May | 2016 | Danny' s Motor World Plus

Ferrari 488

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Dan K.

It has been a couple of years since I have been out of the Ferrari game, but I have certainly kept in touch with many of my customers. One such customer came into the new dealership I work in with his wife, and he showed up in his brand new 488 coupe that he had just taken delivery of a few days earlier.

This particular customer of mine has bough a few Ferraris from me over the years. He is a younger guy, and has been doing well in the lasik business. He first bought a 430 coupe from me, then upgraded to a 430 Scuderia. There were probably 1 or 2 others I am not thinking about. He has owned some other very serious machinery over the years, such as a 911 Turbo (which he drove all year round). He also had a seriously modified Corvette, to the tune of about 800bhp. He then had a ZR-1. There was also a McLaren and a Nissan GTR. Truly a car guy.

I used to kid that I would leave the Ferrari world if they ever turned to turbos again. That isn’t the reason I left, however the timing of my departure happened to coincide with the introduction of the turbo-charged California T. It is the last model Ferrari I drove fairly extensively at a Ferrari product training event. I walked away thinking there was progress from the outgoing California, but it didn’t feel like anywhere near an almost 100bhp increase.

It took me a bit of time to warm up to the 458 when it was introduced. The front end took some time to grow on me, with its active winglets. The driving dynamics, however, were astounding. I then later got to drive a 458 Speciale, a car I ended up declaring as the very best sports car I had ever driven. Enter the 488.

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It is hard to believe that the 488 has 100bhp over the 458. The jumps in horsepower from model to model have been very impressive – 85bhp from the 360 to 430, 95bhp from the 430 to the 458, and now about 100bhp from the 458 to the 488. Can they keep making such jumps? I mean, where does it end?

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Anyways, I didn’t drive the 488 for more than 10 minutes, but it was more than enough to see where the mid-engined V8 line has come to. Needless to say, it is stupid fast. Effortless. The dual clutch transmission shifts even faster. The confidence and security you typically get in a Ferrari is felt even more in the 488. That is the major difference between Ferraris and most other high-end exotics, and that is how confident and secure the car makes you feel when driving with enthusiasm, and Ferrari is, hands down, way ahead of everybody else.

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So as much of an advancement that the 488 is, personally I would probably still prefer a 458 Speciale, particularly the convertible (Aperta) version. Now when they finally introduce the “Speciale” version of the 488, that may very well change!

My History with Camaros

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Dan K.

You may have read in one of my earlier posts where I had mentioned that the common sports cars I saw around the neighborhood I grew up in were Camaros, Firebirds, and Mustangs. So naturally, I aspired to own one of them. I was 18 years old in 1985, which meant I had possessed my driver’s license for 2 years, so it was time to get a sports car.

There was a kid, probably a couple of years older than me, cruising around our neighborhood in a 1981 Camaro Z-28. It was light blue, with contrasting blue stripes on the side. Now I know many think that light blue might be somewhat of a feminine color, but not me – I thought it was gorgeous! It had t-tops, and was in immaculate condition. It was a rare color to see a Z-28 in, which really made it stand out. It also had a 4-speed manual transmission – another somewhat rare item. Anyways, this car became for sale when I was 18. I had to have it! I’m pretty sure my parents made a contribution to me getting this car, I really don’t recall the details, but I did buy it. I was so excited!

Not my ’81, but same color. I had t-tops on mine.

I drove it over a few blocks from where I lived, where 3 very good friends of mine lived. One of these friends, Rick, saw it, and decided he had to have one of his own. Very shortly thereafter, he bought a black 1980 with a custom stripe on it. I don’t recall if he bought it already modified, but he sure added his own modifications to give it some extra punch. I kept mine bone stock, except for the exhaust, where I had the catalytic converters removed to give it ta proper sound. Not much thinking green back in those days! Sorry to all of the environmentalists who may be reading this.

Anyways, I kept my Z-28 for about 3 years, until I stumbled onto a 1980 Corvette that I had to have, which I will write about more in another post. I sold the Z-28 (got back almost as much as I had paid for it) and bought this Corvette.

