Maranellos are disappearing | Page 78 | FerrariChat

Maranellos are disappearing

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by intrepidcva11, Mar 30, 2015.

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  1. ralfabco

    ralfabco Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 1, 2002
    28,029
    Dixie
    Full Name:
    Itamar Ben-Gvir
    I like the pimpin color combination and the price the seller received.




    Just fried another battery. Promise to buy a battery tender.

    Please PM me if anyone needs instruction on how to change a battery on a 550. Facetime me and I can guide you through the entire process.

    Trust me. I am a certified factory approved DIY pro on how to change a battery on the fivefivezero.
     
  2. mchas

    mchas F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 5, 2004
    5,903
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Mark
    I visited London a while back and decided one day to check out the northern part of the country and ended up in York. Went to a bar that evening and got to chatting with the server and mentioned that I had driven from London that day. They were totally shocked. Being from Los Angeles I didn’t think twice about doing it but apparently that’s not a normal thing there. :)
     
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  3. Bas

    Bas Four Time F1 World Champ

    Mar 24, 2008
    41,300
    ESP
    Full Name:
    Bas
    I think the quality of roads in britain and how crowded they are is a large part to do with it. When I lived in UK I went from Manchester to close to grimsby...it was only 110 miles but it took FOREVER. Roads very crowded, bad surface and generally bad driving from other participants really frustrated. I was in a new range rover full size.

    When I lived in mainland europe I frequently did trips (much) longer than that in a much older car (E34 5 Series) and I wouldn't think twice of it. In the UK it was a real chore. In the Netherlands the roads very smooth and driving generally a lot better, Spain/France the roads where decent, driving wasn't as good but much fewer people on the road made it a doddle.
     
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  4. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 25, 2002
    36,212
    houston/geneva
    Full Name:
    Ross
    driving in britain stopped being fun a long time ago.
    driving in europe stopped being fun about 10 years ago or so when the penalties got draconian - prior that you could really make good time getting places in a fast car.

    driving long distances in the usa is generally boring. you dont really want to exceed 100 mph in too many places for too long, and the roads tend to be a very long straight line....and many of the roads are awful.
    i have driven some far distances since moving to texas: houston to los angeles; las vegas to houston (different route); houston to miami; naples fl to canada; and then many shorter excursions, such that now, i dont think twice about 'short' trips. i will drive to san antonio (180 miles) for lunch and a meeting for example, and then drive back.

    btw, fun fact for you darius....if you drive from houston to los angeles, the trip is about 1700 miles, and the half way point is el paso - meaning you are still in texas.... :)
     
  5. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,986
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Ross- Affirmative, signs show 198 miles from San Antonio to Houston, and 498 miles from San Antonio to El Paso and that skips crossing San Antonio. Mom and Dad lived in SA for 44 years.
     
  6. franschman

    franschman Formula Junior

    Dec 18, 2017
    349
    Holland
    Full Name:
    Bart
    Fifteen years ago we drove a drive-away car from Washington DC to Bellingham, Washington, in ten days, zigzagging through as many states as possible. The universal reaction we got when people heard what we were doing was 'Wow, driving all the way across America! I've always wanted to do that!' on which we replied 'Well, why don't you? You got a car...' Turned out most people had never left their state.
     
  7. Themaven

    Themaven F1 Rookie

    Nov 2, 2014
    4,252
    Eastdown
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    Darius
    I do recall the long straight lines thing in the US. I guess you need to hunt down the exceptions.

    the UK is definitely the worst western country to drive in, for much of it, but if you seek out the right roads there are some fantastic ones. But A to B journeys here are generally dreadful. You have to make a detour. Or live where the great roads are (Cotswolds, north Wales, parts of Yorkshire and Scotland).

    Ross, last summer we drove on our family holiday to Italy, first time I have done that since pre-kids. There was in general much less traffic on the roads. It’s true that much of France, once so glorious to drive through, has become an exercise in self restraint (Although you can still push it in some places). Switzerland is a police state, but it has been so ever since I can remember in the 1980s.

    Italy, though, is definitely looser and more fun, although not without risk. One August evening this year I drove from central Tuscany to the North shore of Lake Maggiore via lunch at the Masseto vineyard. Mostly excellent roads, not much traffic, and some serious three figure (mph) and speeds achieved. It’s puerile, but I derived a lot of enjoyment out of leaving the starting gate of the toll booths north of Milan (new autostrada, great surface, excellent curves) and seeing if I could hit 150 mph before the twists got too twisty. My daughter caught it on video a couple of times.

    so it’s still possible to have fun, just about.
     
  8. papou

    papou Formula 3
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    May 18, 2012
    1,567
    plantation Fla
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    daniel ross
    The Fun Police are everywhere..
     
