tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41435891825061863482024-03-05T16:56:52.949-08:00Chad GlassChad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-80622034684456566602013-03-13T22:27:00.000-07:002013-04-12T22:52:55.396-07:00Tom Meade's Anti-Cobra <!--[if !mso]>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An Answer to Carroll Shelby<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCnQXnlO_oJR_GxNQn5ePeHAkGwKoBrZM6_or7VmB13s35BLpcrVt-MtDWqJ7PubDCI01c8-rs6aH6fKptrwRyaerl4W24Ffon_5l7cZ3XhImqZB8Br5KyozCJNR6oqeOrFFN0_7z9Kk/s1600/Anti-Cobra-Tom-Meade2-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCnQXnlO_oJR_GxNQn5ePeHAkGwKoBrZM6_or7VmB13s35BLpcrVt-MtDWqJ7PubDCI01c8-rs6aH6fKptrwRyaerl4W24Ffon_5l7cZ3XhImqZB8Br5KyozCJNR6oqeOrFFN0_7z9Kk/s400/Anti-Cobra-Tom-Meade2-jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Above: the Anti-Cobra
being prepared by Tom Meade in his Maranello studio.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Started in 1963, the basic idea was begun over a frustrated
Baron: In the town of Laussan, near Lake Geneva,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Switzerland, Baron de Bloney had a Corvette.
Being an automotive enthusiast, he raced it regularly but had been complaining
that he was getting his ‘doors blown off by the Cobras.’ Thus began the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anti-Cobra</i> project.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“As he hung out in Italy and we knew each other, one day the
Baron came with a proposal and cash deposit, commissioning me to build a
special car. This weapon for the street and track would rival the legendary
Shelby AC Cobras. By this time, in the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby himself was
already retired as a winning racecar driver for manufacturers including Scarab,
Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati (in <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">1956 and ‘57</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> Sports Illustrated named Shelby sports car driver of the year, and in
1959 he and co-driver Ray Salvadori won 24 Hours of LeMans). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“To more clearly understand the impetus for the Anti-Cobra,
it is important to put the rival car, the Cobra, into proper historical
context:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“L<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">ighter and
faster than the Corvette Stingray, by 1963, Shelby’s Cobra arrived at 3 Hours
of Daytona for its first international competition. Although it did well, the
Ferrari GTOs won, taking 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup>, while Corvette
finished 3<sup>rd</sup>, leaving the Cobra in 4<sup>th</sup> place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Above: 250 GTO #4219GT,
with Pedro Rodriguez at Three Hours of Daytona.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Thereafter, Shelby-American
entered four cars at 12 Hours of Sebring, Florida, an FIA race. Two of the four
Cobras had the new rack-and-pinion steering setup, driven by Dan Gurney and
Phil Hill. Although Hill set the fastest GT lap, the Ferraris won again (dominating
the field). The leading Cobra finished 11<sup>th</sup> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but ahead of the Corvettes. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Later that same
year, 1963, Shelby-American completed its first 125 Cobras. Because Ford
refused to finance a Cobra Le Mans effort, Shelby put together a deal with AC
Cars and Ed Hugus, who prepared one car each. The top Cobra finished 7<sup>th</sup>.
After Le Mans, Shelby began the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daytona
Coupe</i> project, as the LeMans experience revealed that AC Cobra roadster body
lacked the aerodynamics necessary for the desired 190(+) mph for the Mulsanne
Straight. Pete Brock was the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daytona</i>
body designer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZBafjVEVp8cRGMYWPDzLL8D_T9HkYNwmgwpWVUqZU-bK9VSc7H4huhfJ3pV6-ww8rGM1HnQAWKnefKhQrdaC4iEKRADdyXk94H7DBXmcNAblkxDF1QkgSLJGvRlRTFPu7Ir_tkT66XE/s1600/Carroll_Shelby-1963+USRRC+winning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZBafjVEVp8cRGMYWPDzLL8D_T9HkYNwmgwpWVUqZU-bK9VSc7H4huhfJ3pV6-ww8rGM1HnQAWKnefKhQrdaC4iEKRADdyXk94H7DBXmcNAblkxDF1QkgSLJGvRlRTFPu7Ir_tkT66XE/s400/Carroll_Shelby-1963+USRRC+winning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Above: 1963 -The 3 Cobra roadsters
that would win the 1963 USRRC Manufacturer's Championship.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">“By year’s end, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">December 1963, </span>the Cobra won the USRRC
(United States Road Racing Championship). This foreshadowed things to come. And
although Ferrari continued to dominate 1963 and ’64, b</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">y the end of the 1964 season, Shelby’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daytona Cobras</i> had come into maturity
and for the first time Ferrari’s GTOs were beaten around Le Mans and Sebring.
The rest is history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQVcQc8MKVez_G4RibIr73eXDz1Cl6s8EgW-pSqgMFgzIrjVnqQjWIc7Bhna56MMmujocU1mbO8iyY5xFrTrZysksqFWOk0MzIqr37omyFIIXkvr6I8gYcwbOOWyoXRqlagyiD6OOQnw/s1600/1964+Shelby+Daytona+12hr+Sebring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQVcQc8MKVez_G4RibIr73eXDz1Cl6s8EgW-pSqgMFgzIrjVnqQjWIc7Bhna56MMmujocU1mbO8iyY5xFrTrZysksqFWOk0MzIqr37omyFIIXkvr6I8gYcwbOOWyoXRqlagyiD6OOQnw/s400/1964+Shelby+Daytona+12hr+Sebring.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Above: the 1st Daytona
Cobra at 12 Hours of Sebring where it won GT class, placing 4<sup>th</sup>
overall.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />“Up against such
provenance, I took the Cobra as a sort of benchmark for a starting point, and developed
the Anti-Cobra’s capabilities from there. I wanted Anti-Cobra to be its own
strike-force, worthy of competing with the likes of Jaguar and Ferrari. To
achieve this, I built a bespoke tubular steel chassis with independent
suspension and Gurling disc brakes to all four corners (with inboard discs at
the rear). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I used a
quick-change differential, and a German ZF 5-speed gearbox. The suspension
uprights were Magnesium, as well as the wheels. Most of the components for the
suspension and chassis were either aluminum or magnesium, with a 1.5mm aluminum
body.</span></div>
</div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4143589182506186348" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4143589182506186348" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4143589182506186348" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcFAOfNEyHwTG7azK6zdXMO_zU11v2O4jVXl3ajZlsa9bJAa9mw2IrpAOFIvcahg0SW4ZqZLX3HgNULA3OKQRZ1GDXZ3aMq4Mj8UkDNU535Txg7YnqyHXc2seNJ-1a_zQoGwYgizefoY/s1600/Tom-Meade-Anti-Cobra-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcFAOfNEyHwTG7azK6zdXMO_zU11v2O4jVXl3ajZlsa9bJAa9mw2IrpAOFIvcahg0SW4ZqZLX3HgNULA3OKQRZ1GDXZ3aMq4Mj8UkDNU535Txg7YnqyHXc2seNJ-1a_zQoGwYgizefoY/s400/Tom-Meade-Anti-Cobra-jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Above: the Anti-Cobra
being prepared by Tom Meade in his Maranello studio, with Thomassima III in
foreground.</span><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I designed a
removable targa top with gullwing windows (yes windows, not doors). The windows
and doors were separate units. In this way, when the targa top was removed,
there were no windows.</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The Anti-Cobra
is one of my cars that has slipped through the cracks. Very little is known
about it; very few know of it. It was finished in 1964, although it was one of
my first cars, built simultaneously with Thomassima I (started in 1962). In
those days I had to make a living with client cars so my Thomassima passion
could be financed by commissions. And so was the Anti-Cobra.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwW1YxFLA2UkG8NezCmx3muoEZK86lSUtM1qjZd3FPN4NS8J2Yr1apSfBm3kvajw1PdfmFX4r-b1mdSZSHybhJExrERHx86SfrAIUmntFi9eZAcdsK0tq2hWAnfpzYlGUHGYhKolJCfc/s1600/Tom-Meade_Anti-Cobra-Chad-Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwW1YxFLA2UkG8NezCmx3muoEZK86lSUtM1qjZd3FPN4NS8J2Yr1apSfBm3kvajw1PdfmFX4r-b1mdSZSHybhJExrERHx86SfrAIUmntFi9eZAcdsK0tq2hWAnfpzYlGUHGYhKolJCfc/s400/Tom-Meade_Anti-Cobra-Chad-Glass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">Above and below: the Anti-Cobra</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Baron deBloney
one day loaned the car to a friend who eventually wrecked it. It was then very
poorly repaired and I bought it back from him. I then stored it where it
remains to this day, in Italy. I plan to build a new and updated version of
Anti-Cobra using Corvette ZR-1 components, supercharged, with a hammered out
aluminum body over wireframe, made in Italy.”</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoh11Zh9wUajZwO9SWmxsp6fdSGuai7drJmQV-EdxM3SFboctTVy8cuxIrf-2ZjZoMQMrn4-7TnxHrMWfQW8fAFQCn4HmcYGPxSJoS2drbY-oqA_sgtsLjYkzdHlHTPksmNyUsgoYuZ8/s1600/TomMeade_AntiCobra3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoh11Zh9wUajZwO9SWmxsp6fdSGuai7drJmQV-EdxM3SFboctTVy8cuxIrf-2ZjZoMQMrn4-7TnxHrMWfQW8fAFQCn4HmcYGPxSJoS2drbY-oqA_sgtsLjYkzdHlHTPksmNyUsgoYuZ8/s400/TomMeade_AntiCobra3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Above: Anti-Cobra's gull wing windows are featured.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgFec8Qnqa2fE0UQGDmtzUcO_bzKhbwzxIh2nop8TKVSZbUylWxxNlVbpOB53TYzbqtCZDlu5LADrS_KbjUNWq5pOReMRowqwjLiGZE0OHKNQY7HXQq11iN0dp8vlv0x8QGSOJj1gV3I/s1600/TomMeade_AntiCobra4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgFec8Qnqa2fE0UQGDmtzUcO_bzKhbwzxIh2nop8TKVSZbUylWxxNlVbpOB53TYzbqtCZDlu5LADrS_KbjUNWq5pOReMRowqwjLiGZE0OHKNQY7HXQq11iN0dp8vlv0x8QGSOJj1gV3I/s400/TomMeade_AntiCobra4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-25556034368422523312013-02-28T11:49:00.000-08:002013-03-19T12:10:22.256-07:00Tom Meade Update: February 2012 -Part 9<!--[if !mso]>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">More on the New Thomassima IIII<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZkwlSCEhaRrgXDliHugtnC4AdbnzLKRN4uiDlxytm7tf93LZ9aNadLB_1ETo_g92hwbplyVrAPQFdT88QSkI6dTKYnEiCjdamEb1FvPR-NBOu9Y3b4BeL2gXFA2hQryDCmL3YEypo98/s1600/ThomassimaIII-wood+pallete-ChadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZkwlSCEhaRrgXDliHugtnC4AdbnzLKRN4uiDlxytm7tf93LZ9aNadLB_1ETo_g92hwbplyVrAPQFdT88QSkI6dTKYnEiCjdamEb1FvPR-NBOu9Y3b4BeL2gXFA2hQryDCmL3YEypo98/s400/ThomassimaIII-wood+pallete-ChadGlass.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span>photo above: Thomassima III</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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“My car will be reminiscent
of a ’57 Ferrari TR, 275 LM, and a 250 GTO–the body to be built in Modena.
I’m hoping it will be the most exciting cars to come out of Italy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“My mission, my goal, my
dream is, and has always been, to create the most beautiful car ever given to
the world. It will debut at a to-be-announced time, at Lowe’s Casino at the F1
in May in Monte Carlo (as seen in the James Bond film ‘Casino Royale’). The
Thomassima’s body will be tasteful, elegant, subtle, and traditional. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“The engine is a Ferrari,
twin supercharged, dry sumped, 4-cam, multi-valved, V12. The fuel tanks
are<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hand-made riveted aluminum with
leather straps and rubber safety fuel bladders. It will be a 3-pedal manual
standard 6 or 7-speed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“The rim barrels are spun
(not cast) from 6061T6 aluminum. The center knock off ‘star’ is aluminum. The
3-pedal assemblies are CNC machined out of solid 6061T6 aluminum billet. The
shift gate is to be plated in black chrome. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“The steering wheel is
ergonomically molded, sculpted, and assembled from different components
including ebony, ivory, carbon fiber, glass, and titanium. The main structure
ring is ergonomically molded purple carbon fiber hand made in the workshop. On
the wheel are hollowed out and hand-carved Sri Lankan ebony
attachments/inserts. Upon these pieces are mastodon ivory, colored purple. Titanium
hex screws secure the ivory to the ebony. The center steering wheel mounting
studs are 7000 series aluminum. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dash
cluster is fiber optically illuminated.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Parting Shots (for now)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQM_yoLhbznVuEFo9yelkWSevW-snll7ahWbFOdd9l675TI-ph8-DRcollyeJCVzIE8qxt-cOd9ZuqLAOVmjAG-FGeBWVZ0GaqkCGZzywsfEq9ZDke3kxNzAcDaUrOF_MM6h07W3gtoc4/s1600/Thomassima+III-rear-Tom+Meade-ChadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQM_yoLhbznVuEFo9yelkWSevW-snll7ahWbFOdd9l675TI-ph8-DRcollyeJCVzIE8qxt-cOd9ZuqLAOVmjAG-FGeBWVZ0GaqkCGZzywsfEq9ZDke3kxNzAcDaUrOF_MM6h07W3gtoc4/s400/Thomassima+III-rear-Tom+Meade-ChadGlass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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“I do not feel inferior to
any of the big names in the automotive world. But am I a guy who loves cars.
I’ll be doing this in heaven or in hell. And I’m asking and hoping for the
readers to join me in this adventure. It’s up to you make up your own mind if
the Thomassima is beautiful or ugly. I am only saying ‘please take a peek at my
car.’ <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The first Thomassima IIII will
not be for sale but will be maintained and displayed around the world by one of
the biggest auction houses in the world. We’ve already agreed to this with the
owner over dinner at Lake Como in the Swiss Alps. This is on the border of
Switzerland and Italy. I’ll let you know when we’re going to Monte Carlo.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-32733078911569636882013-01-07T13:21:00.003-08:002014-06-12T00:04:37.378-07:00Original 1966 Television Car "Batmobile" Started With a Kiss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A concept cars' journey into fame really took off from having the blues, to going in the red, then re-emerging far into the black:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWSlm6BT-QvWWxyskofWcPtfKEQcMcnT-P7VZNfCPsYreklyQiAtEwSBDUduc2snBRUteLLoQWOZib7CHe4c5lK5m1hQVpq-XUavyvCJ4bC7T-GuseDrRDcv_uvJJu2GHk5dQ8tKL2Ck/s1600/1955+Lincoln-Futura-batmobile-Chad+Glass-Ghia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWSlm6BT-QvWWxyskofWcPtfKEQcMcnT-P7VZNfCPsYreklyQiAtEwSBDUduc2snBRUteLLoQWOZib7CHe4c5lK5m1hQVpq-XUavyvCJ4bC7T-GuseDrRDcv_uvJJu2GHk5dQ8tKL2Ck/s400/1955+Lincoln-Futura-batmobile-Chad+Glass-Ghia.jpg" height="186" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whereas most tv cars exist in multiple versions with no singular/non-repeatable origin (such as the Monkee Mobile, see: <a href="http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/03/cult-of-tacky-perfectly-good-gtos.html">http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/03/cult-of-tacky-perfectly-good-gtos.html</a>), George Barris' onscreen <i>Batmobile</i> was born from an originally fully-working custom one-off 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car with a cosmetically (but pivotally historical) reworked body. Although never put into mass production (unless you consider the <i>Futura</i> model kits as being mass-produced cars), the <i>Futura </i>concept influenced Lincoln's design ethos throughout the rest of the 1950s, with the tailfin era and motif assuming the controlling design idiom. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Originally designed by Bill Schmidt, Lincoln-Mercury's chief design stylist at the time, <i>Futura</i> was hand-built for $250,000 in 1954 by Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy, for an unveiling at the 1955 Detroit Auto Show. Its huge success there ensured <i>Futura </i>would be an excellent publicity generating machine for Ford in the intervening years before Barris' involvement.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-SpUrkJ6Jh3ZP7d7yJ4FVCBv1lz0XfkG-lH7JQIuPdDqK9XmWVVF5rdM36sihsQlAZbl0qLTPlZHi2yXo-tiGf01eWlIPd5Wpm8SU56X5xjgmJMSRG18UQ4PZQP3O4toBgs6h3Pnx64/s1600/1954+Ghia+Body+Works-Ford+Futura_Batmobile-Chad+Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-SpUrkJ6Jh3ZP7d7yJ4FVCBv1lz0XfkG-lH7JQIuPdDqK9XmWVVF5rdM36sihsQlAZbl0qLTPlZHi2yXo-tiGf01eWlIPd5Wpm8SU56X5xjgmJMSRG18UQ4PZQP3O4toBgs6h3Pnx64/s400/1954+Ghia+Body+Works-Ford+Futura_Batmobile-Chad+Glass.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But a decade flew by and <i>Batman</i> signaled. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And with such staggeringly short turnaround time, Barris looked no further than his own prop yard to a rusting red form that once graced the silver screen with Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds in an entirely forgettable film entitled <i>It Started With a Kiss,</i> from 1959. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Repainted gloss red for the movie, ownership of the Lincoln went from Ford (where it was showcased for a few years to garner publicity) then transferred to Barris where he used it on</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> Kiss</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (bought from Ford for $1)<i>, </i>whereafter he kept it at his shop, Barris Kustom Industries, in North Hollywood, California (and he has been the owner of the car ever since): </span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">See: <a href="http://northhollywood.patch.com/listings/barris-kustom-industries#video-5462150">http://northhollywood.patch.com/listings/barris-kustom-industries#video-5462150</a> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With most of the work already done for him, <i>Futura's</i> civilian luxury appeal; however, would not pass for a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Batmobile.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> He was so close but so far. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Therefore, Barris was then challenged to transform the originally blue-white pearlescent bespoke Lincoln (which was red by the time Barris acquired it) --in only three weeks-- to become one of the main characters in a television series. The final creation had to matter hugely and what resulted in such a short gestation period is nothing short of astonishing.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To meet the looming deadline for its <i>Batman</i> television debut, Barris changed just enough and left just enough to reinvent the wheel into super stardom. <i>Futura</i> is <i>Batmobile</i> is <i>Futura</i>: In other words, there is only one true original 1966 Batmobile, with the following four extra tv cars built being only replicas. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Languishing neglected for over ten years after the <i>Kiss</i>, the fate of this machine would go down in history as, perhaps, the most famous car <i>of all time. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From derelict to dashing, the revamped <i>Futura </i>lived up to its name and transformed, like Bruce Wayne himself, into <i>Batmobile</i> under Barris' deliciously tacky design statement. I must admit, the <i>Batmobile</i> is badass. Its outrageous styling works beautifully as I cannot see it being any other way. Barris didn't do anything wrong or erroneous, with the whole thing coming together in harmony. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyrdpOQPlWsEphtfBjWmVQYYtjS6yIfc9aa32XltyLTqGJsVFGjri5pGihBJjtWmw0re19-AQfuS228YWjU3g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a case, too, of a future-looking concept car actually being implemented <i>in the future</i> and then rising to iconic form. But oh the irony -a 1954 design (with the 1950s being a decade supposedly stigmatized as square, staid, and conservative) revived and accelerated to the very topmost levels of fame into mid to late 1960s television culture. With the <i>Batmobile</i>, indeed the space age had come of age (and thus became married to a character concept called "Batman," created by writer and artist Bob Kane, dating originally from issue #27 of DC's <i>Detective Comics</i> in 1939 -the year of <i>Gone With the Wind</i> and <i>Wizard of Oz</i>).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The first appearance of Batman in DC's Detective Comics #27, May, 1939</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To collectors of exotica origin is everything, and its rarity will enshrine the <i>Batmobile</i> as its own force of provenance indefinitely, with the new owner to be determined this month at the renowned Barrett-Jackson auction on January 19, in Scottsdale, Arizona (with this article to be updated once the car sells).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At a count of 120 shows and falling ratings, the final Batman episode aired on March 14 on ABC, 1968, with the Batmobile going back into indefinite retirement, but not without possible plans for another tour of duty onscreen. With <i>Batmobile </i>sitting again in Barris' yard, although now cemented in stratospheric fame, there were talks within NBC studios to bring it back. But with 20th Century Fox having already demolished all of the sets, this was not to be. A three-season run was all <i>Batmobile </i>would deliver but that is all it needed. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Outlasting the show it made famous, <i>Batmobile</i> and Barris' industrial design genius live on and will forevermore. With its 390 cubic inch 1956 Lincoln V8 and B&M Hyrdromatic transmission it will grace the stage for eyes and cameras again as the auctioner's gavel slams down the going value for a historically priceless icon. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first appearance of the Batmobile in DC Detective Comics issue #27, May, 1939</span></i></span><br />
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For a detailed history of Batman and the Batmobile appearing in DC Comics, please visit:<br />
<a href="http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/18/the-year-of-the-bat-70-years-old-today/">http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/18/the-year-of-the-bat-70-years-old-today/</a><br />
<a href="http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/03/08/the-year-of-the-bat-part-2/">http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/03/08/the-year-of-the-bat-part-2/</a><br />
<a href="http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/12/the-year-of-the-bat-part-3-the-batmobile/">http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/12/the-year-of-the-bat-part-3-the-batmobile/</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>Original Batmobile sells for $4.6 million at Barrett-Jackson</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span>excerpt:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The original 1955 <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/section/Lincoln&template=newcars" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #bb3100; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lincoln</a> Futura concept—that George Barris turned into the <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121221/CARNEWS01/121219866" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #bb3100; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Batmobile</a> for the TV show—sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottdale, Ariz., on Jan. 19 for a final price of $4.62 million, not including fees. The first of six Batmobiles used for the show was the top-selling car in the Barrett-Jackson Salon Collection.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It was followed by Clark Gable's 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe ($2,035,000), a 1947 Talbot-Lago T-26 Grand Sport ($2,035,000), a 1934 Duesenberg J Murphy LWB Custom Beverly Sedan ($1,430,000), a 1956 Chrysler Diablo Concept Convertible ($1,375,000) and a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda' Convertible that went for $1,320,000.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">"The winning bidder was Rick Champagne, a business man and car collector from the Phoenix area who has been attending the Barrett-Jackson auctions for years. Champagne told The Hollywood Reporter that he grew up watching the show and was determined to walk away with the car. When asked where he intended to keep the car, Champagne joked he would knock down a wall in his living room."<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Read more: </span><a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130121/carnews01/130129981#ixzz2Irni8b2L" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130121/carnews01/130129981#ixzz2Irni8b2L</a></div>
