308 OWNERS UNITE AGAINST JERKS!!!! | FerrariChat

308 OWNERS UNITE AGAINST JERKS!!!!

Discussion in '308/328' started by davemqv, Oct 12, 2017.

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  1. davemqv

    davemqv F1 Rookie

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    #1 davemqv, Oct 12, 2017
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
    Yesterday I was listening to Spike's Car Radio...the podcast hosted by Spike Feresten (Host of Car Matchmaker, friend of/ex-writer for Seinfeld, mostly a Porsche guy, but owns a 365 C/4). It's usually a Porsche geek-out, and I enjoy listening. Yesterday he was interviewing some guy named Richard Rawlings...who apparently hosts a garage/car makeover show called Fast N' Loud or something.

    Anyway, happily listening along and then in the last few minutes of the show, Rawlings invites Spike to a "Magnum PI bumper car event". Apparently the idea is to invite a bunch of people to his party, who have to buy 308 GTS's and then have a demolition derby with them, destroying all the cars in the process. While Rawlings is the jerk who came up with this idea - Feresten is at fault too. He initially balked a bit at the idea, but then accepted the invite because "those cars aren't rare".

    This struck me as one of the grossest things I've heard in a long time. These jerks are going to take cars that are in fact rare (only 12,149 - 308GTB/GTS's built between 76-84, way fewer than the 911's Feresten covets) and classic exotic cars, and smash them into bits for kicks. How disgusting and out of touch can you be?!?! The idea that so called "car guys" are being so callous and destructive toward these wonderful cars is sick to me.

    I'm a guy who thinks cars should be driven, that a Daytona or a 275 GTB can be a daily driver (if you want), and that someone who wrecks their 250 GTO racing it at Goodwood is using the car as it was intended to be used, so all's fair. But these guys just want to destroy cars for kicks...on purpose! It's insanely disrespectful to all of the people who spend their lives dreaming of owning one of these cars, many of whom will never be able to afford to do so. It's also a quick way to destroy parts for those of us who have 308 cars we'd like to keep on the road for decades to come.

    Look, I'm a self described hedonist. I have no problem with excess or wealthy people getting to do things that most people (including myself) won't ever get to do. The issue here is the gross mindset of finding pleasure in destruction. Breaking stuff just to break it. Gross. Honestly I don't even enjoy beater car demo derby's for this reason, but doing it with 308's? A-holes.

    So I say everyone write to Rawlings and Feresten..Twitter, email, whatever...and let them know what you think of this. People who do this shouldn't be allowed to drive Yugo's, never mind 308 Ferrari's.
     
  2. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
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    You think, being a Porsche guy show, maybe he was joking?
     
  3. davemqv

    davemqv F1 Rookie

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    No, not a joke. Rawlings was definitely not joking about doing it, although he obviously thinks doing it will be really funny. This came on the heels of a different story about an informal Cannonball race that Feresten did for his bachelor party. The cars in that event all got wrecked. That prompted Rawlings to invite Spike to this thing he's doing for his birthday. Listen to the show.

    Feresten to his credit balked at the idea.
     
  4. wildcat326

    wildcat326 Formula 3
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    Richard Rawlings is the self-promoting television personality behind the hit Discovery channel show Fast N' Loud. He owns the famous Gas Monkey Garage, which he's now parlayed into a bar/restaurant, tequila, and merchandise brand because of the show's success. Nearly every car resto/flip/hot rod show on so many channels these days owes its existence to the massive success and viewership he achieved with his formula. However, because of all the new competition from more serious garages, and due to the formulaic nature of his show, he's now desperately branching into more and more wild gigs to jockey for attention. He's a *****, but a real shop owner and "name" in the business.

    ANNND, in real life, he's also a serial f-car owner. Drove a 550 to achieve what he widely claims (there's a lot of dispute) is a new "Cannonball" run record time, and currently has at least a 599 in his stable. Famously resto-modded a wrecked F40.