Not so for my friend Rick. He continued to carry the Camaro torch, and over the years, had owned an example from pretty much every generation. And that includes the most current 6th generation of today. We live about 500 miles away from each other, but last weekend met up at about the halfway mark at a good mutual friend’s house, to surprise our other good friend for his 50th birthday.

Rick decided to drive up in his brand new Camaro SS. Now I had driven a more current Camaro not too long ago, in 2011, where I got a 6-cylinder convertible for my rental car when I was in California a few years ago for Ferrari product training. I’ll be honest when I say I didn’t pay too much attention to the car, as when I was behind the wheel of it, I was probably driving down the coast in Monterrey, where the product training was taking place, at the Laguna Seca race track, so I was much more interested in taking in the California coast line, as I had never been there before.

My Camaro rental in Monterrey, California.

Rick’s newest Camaro is an electric blue coupe SS. It sounds very much like what a muscle car should sound like. You know it is packing some serious power just by the sounds of it. Sadly, as we age, the desire for a manual transmission tends to fade, and Rick opted for the truly wonderful 8-speed automatic this time. Upon checking the car out closely, Chevy has been doing a wonderful job in preserving styling cues from the past, yet keeping the car looking very modern. Its funny to think back to our 1st Camaros, mine rated at 190bhp, and Rick’s having been an ’80, rated at 180bhp in stock form. His newest one has well more than double the power!

My buddy Rick’s new 6th generation Camaro SS

Of course, I had to drive this new iteration. It was in my buddy’s rural neighborhood, so I really couldn’t do anything stupid, but I certainly made sure to get a small taste of the power. There’s no doubt that it packs more than enough power to have whatever fun one would care to have on public streets. What really struck me is how much of a refined car the Camaro has become. It felt as solid as any car I have ever driven, and was completely docile and driveable when you were just loafing around in it. I came to believe that the 5-hour trek he had made to get where we were must have been quite pleasurable and effortless.

My, we have come a long way. I can only imagine what the ZL-1 version feels like. Quite frankly, I think the SS would be plenty. It sure got me to thinking…….!

Giving Friends the Thrill of a Lifetime

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Dan K.

Growing up in the neighborhood that I grew up in, I very rarely ever saw anything exotic. There was the odd Porsche or Corvette, but not much beyond that. If an exotic was ever spotted, it was almost a religious experience!

In my younger years, I had a buddy of mine that used to be my partner in crime in collecting brochures. We once went to an independent dealer, and were wandering around the building looking for a hidden stash of brochures. I don’t recall if we came across any, but we did come across a Ferrari 308 GTS just sitting in an empty indoor driveway, completely unattended. It was unlocked, windows down! You know what happened next……we both took our turns just sitting in it, and felt like serious criminals doing so, but we did it anyway. How often would we ever have the chance? We walked out of there on Cloud 9! This was the highlight of our exotic car enthusiast careers!

Fast forward to my days as a salesman for an authorized Ferrari dealer. Of course, I got to drive every single model dating back to a 308, and even a few earlier models. Heck, I regularly took them home for the weekend. I hate to say it, but it just became the norm for me.

One weekend, two of my childhood friends came to visit for a weekend. I took a Maserati Quattroporte home for that weekend to serve as our weekend transportation. Of course, my buddies were blown away. I let them all drive it, which was the 1st semi-exotic car they ever got to drive. I took them to the dealership over the course of the weekend, and let them all drive a 430 Spider. They were again, blown away! This type of experience, for car guys, is something that gets remembered, and talked about for the rest of their lives. And I was so happy to be able to provide it to them.

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Another time, my oldest and dearest friend, whom I have known my entire life, came down for the weekend with his wife. I had made arrangements ahead of time to pay a visit to a very good friend, whom had become so after 1st being a customer of mine. I told my buddy that I had to run an errand, so we hopped in my car and we left. After 45 minutes, we arrive at my buddy’s house, or shall I say, mansion. He greets us at the door. I introduce one buddy to another, and then promptly make our way to his 4-car garage. He opens the door, and sitting in there is his black 430 Spider, a black 599 GTB, his brother’s orange Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, and going pretty much unnoticed, a silver Porsche 911 Turbo. My visiting buddy’s jaw just dropped to the floor! He had no idea. We promptly jumped into the Ferraris with a video camera, and went out cruising. His brother joined us a little bit later in his Lambo. Of course, my visiting friend got to drive both Ferraris. Again, another once-in-a-lifetime experience for my visiting buddy, with a story that he’ll remember and share for the rest of his life.