<br />Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-14423569819924220742013-01-07T13:21:00.002-08:002013-01-23T21:16:43.333-08:00Original 1966 Television Car "Batmobile" Started With a Kiss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A concept cars' journey into fame really took off from having the blues, to going in the red, then re-emerging far into the black:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWSlm6BT-QvWWxyskofWcPtfKEQcMcnT-P7VZNfCPsYreklyQiAtEwSBDUduc2snBRUteLLoQWOZib7CHe4c5lK5m1hQVpq-XUavyvCJ4bC7T-GuseDrRDcv_uvJJu2GHk5dQ8tKL2Ck/s1600/1955+Lincoln-Futura-batmobile-Chad+Glass-Ghia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWSlm6BT-QvWWxyskofWcPtfKEQcMcnT-P7VZNfCPsYreklyQiAtEwSBDUduc2snBRUteLLoQWOZib7CHe4c5lK5m1hQVpq-XUavyvCJ4bC7T-GuseDrRDcv_uvJJu2GHk5dQ8tKL2Ck/s400/1955+Lincoln-Futura-batmobile-Chad+Glass-Ghia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whereas most tv cars exist in multiple versions with no singular/non-repeatable origin (such as the Monkee Mobile, see: <a href="http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/03/cult-of-tacky-perfectly-good-gtos.html">http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/03/cult-of-tacky-perfectly-good-gtos.html</a>), George Barris' onscreen <i>Batmobile</i> was born from an originally fully-working custom one-off 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car with a cosmetically (but pivotally historical) reworked body. Although never put into mass production (unless you consider the <i>Futura</i> model kits as being mass-produced cars), the <i>Futura </i>concept influenced Lincoln's design ethos throughout the rest of the 1950s, with the tailfin era and motif assuming the controlling design idiom. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Originally designed by Bill Schmidt, Lincoln-Mercury's chief design stylist at the time, <i>Futura</i> was hand-built for $250,000 in 1954 by Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy, for an unveiling at the 1955 Detroit Auto Show. Its huge success there ensured <i>Futura </i>would be an excellent publicity generating machine for Ford in the intervening years before Barris' involvement.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-SpUrkJ6Jh3ZP7d7yJ4FVCBv1lz0XfkG-lH7JQIuPdDqK9XmWVVF5rdM36sihsQlAZbl0qLTPlZHi2yXo-tiGf01eWlIPd5Wpm8SU56X5xjgmJMSRG18UQ4PZQP3O4toBgs6h3Pnx64/s1600/1954+Ghia+Body+Works-Ford+Futura_Batmobile-Chad+Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-SpUrkJ6Jh3ZP7d7yJ4FVCBv1lz0XfkG-lH7JQIuPdDqK9XmWVVF5rdM36sihsQlAZbl0qLTPlZHi2yXo-tiGf01eWlIPd5Wpm8SU56X5xjgmJMSRG18UQ4PZQP3O4toBgs6h3Pnx64/s400/1954+Ghia+Body+Works-Ford+Futura_Batmobile-Chad+Glass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But a decade flew by and <i>Batman</i> signaled. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And with such staggeringly short turnaround time, Barris looked no further than his own prop yard to a rusting red form that once graced the silver screen with Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds in an entirely forgettable film entitled <i>It Started With a Kiss,</i> from 1959. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Repainted gloss red for the movie, ownership of the Lincoln went from Ford (where it was showcased for a few years to garner publicity) then transferred to Barris where he used it on</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> Kiss</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (bought from Ford for $1)<i>, </i>whereafter he kept it at his shop, Barris Kustom Industries, in North Hollywood, California (and he has been the owner of the car ever since): </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">See: <a href="http://northhollywood.patch.com/listings/barris-kustom-industries#video-5462150">http://northhollywood.patch.com/listings/barris-kustom-industries#video-5462150</a> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With most of the work already done for him, <i>Futura's</i> civilian luxury appeal; however, would not pass for a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Batmobile.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> He was so close but so far. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Therefore, Barris was then challenged to transform the originally blue-white pearlescent bespoke Lincoln (which was red by the time Barris acquired it) --in only three weeks-- to become one of the main characters in a television series. The final creation had to matter hugely and what resulted in such a short gestation period is nothing short of astonishing.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To meet the looming deadline for its <i>Batman</i> television debut, Baris changed just enough and left just enough to reinvent the wheel into super stardom. <i>Futura</i> is <i>Batmobile</i> is <i>Futura</i>: In other words, there is only one true original 1966 Batmobile, with the following four extra tv cars built being only replicas. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Languishing neglected for over ten years after the <i>Kiss</i>, the fate of this machine would go down in history as, perhaps, the most famous car <i>of all time. </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfz_9WCwtKeB2VTAbbSCyzXgvX29v_q2uhejQ7rCjilek6H5FWxdjG_yZowH0Y2FeiH4urzn_yzqatzCXaqDLv6uvBI_CTV1uuAXewBcJ5w0XHS0wBzDgGzVOiKW2Seq6AMceSPmYqHU/s1600/rusted+1955+Lincoln+Futura-Batmobile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfz_9WCwtKeB2VTAbbSCyzXgvX29v_q2uhejQ7rCjilek6H5FWxdjG_yZowH0Y2FeiH4urzn_yzqatzCXaqDLv6uvBI_CTV1uuAXewBcJ5w0XHS0wBzDgGzVOiKW2Seq6AMceSPmYqHU/s400/rusted+1955+Lincoln+Futura-Batmobile.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From derelict to dashing, the revamped <i>Futura </i>lived up to its name and transformed, like Bruce Wayne himself, into <i>Batmobile</i> under Barris' deliciously tacky design statement. I must admit, the <i>Batmobile</i> is badass. Its outrageous styling works beautifully as I cannot see it being any other way. Barris didn't do anything wrong or erroneous, with the whole thing coming together in harmony. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqqULrzNnBVbgi954n1LUqJwXI2iyPl05AkEFGAxBKYCvGMmHToPpxxAe3uhI-KoukcCXRQNuhFlIrA4XGx5z3umjSYhDRjAYz0dUFJxV-vbilYCid-DsFvfBNEwK1SdB1qHonIEilXw/s1600/Original-Batmobile-from-the-1966-Adam-West-TV-series-4-600x428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqqULrzNnBVbgi954n1LUqJwXI2iyPl05AkEFGAxBKYCvGMmHToPpxxAe3uhI-KoukcCXRQNuhFlIrA4XGx5z3umjSYhDRjAYz0dUFJxV-vbilYCid-DsFvfBNEwK1SdB1qHonIEilXw/s400/Original-Batmobile-from-the-1966-Adam-West-TV-series-4-600x428.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPjIzPOZqKWsDxpDV0ucFUiCYeYm6j_8HZtQ01BSTLgpDQMtGzW8lhNje2WQcLoyJ0rUQb0YZwDCp1_1cSsg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a case, too, of a future-looking concept car actually being implemented <i>in the future</i> and then rising to iconic form. But oh the irony -a 1954 design (with the 1950s being a decade supposedly stigmatized as square, staid, and conservative) revived and accelerated to the very topmost levels of fame into mid to late 1960s television culture. With the <i>Batmobile</i>, indeed the space age had come of age (and thus became married to a character concept called "Batman," created by writer and artist Bob Kane, dating originally from issue #27 of DC's <i>Detective Comics</i> in 1939 -the year of <i>Gone With the Wind</i> and <i>Wizard of Oz</i>).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qQ1LBzBFO1_vw2VQPK2qkCRs4TBnni_ufBvpeJSxh1kRrYOrIMmZrAXYxKfW9HoOzdSCPsUq0YDjAEL9BN9vYjY2wHQC1_B32TKBsQ0xs7Ljlj6SpeZl8aHqUaB-QYUX9r3GKNooFEI/s1600/Detective_Comics_27-Bob+Kane-Batman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qQ1LBzBFO1_vw2VQPK2qkCRs4TBnni_ufBvpeJSxh1kRrYOrIMmZrAXYxKfW9HoOzdSCPsUq0YDjAEL9BN9vYjY2wHQC1_B32TKBsQ0xs7Ljlj6SpeZl8aHqUaB-QYUX9r3GKNooFEI/s400/Detective_Comics_27-Bob+Kane-Batman.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The first appearance of Batman in DC's Detective Comics #27, May, 1939</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To collectors of exotica origin is everything, and its rarity will enshrine the <i>Batmobile</i> as its own force of provenance indefinitely, with the new owner to be determined this month at the renowned Barrett-Jackson auction on January 19, in Scottsdale, Arizona (with this article to be updated once the car sells).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At a count of 120 shows and falling ratings, the final Batman episode aired on March 14 on ABC, 1968, with the Batmobile going back into indefinite retirement, but not without possible plans for another tour of duty onscreen. With <i>Batmobile </i>sitting again in Barris' yard, although now cemented in stratospheric fame, there were talks within NBC studios to bring it back. But with 20th Century Fox having already demolished all of the sets, this was not to be. A three-season run was all <i>Batmobile </i>would deliver but that is all it needed. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Outlasting the show it made famous, <i>Batmobile</i> and Barris' industrial design genius live on and will forevermore. With its 390 cubic inch 1956 Lincoln V8 and B&M Hyrdromatic transmission it will grace the stage for eyes and cameras again as the auctioner's gavel slams down the going value for a historically priceless icon. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Update to follow soon... </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIQqFGxZ9OwgyEHqNTXhloTXk2xtuifFPUTCjsl_X6Np9m4UnqmmD55P14CckDQio8xWnCKOsUdXN__180xr479qvCOdGdnPOzzbBgdcDTA84-YH2kNh-h8SogejOv8NA60xU5U1rHDs/s1600/first-batmobile-DC+comics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIQqFGxZ9OwgyEHqNTXhloTXk2xtuifFPUTCjsl_X6Np9m4UnqmmD55P14CckDQio8xWnCKOsUdXN__180xr479qvCOdGdnPOzzbBgdcDTA84-YH2kNh-h8SogejOv8NA60xU5U1rHDs/s400/first-batmobile-DC+comics.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first appearance of the Batmobile in DC Detective Comics issue #27, May, 1939</span></i></span><br />
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For a detailed history of Batman and the Batmobile appearing in DC Comics, please visit:<br />
<a href="http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/18/the-year-of-the-bat-70-years-old-today/">http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/18/the-year-of-the-bat-70-years-old-today/</a><br />
<a href="http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/03/08/the-year-of-the-bat-part-2/">http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/03/08/the-year-of-the-bat-part-2/</a><br />
<a href="http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/12/the-year-of-the-bat-part-3-the-batmobile/">http://goldenagecomics.org/wordpress/2009/04/12/the-year-of-the-bat-part-3-the-batmobile/</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>Original Batmobile sells for $4.6 million at Barrett-Jackson</b></span><br />
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<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The original 1955 <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/section/Lincoln&template=newcars" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #bb3100; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lincoln</a> Futura concept—that George Barris turned into the <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121221/CARNEWS01/121219866" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #bb3100; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Batmobile</a> for the TV show—sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottdale, Ariz., on Jan. 19 for a final price of $4.62 million, not including fees. The first of six Batmobiles used for the show was the top-selling car in the Barrett-Jackson Salon Collection.</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It was followed by Clark Gable's 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe ($2,035,000), a 1947 Talbot-Lago T-26 Grand Sport ($2,035,000), a 1934 Duesenberg J Murphy LWB Custom Beverly Sedan ($1,430,000), a 1956 Chrysler Diablo Concept Convertible ($1,375,000) and a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda' Convertible that went for $1,320,000.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">"The winning bidder was Rick Champagne, a business man and car collector from the Phoenix area who has been attending the Barrett-Jackson auctions for years. Champagne told The Hollywood Reporter that he grew up watching the show and was determined to walk away with the car. When asked where he intended to keep the car, Champagne joked he would knock down a wall in his living room."<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Read more: </span><a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130121/carnews01/130129981#ixzz2Irni8b2L" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130121/carnews01/130129981#ixzz2Irni8b2L</a></div>
<br />Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-20375004137607156322012-12-23T00:50:00.002-08:002012-12-23T01:54:31.936-08:00History of Pontiac -Part 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">(above: 1957 Pontiac Chieftain Two-Door Sedan passes through the frames of remembrance as a ghost of a lost America, lingering as an echo on the Mother Road)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>To the Mother Road of Ghosts</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Perhaps it needed to happen. But the loss of
Pontiac for the enthusiast community is still raw just beneath the surface, eliciting mixed feelings, just over two years since production ceased --yet another American brand in decline succumbed to the anvil of unsentimental market forces and time's relentless advance. On that fateful day, press releases announcing the end were written simply, with no fanfare or ceremony: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;">November 2,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2010</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;">--</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;">General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), a United States-based automaker, has</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">officially </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;">ended production of the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Pontiac</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 23px;">brand."</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Herein with an acknowledgment of its legend and a wistful nod to an era truly finished, it still seems
somewhat unbelievable and hard to accept: Pontiac assembly lines are gone, shuttered, abandoned, are memories in the dark, with the likes of the iconic GTO, Trans Am,
Firebird, LeMans, Catalina and Bonneville slated not to carry on in any iteration. At least not into the foreseeable future. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eleventh-hour attempts to reinject relevance into the
Pontiac moniker, via the GM Australia/platform-sharing Holden Monaro experiment
to revive the GTO (during a very brief American presence from 2004 to 2006)
failed to gain the necessary market traction to keep the momentum alive. And
despite the impressive result, an American V8-powered 6-speed muscle car (with the LS1 and LS2 series engines from Corvette), the
Pontiac “fuel for the soul” apparently did not amount to sales. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The neo-GTO, Soltice, and the follow-up 4-door G8 (another Australian GM platform-sharing muscle car experiment from Holden Commodore) were too little too late. Years of vague and unappealing styling had already metastasized into the inevitable demise awaiting the brand. Pontiac was finished. But what a great run and legacy it has left. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In this multi-part series we will reminisce, recount, and review the decades of driving and styling excitement the Pontiac division of GM gave to the automotive world. From its humble beginnings to its rise to worldwide fame and on to the downward spiral --its fall from grace, Pontiac blazed its own path. And perhaps primarily known today as the harbinger of the 1960s era American muscle car, Pontiac's storied past is more than just ensconced in raw power and testosterone-driven sales. For this we must track back to 1755 and immerse in American Indian lore:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chief Pontiac (1720 - April 20, 1769) was a great leader of the Ottawa Indian tribe. He organized his and other tribes in the Great Lakes area to fight the British, in what is known as Pontiac's War (1763-1764).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Rise of the Chief </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGdovMQETyKT3AIcvTgYI6C7pJzbgsFHXpWXP9Zt79gBAixLXxVDJ3QUXJYoueRMwi0nSW2u8T_M9gacrI4c8o1J3EYG7fwGbWO-cohI9spUYLVTVbf76FTzi4oXOmhvpFxuzVoPeKoE/s1600/1951+Pontiac+Chieftan+Deluxe+4+dr+sedan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGdovMQETyKT3AIcvTgYI6C7pJzbgsFHXpWXP9Zt79gBAixLXxVDJ3QUXJYoueRMwi0nSW2u8T_M9gacrI4c8o1J3EYG7fwGbWO-cohI9spUYLVTVbf76FTzi4oXOmhvpFxuzVoPeKoE/s400/1951+Pontiac+Chieftan+Deluxe+4+dr+sedan.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(above: hood ornament of the 1951 Pontiac Chieftan Deluxe 4 dr sedan)</span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Pontiac became chief of the Ottawa Indians in 1755. He soon became the head of the Council of Three Tribes, an intertribal group consisting of the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa people. The French traders and the Indian tribes had coexisted well, trading furs for supplies like food, guns, ammunition, and tobacco. In 1760, the British had just defeated the French and taken over their forts. Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Major Robert Rogers and British/colonial troops occupied Fort Detroit, and the British took possession of other forts around the Great Lakes region. Some of the British, including Amherst, were contemptuous of the Indians, limiting trade and angering the tribes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Invading the British</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b>In 1762, Pontiac enlisted all of the local tribes to drive out the British. The English called this action "Pontiac's Conspiracy." Pontiac's strategy was to have each of the 18 local Indian tribes attack the fort nearest to them in May 1763, and then to eliminate the British settlements. Pontiac planned to begin the rebellion by taking Fort Detroit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Laying Siege to Motor City</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b>Pontiac planned to conquer Fort Detroit (what is now Detroit, Michigan) on May 7, 1762, but his plan was betrayed, and the British found out about it. He therefore did not attack as planned. Pontiac did lay siege to Detroit, encircling the fort with warriors, blocking supplies and reinforcements. On July 31, Pontiac won the Battle of Bloody Run, but reinforcements eventually did come to Detroit, and Pontiac retreated. The tribes captured eight of the 12 forts that they attacked, and the settlements were left in ruins.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>A White Flag then Betrayal</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By 1764 the French no longer supported the Indian efforts and actually sided with the British, and the British re-took many of the areas. Pontiac agreed to a peace treaty in July 1766 at Fort de Chartres, Illinois. He was murdered, clubbed to death, by a Peoria Indian three years later. To avenge Pontiac's death, the Ottawa Indians killed many Peoria Indians. Forged in bloodshed, Pontiac's name and image would thereafter find a new beginning and eventually penetrate modern social consciousness. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Sympathy and Acknowledgment</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In homage to the fallen leader, the city of Pontiac, in southeastern Michigan, was established in 1819. Jumping ahead 71 years, to</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> 1893, Edward M. Murphy established the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac,