    I'm surprised he's that unsentimental. But then, if he got hold of five or six absolute craptastic cars and shot them cheaply in magnum pi red, he could pull off that stunt for about 200-250k and easily make more than that in advertising and publicity. Google the mileage he got with his Knight Rider or Smokey and the Bandit season finale builds.

    It is what it is. Reminds me of the time Upper Deck Co. bought a rare Babe Ruth game worn jersey and then cut it into thousands of tiny pieces to glue onto limited edition baseball cards as a promotion. Sickening, but then, if it bothers you, don't support his brand or show. Removing several cars from the pool cannot possibly hurt the value of the stock that remains.
     
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  5. ferrariowner

    ferrariowner Formula 3

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    As other posters have noted Rawlings is a *****. He is located here in the Dallas area. I doubt he is serious. If he is, look at the bright side. More spare parts and fewer 308's mean better prices for the remaining cars.
    I don't like his show or restaurant.
     
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  6. 19633500GT

    19633500GT F1 World Champ
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  7. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
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    Anyone else remember when Jesse James turned a 308 into a pasta machine?

    [​IMG]
     
  8. thorn

    thorn F1 Rookie
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    I'm not a tree hugger, and firmly believe that you're entitled to do whatever you like with your property. Restore it, or burn it - it's yours to do with as you like. (Not that needlessly destroying something frees you from criticism, of course.)

    But having said that... Even from an early age, I found demolition derbies to be an odd thing. I could never understand the entertainment value in watching people destroy cars by ramming them into each other.
     
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  9. wildcat326

    wildcat326 Formula 3
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    My local mechanic was the lead tech on that build in the episode!
     
  10. davemqv

    davemqv F1 Rookie

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    Hahaha.

    I suppose I'm taking it all too seriously. I was just so grossed out when I heard him talking about this.
     
  11. davemqv

    davemqv F1 Rookie

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    Same here on all counts.
     
  12. yelcab

    yelcab F1 World Champ
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    OK, so the 308 you and I own will be even more rare by the number of cars these guys destroy. Eff them, get on with your life.

    M
     
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  13. davemqv

    davemqv F1 Rookie

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    Yeah, you're right of course. "Eff them" is the right attitude to take. Like I said, it just grossed me out. Please consider my original rant as a teaser to what you all have to look forward to when I get old. :)
     
  14. Patrick Dixon

    Patrick Dixon Formula 3

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    Not that dissimilar to the Top Gear episode where 3 jerks wrecked a 308Gt4 a Urraco and a Merak.

    Still, it was really funny.
     
  15. 308 milano

    308 milano F1 Veteran

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    Would think there is a high likelihood of being injured using a 308 as a demolition car.. take a hit in the side, door crushes occupant, fuel tank collapses and sprays fuel all over a hot engine. FUN TIMES
     
  16. ferrariowner

    ferrariowner Formula 3

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    Agreed. Better hope its not a Euro version. They have no door impesion bars. US cars probably aren't much better.
     
  17. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Let me jump in here....!!!

    One view is Yes it will make for good salvage parts!!

    He butchered the wrecked F40 even as he modded it (hugely unwise for resale value), and I think the Jesse James fiasco also got rebuilt into a real car.
    After that, it's "Show Business", I guess.

    He is a wanker.
    I would not use his liquor on the bathroom floor, to clean it.
     
  18. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    I have had a drivers door caved in HARD, and was glad the door beam was there!

    Demo cars are actually heavily armored, with structural steel.
     
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  19. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Your initial emotional response is correct..

    ISIS destroys things.
    Americans and Italians build things
     
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  20. wildcat326

    wildcat326 Formula 3
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    To clarify the key difference, they didn't intentionally set out to wreck them. It was a sendup of 1970s Italian build quality under the guise of "You can buy a Supercar for under 10,000 pounds." They all were cool, VERY quirky cars, but - at that acquisition price point - in bad repair and in need of major service. And, of course, the producers set courses and challenges suited specifically to their shortcomings in order to ensure that plenty of mechanical failures and hilarity ensued. But nothing get wrecked, let alone intentionally, for the **** of it.
     