A few more experiences like the ones above were created, whenever I had the opportunity to do so.

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I have to believe that what my friends got to experience was similar to that time I got to sit in that 308, but of course, so much better because they got to drive the cars.

These are stories we will talk about for the rest of our lives. So few enthusiasts ever get to drive the cars they fantasize about. I am so glad to have been able to share this with my closest friends.

My Lamborghini Chronicles

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Dan K.

Even though I have an extensive history with Ferraris, the Lamborghini Countach is single-handedly responsible for getting me addicted to exotic cars. Back in the day, Alpine car stereos had a poster that featured a picture of a Countach on it (how many of you remember that?), and that was it – I was hooked! It was the wildest looking machine I, and much of the world, had ever laid eyes on. If you were to see one on the road today, it would still draw a massive amount of attention, so imagine what it was like back in the late ’70s into the ’80s.

I wasn’t much into Formula 1 racing at the time, so any link to the racing series did not matter at the time. It was all about the looks, and the level of exoticism. The most comparable car to the Countach back in the day was Ferrari’s 512 Berlinetta Boxer, which was a very cool car in its own right, but really was nowhere close to the Countach in how exotic it looked.

There was a local exotic car dealership in the town I grew up in. One day, I was riding my bicycle by there, and saw them pulling out a black Countach, so naturally, I had to stop to check out what was going on. I had never heard one running, or had seen one in motion, so it was like drawing bees to honey! Once inside, I saw the reason why they were pulling it out, and it was for none other than Pete Rose!

A few years later, once I had my license, I regularly visited exotic car dealerships to take pictures, and hopefully get some brochures. I went to one such dealership that had a Lamborghini Countach parked in the showroom. The salesman saw me salivating over it, and was nice enough to unlock it for me, where I was able to get a picture of me inside of it. I was very much on cloud 9! I couldn’t believe I actually got to sit inside of one.

Fast forward to my career selling Ferraris. We had a good customer of ours whom I ended up becoming good friends with. He was a younger guy, and had bought many Ferraris from me over the years. He had always had a desire to own a Lamborghini, so one day, went ahead and bought a Diablo 6.0, in yellow. Like that car wasn’t flashy enough – throw yellow paint on it, and you essentially have a rolling road block. I don’t think a car could get any more attention than that! Nonetheless, it was the 1st Lamborghini I ever got to drive. Once I got past the level of exoticism it possessed, I could really experience how the car drove. You sat very low to the ground, arms stretched out, and nearly impossible to see out of the sides and rear. It had good power, but it really was a chore to drive. Operating the clutch and gear shift lever required very deliberate action – no smooth and easy here. His brother had owned a couple of Gallardos, both with manual transmissions. First, he had a coupe, and then the convertible. I drove them both. After driving all 3 of these Lamborghinis, I was left with a similar impression, and that was that they all felt like Italian muscle cars. They gave nowhere near the feel you get from a Ferrari.

I still say this to this day – Lamborghinis are for people who don’t know any better. They are for people who want to make the visual statement, where the driving experience is really secondary. They are for people who don’t have the patience to sit on the lengthy waiting lists that always accompanies the newest mid-engine V8 Ferrari (I’ve seen wait times going out 3 years!) Luckily, for those buying Lamborghinis, the general public does not know any better either. A Lamborghini is still as flashy as any Ferrari, and gives of the same level of exoticism, if not more. To the general public, Ferraris and Lamborghinis are one in the same.

My Aston Martin Chronicles

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Dan K.

I had always found Aston Martins to be interesting cars, but they never really got my blood flowing, at least with respects to their more common models.

1953 Aston Martin DB2

Before working for an authorized Aston Martin dealership, my experiences with the brand were almost non-existent. I did drive a 1953 DB2 that had been traded into the Ferrari dealership. It was an interesting car, to say the least, but I had never driven ANY car from that era, so i had nothing to compare it to.