  9. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 25, 2002
    36,212
    houston/geneva
    Full Name:
    Ross
    i used to criss cross europe in fast cars with great joy.
    you could average 120-130mph for long stretches across the empty toll roads in france and italy. and those roads were fantastically smooth and well constructed.

    switzerland is just ridiculous. the ticket i got a few years ago - that cost me 10k and all sorts of other problems, would today have landed me in jail for a min 6 months.....the penalty for assault is less than that....their priorities are completely upside down.

    there are plenty of nice places to drive in america, and even the western states where its mostly long straight lines, have some incredible scenery.
    it just seems a waste to dawdle at 100mph on a road that is 100 miles long in a straight line, and literally nobody on it - except a cop ready to put you in jail !
     
  10. Bluebottle

    Bluebottle F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 15, 2012
    7,701
    Newbury, Berkshire, England
    Full Name:
    John
    Driving in the UK to get from A to B is seldom a joyous experience, although it has been a lot better in the last 12 months, but driving in the UK can be fun, if you go out purely to drive the right roads, at the right time. Darius identifies a number of places where there is driving pleasure to be had, and I would endorse particularly with the Cotswolds, having owned a house there for the last 8 years. If you get up early on a dry Sunday morning when there are not too many others about, a blast around the back roads in the sports car of your choice, can be one of life's great pleasures. But there are plenty of such roads to be found all over the country if you look hard enough - as a rule of thumb, the further you are from London, or any other major city, the easier it is to find what you are seeking. When my daughter was at university in Durham, I discovered just how much the North East has to offer in that connection.

    The limitations on A to B driving in the UK predominantly comes in two forms: traffic and speed cameras. Traffic can be avoided by driving at night: if you undertake your journey in the early hours of the morning, the majority of roads are relatively traffic-free. Speed cameras, however, operate 24/7. Tom Tom (or similar) is your friend, but even he has his limitations - he can prevent you from losing your licence, but he cannot alter the fact that, for mile after mile, much of our motorway system is covered by average speed cameras, and you have no option but to obey.

    Sadly, much the same applies in Europe, too, and one has to face up to the fact that driving from A to B will present few opportunities to enjoy spirited driving. In a UK registered car, one has the advantage of not worrying about speeding tickets (though it can have serious consequences in those countries where the local rozzers actually take the trouble to stop you, instead of computers sending you a ticket in the post after you have had your picture taken), but that does not solve the traffic issue. Even in Italy, where the constabulary are, by upbringing, sympathetic to high speed driving in red sports cars, many miles of motorway are now covered by average speed checks and, while UK drivers are immune to the tickets, the locals are not, and in consequence fill all three lanes with mobile traffic jams, limiting your speed for much of the time. I did manage the odd 130 mph blast on my way to Maranello in the Dino in 2018, but they were short-lived, few and far between, and had I been trying to drive the Maranello to within a similar proportion of its top speed, I very much doubt that I should have manged it on more than a handful of occasions, if at all.

    There are, however, rather more relatively empty back roads on the Continent and, if you abandon the major road network, you can cross France in an orgy of sweeping curves and long straights, that provide the perfect environment for a nimble sports car, but it is best if it is one that gives pleasure at two figure speeds, rather than in three figures and does not need wide roads to explore its full potential. The age of the high speed "continent crusher" GT, as epitomised by Ferrari, is, quite frankly, over. The modern Ferrari is too fast, and too wide, for its own good - its natural habitat is the fast main road, or the motorway, but there you can no longer make use its prodigious capacity for speed, except for brief periods.

    I have two solutions. The first is a small, nimble sports car, the performance of which can be enjoyed at legal, or at least semi-legal, speeds: an MG Midget, a Lotus Elan or Elise, or a Dino, according to individual taste / budget, to give a few examples. I still regret the sale of our Midget (actually my wife's car - I bought it for her as a wedding present - but one which I drove far more than she did) almost as much as the departure of my Dino, despite the wide disparity in value. My E-type does not quite fit the bill, alas, but it comes close enough for now. The second is to stop fighting the inevitable and choose a car that gives a different sort of driving pleasure, one which imparts a feeling of calm and infinite patience that drives away the frustration of even the worst traffic jam, or the longest stretch of speed camera limited motorway, allowing its driver happily to wave others past in their rush to get where they are going, but which still possesses the character to make every drive an occasion - a 30 year old Bentley does it for me, but there are surely others that will do the same.
     
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  11. F456M

    F456M F1 Rookie

    Jan 8, 2010
    3,665
    Oslo
    Full Name:
    Erik
    Hi John. I agree with you. I am also thinking about getting a car that gives fun on the road without going too fast. About driving fast, there are plenty of Autobahns in Germany that can still give the good fast travelling experience. What is «fast» is quite subjective. For a German 200 kph. is not especially fast... But let’s say for a Norwegian where 90 kph. was the top speed limit on selected roads for about two decades, 150 is fast... I guess also for an American, everything above 100 mph. is quite fun. The Maranellos and 456s can cruise at 150 mph. on a day with little traffic.... It should be mandatory to have a few blasts every year a place where you cab enjoy driving fast with confidence. And that is Germany ! Just don’t expect it to be on the main Autobahns crossing Europe with all their trucks/lorries..... Saturday and sundays are also considderably better. Almost no big trucks!
     
