I once had the same spelled plate on a 1991 Mercedes 430(?) and a photographer from the local newspaper came up behind me on the freeway and started laughing his off and took a couple of pictures of the car. Sure enough, a couple days later, it wound up on the front page on the 'local' second section with the headline reading 'WONDER WHAT THOSE NOT DEPRIVED DRIVE?' and the caption "Sometimes DPRIVD is the eyes of the beholder as the owner of this Mercedes demonstrates". Sorry if I ever offended anybody. It was only meant to be a joke son..... just a joke!

Now about driving the car. She wonderful. Easy to start, easy to back up (I can finally see out of this one) and the Daytona leather interior is 'classy as hell' and smells so sweet! I do wish the seating offered a little more leg stretch out room. The other little gripe is the rear view mirror. I can't adjust it up high enough (tilt it back) to please me. The wheels are the two piece ones and as you'll see in the pics are just amazing looking. Reverse gear is obtained by pulling a little lever on the console up and back and then you hear beeps. You have to hold your foot on the brake to start the car, just like the F430. The headlights are excellent offering all kinds of light for you to see. The F1 shifts nice and smooth and I just leave this one in Auto mode and cruise around pretending to be 'James, James Bond'!

One thing I do notice on this and the Lambos is that the tires seem like they're scrubbing or chattering when you back up. I dunno... someone said that's normal. OK, I believe him. Every once in a while, I'll get a little brake squeal now and then, but it's nothing to write home about.

I went down the street one time just to fill the car up with gas one day and bumped into a couple of my friends at the gas station. One of them said to me, "You're unreal! You may have been the only person in the United States to have filled his Ferrari up with his Carhart work jacket on!" What's did he mean by that? Was he calling me a Bum?

Cruising around in her is wonderful. She's quiet, rides nice and smooth and oh my God, does it get the looks..... from everybody. Hey what's going on here? I know it's a Ferrari but from far away, nobody (OK, maybe a few people know) you really can't tell what it is. That's what is so surprising! I'm getting tons of looks and gawkers from far away! Unreal! I can understand when I'm in all the others cause they're 'SUPERCARS' so that makes sense. But the Maranello?

One incident really freaked me out. We went to the local Ice Cream stand and were eating cones at the car. Three young teenage boys were driving out of the stand in a small, older pickup. As they started past, I saw one kid look and then I heard a screech of brakes. What the heck is that all about? They jump out of the car with they're mouths wide open and they're eyes all glassy. "A Ferrari?" Yep I say. "I don't believe it says another" I told them since they were so excited about the car, i would pop the hood open and show them the 12 cylinder.

After 20-30 minutes of talking and my girlfriend laughing her ass off from their amazement, I tell them since they're such extreme motorheads, I'm gonna give them a real experience. I give them my telephone number, ask them to give me a call in a couple of days, and I'm gonna take each one of them for a ride in the Carrera GT! Think they were happy? I got called several times before we could make a day and time. After taking the two of them for rides and having them almost crying with joy, I tell the 3rd kid let's go. He's hesitant. Why? I finally realize after talking to him, he's afraid I'm a suicidal maniac on the road. I tell him, don't worry, I'll go down the street at a certain speed, increase it slowly and if you're OK with that or if it's too fast, just let me know and I'll slow down. We come back, he's smiling and they're all saying I'm their new hero. They even offer to wash my cars for me, anytime, for FREE, just call! Damn did I feel good!! But, I know that if I was a kid sometime ago and someone had done that for me, I guess I would have felt the same way.

Back to the car. It's just amazing how many people smile with approval to the looks of the Maranello. Wherever I park, some even come up and strike up a conversation about her.

The engine sound is unreal. It has this deep and rich sound when you get on it a little. A lot of Ferrari owners like to put Tubi or some type of exhaust on their Ferraris but this particular model to me doesn't make sense to jazz up like a hot rod. It isn't one! It's a GT touring car. It's meant to be classy but sporty looking and fast but not in the category of the Enzo! I love her the way she is. How can you adulterate a lady? You don't! You love her the way she is and take good care of her. And that's exactly what I'm going to do!!