  21. GordonC

    GordonC F1 Rookie
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    Further, the Top Gear 308 GT4 was actually bought by Hammond after the show and he kept it, maybe even restored it - he still owned it a few years later following that episode.
     
  22. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

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    Personally, I don't have any trouble with someone intentionally destroying a car they own for whatever reason - it's their car. PLUS... The more 3x8's they destroy, the more rare mine becomes! :)
     
  23. JohnnyTS

    JohnnyTS Formula Junior

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    Mike, I was just thinking the same thing when I read this, let them go ahead, it is a good thing for the rest of us.

    Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7
     
  24. Patrick Dixon

    Patrick Dixon Formula 3

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    Yeah right.

    IIRC that was the only one that came out with any credit. It only failed due to dodgy electrics and that could have happened to any car of the period.
     
  25. 4rePhill

    4rePhill F1 Veteran

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    Let's get this sorted out properly.

    The "Budget Supercars" episode of Top Gear featured Clarkson, Hammond and May buying three Italian Supercars for £10K.

    At the time of filming, a £10K supercar in the UK would have been a barely road legal wreck in need of some serious restoration, and not a nice, usable car in need of minor cosmetics.

    This was done deliberately to help ensure that the whole episode would be more entertaining (had the cars simply worked and got them from A to B without incident then it would have been a pretty boring piece: "We drove three old Italian Supercars from Bristol to slough, and nothing went wrong!" )

    The Ferrari 308 GT4 was already the best condition of the three cars because it was the least sought after at the time, so market forces made the GT4 cheap to start with.

    Reasonably good Urraco's and Merak's at time were commanding @ £20K, whilst perfect cars were £30K~£40K, so that should give an you an idea of what condition the Top Gear cars were in!

    The Merak had supposedly just had a £10K engine rebuild, but Clarkson bought the car for £7K, so something doesn't add up there instantly!

    Whilst driving the car, it dropped a cylinder, and then, with Clarkson still driving it on 5 cylinders, it blew the bottom end out of the engine.

    So yes, Clarkson did deliberately wreck the car for entertainment purposes, but the car was worth bugger all by then anyway due to it's condition (I know it's hard to believe now, but at the time it was just an old, knackered Italian car that was pretty much worthless).

    It ended it's days at Eurospares being broken for parts: https://www.eurospares.co.uk/cars-breaking-for-spares/car/19

    Now don't you think that if the car was in reality so good and salvageable, the BBC would have sold it for restoration rather than simply selling it as a breaker for spares?


    The Urraco had a whole host of electrical issues and some condition issues too. It disappeared after the show and seemingly was also scrapped off (The information for the car ends in 2006 - Just after the show aired. There are some rumours that it was restored and is still in existence, but these are unsubstantiated). The reality is, Top Gear and James May didn't wreck the Urraco, it was already a wreck!


    The GT4's failure on the show was due to an electrical fault concerning the fuel gauge - Basically it said there was more fuel left than there really was (anyone who knows Ferrari's from the 70's ~90's knows not to trust the fuel gauge in them! - My 1990 348'sfuel gauge accuracy was bloody awful once you got below the 1/4 tank mark!).

    The car survived the programme, and Richard Hammond bought it off the BBC and had it fully restored. It was later used in a daytime TV show where Hammond was challenged to parallel park it between two cars whilst blindfolded. This stunt went slightly wrong as Hammond reversed the GT4 into one of the other cars, damaging the rear end (Who would have thought that might happen! :rolleyes: ). The car was repaired again (I believe the TV company paid for the repairs), and Hammond owned it for a few more years before selling it on.

    So the GT4 was only car that came out of the episode with any credit, but mainly because it was the best of the three to start with - The other's were pretty much junk to begin with!
     
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