  12. Bluebottle

    Bluebottle F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 15, 2012
    7,701
    Newbury, Berkshire, England
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    John
    Yes, Erik, you are right. I had forgotten about the autobahns, probably because I have never driven in Germany. Indeed, I have never been to Germany at all - one day . . . !
     
  13. F456M

    F456M F1 Rookie

    Jan 8, 2010
    3,665
    Oslo
    Full Name:
    Erik
    Then you know what to do! I ran my 550 331 kph. last year. Covid means much less traffic!! Do it before the no speed limit era is over!
     
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  14. Laserguru

    Laserguru Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Aug 7, 2016
    1,255
    New Hampshire
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    Eric
    Thus, the MIata. When introduced, it was the rebirth of the Midget/Sprite (and a host of others, Spitfire, etc). Small, two seat, fun as hell, and never tried to be something that it wasn't. For those of us with big V-12s, remember those days before you could buy a v-12, and all the fun we had in smaller engined beasties. Mine was first a Triumph Spitfire and then an Alfa Spider 2 l.
     
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  15. SteveVT

    SteveVT Karting

    Nov 30, 2019
    107
    Vermont
    Full Name:
    Steve
    In Vermont, the issue is not so much law enforcement - no speed cameras and police are few- but the best driving roads are often narrow and windy with lots of blind corners and no shoulders. My daily summer driver is a 2017 Fiat 124 Abarth (the Fiata)- it is a total blast on these types of roads. The small displacement and turbo means you've got to work the gearbox to keep it in the power range and you can step the back end out in a corner at speeds that allow for a margin of error if something unexpected greets you coming out of the turn (deer, cyclists, loose gravel, etc). Sure, the 124 will get its ass handed to it in a straight line against a V6 Accord, but it is great fun in the twisties with the top down and your favorite playlist blasting. It is also a lovely juxtaposition to the locomotive-like power delivery of the V12 of the Maranello.
     
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  16. Laserguru

    Laserguru Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Aug 7, 2016
    1,255
    New Hampshire
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    Eric
    Similar in New Hampshire although small town law enforcement does love padding the local coffers when possible.
    "locomotive-like power delivery of the V12 of the Maranello 456M". That is a simply marvelous descriptor!!
     
  17. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,986
    Clarksville, Tennessee
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    Terry H Phillips
    Driving was different in the UK in the sticks where I lived in Suffolk and northern Cambridgeshire. Lots of fairly empty roads and A roads unless that has changed in the last 30 years or so (hope not). I had a 308 GTS and would hit over 100 mph on the way home from RAF Lakenheath to Bury St Edmunds every day on the A14. Lots of really narrow roads to explore, too, in Suffolk and LHD meant you could get really close to the edge, which was often necessary when traffic approached. Great pubs out in the sticks.
     
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  18. 21ATS

    21ATS Formula Junior

    Dec 10, 2016
    988
    Kent, UK
    Full Name:
    Alan
    My dear old Mum lives in Dereham so I would often drive past Mildenhall on my way up from Kent.

    They've opened up the roads since you left but we're blighted by speed cameras and radar traps, particularly on the A14 stretches.

    The A11 now has a great bypass between Barton Mills at the top of the M11 and Thetford (Bypassing Elvden Forest), it's one of those clear open stretches of road that begs you to open the taps. You can see for miles, which is an oddity in the UK.
     
  19. Themaven

    Themaven F1 Rookie

    Nov 2, 2014
    4,252
    Eastdown
    Full Name:
    Darius
    Still fun in that part of the UK, Taz, but more speed cameras on the A roads, and probably 40% more traffic (pre COVID) than the early 90s.

    you would find the increased number of vans quite painful. They travel at speeds which make them hard to overtake on twisty roads, and generally get in the way.

    “In the 25 years between 1994 and 2019, van traffic has seen the fastest growth (in percentage terms) of any motor vehicle, more than doubling to reach a record high of 55.5 billion vehicle miles. This rapid rise in van traffic over the last 25 years means that van traffic now makes up around 16 per cent of total traffic, compared to 10 per cent in 1994. Alongside the 106 per cent increase in van miles between 1994 and 2019, the number of licensed vans rose 93 per cent over the same period, from 2.1 to 4.1 million.” - UK govt report
     
  20. Boy Wonder

    Boy Wonder Karting

    May 23, 2014
    164
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Fred Wolf
     
  21. Boy Wonder

    Boy Wonder Karting

    May 23, 2014
    164
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Fred Wolf
    Steve ,, where are you in Vt,, anywhere near Rutland ?
     
  22. SteveVT

    SteveVT Karting

    Nov 30, 2019
    107
    Vermont
    Full Name:
    Steve
    @Boy Wonder - I am a bit further north - in the Burlington area.
     
  23. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,986
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Darius, Alan- Just shows you can never go back. Our favorite pub, The Plough in Rede, sold, too.
     
  24. Boy Wonder

    Boy Wonder Karting

    May 23, 2014
    164
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Fred Wolf
    i go to the British Invasion in Stowe every fall,,
     

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