Michigan producing horse-drawn carriages thru 1906. From this inception the Chief would rise again... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(continued in Part 2)</span></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-47551581653433794562012-10-21T22:30:00.003-07:002012-10-22T00:23:28.399-07:00Prologue: Endeavour's Arrival and Staging at LAX <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0b-WtRic4funYaoJSkiGBZHxILNfjtAP-phTH0m9pA8Nzw0PjRyZTSaVjC9NWXQyR9LnwtqRdfCLCVnYLITusX0UnjAQtl_WBbpeJzK4unPG_r7Hf8NiVevvI7LpFniBF_AwReJTWV4/s1600/Sept21,+2012_Space+Shuttle-Endeavour-Hollywood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0b-WtRic4funYaoJSkiGBZHxILNfjtAP-phTH0m9pA8Nzw0PjRyZTSaVjC9NWXQyR9LnwtqRdfCLCVnYLITusX0UnjAQtl_WBbpeJzK4unPG_r7Hf8NiVevvI7LpFniBF_AwReJTWV4/s400/Sept21,+2012_Space+Shuttle-Endeavour-Hollywood.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(September 21, 2012, Space Shuttle Endeavour arrives in Los Angeles in the grandeur of an epic Hollywood movie)</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With the fanfare of a celebrity, Endeavour arrived in Los Angeles, September 21st, 2012, atop its 747 transport, complete with chase planes. That it marked the "final end" phase of NASA's 30-year Shuttle era, the homecoming took on a ceremonial aura akin to a Hollywood red carpet event -the <i>Endeavour,</i> as a de facto star on the walk of fame, had been lifted skyward for the millions of Angelenos below to admire in awe. The occasion was somewhat unbelievable if not fascinating. Throughout the day the Endeavour's flightpath and sighting opportunity was the most discussed thing. "Is it going to pass over our building?" "Where in the sky will it be?"-were the primary concerns, with people taking long lunch breaks to gather for the spectacle.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From a report on September 20th, 2012, the day prior to arrival:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop [from Kennedy Space Center, Orlando, Florida] arrived Sept. 20 at the agency's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California [Edward's is northeast of Lancaster/Palmdale in the high desert].<br /><br />Following an overnight stay, the SCA and Endeavour will salute the Edwards Air Force Base area early Friday, Sept. 21 with a low flyby northbound to Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area. Next the aircraft will travel south, making a pass over NASA's Ames Research Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory before heading into the Los Angeles area.<br /><br />Finally, the SCA and Endeavour will land about noon PDT at Los Angeles International Airport, for an arrival ceremony before Endeavour is taken off the SCA and transported to </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">its permanent home at the California Science Center next month." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RsCMSrk38goI6apWnKZaaKXrqFO6tJAfUiJ4w7iweO2UVl1s2upwqSRgZWYR0Xfl5oId6zR1V6ku2tLmOanUXiD_TNX9G-gJgrtL9och9xtPjD0_gK4KlFcRV188ahK8e6Vyt8fOTmM/s1600/Endeavour_LAX-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RsCMSrk38goI6apWnKZaaKXrqFO6tJAfUiJ4w7iweO2UVl1s2upwqSRgZWYR0Xfl5oId6zR1V6ku2tLmOanUXiD_TNX9G-gJgrtL9och9xtPjD0_gK4KlFcRV188ahK8e6Vyt8fOTmM/s400/Endeavour_LAX-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(Space Shuttle Endeavour 'drydocked" in a hangar at LAX awaiting its final journey across Los Angeles to the California Science Center located several miles to the northeast, near the LA Coliseum. This photo and ones following below courtesy of Cloud King, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/10971269439825710543">http://www.blogger.com/profile/10971269439825710543</a>)</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A couple of days after I had written and posted it, I forwarded my first <i>Endeavour</i> article [whose link is at the bottom of this article]</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> to a friend of mine who works in the aerospace industry as a flight engineer. He blogs under the user name "Cloud King," featuring his lush atmospheric photography, found here: <a href="http://cloudstudiesphotographic.blogspot.com/">http://cloudstudiesphotographic.blogspot.com/</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">Cloud King's reply included a series of photographs he captured of Endeavour while it was staged at LAX. I answered "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Omg wow. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">May I use these pics for a follow-up article? Was this at the hanger at LAX? Please tell more." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">He answered: "Yes that is the LAX hanger ... We used to lease the same hanger where the Shuttle was parked. There were tons of security at the hanger all packing guns. A call was made, we showed up and got in. When I walked in the hanger I was totally blown away, I was in "NERD HEAVEN" !!! At first they would only let us take photos only from the floor but when they they got full intel on who we were. they let us up stars to walk the cat walk around the Shuttle. I ended up going two days in a row so I got tons of photos."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(Space Shuttle Endeavour 'drydocked" in a hangar at LAX; note the human scale as relative size comparison)</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He further elaborated in response to my photographs of the <i>Endeavour,</i> specifically about rolling down Crenshaw Boulevard: "Looks like you were back on my old stoop Chad. I used to stay one block off the "Shaw". Glad to see the Shuttle made it through LA without slings and arrows. I took off out of LAX @ 0500 Fri and saw the Shuttle as it was leaving airport property. When we returned "eight hours" latter it was on Sepúlveda! It was parked in a bank parking lot in Westchester. That's two to three miles an hour with stops. All of a sudden my feet are now hurting ..."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(Space Shuttle Endeavour 'drydocked" in a hangar at LAX; note the human scale as relative size comparison)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Several excellent videos shot by amateurs and professionals captured the various moments </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">and stages in the <i>Endeavour's</i> final journey. One particularly excellent one shot at LAX is posted here: </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><i>(Space Shuttle Endeavour 'drydocked" in a hangar at LAX)</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><i>below excerpt from:</i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/space-shuttle-endeavour-leaves-airport-los-angeles.html">http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/10/space-shuttle-endeavour-leaves-airport-los-angeles.html</a>)<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the hangar, </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">on </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">October 12, 2012, <i>Endeavour</i> "</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;">left the grounds of the Los Angeles International Airport and is now on city streets, heading east toward Inglewood.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The massive spacecraft, rolling at under 2 mph, left the airport at 2 a.m. exactly. "Right on time, it just cleared the gates," said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The weathered shuttle -- its blemishes easy to see -- took up two of the four lanes of the road as it rolled down Northside Parkway, and a handful of vehicles led the procession, including a truck that had a U.S. flag fluttering behind it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the first sight of Endeavour, scores of onlookers waiting patiently on city streets began running on Westchester Parkway, some with camera tripods in tow, snapping photos furiously. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They had been waiting hours in the dark, some perched on top of car roofs, and others on ladders and step stools yearning, in the crisp autumn darkness, for their first glimpse of America's last space shuttle.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About 100 people whooped and hollered from the corner of Westchester Parkway and McConnell Avenue...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Over the next two days, the 170,000-pound shuttle is expected to travel at no more than 2 mph along the 12-mile route that includes Westchester Parkway, La Tijera Boulevard, Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The shuttle is moved by four computer-controlled transporters that will help it negotiate complex turns and avoid streetside obstacles.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">At points along the way, the space vehicle will be inches away from buildings and protrude onto driveways and sidewalks. Because of the enormous weight of the shuttle, thousands of heavy steel plates have been used to reinforce city streets. En route, the public can see the shuttle on Friday at a number of public viewing areas along Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood, including Isis, Hindry and Glasgow avenues as well as La Cienega Boulevard.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">On Saturday, there will also be several designated public viewing areas, including the Forum in Inglewood, the intersection of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and certain parking lots in Exposition Park."</span></div>
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My personal account of the <i>Endeavour's </i>cross-town travel is documented here:<br />
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<a href="http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/10/endeavoured-to-join-parade.html#.UITgCo7_R94">http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/10/endeavoured-to-join-parade.html#.UITgCo7_R94</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-53820049623602896852012-10-14T14:30:00.000-07:002012-10-24T14:45:27.562-07:00Endeavoured to Join the Parade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZYwQIJFVaWoVIPGH77FFz1RTnxZkq1UivNh6GdYM7c8Z3h77NXNgjaRqhW7oMQy4ay63ERGWH2hHN1_kTPitlf6MRvXNNWHjoj1TEwUbtxlS89UNg-PvHnIE1RVOXU5dgR0QbBmmPwM/s1600/Chad+Glass_Shuttle+Endeavour6_Oct13,2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZYwQIJFVaWoVIPGH77FFz1RTnxZkq1UivNh6GdYM7c8Z3h77NXNgjaRqhW7oMQy4ay63ERGWH2hHN1_kTPitlf6MRvXNNWHjoj1TEwUbtxlS89UNg-PvHnIE1RVOXU5dgR0QbBmmPwM/s400/Chad+Glass_Shuttle+Endeavour6_Oct13,2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(my first view of the Endeavour once I found it: looking south down Crenshaw Blvd as Space Shuttle creeps northbound en route to Exposition Park in south Los Angeles)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Deciding to brave the Los Angeles traffic and gathering </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">throngs</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, I packed the Yamaha with snacks and a camera and set off on an afternoon journey across town as I endeavoured to join the parade --to see a one-off procession and final arrival of the Space Shuttle <i>Endeavour</i>. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I recall years ago when I lived on the east coast, a college-era friend of mine and I drove down to Cape Canaveral, Florida (from Atlanta) on a spring break to witness the liftoff of <i>Columbia</i>. We parked and walked to a good viewing spot and beheld the gantry tower and familiar shape of the Shuttle's launch profile, with the tank and twin boosters looming in the distance across the water. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was excited to have finally made the pilgrimage to see a launch, anticipating the sound and visual spectacle, the shaking of the ground, as nothing can quite replace a live event personally attended. And it had become an American institution, a cultural mainstay, and something I casually assumed I would indeed see in my lifetime. It was too common of an occurrence to <i>not</i> see it, the Space Shuttle being a household name. At the viewing area, my adrenaline raced as the clock was already in progress, ticking down to less and less minutes to go. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When it got down to about T-minus 25 seconds the clock stopped. And that was it. We hung around for about a half an hour longer until it was announced that the launch had been scrubbed, a weather-related issue. As it came to pass, the date of the new launch was set beyond the time we were to be in the area, and I was never to see it again: In the intervening time, as the years got on by, "life happened" and things just never led back to the Cape. It has been nearly twenty years since that time, but today, finally, I would not pass up the last opportunity to personally see the Shuttle <i>in motion.</i> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(on the sidelines of Crenshaw Blvd as Space Shuttle Endeavour creeps northbound en route to Exposition Park in south Los Angeles)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Leaving in the early afternoon, about 2pm, it would take me at least an hour to get to the shuttle's present but slowly moving location as it was in south Los Angeles, south of downtown. <i>Endeavour's</i> last destination, Exposition Park, where the California Science Center, LA Coliseum, USC, and LA County Museum of Natural History are located, would be no casual jaunt over the hills. This became a mission. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The choice to take my Yamaha Zuma 125 alleviated what would have been easily a 2 or 3 hour car ride with the event traffic. And the solo trek, with helmet and gloves, made the event all the more eventful. The open roads across LA's environs proved a wonderful excursion of its own as I became a sort of Saturday sightseer in my own city. The Saturday traffic was generally light on the surface streets compared to a weekday, and the autumn energy infused the journey with a pleasant feeling of being alive, something already amounting to a warm recollection.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the road, my small motorbike left far behind whatever occasional bottlenecks that happened to gather, lane-splitting my way through the changing landscapes and localities of LA. Beginning from the literal foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley, I set out traveling southwest through North Hollywood, down and over the Santa Monica Mountains through Laurel Canyon in Studio City, taking a right onto Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, a left down the steep La Cienega incline into the basin, past the Beverly Center and Larry Flint building, crossing southbound over Wilshire, Olympic, </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pico,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Venice Boulevard, all the way on down past Blackwelder into Culver City -then to a sharp left/east onto Rodeo to MLK Jr Boulevard. The city miles had dropped away and my beeline traverse passed sooner than I thought. But the work had only begun. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once in the immediate vicinity, evidence of <i>Endeavour's</i> presence started becoming apparent. I felt it. In the otherwise quiet neighborhoods along Rodeo in Baldwin Hills, occasional people in groups began dotting the sidewalks, all walking in a common direction. Police cruisers would come and go, becoming a frequently seen type of car. The outskirts of the event looked like people arriving to an outdoor concert venue. Traffic cops and barriers came into view, and the first rerouting of my line of travel happened: Once on MLK ("King Boulevard"), I went only a short distance and found I could not directly go to find <i>Endeavor</i> on its northerly path up Crenshaw Boulevard. That road and many before it, leading to it, were blocked off. This forced the rest of the way into becoming a perpetual redirection and intuitive navigation. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncECTFOm8XB_B3twE5Kh9JhxQkcPDVvptmhZobLfwpnVySpkgpWq9vwIZ58xaUj3Gm8toSrUKoca_JU0iDhkt8IRLKBF8v7A7shmJT3WYXgAaoBekax50EAjAoeXIvBbipgIV1eQg8rw/s1600/Chad+Glass_Shuttle+Endeavour9_Oct13,+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhncECTFOm8XB_B3twE5Kh9JhxQkcPDVvptmhZobLfwpnVySpkgpWq9vwIZ58xaUj3Gm8toSrUKoca_JU0iDhkt8IRLKBF8v7A7shmJT3WYXgAaoBekax50EAjAoeXIvBbipgIV1eQg8rw/s400/Chad+Glass_Shuttle+Endeavour9_Oct13,+2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(on the sidelines of Crenshaw Blvd as Space Shuttle Endeavour creeps northbound en route to Exposition Park in south Los Angeles)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Having no idea of its actual specific location, I knew of <i>Endeavour's</i> general itinerary based upon news reports of where it would be at certain times. And now I was there in the vicinity so close. Indeed, something much larger than the circus had come to town, as I had never seen so many people walking in LA at the same time. Getting ever closer, motoring down parallel streets proximal to MLK en route to Crenshaw, I would have to just <i>find</i> the spacecraft -searching for a lost ship in the urban grid, over oceans of avenues through seas of people. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the Yamaha I whizzed in, out, through, and past columns of cars. The buzz of the proceedings charged the town alive while navigating through chains of suddenly appearing barricades, police cars, fire trucks, sirens, crawling traffic, numerous detours, and walls of humanity. By the location of the sun over the city grid, I pressed on, heading generally southeast. The near-distant downtown skyline and mountains became crystal clear sunny landmarks in the lush density. In a lucid moment, LA's beauty confronted me gently, a town that cannot be fully discovered. Reduced to a standstill the streets became parking lots as I scooted past the labyrinthine immensity, in between cars and buses and people walking everywhere. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pulling up next to a man in a silver car with his window down, I said hello through my helmet and asked him, naively, "So are you going to see the Space Shuttle?" The jovial Luciano Pavarotti-looking fellow said "I hope so. I just got back into town and I'm telling my wife I'm going to see it" as he texted something on his phone. We said a few more things before I pressed on and bid him good afternoon with a thumbs up. What a great impression, this conversation with a stranger that had the feeling of normalcy and familiarity, mentioning his wife and his trip back into town. And thus became revealed the tone for the whole experience from beginning to end: A friendly humanity enjoyed the afternoon (if not with many of them stuck in their cars), convened and enjoined in a common curiosity. There was no hate. There was no fear. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (the left wing of Endeavor passes right overhead; looking more closely the serial numbers on the tiles can be seen)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Everyone I encountered, from bumping into them in close quarters to asking for information from the police -all of it was among some of the nicest mass-interactions between crowds of people I have ever seen. The people heeded the rules and the barricades, respected the miles of yellow streamer tapes, and everyone got along in harmony. The sheer bewilderment to the sight of the Space Shuttle traveling through Los Angeles appeared to have surmounted any other personal concerns, at least temporarily, that the spectators each individually must have had. Every mood was good. Everyone was kind. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Society itself was on parade: Every age, race, and gender flooded the streets for <i>miles.</i> Among this I could hear different languages being spoken, some of which were clearly from tourists, those from abroad who were able to make the long journey. Certainly, something like this would never be seen again. And everyone knew it. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIDJZu3Vex44lstOTr-YvqC70fdp4I3o2EbHCF1JxGMQ2uLVJE7qtDBxV6VTW2g9pPv22NnJBmRZsFxrBS4pFpCeKRhFOtTIWW5I02v4_QOYZibPrDeafq890NdwDLIYHUATQkcS-gCo/s1600/Chad-Glass-CrenshawBlvd_ShuttleEndeavour5_Oct13,2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIDJZu3Vex44lstOTr-YvqC70fdp4I3o2EbHCF1JxGMQ2uLVJE7qtDBxV6VTW2g9pPv22NnJBmRZsFxrBS4pFpCeKRhFOtTIWW5I02v4_QOYZibPrDeafq890NdwDLIYHUATQkcS-gCo/s400/Chad-Glass-CrenshawBlvd_ShuttleEndeavour5_Oct13,2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(a small sampling of the gigantic showing of people in south Los Angeles to witness the final journey of Space Shuttle <i>Endeavor</i>)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After asking a couple of police officers about where the <i>Endeavour</i> was along the boulevard, I zig-zagged my way closer and closer on the bike until I came upon that special moment: Knowing I must have been upon the site, I glanced to my left as I went through a particular intersection (crossing over Crenshaw) being directed by a traffic cop, and then saw it: My first view is posted herein as the first photograph of the article, but I will include another shot of it just below here: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVte9EDu98aN_kWSz_QIxKOix32z2wPHQIYh9QwKjsYG4xY6eTw7OWY98y9ehunDaQRrg70F4HTQVmA1ZfTv7oF_ATn5U9YUvyKGowihtot_T-8sP-WNxSi7wKef-aFk9W4T_FlLyqdXE/s1600/Chad-Glass-CrenshawBlvd_ShuttleEndeavour6_Oct13,2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVte9EDu98aN_kWSz_QIxKOix32z2wPHQIYh9QwKjsYG4xY6eTw7OWY98y9ehunDaQRrg70F4HTQVmA1ZfTv7oF_ATn5U9YUvyKGowihtot_T-8sP-WNxSi7wKef-aFk9W4T_FlLyqdXE/s400/Chad-Glass-CrenshawBlvd_ShuttleEndeavour6_Oct13,2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(another moment of my first view of the Endeavour once I found it: looking south down Crenshaw Blvd as Space Shuttle Endeavour creeps northbound en route to Exposition Park in south Los Angeles)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looking down the street I did a brief double-take: I gasped when I saw it.<i> OMG, there it is down the street. </i>The suddenness of my feelings of surprise and elation overtook me, being something that could not ever be faked or simulated. It just came out like that and I grinned so widely that it wrapped around my head. Because the sight was so strange and different, it could not have been prepared for. That alone was the priceless reward of the trip but there was more to come as it grew nearer and nearer. Something like this, a unique live event involving the people of our time, is something one must do personally and live, immersed in the unadulterated present moment in order to completely understand. Today the most jaded man or woman would have melted and succumbed. Every man was a kid, every woman a girl. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(<i>Endeavour's</i> engine outlets, to never flow fire through them again, mark the presence of the the majestic space plane as it passes gently among the people lining the streets to its final home at the California Science Center)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As its beautiful industrial fuselage crept closer and closer, the surreal spectacle revealed the battle-scarred and pockmarked <i>Endeavour</i> gliding along the boulevard -a gentle giant celebrity representing layers of various meanings and memories to generations of the public. The imposing and incongruous sight of it created the sensation of being inside of a movie that was real, if not laced in the tacit acceptance that it could all be a dream anyway, a sort of <i>mind-fuck du jour</i>. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In quick reminiscence as I finally parked and dismounted the scooter, to mingling into the peaceful crowds, I had been able to see NASA's shuttle program come and go: from first televised launch of <i>Columbia</i> (when they were still painting the main fuel tank white)<i>,</i> "America's first Space Shuttle," to the final procession of the last one built, the 5th and last, the <i>Endeavour</i> -replacement to the tragic <i>Challenger</i>. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(full shot of Endeavour farther up along Crenshaw Boulevard, heading northerly)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I took pictures until the camera was out of memory space, having lost some great shots towards the end of my visit due to lack of space. One in particular that I regret not getting was upon my final moments at the event, packing up my scooter, getting ready to leave: I saw the shuttle's tailfin pass over and behind the roof of a "Louisiana Chicken" restaurant, appearing like a dorsal fin in the movie <i>Airplane! </i>At least I have that moment in my own memory, something I will never forget. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Regardless of the corporate interests and geopolitical scandals that influence our world daily, some of which were and are undoubtedly responsible for having given rise and fall to the Space Shuttle program itself -none of that seemed to matter for a while. Wonder and innocent fascination ruled the day. And despite the heavily organized police and rescue forces on display, the parade of the Space Shuttle <i>Endeavour</i> was the largest unguarded moment I have ever been part of. </span></div>
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Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-89049082775850736782012-07-18T21:51:00.001-07:002012-07-18T22:07:31.378-07:00Tom Meade Update: July 2012 -Part 8<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Colors and Symbols and the New <i>Thomassima IIII*</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i>*(yes the "IIII" is spelled that way intentionally)</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Lots of new cars are running
Thomassima-type reds. Contrary to what it may look like, it is not a ‘candy
red’ or modern multi-stage process. The paint used on prior Thomassimas was
made for the Thomassima. And that company who made the proprietary color is now
defunct. I took a full day to develop that red color at the paint factory. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The colors of my cars are
created by God and Nature. I don’t like plastic paint. There are plastic
compounds in paints today. So you get what you use. When you use plastic in
paints, the cars will look like plastic. But mine must look like glass. This is
also why I use glass components wherever possible. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The tail lenses are organic
in shape, like kidney beans and/or the thorax of an insect, with a valley
running north/south on the lens’ surface. There are then 4 east/west sections
of differing colors that indicate the main light, brakes, backup, and turn
signal. This all becomes one unit of glass, which is fired then re-fired to
fuse the different colored lenses together. The tail lenses will then be
‘frenched’ (countersunk) into the rear of the body. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I had major American
manufactures telling me that it was impossible to do that, to fuse the glass in
the form I wanted, but I did it in my own workshop.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To jump ahead a bit, I will
add that, after our time at the café, we later went back to Tom’s workshop
where he showed me several pieces of the car. Among the various things I did
see the prototype casts and ‘stages of states’ of the tail lenses. I can say
that one single lens itself is an entire thing of its own, a study in glass
sculptural form. It could have been a rare decanter of some kind, from some
unknown time, or maybe even an American “Lalique.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Were one to be handed a rear
lens, for example, it would probably not be identifiable as a part from a car.