Obviously, after enjoying the pleasure of my first ever Ferrari, I then become a rabid fan of the 'Prancing Horse' and all he or 'she' stands for! I've got t-shirts, windbreakers and all kinds other paraphernalia up the wazoo! I guess know you also know why I had to have a F430 before I had a conniption fit. Don't worry..... I know..... I'm sick. But I'm taking my medicine religiously!!!! Michael

p.s. At the beginning, I stated the following, "This review may not be as exciting or as long as the others..." I guess I don't know the strength of my mind or my ability to BS.

He's a great guy, his name is MagWheel on Lambo-Talk... He posted this recently:

magwheel vbmenu_register("postmenu_32560", true);
Junior Member
My Garage Join Date: Sep 25 2005
Location: Poland, Ohio
Full Name: Michael J. Simon
Posts: 2


They love Lamborghini at any age!
I have a little story that I thought you all would get a kick out of.

I was in my Pearl Green 06 Murcielago yesterday because it was finally beautiful outside for once here in northeastern Ohio. I had to go to our local post office yesterday to pick up my McLaren F1...... unfortunately it was a Maistro 1:18 scale die cast that I bought off eBay!

As I was coming out of the building and heading for my car, I hear "Hey Sir.... Hey Sir!" I turn around and it's this older man walking briskly towards me. As he approached, he was saying to me, "I saw your car and I wanted to come over and get a better look." He then asks me if I mind some questions and I say absolutely not. We started talking about the car and he says he is a car lover too and shows me his windbreaker with a 'Corvair' patch on the chest and says he belongs to the 'Corvair Club of America.'

He's freaking out over the car and asking me all kinds of questions. He says, "How much does it cost... $175.000?" No I told him, a little bit more to which his eyebrows raise. He drops that subject of price for a while and asks me about the engine, how many cylinders and what's the horsepower?

He then starts on the paint and says how much he really loves the color and how he bets I can be seen for miles away. I laugh at all the excitement the Lambo is giving him.

We then begin talking about Corvairs and I mention to him my parents had a 1964 Corvair station wagon that we all really liked but I ran it into a bridge one snowy day (slow speed - 15-20 mph cause of heavy snow) on my way home from some girls house after making out with her for an hour or so. I guess she really got me excited..... gimme a break......I was only 16 you know!

He was really great to talk to and very appreciative of my spending some time with him. He told me so.... several times! We must have talked for at least 20-30 minutes. A few other people came over too while we were talking.

Well, finally it seemed like he was ready to go but not without a few more questions and some pictures from every angle with his instamatic camera. He must have taken 8 - 10. I asked him if he wanted to sit inside the car but he declined because IMO, I think he was afraid he couldn't get back out! I offered to help him get inside but he declined again. Although he did bend over and look all around the interior and out the back window to which he said "you got to be kidding!"

He got back on the price of the car.... "$225K.. no?.. how about 275K?... no?....How about $300K?" I told him almost but the actual sticker was $308K. Phew! he said and then asked whether I owned any others and I told him what I had. He then pulled out a pen and a little scrap of paper and starting asking me to repeat all the specs, $308K, E-gear 6 speed, 580 HP, the name of the company and the name of the model of the car, etc. He's writing this down with the enthusiasm of a guy writing down the number of a beautiful blonde giving him her telephone number.

When he finished his questions, I had one for him. I figured him to be around 70. I asked..."I hope you don't mind but could you tell me how old you are?" "Sure he said, I'm 80!" He's 80 years old and is as excited about the car as I am! Unbelieveable!

He finally thanked me for the last time and went on his way but not without asking me if I could do him one more favor..... come down the street in front of him getting on the gas a little bit! How could I refuse this wonderful 'old man'.... could you? He didn't know it, but he had just made my day as much as I apparently made his. Thank you Ferruccio Lamborghini!! Michael
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2005 Pearl Orange 6-Speed Gallardo
2006 Pearl Lime Green Murcielago Coupe
2004 Ferrarl F1 Silver Maranello
2005 Ferrari F1 Red F430 Coupe
2005 Ford Red GT
2004 Porsche Silver Carrera GT