I had an appointment that I was early for, and the person I was meeting with was tied up with someone else, so I flopped down in a chair to wait. Picking up an outdated, random car magazine on the small table next to me, I opened it to the Contents page.
Prominently on the contents page was a picture of the Ferrari 488, below it was a listing for a comparison of small cross-over utility vehicles.
I turned to the mud-bug article!
A group of us around, primarily-pre, driving age lusted after exotics of all kinds; this is a natural and required part of moving into the driving age for most guys. There were three basic camps: The Lamborghini Countach guys (show over go), The Porsche guys (really just one guy and his dad had a 928 - a car that Porsche engineers lauded as superior to the 911), and Ferrari guys. We really didn't know jack about cars, and I was in the Ferrari camp. There was also one Pantera guy, but, well, he was a Pantera guy...
The Testarossa was an impressive vehicle, but I always thought the side vents were odd - almost comical, boy-racerish. The F40, on the other had, was a gritty no-bones speed machine, with the 308 an every-mans Ferrari by comparison. In retrospect, the Porsche guy was probably correct that the 959 was a better car than the F40 in comparison, since it was nearly as quick and had creature comforts as well - but the Porsche 959 just did not inspire the same visceral reaction as the F40, sans radio and all.
Reality eventually does catch up with all of us, and my first car was an MG Midget - a decision I am convinced started a critical chain of events leading to who and where I am now.
Still, while grossly out of the realm of reality, any Ferrari continued to elicit awe, envy, and desire.
And now, some twenty-odd years later, I turn to the article on practical, fuel-efficient utility vehicles over one of the first modern turbo Ferraris. I keep wondering when I'm going to go over that old-age hump, and this is yet another sign that I may already have.
I still probably lust after the Ferrari 308/328 more than the modern ones. Partially because they are more attainable, but also as some terrible nostalgia. While modern exotics are more purposeful, I can't believe form has taken too high a place over function. These cars are actually somewhat pointless to own unless they are also going to get some track time. Porsche 911s are just wrong without a whale tail. I think the Enzo is almost ugly. And automotive design reached a zenith, at least a local maxima, with the Ferrari 328. Amazing engineering, stunning looks, yet fuel injected and widely considered one of the most reliable Ferraris to this day. I'm well aware that a V6 Honda Accord can probably give a Ferrari 328 a good run for its money and a new Mustang GT will make the 328 appear to be a wagon on the conestoga trail in comparison; people who make that comparison should shut up already and go back to watching Fast and Furious.
Ten to fifteen years ago, the Ferrari 328s were quite affordable (comparatively). It was actually reasonable to be able to buy one for a few 10s of thousands of dollars, sometimes less, with some of the best examples below $100,000. Today, $50,000 is probably the entry price for these cars that "real" Ferrari owners see as starter cars, with the best examples well into the six figures.
And yet, I turned to the article on cross-over utility vehicles.
In my defense, I'll probably be replacing my Taco within the next few years and a mud-bug is something I'm considering even though I'd probably miss the open bed.
Still, I'm at a point where I probably could afford a performance vehicle, maybe even an exotic without significantly affecting myself financially. I saw one locally a few years ago that was a restored salvage-title vehicle and was subsequently quite reasonably priced. But Doug DeMuro's excellent series on actually owning a Ferrari makes important considerations on both owning and selling one.
His comment on the Ferrari being a "Point A to Point A" car is a bigger factor. I have two motorcycles in my garage so I'm not against having totally impractical and expensive vehicles, but while they may be impractical, they get used extensively. My Goldwing has been in 49 states and never on a trailer. My Triumph Trophy has been flogged through rain, heat snow, and impromptu trips to trivial destinations. I just don't see that happening with a Ferrari 328 if I owned one.
After my first car, the MG Midget, my second car was a 1977 MGB. Over the time I owned this car, I did all those things that late model MGBs needed. I put dual carbs on it. Reworked the front suspension. I put in an electric overdrive gearbox. It was a phenomenally reliable car and what I drove all through college.
I still own the 1977 MGB, but sadly, it will never be on the road again. I retired it many years ago when the engine oil pressure was starting to drop into the worrisome range (no rod-knock yet, so I knew I could fix for not much money or time), but more critically, the rust on the car was approaching a level that appeared to compromise the structural integrity.
I do occasionally have thoughts of restoring it, but not actually restoring it at all - I would be better off buying another 1977 MGB and transferring all those parts to remake my car in newer form. But I'm not sure I can do that either, since it would ultimately mean getting rid of a vehicle which at one time in my life was probably my best friend.
The car has no value, but I can't get rid of it. And maybe this Ferrari episode reminds why it is a good thing to keep it. That 1977 MGB reminds me of who I really was, or am, or both. As long as it sits there, a car I won't drive, I can't possibly waste money on another car I won't drive.
I do sometimes search Ebay during dull moments at work, and I still can't look at a Ferrari 328 without thinking maybe... But the rational me knows that if the weather is good enough to drive a Ferrari, I'll probably be on a motorcycle, and I can enjoy that without being worried about any pretense of it as an investment.
So maybe this is evidence that I have gone over that hump.
And maybe that is OK.
But my meeting was still delayed, and I did read the article on the Ferrari 488 a little later ... and it sounds incredible.
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