It looks like an aquatic animal, with myriad raised dimples on the inner curved
surfaces. The various pieces out of context resemble organic and/or robotic
objects, mysterious components from an alien craft. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tom clarifies that he values
my opinion as I am a visual artist and asks for critiques of the various
pieces. I offer what I can and he considers some of it. I only wish I could
have seen some of the engineering drawings –anything- but I was not allowed
access to those. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At this point in the
interview I stop for a break to eat as it has been a couple hours at least (I
suppose), and I begin having a telltale
hypoglycemic moment, my composure starting to fade with my hands
beginning to shake. For that I order a chicken and eggplant sandwich that
reinvigorates me to continue on with the remainder of the note-taking:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“My Thomassima emblem, which
came to me in a vision, happens to resemble the Greek <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chimera</i>, a mythical animal. The animal figurine is backlit by an
LED and floating within a glass teardrop of blood. As all of the steering
wheel’s buttons are backlit by LEDs, the Thomassima emblem is within the
steering wheel’s center and is also countersunk into the structure of the
<i>Thomassima IIII’s</i> nose. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The animal figurine is
created from a unique process and material and technique that encases it within
the glass. The prototype you’re looking at is cast in a vacuum and pressure
tank. The process is of my own invention.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin14QJVRyD_TSvMzdYuppzUJyRBd5dg4M2qXJm6D41dU37DBWXcfyCqk9kZ0ZA_fHnKL19bJzIEOka1xfvChIPRwiTkeu_B5pUyeYb7ng5VaKqEH5SiRkz3tFEgpkgs30Dyq_5WJc4oJw/s1600/Thomassima-gold+emblem-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin14QJVRyD_TSvMzdYuppzUJyRBd5dg4M2qXJm6D41dU37DBWXcfyCqk9kZ0ZA_fHnKL19bJzIEOka1xfvChIPRwiTkeu_B5pUyeYb7ng5VaKqEH5SiRkz3tFEgpkgs30Dyq_5WJc4oJw/s400/Thomassima-gold+emblem-jpg.jpg" width="365" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Tom Meade emblem logo
®)</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When anyone says I can’t do
it I’m the first one to say ‘screw you, I’m going to do it.’ And I’ve never
once failed –knock on wood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I work from 5 or 6am to 11pm
or later each night, 24/7. Sometimes I’m up until 3am. Many people ask me for
favors and I have to decline because of my strenuous work schedule. But I get
the occasional one who doesn’t believe me and I come across as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">brutta figura </i>(ugly person).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“So when you’re sound asleep
I’m up creating new designs for the next morning. With 3 or 4 hours of sleep a
night I can say that is too much time wasted sleeping. My drawing board is my
throne, not my bed!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“All control buttons on the
steering wheel are 50% leaded crystal with fabulous light refractions. The
dashboard is nude, as one flowing ‘melted honey’ form. Including the buttons,
everything is hidden. The carbon fiber rear view mirrors are hand-made based on
F1 designs. Thomassima IV has double headlamps.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tom allows me to see and hold
the steering wheel, the 3-pedal clutch, gas, and brake assembly, the shift gate
assembly, a front rim, the spinner knock-offs, various trim pieces and bits. He
has a kiln in his shop and piles of notebooks with reams of things shoved into
them in a rhyme and reason that only he understands. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What strikes me about this
methodology is the validity to the claim that a genius (a status ascribed to
Meade in the Italian press) must be a madman --or at least somewhat of one, a
contained insanity brewing to sharp focus. Not everyone can do this. It is a
perpetual battle against will, money, and time. Although I never doubt his
resolve. You can see it in his eyes. When he says something he means it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I’ve never wanted a web site
to ring my own bell. Word of mouth is the golden way to introduce yourself to
the world because it spreads based upon what you do, not what you say. The
results speak for themselves. Have a look at my cars and make up your own
mind.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Family History and Life Abroad<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-VNxGHIsg17M2X5YKq7ghsHYypFYaOK9rMamxNlZsrUGYOPINkKcscRBfsEkpTDYv-x6ygsafhzPaWPqCtEQ6__OSTpT9cic1X7ZOYaGc5UwU0jrirRIN9P9GDYt9PpTK59K1dKqj5U/s1600/Thomassima-surfing-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-VNxGHIsg17M2X5YKq7ghsHYypFYaOK9rMamxNlZsrUGYOPINkKcscRBfsEkpTDYv-x6ygsafhzPaWPqCtEQ6__OSTpT9cic1X7ZOYaGc5UwU0jrirRIN9P9GDYt9PpTK59K1dKqj5U/s400/Thomassima-surfing-jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I’ve lived in Thailand,
Malaysia, Fiji, Italy, Australia, Bali, Sumatra, the Philippines, and
California. I was born in California but don’t consider myself particularly
American having lived 51 years in Italy, but I was born in Hollywood and grew
up in Malibu. My mother is from Auckland, New Zealand, from Happy Creanga Road.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I went to school in
Australia in Manly, Brisbane, and Sydney at Waverly College. My grandfather on
my mom’s side was born in Fiji. My mom’s side grandmother was born in Tazmania.
My great grandmother is Castilian; my great great grandfather, Count Roletti,
is Italian. And my great great great grandfather Meade was born in Ireland. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I flew to Australia in 1948
on a Super Constellation airplane, ie, the ‘Super Conny.’ The plane stopped in
Midway to refuel and I recall getting out and walking down the mile long
runway. It was this long white structure made of compacted coral. I walked out
to the edge and saw these giant fish in a canal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“And I was the first ‘yank’
there, and had the first blue jeans and surf board in Australia. These were the
times of the world surfing champion-to-be Joey Cabell. He started the Chart
House restaurant chain, today still owning one in Honolulu and one in Seattle.
He helped me to make a surfboard at Waikiki (a guy named ‘Rudi’, at his house)
when I was 12 years old. Joey Cabell, Squirrely, Rabbit Kekai –these guys were
emerging into their heyday at this time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I surfed the entire east
coast of Australia. Surfers Paradise, Bondi Beach, North Stein, South Stein,
Queenscliff, Freshwater. Despite what is written, Duke Kohanamoko was not the
first one to surf there. I was the first one there in 1952. Kohanamoko is
credited out of prior fame of his name. I was only a kid. I had a short board
for the time, a 9 foot 6 inch board. It was made of balsam wood and covered
with fiberglass. That became known as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Malibu
Board.’ </i> I named and wrote on the
board <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Moi Nalu’</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(‘King Wave’ in Hawaiian or</i> ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wave
King’ in English</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I lived in Manly in Sydney
where I would take the ferry from Circular Quay, where the famous Opera House
was eventually built is. In Hawaii I lived in a banyan tree on Kuhio Beach. I
lived on Waikiki Beach and surfed at Queens, Canoes, and Bluebirds near the
natatorium. We surfed Makaha, and near the blowhole at Koko Head. so many other
places I can’t remember. In those days, the late 1940s and early ‘50s, it was a
surfer’s paradise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I spent four years in the
navy, from 1956 to 1960. I visited Guam, Japan, Philippines, and China. It was
after that service that I hitchhiked to New Orleans from Newport Beach. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“In the early to mid 1990s I
lived in the jungles of Sumatra, on Tuk Tuk, an Island in the middle of Lake
Toba, an extinct volcano. The people there were all nice and happy. I also
lived in Bali (where I had a house) where there lived the sweetest people on
Earth --in the Malaysian archipelago (that’s the land of the Komodo dragon, the
Dutch East Indies). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I lived 11 months in Brunei
and I’ve visited the land of the Sultan of Brunei. I was trying to arrange a
presentation with the Sultan, to offer him a custom, hand-built, Thomassima.
While I was there, I met a woman, Catherine Anderson, who had involvements in a
business to extract oil from ‘dry wells.’ She made an offer and I worked for
her briefly. While visiting Brunei, I saw the Sultan’s yacht. I was told by one
of the sailors that it was called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Tits.’</i>
And its lifeboats were called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Nipples.’</i>
And the Sultan is the guy with a gold plated F40.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Mafia, Being Ruined, Recovering, and Other Things<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNj8dBaWQ1COPP2kaKPyr_I55ZRUEn8kNNszqERyd928RtJ10ebaH5Y3IfMd2BCuos43lMpeRwid3XoaRIT3g2SCXlcS9sY3FRegAO2B0GQqI7BwHFJuiVaouhiGDgDWJ9o8Bj3bLnlg/s1600/Thomassima-Mafia-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNj8dBaWQ1COPP2kaKPyr_I55ZRUEn8kNNszqERyd928RtJ10ebaH5Y3IfMd2BCuos43lMpeRwid3XoaRIT3g2SCXlcS9sY3FRegAO2B0GQqI7BwHFJuiVaouhiGDgDWJ9o8Bj3bLnlg/s400/Thomassima-Mafia-jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">One day I
had lunch with Michele Sindona, a Sicilian, and a man named ‘Zeni’ (prounced
‘Zay-nee’), in a villa northeast of Brecia. This is where they have the Mille
Miglia. Anyway, Sindona was a natural financial genius, a de facto ‘da Vinci’
of finance. He committed everything to memory, with virtually no records of any
of his business activities. Involved with the Vatican bank (Banca Anbrosiano),
he orchestrated about 150 different businesses but kept it all in his head.
Nothing was recorded, archived, or filed in any way on paper or on a computer.
It was unbelievable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Sindona had a friend,
Roberto Calvi, who was Sicilian. He, too, was a financial genius. As some time
got by, Calvi was found hanging under the Blackfriars Bridge in London. And few
years earlier, Sindona had gone to prison. He, too, was found dead, having had
his coffee poisoned. But that wasn’t the only connection I had to death or the
mafia, to whom the hanging was attributed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“They came after my mother.
They tried to kill her after I refused to sell my automotive company to them.
Apparently my lawyer at the time colluded with a crime element that sought to
oust me from Italy. So Zeni befriended me. He came from Albania, an
impoverished country which is between Italy and Greece, working his way up from
being totally poor to a billionaire stock market investor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The mafia ruined me
financially and continued to terrorize my mother and I. And they tried to kill
her again --not once but twice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The Modena police would just
laugh in my face when I reported things as Italy is famous for frontier
justice. I even went to the American embassy in Rome, but they didn’t help
either. They were too busy drinking cappuccino and rushing to their cocktail
and dinner parties to help a little church mouse, American citizen, like me. So
this went on and on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“For a time strange people
would show up at my door with guns pulled. I was at their mercy. I realized
that I was inadvertently caught in a turf war. As I became more known (as I
would not only make cars but buy, sell, and prepare them for customers
worldwide), buyers would come to me first to get cars and not the Italians. Even
though I was fully immersed in the Italian culture and could speak their
language fluently, I was not an Italian. I was an American and, in their minds,
stealing their business. I was too successful in their circle and apparently
someone resented me. From what I could see they were astonished that I could
outdo them in business by being honest, having come from the gutters to boot. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When I became dead broke, Zeni
protected and took me in. Originally from Albania, he was a chain smoker and
dabbled in cars with me. With my prior expertise I would tell him what cars to
buy. And he taught me all about the inner workings of the Italian world of
finance and banking. He taught me about the stock market and investing, in and
around the Palazzo della Borsa, the financial center of Italy in Milano. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Eventually the harassments
stopped and I began male modeling in Milano as well as doing t.v. work and
acting. Donatella Mauro became my talent agent. Without money for a hotel,
during this ‘post-mafia’ time, my dog and I slept in my car, a Cooper Mini.
This went on for a long time. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I eventually left Italy to
accompany some Ferraris to Houston, Texas, to oversee the importation of Zeni’s
cars. I set up at the Beverly Hills Apartments,
near the corner of Hillcroft and Westheimer. I had to set up a repair
operation where I would have to rebuild the engines on them because a mechanic
(a notorious Austrian local, with an alleged Nazi father, whose names I will
not mention), would sabotage them in his workshop by removing a pin from the
timing chains. This way he could ‘repair’ the cars after they ‘broke.’ He was
one of the only guys in town that could rebuild Ferrari engines. And as my cars
were already in his shop for DOT and EPA certification, how was I to know?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“So I was challenged with a
bunch of about 10 Ferraris, with broken motors, that had buyers. I had big
problems and had to pull the rabbit out of the hat. I had no other choice but
to fix them all at the apartments. So with this awkward situation I began
noticing this guy, John Rogers, who would peek over a fence to see the cars.
Eventually I invited him over. He was curious and wanted to learn how to fix
Ferraris. And I needed his help. He was glad to be given the opportunity to get
involved and I trusted him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“So we got to work and I
taught him how to fix Ferraris in exchange for his labor. For ten bucks I
bought an old, non-running, Ford van, and had it towed to the parking lot. As
it had side doors, it became our fix-it garage. During this fiasco, out of the
kindness of his heart, Zeni invited me on a vacation to the Caribbean. I had to
stall him and finally say ‘no,’ and kept working on the cars. I never told Zeni
that the cars were ever broken and fixed. He never knew. They ran like new.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When Zeni died it destroyed
me emotionally and personally. He became my family, like a father. He’s buried
in Milano.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-49028397604772905032012-07-08T18:37:00.000-07:002012-07-12T12:50:46.378-07:00Tom Meade's Motorcycle Diaries<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>BSA Motorcycle Story</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIC1VLyLZHqp6xFDkBSg4httgq7FX4Y0UgDcALXAiznd0mVtp6gWh8xGLRwD5prfyK3Ckq4XcYHlkaG-2q9osxrbJaMBmop6y9tBoh7ghgTS9TaTL9RLmVRZr7LR-lZL7-2WNXQhmGLA/s1600/BSA+Motorcycle+ad-Tom+Meade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIC1VLyLZHqp6xFDkBSg4httgq7FX4Y0UgDcALXAiznd0mVtp6gWh8xGLRwD5prfyK3Ckq4XcYHlkaG-2q9osxrbJaMBmop6y9tBoh7ghgTS9TaTL9RLmVRZr7LR-lZL7-2WNXQhmGLA/s640/BSA+Motorcycle+ad-Tom+Meade.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The
year 1960: As he recounts, once in Stavanger, Norway, Tom Meade hitchhiked to
Oslo, then to Stockholm, Sweden. There he stayed for a time at a house with an
old girlfriend (who was Swedish) in Odenplan. After this time he continued on to the UK, then to Barcelona, Spain. He
lived there on “Las Ramblas,” a popular series of streets in central Barcelona.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From there he took a ship and
found his way to Majorca. Once there he took up residence on the rooftop of a
hotel with a man he befriended en route. After talking with the doorman, Tom
and his new friend got a deal: For .50 cents a day the owner granted permission
for the duo to live on the roof. The situation was not ideal but for the paltry
fee it was.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Adorning the new home base
with tented hammocks, hoisted up between plumbing stacks, they fashioned a
makeshift kitchen, preparing food on a hibachi grille. Of the time there, Tom
recollects: “We lived like kings for .25 cents a day each.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(Map below</i><i>:</i> <i>Majorca, Spain: an island off the coast of
Barcelona, Spain, part of the </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Balearic Islands) <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8wlMBbFXOegwPtnvUcjHf6q-Eefd4PhRSQMlcWlrYLccsM6Sjii2LzZmojB8yghOS78hCRB56ivOsWr7AjGfYMtvrTdXb80Htxz-OR0r8mkQ3CF343gIh7pHUWJVG_n3cVuxRqFoBXQ/s1600/TomMeade_map_Majorca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8wlMBbFXOegwPtnvUcjHf6q-Eefd4PhRSQMlcWlrYLccsM6Sjii2LzZmojB8yghOS78hCRB56ivOsWr7AjGfYMtvrTdXb80Htxz-OR0r8mkQ3CF343gIh7pHUWJVG_n3cVuxRqFoBXQ/s320/TomMeade_map_Majorca.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But as soon as it all
happened it came to a close. Tom’s boat friend eventually left, and the
changing situation heralded the final stages for the Italian destination. As the
modus operandi from the very beginning was a passage to Italy, Tom’s focus and
wanderlust beckoned and he was drawn back to the sea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Going down to the bay he
searched for the right opportunity, for a way off the island. Approaching a
captain/boat owner, Tom found his ship: He was given a place onboard and would
leave for Genoa, Italy, on the condition that he fulfill duties as cook and
deckhand on the 60-foot sailing vessel. The next day they disembarked from
Majorca, setting sail for the magical hinterlands of Maserati and Ferrari. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If it were not enough to
expatriate from America, braving land, sea, and cold, to fulfill a dream of an
Italian lifestyle as a car designer, the fantasy journey was only just beginning.
From Long Beach, to New Orleans, to Norway, to Sweden, to Spain –Italy, the Promised
Land, had yet to even be set foot upon. And once there, Tom’s itinerant mode of
shipping and hitchhiking was about to come to an end. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA9YeCuGas3RjLNoqDnmeIyMqP8-PSyktO3EKO539HZZqCISZkvCmMDiyBJJnn-hfdlR-H1nEMqPhFLMKWM7GBHu22nmRgmDuPYkcr5rO_ezo40w10rgOenUX3EFLbs9BaIsNJr533nI/s1600/TomMeade_map_Majorca_Genoa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA9YeCuGas3RjLNoqDnmeIyMqP8-PSyktO3EKO539HZZqCISZkvCmMDiyBJJnn-hfdlR-H1nEMqPhFLMKWM7GBHu22nmRgmDuPYkcr5rO_ezo40w10rgOenUX3EFLbs9BaIsNJr533nI/s400/TomMeade_map_Majorca_Genoa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(above map: Tom Meade’s passage from Majorca to Genoa, Italy; below photo: Genoa)</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xViZD11vzVRVPbp1UKfZPBQruwiUfws2Kf0KxW5Qfeum5xfm0DNbu54JKaGvhkmNJZwZvSg5QJMkS1ARhD6RkxrQ3szWVyBk-bZsFuUxqMGRatU6orIG13NlmhrPnS7gmbcLlRQPzwQ/s1600/Tom+Meade_Genoa-Italy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xViZD11vzVRVPbp1UKfZPBQruwiUfws2Kf0KxW5Qfeum5xfm0DNbu54JKaGvhkmNJZwZvSg5QJMkS1ARhD6RkxrQ3szWVyBk-bZsFuUxqMGRatU6orIG13NlmhrPnS7gmbcLlRQPzwQ/s400/Tom+Meade_Genoa-Italy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After the 670-mile/1000
kilometer journey by boat, Tom’s first priority led him up a hill to an
abandoned villa converted into a youth hostel. Tired and hungry from his
seafaring, he ate and noticed something: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The first evening I was there,
after I ate, I saw a guy riding up on a BSA motorcycle. Curious, I went out and
struck up a conversation with him. And it turned out he was from New Zealand.
We became good chums because I told him my mother was also from there, from
Auckland, off Happy Craenga Road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“After our talk I went to
sleep. The next morning, after my cappuccino on the stairs, I saw the same guy.