1990 Aston Martin V8 Volante

We also took in a 1990 V8 Vantage Volante. It was a cool car with an all-aluminum body – very unique for the day. It drove like a pig! It felt heavy, and the brakes were underwhelming. The power was nothing special either. Not very memorable to me. In fact, I actually had to come back and place these last few sentences about it into this story – that’s how memorable it was!

Aston Martin Bulldog

Way back in the day, I remember reading an article about a concept of theirs, called the Bulldog. It was quite futuristic looking, with incredible capabilities, but that car never saw the light of day as a production model. Of course, there were the Astons being driven regularly in James Bond movies, particularly the DB5s from the older movies that really had a ton of character, and looked incredible.

Aston Martin DB5

2002 Aston Martin Vanquish

Years afterward, an article came out about their concept model, called a Vanquish. It boasted some incredible performance numbers, and did end up entering production. We once took one in on trade at the Ferrari dealership, but I never did get to drive it. I will say that the sound it made was one of the best I have ever heard in any car.

Once joining an Aston Martin dealership, I got to drive the entire current lineup, which consisted of V8 powered Vantages, the almighty V12 Vantage, the DB9, the current day Vanquish, and the 4-door Rapide.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

With the V8 Vantage, you must always keep the price in mind, because you have to constantly remind yourself of what you are getting for the money. Entry price into the Vantage world is about $100,000. No, you aren’t getting stellar performance and handling. Nor are you getting state-of-the-art technology in the cabin. You do get an antiquated single-clutch transmission that is so far behind in today’s world that I would highly recommend the manual transmission. What you do get for $100,000 is an Aston Martin. You get the looks of one, and you get to tell people that you drive one. It is still regarded as being exotic, even though it is not much more than a Corvette.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

The V12 Vantage, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast altogether. Of course, this is reflected in the price, because it gets up to $200k and over. The looks are updated tastefully, but aggressively. And the power! Wow! It is stupid fast. It still has the single clutch transmission, which works a whole lot better with the torque that the V12 delivers. This ties with the Vanquish as my favorite Aston.

Aston Martin DB9

The DB9 – what can I say about the DB9? It just doesn’t excite me. Much of it has to do with how long it has been around for. It has okay performance, with a 6-speed automatic transmission. I like the way it looks, but the looks have been around way too long.

Aston Martin Rapide

The Rapide is an interesting car. It was introduced when I was selling Maserati Quattroportes at the Ferrari dealership. It’s a good looking sedan, but again, has been around way too long, and not as good looking as the Quattroporte. All of the switchgear is old school – nothing modern at all. It has a 550-bhp V12 mated to an 8-speed automatic, the highlight of the car.

Aston Martin Vanquish

The Vanquish is a beast in a tuxedo. It has the brutal force of the V12 Vantage along with the sound, but is very happy just being a Grand Touring car. I don’t like the looks nearly as much as the Vanquish that preceded it. Coolest part of a Vanquish is the all-carbon-fiber body. It is the only regular production car to have that, yet still weighs close to 4,000lbs. Go figure.

I learned very quickly that even though there is similar pricing, Aston Martin does not hold a candle to a Ferrari. It’s not even a discussion. You have to be a massive fan of British cars and whatever you feel you get because of that.

You can’t get away with keeping designs around for as long as Aston does. In today’s world, 5 years is a lot. Yet they seem to be okay with using decades as time measurements. Same goes for the mechanicals. Their powerplants are still based on the Ford engines they started to utilize when Ford owned them. It’s ridiculous! Their navigation units are pop-up screens on the dashtop that are Garmins! No wonder the showroom was almost always empty, and the phones never rang. You want somewhere quiet to go to? Forget the library – just go to an Aston showroom!

Aston Martin DB11

They have now introduced the DB11, which will boast new technologies from their partnership with AMG. That should bring them up to modern times with respects to technology. But the looks. What is up with the floating roof line-look? Are they copying Nissan with the new Maxima?!?! It looks terrible! The car looks like it is wearing a bad toupee!

Aston Martin have a tough road ahead of them. The entire lineup needs a serious updating, and hopefully they have the resources to do so. Their new partnership with AMG is a good thing. I look forward to seeing what comes after the newly introduced DB11.

Danny' s Motor World Plus

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Month: May 2016