But this time he was riding up on a Vespa. I went out to meet him and said to
him: ‘You change motorcycles like shirts. What happened to the BSA? Who did you
sell it to?’ He replied ‘I threw it away.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Where? Why?’ I asked. ‘It
stopped running,’ he said. When he said that I almost had a heart attack. ‘I
would have bought it from you,’ I told him. ‘You don’t have to buy it,’ he replied,
‘I’ll give it to you for free.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“He walked us around to the
back of the hostel and there it was, the BSA propped up against a wall. He
handed me the papers for it and that was it, it was mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Seated on it, I coasted down
the hill to a nearby gas station. I greeted the owner and asked him if I could
use some of his tools for a while. He
agreed and I got to taking it apart. I checked the points, installed a new
spark plug, cleaned it up. It took about 3 hours in the morning to do it. Although
I didn’t really know what I was doing, I managed to put it all back together. I
then went to kick start it. On the first try, the engine came to life and it
fired right up like a brand new bike. I was so excited that I didn’t even eat
lunch. I bungeed my stuff to the BSA and headed for Rome.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(below map: Tom’s
route on his BSA motorcycle from Genoa to Rome, Italy, approximately 250
miles/400 kilometers)<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv0YNkokALtEAg5f-JE9zTGcCfQiVIS0vTzcuWeldGmNSIXhFHZE3WRPZKNjdcugAho-M946cMmT-MLQdi2koKpL8-cXWpGPudO-ZO0dfnGMPjq8MNq1BwGIK-GZ2pKAsY_9oHiCRbjo/s1600/TomMeade_map_Genoa-Rome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDv0YNkokALtEAg5f-JE9zTGcCfQiVIS0vTzcuWeldGmNSIXhFHZE3WRPZKNjdcugAho-M946cMmT-MLQdi2koKpL8-cXWpGPudO-ZO0dfnGMPjq8MNq1BwGIK-GZ2pKAsY_9oHiCRbjo/s400/TomMeade_map_Genoa-Rome.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I got to Rome that evening.
And having it in my head the story of the treasure trove there, a main reason
why I left America in the first place, I went looking for that mythical
warehouse with all the racecars, the one where the Old Man went around every
morning with a feather duster. And I thought to myself, with that vision held
so close, ‘I could buy one of them for a song.’ For all purposes I was living
the dream.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Later that night, exhausted
from the search, I went to a youth hostel in Rome. I couldn’t wait to fall
asleep. But at around 4AM my sleep was abruptly interrupted. I heard someone
banging on the locker doors. Annoyingly, it awakened me. But I eventually went
back to sleep. And on the second night it happened again. This time I got up to
confront whomever he was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“He was an American. And
instead of a confrontation we got into a discussion. He said he was working as
an actor on a film for Dino De Laurentiis, with David Niven and Alberto Sordi.
Sordi was big in Italy at the time and is dead now; he was a comedian. The film
was ‘The Best of Enemies.’ The first half was shot in Israel during the day.
The second half was shot in ‘Cinecitta,’ which
was the Italian hub of cinema and where ‘Ben Hur’ was shot. It is also regarded
as synonymous with Federico Fellini.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“We became very friendly, this
actor and I, as he was, too, from California. He told me: ‘You look like an
English officer, exactly what we’re looking for. Come down with me tomorrow at
11AM and I’ll introduce you to De Laurentiis at the soundstage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“So I did go the next morning
to meet him. Once we were inside, he led us to De Laurentiis who was seated at
a big banquet table. Dino waved to us, a gesture of ‘over here.’ He asked me if
I’d ever done film; I said “I sure have.’ But of course I had to say whatever I
could to get the job. I was starving to death in those days. So I had to say
what he wanted to hear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“It must have worked because
De Laurentiis hired me. All the scenes where I appeared were done at night.
When the film was in the can I got paid
and rode my BSA up to Modena. I now had the means to continue my quest,
to the Ferrari factory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When I arrived in Modena it
was about 7:30 in the evening. And there was a man standing on the corner, at
the crossroads, entering Modena from the south on the Autostrada del Sol (from
Rome). I asked the man where Ferrari was. He said ‘Ferrari is 15 kilometers to
the east. It’s too late to go there now.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Where’s Maserati?,’ I asked.
He said: ‘Maserati is about ½ mile down this road to the right. They’ll be open
now, late. You can probably still get in there now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Disheveled, my hair and
beard was windblown. I had on army fatigues and boots, which I had gotten from
wardrobe on the film.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As if cutting from one scene
to another, a sequence from his own life’s movie, Tom wasted no time in his
pursuits; he possessed a bottomless reserve of energy. If it was not going to
be Ferrari that evening, it was going to be something. He then ventured to Maserati,
with the urgency to enter the hallowed automotive Promised Land as soon as
possible just too great, his crossing through the gates of his life’s path
taking place that night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(map below: Tom’s BSA
journey from Rome to Modena, Italy)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbI5oAlmJ9DEdjC0JfqEvr4eo2T2yo9xqst7LOuM4Ru2ftCsRKWIEwZacWCFVSora-DVdhLqHslBcpOlWUJqgATF21_z9mq3U5HRiCSfddUSq1TrQNzt7EZCZw0TgmiobH4G7y8zSSPNc/s1600/TomMeade_map_Rome-Modena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbI5oAlmJ9DEdjC0JfqEvr4eo2T2yo9xqst7LOuM4Ru2ftCsRKWIEwZacWCFVSora-DVdhLqHslBcpOlWUJqgATF21_z9mq3U5HRiCSfddUSq1TrQNzt7EZCZw0TgmiobH4G7y8zSSPNc/s400/TomMeade_map_Rome-Modena.jpg" width="332" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I pulled up to the gates of
Maserati –the giant factory gates almost prison-like. The guard asked me why I
was there and I just answered ‘I want to see the new Maseratis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Once they realized I was
American, they got the chief engineer of Maserati factory, Aurelio Bertocchi,
on the phone to come down. Being American, they assumed I was a millionaire
even though I looked like one of Castro’s freedom fighters. Suffice it to say,
Bertocchi became one of my friends in Modena. He took me to see the production
line where they were building the 3500 GT. I had no real interest in that car,
honestly, as I was only interested in their racecars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(above photo: Maserati
factory, ca. late 1950s, early 1960s)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2h9FEbWZVDg3z3ywWp6d49lkN76WbmxDj3vpTHwiGnVQhRlj1xihyphenhyphenjA_yURy0ghi0O3pnrcx1kiX4GeomKvO9vdYnVLjA6w847IYRdu2C0-EMub_uSWEM7s0geh1ExcGCZ7ArWaEovc/s1600/maserati-Factory-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2h9FEbWZVDg3z3ywWp6d49lkN76WbmxDj3vpTHwiGnVQhRlj1xihyphenhyphenjA_yURy0ghi0O3pnrcx1kiX4GeomKvO9vdYnVLjA6w847IYRdu2C0-EMub_uSWEM7s0geh1ExcGCZ7ArWaEovc/s400/maserati-Factory-07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When we reached the end of
the production line, in the back of the factory, we finally came upon the
racing department and the factory foundary. I asked Bertocchi if he could show
me these areas more closely. He happily agreed. He then took me outside to a
back alley. To the left was a car under a tarp. I knew it was a racecar as it
was low slung. I asked him what it was and he said it was a Maserati 350S,
#3503. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(below: 1957 Maserati
Tipo 350S, V12, raced in 1957 Mille Miglia)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhlCvnAKMWW-r581SNwp7X3Al3J0m_KlOFJqor1wnlfFDjDMtx0OzXvNsAi3s6Qxee8o9EPH-C79CjYJY8ZTHNAoPd9Qjco0kDJgjy7baYzH-tGdgMtCHHwINm82iKIAeimjKrtPDNj8/s1600/Tipo350S_v12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhlCvnAKMWW-r581SNwp7X3Al3J0m_KlOFJqor1wnlfFDjDMtx0OzXvNsAi3s6Qxee8o9EPH-C79CjYJY8ZTHNAoPd9Qjco0kDJgjy7baYzH-tGdgMtCHHwINm82iKIAeimjKrtPDNj8/s400/Tipo350S_v12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Bertocchi said it was an old
race car they were throwing away. But this was exactly what I was looking for,
so I asked him if I could see it. Initially he said no, but I talked him into
it. After he agreed, I lifted the front of the tarp and saw the most beautiful
nose, the most beautiful mouth, and I was just in shock. They were throwing
this away!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I walked around to the back,
lifted the tarp, and was just as shocked at how beautiful the car was. Most
cars are not so well done from front to rear. It was typical for me to never
like a whole car from front to rear, but this was a mind-blower, was totally
beautiful from back to front. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I totally fell in love with
the car and wanted it immediately. Bertocchi said ‘no, we’re not used to
selling used cars here at Maserati.’ I begged and pleaded, almost to my knees,
to buy the car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“He said, ‘let me get on the
phone, call upstairs to sales, to see if it’s possible if this car can be
sold.’ He left. About fifteen minutes later he returned. I didn’t think it
would ever really happen, I couldn’t be so lucky. When he came back we stood
sizing each other up, and he said ‘okay, we can sell it to you. The price is
$450.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I thought he would say
something like ‘the price is $10,000.’ It was the only 4-cam, front engine V12
Maserati ever made. So when he said $450 I became dumbfounded
and couldn’t talk. I wanted to say ‘yes,’ but couldn’t. He saw me fumbling.
Concerned he said ‘oh, okay, I know that’s too much –it’s $420.’ And I blurted
out ‘yes!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I had it towed on a flatbed
within a half-hour so it wouldn’t give them any time to change their minds
overnight. The car clearly needed refurbishing but that would come later. I
wanted it out of the factory and in my possession. Prior to my towing it,
Bertocchi asked me ‘where will you take the car? I can get you a truck from
some people who have who have a race car shop in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">villaggio</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">artigian</i>o (Artisan’s
Village).’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“They sent a flatbed to the
factory. When the truck arrived, about ten Maserati mechanics came out at about
9:30PM to help lift the car upon the flatbed. One of them was a guy named
Manacardi who later became a friend. Once loaded and secured down, I followed
the flatbed with my Maserati out of the area on my BSA to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">villaggio</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">artigiano</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2TfIdUQGJAFGLvAlR-VA4YklVd7CaoEWRttKcsj5vtSceRQQt_-mKKO2KRQPtZA160z9-ZRJp2LTKPPL-91DYKSLq28W9RdSDjHg8TRgGlZ_yCtgrjb1RQ3ggm-p7pu9KYg_Lborovc/s1600/JoeBrown1949BSA-B32_SNowdon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2TfIdUQGJAFGLvAlR-VA4YklVd7CaoEWRttKcsj5vtSceRQQt_-mKKO2KRQPtZA160z9-ZRJp2LTKPPL-91DYKSLq28W9RdSDjHg8TRgGlZ_yCtgrjb1RQ3ggm-p7pu9KYg_Lborovc/s400/JoeBrown1949BSA-B32_SNowdon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“That night at the shop I slept
on the floor next to the car. Within the recesses of the space, among the smell
of oil and car engines, I felt I was being given access to the Taj Mahal. I couldn’t
even believe it was true. It was like a dream: My first night in Modena, upon
arrival, within hours, I had bought an Italian racecar and spent the night with
it in a racecar shop. This intimacy with cars was to become the theme of my
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“In the mean time, Bertocchi
called a friend of his, a farmer, and asked him if he had a place for a young
American who didn’t have any money but had just bought a Maserati race car. The
farmer said ‘yes, send him on down. He can work on the car down where I milk
the cows.’ He cleared out a space for me, a stall next to two cows, and that’s
where I put the car together. Initially, the closest living friends I had at
the time became some field mice in the barn. I named three of them Sniffles,
Coughy, and Squeaky. But there were about ten of them that slept with me up in
the hayloft.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“During my days at the barn,
the young guys, the mechanics over at Maserati, would come over after hours and
help me to get the 350S back to running condition. I also learned Italian being
around them and we all became friends. Manacardi, the manager, would often
arrive as well. We all became family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Among the many things in
need of repair it had a broken piston, requiring engine work. As the factory
was nearby, I began a system where, during the day, I would go over there and
get parts for the car. I’d ride up to the guardhouse, park the BSA, they’d call
Bertocchi, and I’d be taken to the parts warehouse with him. It was this huge
mountain of randomly piled Maserati parts dating back from the 1930s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“They would just throw parts
in there for years and years and years without rhyme or reason. There would be
a 1930s Maserati Gran Prix car front spindle next to a 350S spindle. I would go
through the pile like a squirrel digging for nuts, asking the mechanics if this
part or that part was for the 350S. This went on for a couple of months. I dug
through it about 20 or 30 times and eventually knew all of the parts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“After a point Bertocchi
stopped accompanying me and he’d just let me raid the pile by myself. He was
very receptive, giving me insanely cheap prices on the rare parts. One
day he said ‘I’ll tell the guard you can come in any time you want. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“He said ‘take what you want
and leave the money on my desk for whatever you think the parts are worth.’ I
realized after that that I had sort of become the factory pet. With this
status, Bernocchi approached me one day saying ‘how would you like to get your
parts without paying for anything?’ ‘Yes,’ I said. He continued to explain: ‘If
you could help the private racing teams find their needed parts I’ll give you
your parts for free.’ By this time I knew virtually where every part was and
knew what they were. So he gave me a job and paid me in parts, 7 days a week. I
had a free run of the factory and was known on a first-name basis. I became
friends with everybody.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When the car was finished
mechanically, Bertocchi sent me to Medardo Fantuzzi to do the body work.
Fantuzzi bodied the 150, 200, 250, 300, 350S, and 450S Maseratis. He was one of
Bertocchi’s best friends. I spoke with Fantuzzi and offered to help me modify
the body. I wanted to create a fastback road-going berlinetta. In so doing I
would be the first one, in 1961, to create the first true ‘supercar,’ which is
defined as an original racecar modified for the street. Today the term
‘supercar’ is so often used that it has lost its original meaning. Unless it
was originally made to race, it is not a supercar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“But about the 350S, I had to
put a glass windshield on it because it was originally an open car with a 5” high
plexi racing windshield. So I improvised and got a rear window, of non-safety
glass, from a Maserati 3500 GT. It was a bit too large so I trimmed about 7”
off the top but it had a beautiful swept back shape which was what I was after.
And it was free. Bertocchi gave it to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Now that I was in contact
with Fantuzzi, we discussed my vision for the 350S: I wanted a new hood bubble
installed, side vents, and a fastback removable hardtop. The fastback of my own
design would resemble the then-non-existent Ferrari GTO, somewhat looking like
the Ferrari 250 SWB. I envisioned a rounded, very shapely design, just the very
thing Fantuzzi was in love with. He said ‘yes, absolutely, I can do everything
–it’s going to be exquisite.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXa4z02pfD5W7bdAR5E_sBG4fdtO46U9rpBXRCZr2ZXRpGEZpB95sjEEoWo6MYrMTrV90FO3KTyx-G-m0JZjvNOa7P1O34noLsS2tfWSZzW0CiQgVNilhAnvr8CZ-VGDoJThWHJseSjM4/s1600/MedardoFantuzzi-in+workshop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXa4z02pfD5W7bdAR5E_sBG4fdtO46U9rpBXRCZr2ZXRpGEZpB95sjEEoWo6MYrMTrV90FO3KTyx-G-m0JZjvNOa7P1O34noLsS2tfWSZzW0CiQgVNilhAnvr8CZ-VGDoJThWHJseSjM4/s400/MedardoFantuzzi-in+workshop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(above: Medardo
Fantuzzi in his workshop, ca. 1970, with 1956 Maserati 250S in background that
Tom modified for street use, with a swept back windshield added)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Fantuzzi, too, in the same
breath, reminded me of the costs involved. He asked, endearingly, ‘how are you
going to pay for this?’ I just laughed and told him I hadn’t thought about
that. At that point it seemed that every time I thought about something I
wanted it would just happen and come true. He then began eyeing my BSA. And
being a mad collector of British bikes, he said ‘if you give me your motorcycle
I’ll do the bodywork on your car. And while we are doing it, why don’t you just
stay over and sleep here. You can sleep in the shop and watch me work on your
car every day. I’ve got an army cot. You can sleep in front of my oil burner.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The oil burner sounded like
100 elephants when it was on, but I didn’t care. I was floating in 7<sup>th</sup>
heaven. The tradeoff was too valuable. And with the 350S in my possession, a
car driven by Sterling Moss and Gene Behra, I had the most beautiful car
Maserati ever made. And it would have a new life. I agreed to Fantuzzi’s terms
and settled into his shop. That’s how I came to learn how to design and build
aluminum bodies, from the master Fantuzzi. After a couple of months we decided
I would sleep on top of his office, on a mezzanine floor room, on my cot, on
the right hand side as you walked in the front door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“What a sweetheart he was. He
was the sweetest man I ever met. He was my mentor and I was his protégé, the
BSA motorcycle being the ‘open sesame’ to it all –without it I would have never
accomplished what I set out to do. He showed me everything I know today about
how to create beautiful car bodies. Years later, when he was in his 80s, he was
killed as he fell out of a tree, picking pears –a tragic loss of an wonderful
man. He was one of the most famous designers for racing sports cars in Italy.
The most beautiful Maseratis were of his conception. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“At the Maserati factory
there was a second 350S out back and I bought it for $80. It was a prototype
for the 450S V8 which is worth between 7 and 8 million dollars today. I
realized that these cars were just left around the place like that, as the
junkman wouldn’t take them. There were too many different kinds of metals in
them. And it was too expensive a process to dismantle them. So I bought the
cars for the value of the junk metal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdCxd0h-af_E3xWKmyF65WEpHxNZPKDTF0kUC6AyyXgQ_lGxRAGDY1PUbqD_X8w8YOn1GIOUiLwh87lZrqCNAICJ28NBNS7tNKAJJzwTLEdqUMeJh__cOgvJmF03RzvksK6PvJnE9-XE/s1600/Maserati450S_1956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdCxd0h-af_E3xWKmyF65WEpHxNZPKDTF0kUC6AyyXgQ_lGxRAGDY1PUbqD_X8w8YOn1GIOUiLwh87lZrqCNAICJ28NBNS7tNKAJJzwTLEdqUMeJh__cOgvJmF03RzvksK6PvJnE9-XE/s400/Maserati450S_1956.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(above: Maserati 450S,
1956)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I was the only one so mad,
mad, mad for Masers as this time. Out in the back of the factory, in a swampy
field, there were about 30 cars left out to rot, an automotive graveyard,
with grass growing through the cars’ bodies. Among some of them were the 1958
‘Eldorado’ Tipo 420M, a V8 Maserati Indy car. I was a blessing in disguise for
them, saving many of these cars from a grim fate. I bought a mid-engine
Maserati ‘bird cage,’ too, for about $30. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">‘Birdcage’
was an apt name for the car as it had the most complicated of all spaceframes.
The combination of that chassis, with a four-cylinder twin-cam, became one of
Maserati's most famous models. But at the
time they were disposable; the factory wanted them gone and I wanted them to
restore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_ZLXzhWdXpB_IPIRtN9WApE5s7GAJBqojg-hzHCzXy3a9X90PulYmO9jdGjpmPkoI5Zjb35eLWUbySe6mk7JsRcTE1P6MRKW4jMOylIGE0hV2PZkxdjiGveW0Y595NrkQdA1-NQizMQ/s1600/Maserati_eldorado_1958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_ZLXzhWdXpB_IPIRtN9WApE5s7GAJBqojg-hzHCzXy3a9X90PulYmO9jdGjpmPkoI5Zjb35eLWUbySe6mk7JsRcTE1P6MRKW4jMOylIGE0hV2PZkxdjiGveW0Y595NrkQdA1-NQizMQ/s400/Maserati_eldorado_1958.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(above: 1958
“Eldorado” Tipo 420M, a V8 Maserati Indy car)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKu9aOO_ZjqZdnM1uLNJBXbRcVaBycUnkiFc5UHhBn-PDptN0f4W_DYd5Ap8EV8646OXHgFJQTSLpHCUGO4E99EIcnY3PktyWjNN_3wWilzEfnEJ-RagRxHkHeAsfpcNkrWZiuEDduVuA/s1600/Maserati_Tipo60BIrdcage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKu9aOO_ZjqZdnM1uLNJBXbRcVaBycUnkiFc5UHhBn-PDptN0f4W_DYd5Ap8EV8646OXHgFJQTSLpHCUGO4E99EIcnY3PktyWjNN_3wWilzEfnEJ-RagRxHkHeAsfpcNkrWZiuEDduVuA/s320/Maserati_Tipo60BIrdcage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(above: Maserati Tipo
60 “Birdcage”)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Eventually I rented a
bedroom apartment in Modena for $8 per month. But that was overpriced even for
that time. However it was right on the Aeroautodromo and I had cars stacked up
in garages there. At that excellent locale I was able to see all the Ferraris,
the prototypes, being tested. I became friends with the drivers such as Chris
Amon and Michael Parkes. The circuit was eventually demolished in 1975 and the site redeveloped
as a public park to honor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzo_Ferrari"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Enzo Ferrari</span></a>.”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-33697586273903953442012-06-30T01:22:00.002-07:002012-06-30T14:56:47.050-07:00Ferrari 250 P5, 0862, 33/3 and Other Numbers<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtVoXhGS8hmiMqsPzteoyIv9ukUVn-8pN-lu5btCJo15tMPo2boA507HG40FvntqyysaZqvpMNpnf6QaoA0x0vCMd16XgH8eJmdMDC8EjgTJzPk8Wu13X0imI0YpCPiO3bpMmrUHAyf0/s1600/Ferrari-250-P5_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUtVoXhGS8hmiMqsPzteoyIv9ukUVn-8pN-lu5btCJo15tMPo2boA507HG40FvntqyysaZqvpMNpnf6QaoA0x0vCMd16XgH8eJmdMDC8EjgTJzPk8Wu13X0imI0YpCPiO3bpMmrUHAyf0/s400/Ferrari-250-P5_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">By
the mid 1960s, Ferrari’s racing program encountered some turbulence. Following
the infamous “palace revolt” of 1961 (where several key personnel permanently
walked out of the factory, undoubtedly throwing Enzo’s mojo way off), things soon recovered
by Ferrari's overachieving to win Le Mans from 1960 to 1965. </span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia;">Ferrari’s
NART 250LM won in 1965 (driven by </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory) but a red car was never to win at Le Mans again: The 330 P3s for Le Mans 1966 did not
equate to winning positions, certainly influenced by the departure of then-top
driver John Surtees in a team management dispute just prior to the race. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The
subsequent 1-2-3 formation victory finish by Ford’s GT40s at the 1966 Le Mans
cast a long shadow over Maranello, with the crowning achievement of Enzo’s defeat
embodied in the Ford victory, unsettling him to deeply personal levels. Not
merely symbolic, the GT40 was a vendetta realized --clearly signifying who had
really “won” in the soured deal between Enzo and Ford (the latter of which was
to buy Ferrari’s factory production). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Immediately
following the 1966 losses, Enzo set out to win for 1967 in the Formula 1
Championship (Ferrari 312) and Sports Prototype Cup (330 P3s with tipo 603
gearboxes, jettisoning the unreliable ZF units of the prior year). Ferrari’s P3s
and P4s won the World Championship for 1967, with the 312s not winning the ’67 F1
championship due to fatalities and injuries. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh063CvtKPF3SrMH7QlyYLFKN3EtXtpJiEegrR9q2tjUhyTGcUT1d9NFJkLQRFRC8Qj_Lh1NYef_q2h4t9fO6ndhJzIft70hz4RhQg0BYBcUkDB3lEB0iV_ssJJvb9KWkV3Hl9i-Dl0Rxs/s1600/Ferrari250p5_high-angle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh063CvtKPF3SrMH7QlyYLFKN3EtXtpJiEegrR9q2tjUhyTGcUT1d9NFJkLQRFRC8Qj_Lh1NYef_q2h4t9fO6ndhJzIft70hz4RhQg0BYBcUkDB3lEB0iV_ssJJvb9KWkV3Hl9i-Dl0Rxs/s400/Ferrari250p5_high-angle.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Although
ultimately choosing not to participate in the Prototype Cup for 1968 due to
regulation changes, the P4s were modified to race later in the ’67 season in
the </span><span style="color: #1f3037; font-family: Georgia;">North American Can-Am series and then in 1968 to race in
Australia; 1969 in South Africa. However, this gap year in Ferrari’s prototype
program created an opportunity to work on other things, including a 6.0 litre
Can-Am barchetta and a show car for publicity purposes. The show car is the
item of interest here: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxf6daW2RUTZy7tGmB_RemOM5sn_odMtiyEjsi4letRDblD1L8RNrvaSBCBbK9FP8EvT3M7vQLavEecagJqjURVZSldUc3Yn-kBXr-9lft3xlJyxGLPfgvHECM1D-xj-_X-tTsBjzNIk/s1600/Ferrari250p5_REARview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxf6daW2RUTZy7tGmB_RemOM5sn_odMtiyEjsi4letRDblD1L8RNrvaSBCBbK9FP8EvT3M7vQLavEecagJqjURVZSldUc3Yn-kBXr-9lft3xlJyxGLPfgvHECM1D-xj-_X-tTsBjzNIk/s400/Ferrari250p5_REARview.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1f3037; font-family: Georgia;">Enter the 250 P5 Berlinetta Pininfarina Speciale, debuting at the Geneva Motor Show for March
13, 1968. Under the direction of Leonardo Fioravanti, Pininfarina created an eight-headlamp
berlinetta body initially mated to chassis 0862 (whose original function was to
house a newly developed, but not yet running, 180º 2.0 litre V12 engine,
intended initially for </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">use in an aircraft, but ultimately used in Ferrari “Tipo 600,” a Sports-Prototype
barchetta that became the 212E). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3XFDUdS0hsvye7x3vOR-Of13DqubsTX3bNtna5Lx-9OUoKMCquZCAlp0GZvB3x71i7YulfKsnTzpLkygCeReMmIh678zzgkppAf-NVS55TWQp6Zw0q_IqwCbuzXgJWs_0jpRpKJJP5E/s1600/Ferrari250p5_side_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3XFDUdS0hsvye7x3vOR-Of13DqubsTX3bNtna5Lx-9OUoKMCquZCAlp0GZvB3x71i7YulfKsnTzpLkygCeReMmIh678zzgkppAf-NVS55TWQp6Zw0q_IqwCbuzXgJWs_0jpRpKJJP5E/s400/Ferrari250p5_side_a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">During
the course of the year on the show circuit, things changed and Ferrari needed
to develop a usable race car. P5’s chassis 0862 was commandeered and rebodied
and raced as the Ferrari 212E Dino in the 1969 European Hillclimb Championship (driven
to unbeaten victory by Peter Schetty). Seeking somewhere else to go, P5’s body
was then placed upon an Alfa Romeo 33/3 chassis whereupon it received a
facelift and Alfa badging. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lzRzKDa34iOAn8NdL_jwxmux5SLNxsWClDjqZ9mlKUNhUQslqkEhWkOZ8-LRP9a_US1ybYNoD8zFi54qj4KQb-tnFmvGKrAnSIfgqYHY52VfDqzCL47FbVSFRCXdHP8UiH3758ys1OU/s1600/Alfa+Romeo+33-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lzRzKDa34iOAn8NdL_jwxmux5SLNxsWClDjqZ9mlKUNhUQslqkEhWkOZ8-LRP9a_US1ybYNoD8zFi54qj4KQb-tnFmvGKrAnSIfgqYHY52VfDqzCL47FbVSFRCXdHP8UiH3758ys1OU/s400/Alfa+Romeo+33-3.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The
more conservative styling of the Alfa version likewise made the P5 less of a
show concept and more of a usable road-going car. Yet the physical P5 was gone
forever, restyled, rebadged, lost in the mists of time. However its legacy can be found to be prominently alive
today: As it was borne in a “gap year,” so was the P5 an element that bridged a
gap between distinct Ferrari identities, a coming of age within the Enzo era
cars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Kh-mJHUXn7K56rHVtd9pFiJwm0BEvNUmr_t9-LUwEKK2hu5HjR9s-zUVZKjGAw6PzHsR4oF_EYeRCC9gNOx8_Mb6O11CJU-RVFp1diWLlu-9I5tdejz1tSUjiNJUJsE7MaU3hcNjk3o/s1600/Ferrari-Prototipo+P5-250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Kh-mJHUXn7K56rHVtd9pFiJwm0BEvNUmr_t9-LUwEKK2hu5HjR9s-zUVZKjGAw6PzHsR4oF_EYeRCC9gNOx8_Mb6O11CJU-RVFp1diWLlu-9I5tdejz1tSUjiNJUJsE7MaU3hcNjk3o/s400/Ferrari-Prototipo+P5-250.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">To illustrate, many of the P5’s styling cues
resurfaced years later on iconic Ferrari models, such as demonstrated in the
side-straking/air-directing motif --the main identifier of the 1980s/90s Testarossa,
512 TR, 512 M. This also appears on the Mondial and 348. Aerodynamic cues and
body surfacing found on the P5 can be seen to echo in the F50, featuring nose
vents at the base of the windshield. The general aerodynamic shape, a glass
window over the engine, wheel arches, and airflow management over, through, and
away from the body foretold the future as Ferraris modernized, becoming more
and more wind tunnel reliant.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeePTtoMqg8U8x3Efv2hsMIZWfy4qalPcyl7aSXkz0Q9aSwgSmStPXVI7RfRtfb1t5uV6nGlpVvKKm8AfujGiXnL3VlNvPs51YXs_j5iRwkfVGCtKa7IHHSBWitrqTdwSUH9d88y720o/s1600/Pininfarina+Alfa+Romeo+33+Coupe+Prototipo+Speciale+g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeePTtoMqg8U8x3Efv2hsMIZWfy4qalPcyl7aSXkz0Q9aSwgSmStPXVI7RfRtfb1t5uV6nGlpVvKKm8AfujGiXnL3VlNvPs51YXs_j5iRwkfVGCtKa7IHHSBWitrqTdwSUH9d88y720o/s400/Pininfarina+Alfa+Romeo+33+Coupe+Prototipo+Speciale+g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</span>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-40705932529340253582012-06-18T11:15:00.000-07:002012-06-18T14:38:58.927-07:00250 GTO-esque Rebody by Drogo on GTE Chassis<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXmAcRhQsiz7mkum9O42XjWxxQ1BJdqjq3R-vTb4JZCwmo9YE5EvL7w7_8gcL4F9tNw7IpybmquR1VvLqaH79LQi-kdBgKA3EgXyrUJTmTmC-WBQ6WLy-I43A_gXMJsYS9tFdODOy8vY/s1600/Ferrari250GTO-250GTE%232493GT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXmAcRhQsiz7mkum9O42XjWxxQ1BJdqjq3R-vTb4JZCwmo9YE5EvL7w7_8gcL4F9tNw7IpybmquR1VvLqaH79LQi-kdBgKA3EgXyrUJTmTmC-WBQ6WLy-I43A_gXMJsYS9tFdODOy8vY/s400/Ferrari250GTO-250GTE%232493GT.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (above photo: Ferrari </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">250 GTE #2493GT, body by Drogo, in-period)</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The challenge: What gives this Ferrari away as not being a re-bodied GTO?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />This discussion began because someone (erroneously) thought this car was an in-period re-body of a wrecked GTO. The question is the following: What can be seen in this photograph that evidences the fact that the car could not have been a re-bodied GTO even if you knew nothing of its history?</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some information about the car: This is neither a replica nor an "almost GTO" iteration by the factory. It is a re-body by Drogo. Therefore, using the above photo only (body<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"> by Drogo </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">as applied to 250 GTE #2493GT) --what visual clue proves it could not have been a replacement body on a GTO chassis? </span></span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">While formulating your guess, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">remember that the body is a complete re-do and does not define the car's chassis and serial number in any way, yet the answer is in plain sight. Can you determine why this is not a GTO from its outer appearance? I will tell you that you CAN determine why this car is not a 250 GTO. </span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Note:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"> Those who already know and have been told by Stephen Mitchell, on another forum, please do not give it away. Let others have their chance to decipher the mystery. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Tahoma;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">Enjoy ;)</span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-4949121474484408892012-06-08T18:47:00.000-07:002012-06-08T18:47:48.654-07:00The Gateway<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIClC0hjUFj5Y26koRjC0n87e7pEPZOnmqUcNJYifMIaW7KduoCMUY5UYPHa_JfdkBoM83ar51GvZRwukomNSE_Vtb4HAyXKwZepxMpOEqlC8KgcYe2meOgcbyiN3V-aGJllru2psTEE/s1600/Ferrari250GTO_Shift+gate_Chad+Glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIClC0hjUFj5Y26koRjC0n87e7pEPZOnmqUcNJYifMIaW7KduoCMUY5UYPHa_JfdkBoM83ar51GvZRwukomNSE_Vtb4HAyXKwZepxMpOEqlC8KgcYe2meOgcbyiN3V-aGJllru2psTEE/s400/Ferrari250GTO_Shift+gate_Chad+Glass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia;">Vintage Ferraris. They
comprise the realm of the heritage of one of the most acclaimed carmakers in
all history. There is something unequivocal about the aura of a handmade car,
and that it is Ferrari only enhances this condition. The smell of the
mechanical components can be experienced both within and without the car, the
oil and gas and rubber blending into a single complex intoxication. Yet there
is a staggering simplicity in the moments of pure enjoyment standing before the
car. And more still from behind the wheel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Enter the Ferrari 250 GTO:
Inside, the simplicity abounds. The stark interior awaits the pilot, all
business but embellished sparingly with moments of luxury: The Nardi wheel, the
gauge cluster, are fixtures shining and lush. Blue seats, spartan inner doors
and floor pans greet the visitor. And it is clear: Work is done in here but it
is an elite type of work, a driving ambition elevated to an artform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The period atmosphere permeates
the cabin despite myriad refurbishments and restorations. The car is from
another epoch, yet its storied past emerges quite alive among the antique parts
and structural elements. It is old enough to be a generation removed from
younger enthusiasts, but modern enough in its timeless form and level of
performance. Perhaps the most important and salient icon adorning the interior
of the GTO is the object mounted atop the transmission tunnel –the gated
shifter assembly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Even within the handmade
era, no other shift gate design is shared with the GTO. It is as unique to the
car as each GTO is to each other. The chrome face of the gate beckons reverence
as well as proper use. All six positions on the mechanism extend from the
transmission beneath it, standing in a repose that pierces the silence with echoes
of the V12 being taken through its paces, in races long run and celebrated. Thousands
of shifts, thousands of gears, thousands of vignettes lost to time are released
and flow through the gate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">And then ensconced in the
driver’s position, firmly planted in the seat, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">with a turn and push of the key –the start
of the engine heralds the next movement in the symphony. Hearing the "snick"
with the lever going into first, a movement in the hips and leg gently brings the
revs up from the 1000rpm idle. Hands on wood and polished aluminum, feet on
pedals feeling the chassis –with this the car moves, and another chapter in
history points the way to the road. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-29333781005965731982012-05-31T13:55:00.000-07:002012-05-31T17:25:07.852-07:00Ignorance is Bliss -Judging a Book by its Cover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvo-X0v5nU8dwqYUAwt0fAIYH9tn8xYlvZHCk-ktV1qJrc47CwNCFEb5TNJ3H7AQEJBwnjz5WRlC303e_yqReqxjqKZCuiwKLROaaWuAXf8HaKSXMNmMgmfKbb7aMyay7yG3nsVwcXio/s1600/Ignorance+is+Bliss_ChadGlass_StephenMitchell_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIvo-X0v5nU8dwqYUAwt0fAIYH9tn8xYlvZHCk-ktV1qJrc47CwNCFEb5TNJ3H7AQEJBwnjz5WRlC303e_yqReqxjqKZCuiwKLROaaWuAXf8HaKSXMNmMgmfKbb7aMyay7yG3nsVwcXio/s640/Ignorance+is+Bliss_ChadGlass_StephenMitchell_front.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
<br />
....En route back to the valley from Westwood and my phone rings: It is Stephen and he begins suddenly talking about a book he has written. He's excited and I attempt to process what he is saying. I realize that this must be the book he read an excerpt from a few months ago at an open mic event in Santa Monica. He mentions Jack Nicholson and the general story outline. As I am driving, and not supposed to be talking on the phone, I begin thinking this must be some film he has seen -and I somehow missed the part where he transitions from talking about his book to some film he saw. So I ask: "Is this some movie you saw?"<br />
<br />
"No, it's the book, the book."<br />
<br />
"Oh... you mean you envision Jack Nicholson in your story?"<br />
<br />
"Yes... he would play the Senator..." as he continues to describe the book, which sounds more like a movie to me.<br />
<br />
He describes the story and I get that it involves an alcoholic US Senator engaged in various modes of skullduggery and sex. And that he needs a book cover "ASAP" because he wants to release it "tomorrow." The rapidity and immediacy of the assignment must have forced the idea into me. The attached image of the cover is nearly exactly what came into my mind as I drove through the Sepulveda Pass.<br />
<br />
As there wasn't time to hand-illustrate it, I opted to create a photo-illustration. Being more the creative director, assembling the design from disparate elements found online, I heavily altered each component beyond their original appearances and purposes. The design process in this case was like building a go-kart in the garage in a few hours and test running it that evening, to race it the next day. As the bits and pieces synthesized into the front cover, we dialed in the final elements of the composition over the course of the evening, discussing tweaks to it.<br />
<br />
I did the cover that afternoon and night and he sent it on to Amazon.com the next day. Behold "Ignorance is Bliss" by Stephen Mitchell -a cinematic novel.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Stephen's blog link for <i>Ignorance is Bliss</i>:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2012/05/ignorance-is-bliss-part-1.html">http://emcpb.blogspot.com/2012/05/ignorance-is-bliss-part-1.html</a></span>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-47373074233714787122012-05-06T23:24:00.000-07:002012-05-07T22:05:36.253-07:00Greystone Mansion Councours d'Elegance -May 6, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uNm6pKMEV1S-4xrtjqZsLLfSKw2mc_k0EOs7HQq6b3iI03j5SKR6vaV_WDyTe_nGACmx_8590XhoRaKthr85ksDasVal3lOu2GtW8ETA_hBtUXbJTyM70z43-xeZLul_T3IEJKuMvio/s1600/Greystone-Mansion-Concoursd'Elegance_media-pass-ChadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uNm6pKMEV1S-4xrtjqZsLLfSKw2mc_k0EOs7HQq6b3iI03j5SKR6vaV_WDyTe_nGACmx_8590XhoRaKthr85ksDasVal3lOu2GtW8ETA_hBtUXbJTyM70z43-xeZLul_T3IEJKuMvio/s400/Greystone-Mansion-Concoursd'Elegance_media-pass-ChadGlass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Armed with a press pass today, I joined Stephen Mitchell and Jeanette Dumouchel for a day of sightseeing, of multimillion-dollar cars at the famed Greystone Mansion Concours d'Elegance. For those unfamiliar with the concours and mansion, Susan Rosen, President, Friends of Greystone, sums it up well in the introductory letter in the concours programme:<br />
<br />
"...Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Greystone's value to architectural and California history is unique as it is impressive. Considered to be one of California's most luxurious residences south of Hearst Castle, Greystone Masnion is one of the few great homes from the Gilded Age of American architecture that has survived relatively intact. The pastoral parklands are open to the public most of the year, sparking the imagination, curiosity and intrigue of the visitor spending time at this glorious estate..."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapRd1JFItrI6TwfR8plGFFKbpsIqF-G5WmdB7gWGZtAuubNRVO_6_ZMrf9q10DlIAtCtglk96_ZF0b-cMvMNCdjS2GdrormZ9oZjmFzLFrRbErnQSqbwwjyE5kVkpM2H7XvyimOREYIA/s1600/Greystone_Concours_2012_ChadGlass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapRd1JFItrI6TwfR8plGFFKbpsIqF-G5WmdB7gWGZtAuubNRVO_6_ZMrf9q10DlIAtCtglk96_ZF0b-cMvMNCdjS2GdrormZ9oZjmFzLFrRbErnQSqbwwjyE5kVkpM2H7XvyimOREYIA/s400/Greystone_Concours_2012_ChadGlass.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
No riff-raff was to be found today among the overwhelming turnout of classic cars at Greystone's concours. Offering perpetual opportunity for miles of close scrutiny and appreciation, the event did not disappoint. Contrarily, it overachieved to stratospheric levels, eclipsing, in volume and spectacle, any 'cars & coffee' or cruise type of event.<br />
<br />
Copious socializing with the owners and event goers, amid the stunning array of variety and craftsmanship invested in the cars, enlivened the gala's proceedings. The level of restoration and/or preservation of most of the cars was astounding, if not mind-bending. Here, even the lowest level of restoration/presentation offered the upper-limit of experience of cars-as-art. This was no mere car show inasmuch as it was a temporary museum available for the privileged few able to attend. For future note, if you are in any way into cars, the concours is a must-attend affair, a required pilgrimage.<br />
<br />
For any future goers to a concours, you will burn out before you are able to see everything with full attention --but in this case will be a rewarding thing. Like going to the Louvre, for the coucours-goer, there will be too much to thoroughly see in one afternoon. And virtually every car will be shockingly maintained and gorgeous. Today's event helped me to revisit and wonder if designers and car-builders of yore were actually more enlightened and creatively alive, as I stood in awe of the sheer amount of incredible car design. <br />
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Although only a slice of the total immersion, early 20th century Rolls Royces appeared as showroom new in a surreal juxtaposition among period architecture of the Greystone Mansion's inner sanctum courtyard. In some moments it appeared as if time had instantly reversed 80 years to a vintage Los Angeles that nearly nobody alive today has ever seen. Many attendees dressed the part, donning period-esque garb and bodily adornments. The admixture of beautiful machinery with beautiful people made for a beautiful day.<br />
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One of the most interesting pieces was that of a 1948 Ferrari 166 Spyder, the oldest Ferrari I have seen up close and in the metal. It was not fully restored, appearing in a patina that could have been from its original state <i>(see below).</i><br />
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And there was a red Ferrari 275 GTB having been kept and restored to an incredible and almost unbelievable level <i>(see below).</i><br />
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Although news abounds daily about the Great Recession, is it over/ is it really still here --whatever guise that is to assume, it appeared nowhere today, nor did it seem to matter one iota. No expenses seemed to be spared in any way, shape, of form, in creating the individual masterpieces of the concours. One could scrutinize and appreciate a single car for several minutes, disallowing for more numerous future viewings of other cars only a few feet away. I found that every extra five minutes spent viewing one car would disallow for the viewing of 3 more for what time was left in the event.<br />
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As such, sunscreen and a parasol were highly valuable tools as the sun today was brutally shining unabated by clouds. The heat roiling off the pavements and stonework of the grounds became a nicely tolerable warmth --that over time became more like an oven. Every extra few minutes meant, too, a fatigue factor became unequivocal after every few viewings. One can always see more, but would one be able to, after too much sun?<br />
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Regardless, the Greystone Mansion Councours d'Elegance, for May 6, 2012, including the catering, was excellent.<br />
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<br />Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-60144550099229222922012-05-01T18:41:00.000-07:002012-05-01T18:53:33.498-07:00Tom Meade Update: May 2012 -Part 7<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inner Sanctum</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The way I make things is
such that I create the idea and then develop engineering drawings created on a
CAD/CAM system for rapid prototyping. This obviously saves time and money and
minimizes the amount of physical copies that are made with errors. Mistakes are
excruciatingly expensive, often being 4 or 5 figure dollar mistakes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Some people will ask me ‘why
don’t you make more cars per year,’ and they don’t seem to understand how
‘mission impossible’ it is to even build a car in the first place, without a
factory. In this kind of project you’re not accessing pre-created parts.
One-offs are prototypes. That is what a prototype is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“To try to keep costs down I
do as much as I can myself, by hand. A body designer, a chassis engineer, all
require different materials for every part of the car. But doing as much as
possible myself also maintains a level of purity. Mass-produced cars are
bastardized and lack harmony. But a beautiful design must have symphonic
purity. All parts and areas must merge with one another. My cars must exude the
sensibility of a super-tuned Stradivarius violin. Look at the old Ferraris, the
old Bugattis –they were masterpieces of art and engineering. There were no
modern factories in those days; there were just workshops, a lost practice
today. As the saying goes ‘too many cooks spoil the broth.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-16665135796310324332012-04-28T15:57:00.001-07:002012-05-01T02:05:31.080-07:00Art of the Engine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Exterior body contouring and brightwork, surfacing and intake openings, wheels and tires --are only parts of the full ensemble. Everything must work properly, mechanically, experientially, artistically. Enzo Ferrari understood this principle thoroughly, in stark counterpoint to how a car is typically considered: "I don't sell cars; I sell engines. The cars I throw in for free since something has to hold the engines in."<br />
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While forging a brand in the late 1940s, in developing the iconic <i>Colombo Tipo 125 V12,</i> Enzo brought into his own sphere of mythology and renown the influence of his predecessors: Packard, Auto Union, and Alfa Romeo --all with V12s at a time before <i>Scuderia Ferrari</i> constructed its own signature motor cars. Although not new in concept before being borne into the red cars, it was to become the most widely regarded engine identity when referring to a certain automaker: Hence, Ferrari = V12.<br />
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Continuing as iterations in the fabulously successful <i>250 series</i> cars, lasting through Ferrari's 1960s heyday, up to the <i>412 series</i> of the 1980s, the Colombo V12 depicted here (above) is being inspected for service under the hood a 250 GTO --a 2953cc Tipo 168. Like a string of pearls, the row of six 2bbl Weber carburetors dresses the 300 horsepower heart of the car --the functional jewelry and motive power behind the Art of the Engine.<br />
<br />Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-42281531882284614492012-04-23T19:55:00.000-07:002012-04-23T19:55:25.681-07:00Illustration Art for the Movies, Part 4<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">TAG Heuer sponsors the film "Carrera Panamericana," including illustration artwork of Chad Glass (seen above):</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A tribute to professional motor racing with the inaugural launch of the legendary Carrera, the documentary <i>Carrera Panamericana (1950-54)</i> features the historic road races which ran in Mexico from 1950 to 1944. Probably one of the most dangerous road races ever run. DVDS (multi-region) and posters (18x24 inches) are available at: <a href="http://www.interfund.biz/carrerapan/">http://www.interfund.biz/carrerapan</a></span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-88592522259735154162012-04-21T14:56:00.001-07:002012-04-21T17:13:07.701-07:00Yellow Journalism: Clear and Present Bias, Ferrari 550<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the basement archives: <b>Rewind 2007</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1st Ferrari driving experience,
from 7/31/07:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I found it on ebay –exactly the one
I wanted: a yellow on black 550M. I was just talking yesterday about how hard
it would be to locate a yellow one and -bam- there was one on ebay the next day
–and it was in Orange County– sort of local. It took a while to drive from
North Hollywood to Costa Mesa but it was well worth the trip. As I turned into the
office park of metal flat-roofed warehouses, there it was –facing out at me in
<i>yellow</i>. I instantly wanted the car and hadn’t driven it yet.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The car looked WAY better in person
than in any pictures. The car was big, and the coupe’ configuration was much
more to my tastes than spiders. So it blew me away as to how much improved it
looked over the 550 Barchetta at the Petersen I had just seen over this past
weekend. I knew without doubt that this was the car. If not today, then at some
point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The owner/sales guy let me sit in it
and look it over. I asked for service records and he produced them. It had the
belt service done just last February; had only 13k miles (As of this writing, it’s on ebay right
now so you can see it --presently, it’s the only yellow 550M in Costa Mesa available. There
is another one in California on ebay, yellow, but it’s nowhere near here).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I immediately loved the feel of the
interior. It was very comfortable but appropriate for spirited driving. The
heater/air/vent control area looked, however, like any other car -very typical and
non-exotic. Yet everything else was very spot-on. Everything was leather, even
the headliner. And it smelled intoxicatingly aromatic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Everything was class-A “sports car,”
from the gated shifter and its gleaming polished metal, to the stitching
around all of the leather. The gauges looked like a sexy chronograph watch that
only expensive tastes call for. And I hadn’t driven it yet!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I popped the hood (bonnet) and saw
the sexual V12 sitting in there. I checked as best I could for errant leaks or
anomalies. It seemed fine to me but I’d have a specialist go over it were I to
commit. I got under the car a little but found the entire undercarriage to be
covered by aero-panels. So an underchassis inspection was useless. I noted that
the paint job had more overspray than I thought a Ferrari would have. I checked
to see if the car had been repainted but found no such evidence. I asked the
guy and he said no, it’s original.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The car was not a garage queen. It
had rock chips and scuffs but looked well kept, but used. I was happy to see
the prior owner had actually used this car. It was not cherried or babied
looking. It had been driven. That was a plus for me. I didn’t want some mint
garage whore. The owner/seller got in the passenger’s seat and handed me the
key. Wow. I had the key to a Ferrari.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I turned the key.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nothing happened. I asked if I had
to say a magic spell and he said yes. He pushed a button on the key fob and I
turned it again. It fired right up. It was more understated a fire-up than I
thought it would be. But I did notice that the music note was not what I was
quite used to. It was foreign. It was of a V12 and I had never experienced that
in such close quarters, from within the cockpit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Initially I felt the clutch before
starting the car and it was heavy. So I thought sh!t, this is going to be like
a truck. But it wasn’t. After I got it underway and to the end of the driveway,
the clutch didn’t feel heavy anymore. It particularly became buttery smooth out
on the road. He directed me out of the immediate area and we made for the PCH.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The PCH is the Pacific Coast
Highway. It runs along the ocean. Once I knew we were going there I was like -- "Holy cow. This is a dream. I get to drive a Ferrari on the PCH as my first
time. Wow!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He said that he’d direct me to a
spot where I could stretch its legs a little. In traffic and surface streets
the 550M was perfect. It was easy to drive. I noted the handling as well. It
was <i>tyte!</i> I commented on how comfortable it was and how you could just drive it
coast to coast and it’d be wonderful. The car handled like a fine-tuned razor
but was not stiff or exhausting. It was the best blend of 2 worlds: handling
and comfort, a GT car <i>extraordinaire.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I already wanted to buy the car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Having gotten a small taste
of the lurking torque on some of the surface streets, we came to the magic
spot, did a U-turn at the light, looked for cops, and I gunned it. On the PCH, for about half a mile, I jammed that b!tch hard and the thing just soared to
attention. It was not initially very quick off the line like some of my other
cars, but the lag didn’t last long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First gear was not very good, then 2nd
got good as I took it to redline. Waking up, the symphonic rush of the V12 and
g-forces began to paint a grin so widely on my face that it nearly wrapped around
to the back. I went to 3rd and then poured on the full monty and it was like a
dragon awakening from a 70mph slumber. I took it to near redline in 3rd and
went to 4th.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The feeling was so tremendous. I
held back during my visit to 4th because I feared police and was running out of
street before an oncoming traffic light. But milking the experience for what I
could, I took it up to a buck-ten in 4th and could have gone much faster! I was
alarmed as well at how nearly instantly this car could go from 70mph to 110mph
–in the span of not much time at all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I estimated at that rate, had I
taken the 550 well into 4th, into redline area, I could have been going 130.
And it would have done it willingly with plenty of headroom to spare.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wanted this car like no other.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One must drive a Ferrari to fully
understand it. Today was special. <i>Viva Ferrari!</i></span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-5496977785822290812012-04-20T23:09:00.000-07:002013-02-13T23:35:38.543-08:00Ferrari Design Overtones: Going, Going, Gone Asian? Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBnTFgJwvyIbwHVX4tnjlIP67lpMljsiLSWkVYBoZaoT4IhkeKVT8MN33xQB9tD8U41qoTK47e22d6Q1lh6uVD3I2EaxDqxJaoY85XmOpDEdXkK6yjxOrMe1rYj8ql-qWKZwnBdhI80k/s1600/ferrari-458-italia-china-edition-chadglass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBnTFgJwvyIbwHVX4tnjlIP67lpMljsiLSWkVYBoZaoT4IhkeKVT8MN33xQB9tD8U41qoTK47e22d6Q1lh6uVD3I2EaxDqxJaoY85XmOpDEdXkK6yjxOrMe1rYj8ql-qWKZwnBdhI80k/s400/ferrari-458-italia-china-edition-chadglass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(above: Ferrari 458 Italia -Dragon Edition, 1 of 20 units for Chinese market</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>)</i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The sun does rise in the East and has been shining on Ferrari for years. In f</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ollowing suit with Aston Martin's </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Dragon 88</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and Rolls Royce's</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> Phantom Year of the Dragon edition</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, Ferrari, in a well-intended Maoist lockstep, steps up its game in a bid to further win over the burgeoning Asian market, namely with the cash-rife Chinese. After 20 successful years of sales in China (beginning with the <i>348 TS</i>), Ferrari honors this milestone with 20 special editions of its latest mid-engined flagship <i>458 Italia.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If contemporary Ferrari Asian-skewed design overtones appearing in recent offerings such as the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>FF</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>F12</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> were not enough, it is the blatant evidence of targeted marketing to China that has revealed an obvious trend as the limited</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> 458 Italia</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Golden Dragon Edition</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> overtly bids homage to the red and gold country. China is hot as Ferrari's passion races through the hallowed <i>Silk Road --</i>leaving<i> </i>echoes of the <i>458's</i> high strung, flat-plane crank, V8's intoxicating sounds, filling the fields and misty mountain passes of the continent. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxvGZ3TGZlZXggKT6vTCYvtnZybWTgcpTUohrSI1XnoX1KZqTZiUHzBVOE5Ytl2p3oU6XVEXEt7JfVNMmbc8ecYBb_bD-ttv_C2axl0QLbKJyg0f1Dzl_Pzj1xBnUKlAV3SInhKvIlws/s1600/Ferrari_312P-Spider_ADAC1969_ChadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxvGZ3TGZlZXggKT6vTCYvtnZybWTgcpTUohrSI1XnoX1KZqTZiUHzBVOE5Ytl2p3oU6XVEXEt7JfVNMmbc8ecYBb_bD-ttv_C2axl0QLbKJyg0f1Dzl_Pzj1xBnUKlAV3SInhKvIlws/s400/Ferrari_312P-Spider_ADAC1969_ChadGlass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(above: Ferrari 312P Spider, 1969 S/N 0870)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No stranger to the color scheme, the stunning red and gold motif (first seen on the likes of the vintage Ferraris of the 1960s LeMans era such as the <i>P3/P4, 312P, 512S, et al</i>), is directly applicable to the tastes of the contemporary Chinese cognoscenti. Sprayed in a rare <i>Marco Polo Red, </i>the highly exclusive run of 20 units features a Chinese dragon atop the front panel, set within a gold and black racing stripe from tip to stern. The interior receives the same dusting of gold with embroidery and red carbon fiber appointments, including a dash plaque with inscriptions of Chinese characters. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4i6sIPyD0480m5Y0HdeAoHOcCv1sRVlnuZf9gu3Dcp4ogLjX58uUrRVtX_xMnOxGHFubtYoGQx0OG0gwW1n3Ow5zGHqXM-P7tLuouCJ6A9OmZ01iH5jW7gheNpYnU88_YsMEyEObGiM/s1600/ferrari_interior-458-Ferrari_458italia-china-edition-CHadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4i6sIPyD0480m5Y0HdeAoHOcCv1sRVlnuZf9gu3Dcp4ogLjX58uUrRVtX_xMnOxGHFubtYoGQx0OG0gwW1n3Ow5zGHqXM-P7tLuouCJ6A9OmZ01iH5jW7gheNpYnU88_YsMEyEObGiM/s400/ferrari_interior-458-Ferrari_458italia-china-edition-CHadGlass.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(above: interior appointments, Ferrari 458 Italia -Dragon Edition, 1 of 20 units for Chinese market</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>)</i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although evocative of the very American </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Pontiac Firebird</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> hood graphic, the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>458 Italia -Dragon Edition </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">sends a clear message to the entire world of automotive enthusiasts --that China is the next territory to conquer, with money to be made. In that grand irony, too, the so-called "red" Statist-communism of China is clearly only conditional, with the capitalist trappings of luxury and wealth indeed part and parcel to its emerging future. Business is business. Paradoxes aside, nothing is really new in that regard and "hard to get" is what helps define exclusive branding. Few will ever own a Ferrari, fewer still a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>458 Italia</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and only 20 will possess the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Dragon. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="">Viva </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="">法拉利 ! </span></span></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class=""><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="">part 1 here:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> </span></span></i></span><a href="http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/03/ferrari-design-overtones-going-going.html#.URySwI69rvo"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/03/ferrari-design-overtones-going-going.html#.URySwI69rvo</span></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>part 2 here: </i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4143589182506186348#editor/target=post;postID=4344970216920176892">http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4143589182506186348#editor/target=post;postID=4344970216920176892</a></span></div>
Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-60023299989630864922012-04-20T01:18:00.000-07:002012-05-01T18:27:07.717-07:00Tom Meade Update: April 2012 -Part 6<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the Thomassima IV</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tom Meade comments on the pending Thomassima IV project: <span class="Apple-style-span">“The independent rear
suspension of the Thomassima IV is of the F1 ‘pushrod’ type, formed of carbon
fiber, with a rear transaxle. The gearbox with clutch, ring and pinion, will
weigh 280 lbs. And actually the entire front and rear suspension is pressure
molded carbon fiber. This will allow for the lightest unsprung weight possible.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Everybody around me is sworn
to secrecy to prevent information leakage. I am employing techniques and
publicly unknown materials in working with Cal Tech’s metallurgy department. A
large percentage of the materials used in the Thomassima IV are new. The
bearings, some of the structural geometry, axles, are made of titanium or
‘300M,’ a material that is as strong as titanium but can be machined thinner
and compete with the lightweight characteristics of titanium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“For example, the YF-22
Raptor fighter plane has landing gear made of 300M. Los Angeles is the perfect
location to work on the new car as it is a center for aerospace corporations.
For example, certain parts of the car employ the same materials found in the
Space Shuttle. For secrecy and intellectual property reasons, I can’t disclose
at this time which parts on the car have these experimental materials.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #000d55;">Above: Front Suspension (this is a general layout for example purposes only, it is not an actual Thomassima IV suspension diagram)</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #000d55;">: 1. Rocker Arm, 2. Coil-Over
Dampers, 3. Bearing/pivot, 4. Lower A-Arm, 5. Anti-Roll Bar<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The engineering
characteristics and functionality have been R&D’d and proven to perform.
The tires are being developed by Pirelli and are composed of proprietary
compounds. The Brembo brakes are likewise bespoke and unique to Thomassima IV,
being lighter than carbon ceramic compounds used in present-day discs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The car has a 3 ½” ground
clearance in the front, 4 ½” in the rear. The front lifts up when needed to
clear driveways and curbs. Not one component of this car has been bought off
the shelf. For example, in my own kiln, I am making the glass emblems and
lenses. I have found the glass makers in America to be incompetent, while the
Italians are the glass making masters. The windshield is handmade and polarized
to cool the interior temperature from UV. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Every part has been given
unbelievable consideration. It is for posterity and my legacy as a result of
years of bloody hands and broken fingernails. It is a definitive mark of sweat
equity, something that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">il figlio di
papas</i> (sons of the rich fathers) have no clue about. The modern pupils of
today, the new engineering students, have never worked on a car in their lives,
never had blood and oil on their hands from working on an exotic car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Modern book and classroom
training creates engineers who design things that require one be a Houdini or
contortionist to fix. The parts inside cars today are now inaccessible and
nearly impossible to work on. The modern
car is now hostile to the owner/user/mechanic both technically and financially.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Charging the owner $150/hr
or $8000 or more odd dollars for a major service, including having to change
idiotic timing belts, is highway robbery. But it is known the owner will pay it
as they bought the car in the first place. And the risk of destroying the
heads, if the belt breaks, is too fearful an idea. So the wallets open. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“But this is why I’m using
timing chains in the Thomassima. They are superior in durability and nobody
ever complained back in the ‘60s over having timing chains. I could forego chains
altogether and drive everything with gears only but this would be a bit too
noisy. It is still a road car."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-77944699294817958482012-04-12T14:28:00.025-07:002012-04-14T21:18:30.527-07:00Alfa Male: The 8C's Pheromones of Design<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dLzJQRqZM02bVxEDDthnZ6D2SWaqLx278XoV2GQe5p06XmyJY6UO0tRtkqVtWZWU6O6hwQzbXRfQAHadWMGisRD_fnFV66T1UV-J2MgLgNAFHRHxuaJEVBn20qETInXBNMP-d-rIKhk/s1600/AlfaRomeo8C_9_ChadGlass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dLzJQRqZM02bVxEDDthnZ6D2SWaqLx278XoV2GQe5p06XmyJY6UO0tRtkqVtWZWU6O6hwQzbXRfQAHadWMGisRD_fnFV66T1UV-J2MgLgNAFHRHxuaJEVBn20qETInXBNMP-d-rIKhk/s400/AlfaRomeo8C_9_ChadGlass.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">Last night I was on Sunset Strip at Cafe Primo with the Elysee Wednesday group. With talk already going on as I arrived, one of the attendees remarked that there had been an Alfa 8C </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Competizione</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> sighted in the lower parking deck. So I thought how wonderful and great, cool, neat-o, what nice conversation this is --but it didn't penetrate my mind initially that it was there <i>right now. </i>As it became apparent, I eventually got a clue as people began rising from their seats, getting up to have a look. I had just taken a seat and then found myself up again, as if I had not sat down. Alas, the night had officially begun. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">As I had liked the 8C in pictures since its inception, I was indeed excited to see one in front of me --a real car parked that I could touch (although I never did touch it). So down we went and I glimpsed it right away and recognized the nose peeking out from behind another generic-looking expensive car. I ran over to it. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">Being a limited-run/virtually European-exclusive market automobile, I had never seen </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">an Alfa 8C </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Competizione</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"> in the metal before. If I recall correctly, the Alfa 8C </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><i>was</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"> actually meant for the US market in 2008, even though only about 80 of the 500 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i>Competiziones</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"> have ever made it here. And were I not in Los Angeles, too, I probably would have never seen one out in a public parking structure, in situ, driven for a night out on the town. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Among the valet-parked cars of black and silver Mercedes, Audis, Jaguars, myriad other higher-end sport luxury cars --all of them seemed humdrum and commonplace compared to the deeply bejeweled red </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 20px;"><i>Competizione</i>. It lit up the drab grey of the parking garage, inhabited by sport-luxury fleet-cars, the 8C becoming the center of attention without even trying. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;">Its focus was self-evident, both in its form and presence. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">Up close and personal it's just a wonderful design. While beholding the shape you don't have to apologize for certain areas on it. As it seemed too good to be true, I initially marveled at it with the naivete' of a child, as if looking at a sports car for the first time and using that memory as a future benchmark. I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">t was a visual magnet for me and particularly with females. As the few of us stood admiring it, snapping photographs, occasional cars would creep by to witness the spectacle, many of which were occupied by women looking at the men looking at the red car. The attention given to the car, too, attracted more to stop and stare at the ones who had stopped to stare --enhancing further its sex appeal.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">In a world of ever-fattening and bloated exotic car designs, I was "well chuffed" to find that the 8C was not big or unnecessarily overblown in its proportions or surface features. Seemingly impossible to find today, tasteful restraint in this case was heeded, a nod to vintage sensibilities. It appeared very Ferrari Dino-like, the fenders curving and flowing back in a graceful but forceful way, creating a true body line. The eye was thence properly guided and fed all the way back to the rear, the roof gracefully rising out from the body and A-pillar without the expected seams or awkward retracements. Being so well done all around, my friend Stephen Mitchell remarked that "it makes the Ferrari California look like a 1974 AMC Javelin with those strange and arbitrary fender lines..."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">To wit, both the Maserati GT and the Afla 8C, each with the same </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Ferrari F430 engine platform, rival in design </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">aesthetic the F149 so-called "California," which is a generic passe' controversy at this point.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;"> How could Ferrari have, then, so lost the plot, particularly when the 8C's release date approximated the California's? And as the 8C's hood and snout appeared evocative of the front end of the eternally famous and overexposed supercar <i>Ferrari Enzo</i>, the <i>8C</i> nonchalantly relaxed, tipping its hat tastefully to the otherwise bombastic and severe attempt on the face of that Ferrari's design. <i>Viva Alfa Romeo</i>.</span><br />
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</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">As I write this, the day after my encounter, collecting my thoughts, it does seem that the <i>Alfa 8C </i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Competizione</i> is (for</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"> me) one of the most successfully created recent sportscar designs to come along in a while. It has the elegance of the old world Italian era, hand-built, look. It is not overly-surfaced or gimmicked up with distracting or strange wind-tunnel dictated body elements. It is simple and flowing and restrained but aggressive, somewhat brutish, with its hourglass shape and beefy rear. With a quiet intensity, in harmony, the 8C's imposing form gives the impression that it had just been accelerated to high velocities, telling a story while parked.</span></span></span><br />
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<div></div></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-23530444498433814212012-03-31T22:33:00.001-07:002012-05-01T18:27:22.736-07:00Tom Meade Update: April 2012 -Part 5<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">February in Norway en route to Modena</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I learned electronics in the navy, on North Island, San Diego, my home base. I also went through bootcamp there. As an aircraft electronics engineer, I served for four years on aircraft carriers: two years on the Oriskany, and two years on the Yorktown.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“With my Merchant Marines/Navy I.D., they told me all the freighters leaving from California went to the far East, and that the closest port with passage to Europe was in New Orleans. So I left Newport Beach, California, and hitchhiked, bound for the port at New Orleans with 50 bucks in my pocket. While still in California I was picked up by an Australian, a plumber. Having lived and gone to school in Australia before, he and I hit it off well and became fast friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“We both headed straight to New Orleans and got an apartment together in the French Quarter off Bourbon Street, during Mardi Gras. While staying there, there was a break in to our apartment. But it was the police who broke in –breaking down the front door without a warrant, guns drawn. It scared the hell out of us. After scaring us half to death they realized they were looking for someone else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“After the time in the French Quarter, I found a freighter shipping out of the Port of New Orleans, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SS Nardo</i>, a Norwegian grain freighter. As a mess hall boy, I landed in Stavanger, Norway. And I was sick for the entire 35 days onboard, which was strange. Of the four years I was in the navy I never got seasick. So in order to function I had to make myself throw up before serving food. After a while, of throwing up so often, there was only green bile coming up. Their remedy was a suppository up your butt. But I didn’t do it. It was unappealing to me. But I did feel better in a prone position. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“With the dry heaves, in order to have something to throw up, I had to eat crackers. That was the only way to cope, as the Norwegians do not consider seasickness as an excuse to not perform duties. The way the freighter tossed and rolled, I didn’t know my name anymore. The Norwegians also loved blood pudding, a jello-like serving of fish blood. It stunk and was nauseating. It only helped me to throw up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“The Norwegians onboard would also be constantly painting the ship with this anti-corrosion silver paint. And it would get everywhere, including the smell. They would go directly from painting to eating. They had paint all over their hands and it wound up on the dishes and silverware. So they would end up eating paint, literally. Already nauseated, I avoided the contaminated dishware as much as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“So immediately upon leaving the shores of America, and with the immediate onset of nausea at sea, I had to adapt to unfamiliar conditions, which is something I have had to do ever since. But the overseas passage seemed endless. As they paid me a seaman’s salary, I earned only very little money at sea. When the <i>Nardo</i> finally arrived at port it was in the dead of winter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“From Stavanger, I resumed my hitchhiking towards Oslo. All was quiet. I stayed on the highway for hours, and it was completely desolate. A car passed once every four or five hours. The ice must have been at least two feet deep. Eventually, I was picked up by a farmer driving an old rickety pickup truck. Speaking no English, he kindly shared his cheese with me. It was clear later that the people in this region had never seen a foreigner before, as if I was from outer space. As he dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, north of Stavanger, south of Oslo, I was wearing a flimsy California cotton jacket, with a short-sleeved shirt underneath. But I never felt cold. I was so excited to be in Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I recall the beauty of the fjords among a freezing placid lake. It was like being dropped right in the middle of Lord of the Rings. Completely alone, I could hear goat’s bells and heard hawks screaming as they floated through the air down the fjord, flying over the water. This was all before I did or knew anything to do with Modena. I had no money, no knowledge of mechanics or cars, no family, no backup, nobody to help me. And I knew no one. Italy was a foreign place and I had never been there or even to Europe. I could not speak Italian but was leaving for Italy. It was my ‘mission impossible,’ with the future ahead of me. And still it was very exciting in the midst of it all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“But I knew one thing: I had to own a Ferrari or Maserati, with everyone saying ‘you’re a crazy man, you don’t have any money, that’s impossible’ –naysayers. If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> can’t do it then they don’t want you do it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I ended up as an actor in Rome for Dino De Laurentiis with David Niven (a famous English actor), and Alberto Sordi. I slept under woodpiles in my sleeping bag when I arrived in Modena. I had no money for a hotel or <i>pensione</i>. People said ‘you’ll never be able to do it.’ That only made me more determined to succeed." <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-43449702169201768922012-03-30T12:24:00.000-07:002013-02-13T23:36:15.667-08:00Ferrari Design Overtones: Going, Going, Gone Asian? Part 2<b>Seeing Red</b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(Continued from part 1) </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And from the same site, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.ferrari.com/">http://www.ferrari.com/</a>,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> the modern Breadvan-esque/station wagon/"shooting brake" <i>FF </i>is a clear Asiatic success story: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;">The FF conquers Asia. Ferrari’s new four-seater four-wheel drive car unveiled at the Shanghai Show by Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa and Felipe Massa.</span></div>
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"Shanghai, 19 April, 2011 – The FF is enjoying huge success on the Asian market having already won over a plethora of clients in the Far East. The new car made its official debut in the Asia-Pacific region today at the Shanghai Show where it was unveiled by Prancing Horse CEO Amedeo Felisa and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Felipe Massa. The latter couldn’t hide his delight with Maranello’s latest creation: 'I’m very pleased to be here in Shanghai for the presentation of the FF,' he told journalists.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“It’s a car I like very much indeed: the perfect combination of performance and usability. I have a son who’s just over a year old now, and this is a Ferrari that you can use with the family without having to compromise on the driving pleasure that only our cars can deliver.' Massa also went on to emphasise the very special relationship between Ferrari and China: 'I was very impressed by the warmth and passion that the Chinese have for the Ferrari brand –that’s also something I’ve seen every time we come here to race, in fact.' <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />"For his part, Amedeo Felisa spoke about the growing importance of the Chinese market to Ferrari: 'Last year, we broke all previous records by reaching the 300-car mark,' he said of the company’s sales there. 'In 2011, we intend to continue to grow by at least 30% and exceed the 400-car threshold. I am convinced that the Greater China area will be our second largest market by the end of this year.” <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />And initially panned by Ferrari fans as a "woman's car" (which it may be), the so-called <i>F149</i>, aka, <i>Ferrari California</i>, with its contemporary<i> 458 Italia</i> and <i>FF</i> companions, are apparently hot topics in the land of the red: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Ferrari’s Chinese market has been growing strongly since 2004. Sales have been excellent across the entire range, but the 8-cylinder Ferrari California and the 458 Italia have performed particularly well. In previews, our Chinese clients were greatly impressed by the technological innovations offered by the FF as well as the generous size of its four comfortable seats and roomy boot (the capacity of the latter can extended up to 800 litres)."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For me the <i>F12</i> reveals a generally pleasing form with more than quite a few moments of gorgeous design throughout the body. It carries the elegance and poise that a Ferrari V12 GT berlinetta should. There is a lushness there with just enough edginess. On that point, at first glance, I don't want to think about Japan when enjoying highbrow Italian cuisine. And I certainly don't want to think about Chinese takeout and volume selling. Although each cultural texture has its place, I want the bottle of fine Italian wine to go to my head, to imbue me with passion. At such a price point, too, a Ferrari V12 GT should produce this intoxicating effect immediately. And the first impression of the F12 nearly does. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Initially, the unveiling of F12's front end appointments appeared a little strange. But, as was the case with the 458 Italia (and Nissan GT-R), eventually the new child-of-the-wind-tunnel design idiom began growing on me. The contemporary Ferrari face with the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">elongated </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">"bioluminescent," deep-sea-cre</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">ature-like headlamps, running up the top sides of the car, and the "Chevron Cars" cartoonish grille --have presented themselves as decadal identifiers. Hence, this is what Ferrari looks like today. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And as with the severe Ferrari Enzo (and in some of the aforementioned newer Ferraris), the Nissan GT-R can elicit a polarizing effect upon the beholder: It is either hideous or brutishly attractive, at very least an acquired taste for the enthusiast not already well-adapted to Japanese tuner culture. Form following function doesn't have to be ugly but in some cases it is. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When a car can slice through the air, shift, corner, in fractions of a second quicker than a competitor, engineering will begin to dictate what beauty and "passion" are allowed to be. It is evident, too, that when such results render less-than-attractive design cues, then the policy is to feature such appointments. Why try to hide them when they can be exaggerated and passed off as being state-of-the-art? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Familiar with Japanese tuner/enthusiast culture myself, I could not help but to see the Nissan GT-R discreetly whispering over the form of the F12. Certainly, Ken Okuyama has been long gone from the midst of Pininfarina's corridors of power and had nothing to do with GT-R development. So is this mere coincidence or is there an airborne Asian car virus sprinkling dust over Maranello?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>part 3 here: </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/04/ferrari-design-overtones-going-going.html">http://chadglass.blogspot.com/2012/04/ferrari-design-overtones-going-going.html</a></span></span><br />
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Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-45125430921233993022012-03-28T01:06:00.003-07:002012-03-28T09:55:41.719-07:00Ferrari Testarossa (1984-1996): Tame Design in Hindsight?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOibNjtOCse6Lr1-S_v2dK5giPC1mf1Hu5CNX2KPn3m7S4epsNV9nu3Njmp1KONs8TCuap0DmqSwYMu15d4cTnVg7WHgRU9iYoJ3wVQYEGgQ_PNzGPK23ozKO_PpD_Bte5wvGYJ6zcG2c/s1600/FerrariTestarossa_Matchbox_ChadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOibNjtOCse6Lr1-S_v2dK5giPC1mf1Hu5CNX2KPn3m7S4epsNV9nu3Njmp1KONs8TCuap0DmqSwYMu15d4cTnVg7WHgRU9iYoJ3wVQYEGgQ_PNzGPK23ozKO_PpD_Bte5wvGYJ6zcG2c/s400/FerrariTestarossa_Matchbox_ChadGlass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Considering the current decadal design idiom of the latest offerings of Montezemolo-era cars (FF, F12, Italia, to name some), is the Ferrari Testarossa, 512TR, and 512M, of 1984-1996, a relatively tame design platform in hindsight? Are the side strakes really such purveyors of extravagance and flamboyance? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To backtrack into some context briefly, in 1982 Pininfarina was commissioned to style a 12-cylinder Ferrari with radiators in the flanks like a racing car, with GT-level luggage and storage space, user comfort, and top-tier Ferrari performance and image. The <i>Testarossa </i>was among the first Ferraris to be shaped partly by the wind tunnel to enhance aerodynamics, promote low cabin noise, and increase high speed stability.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rear location of the radiators made the car's aerodynamics even more important as passive direction of air to and from the engine bay had to be very effective. In achieving this feat, Pininfarina's design and engineering of the <i>Testarossa</i> project became, seemingly overnight, the most recognizable and influential car of a generation. It became, as in the Lamborghini Countach, the unequivocal exotic dream car <i>to have</i>. On posters affixed across the world, in the rooms and garages of kids and adult children alike, the <i>Ferrari Testarossa</i> is unmistakable, bold, and impossible to ignore, cherished to this day by a devoted cult.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Of note, the Testarossa's roofline exactly matches that of the straked flank below it. And with the traditional Ferrari identifiers present (such as the egg crate grille, recessed headlamps of the era), the new elements (such as rectangular rear lights and the broad, squared, rear flanks) mark a bit of a departure. Early Testarossas feature a single mirror located halfway up the driver's side A-pillar, on stalks. But clearly the Testarossa's most defining and controversial image is that of the five body strakes that cover the side intakes and stretch between the ridges just below the door mirrors. Today most, or at least many, Ferrari fans regard these as extreme design aesthetics, dated, even hideous. But is this necessarily really true? </span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jn3bbQh_BGTpHKPJnJg9jsBPUrtjp-GTI7JMIZHIYg7sAxxzwtXdXPkyL0GOgwPBgHSWdQA21iCEQjmPDpIMoEGOycKbCRWA-E4IEwyb8PXRie_e35XOGi5mB0-9m6zbRC54V3jsRf0/s1600/FerrariTestarossa_sidestrakes_ChadGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jn3bbQh_BGTpHKPJnJg9jsBPUrtjp-GTI7JMIZHIYg7sAxxzwtXdXPkyL0GOgwPBgHSWdQA21iCEQjmPDpIMoEGOycKbCRWA-E4IEwyb8PXRie_e35XOGi5mB0-9m6zbRC54V3jsRf0/s400/FerrariTestarossa_sidestrakes_ChadGlass.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Individual tastes and perceptions notwithstanding, is the Ferrari Testarossa, 512TR, and 512M, made from 1984 through 1996, respectively, actually a tame (even tasteful) design in hindsight? Are the side strakes really that outlandish compared to the more recent <i>458</i> <i>Italia's</i> bizarre front end? Or to the new <i>F12's</i> strange cartoonish front fascia? Or what about the <i>FF</i>, with it's entirely non-confomist Breadvan shape, with similarly strange front end? Do these design showboats, <i>Italia, F12, FF</i>, boast restraint --or do they go beyond what one would consider to be in good taste? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By comparison, is not the Testarossa quite conservative and understated, being a basically squarish wedge design with retractable headlamps? Save for the wide track and strakes, Ferraris had become what the TR represented at the time, with the 348 and 355 following in its shadow. It would seem that the front end of any TR, particularly the non "M" version, can actuality pass for austere and tastefully restrained. One could even say it appears "normal," in its design idiom of the time. But yet it is forever "outrageous." </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcHL66jGSfOEl1pd0_SK5bbeSjt2dopYEu1fsZ_MEOKAAVq2pXb1KDuHvpHdbXhKjWDFZVqPRazHZ_WtQmROgj9kWctx3_pZhYkQ0Es5zlrKEebqw4gQbnfP2MRw363BL8riFWxUKXmg/s1600/Testarossa+v+Italia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcHL66jGSfOEl1pd0_SK5bbeSjt2dopYEu1fsZ_MEOKAAVq2pXb1KDuHvpHdbXhKjWDFZVqPRazHZ_WtQmROgj9kWctx3_pZhYkQ0Es5zlrKEebqw4gQbnfP2MRw363BL8riFWxUKXmg/s400/Testarossa+v+Italia.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In a strange twist of fate, perhaps it is the time that the TR was trapped in, when new, which forever entraps it into its continual stigma of being the gauche, strake-riddled, <i>testa rossa</i>/red-headed stepchild today. Alas, I tip my hat and embrace <i>Testarossa</i>, the black sheep that it is for so many <i>Ferraristi</i>. </span>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143589182506186348.post-50445482548358683762012-03-23T23:03:00.002-07:002012-03-23T23:10:50.138-07:00Ferrari Design Overtones: Going, Going, Gone Asian? Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPZsVFkE3oEHXjo-07IUkRbS-fiBGLyX7608jX07ftByieQx0bEd5kCWH-P0oSz9v9qCU5PTNk0mCdqr-6qkRUdnf_T1k8YbrGj6SMnAN1_1cPhL3qyewbN0LsxVJduXBuSHvoZtIK6s/s1600/FerrariEnzo_Kamakaze_ChadGlass_Okuyama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPZsVFkE3oEHXjo-07IUkRbS-fiBGLyX7608jX07ftByieQx0bEd5kCWH-P0oSz9v9qCU5PTNk0mCdqr-6qkRUdnf_T1k8YbrGj6SMnAN1_1cPhL3qyewbN0LsxVJduXBuSHvoZtIK6s/s400/FerrariEnzo_Kamakaze_ChadGlass_Okuyama.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(photo illustration by Chad Glass)</span> </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With the demise of the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">traditional family-owned</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Italian cultural design mainstay <i>Pininfarina</i>, will Ferrari increasingly slide into the hands of Asian design aesthetics, blowing in the wind of market forces and banking dictates? Has the Ferrari/Fiat/Italian identity already been usurped by an increasing economic force guided by the likes of Japan and China? </span></span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><div style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rewind a decade to the <i>Enzo</i> supercar and Ken Okuyama, Pininfarina's chief designer at the time. In addition to designing for Porsche and Maserati, Okuyama's creative direction heralded a different direction in Ferrari aesthetic. Although brief in involvement with Pininfarina before being booted out, Okuyama's Enzo became the poster child "Lamborghini Countach" of its generation. For those so captivated then and today by the Enzo's </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Italian centerfold/fantasy dream car </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">appearance, such affection and support exists for a Japanese-inspired form. Alas, the Land of the Rising Sun appears setting all over the carbon fiber, the Enzo a form following function. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your personal taste notwithstanding, the red car (including the 612 Scaglietti also designed by Okuyama)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> may be taking on a new meaning: Has Pininfarina's direction been forever infiltrated, skewed to Asian/global sensibilities, even if subconsciously? </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="ecxApple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To illustrate the story further, here is an example of recent market conditions from <a href="http://www.ferrari.com/">http://www.ferrari.com/</a>, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maranello, 27th July, 2011:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Ferrari celebrates best six months in its history in terms of revenues (+19.6%) and cars delivered 3,577 (+11.8%). Net profits of 91.8 million Euros (+23.5%). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Record industrial net cash of over 650 million Euros. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Exceptional results in the USA (+23%) with China (+116%) now second largest market...</span></span><br />
<img alt="" id="topLimitReleatedLinks" style="float: right; height: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 0px;" /><br />
<div><div class="medium WF_Padding_Top_15 WF_Padding_Right_25" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 25px; padding-top: 15px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"With regard to sales, North America maintained its position as Ferrari's no. 1 market with 939 vehicles delivered during the six-month period, an unprecedented leap of 23.2% vs. 2010. Volumes were also higher in the Greater China region (Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) with 378 vehicles delivered <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">in the first six months (+116% vs. 2010). This performance means that the main Asian market is now Ferrari’s second largest worldwide, overtaking Germany where volumes remained the same as last year with 337 cars delivered."</span></span></div><div class="medium WF_Padding_Top_15 WF_Padding_Right_25" style="line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 25px; padding-top: 15px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>(Continues in part 2)</i></span></div></div>Chad Glasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15605168758185357820noreply@blogger.com7