David
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One of my most vivid childhood memories is from when I was five years old. I stood on the split-rail fence that separated the front yards as I watched new neighbors, the Nelsons, moving in. Mrs. Nelson drove up in her bright red Jaguar XK (I’m not sure which model, but probably a 150). My deeply emotional reaction to that car was the first recognition that I had that automobiles were exceptional things in this world and I have had an enthusiasm for them ever since. However, other than a year working in a service station after high school and my ’68 Plymouth Road Runner (an original Hemi car with a 440 wedge) that I ran in ¼-mile brackets at Orange County International Raceway (OCIR) back in the mid-1970’s, I had done little to advance my interest in cars. I have for decades remained one of those guys who often said things that began with, “Some day…” or “I always wanted…”. I long believed or hoped that I would one day be able to realize an avocation or hobby that involved automobiles, but had little idea of what form that would take. Then one day an event occurred that was the beginning of the end of the “some days.”
But before I describe the event, I need to give you a brief background on an acquaintance of mine, Kevin Enderby. I met Kevin a few years ago as he is a good friend of my girlfriend Julie. Kevin is, in so many ways, the guy we all wish we could be. You see, Kevin—though a mere mortal and working stiff like the rest of us—owns, not one, not two, but three Ferraris. He is extremely active in Bay Area Ferrari events and owners clubs. All of his cars, including a Ford Model A roadster are high-mileage drivers that nonetheless receive their fare share of awards at show-and-shines and concours alike. Note that Kevin has what is the highest mileage F430 Ferrari in existence—and his ’84 308GTS has upwards of 170,000 miles and recently won a Bay Area event. Note too, that his Ferraris are regularly used in high performance driving experience (HPDE) events where he runs the cars at speed on closed racecourses. His cars have appeared on the cover of Forza magazine as well as others and he and his cars have been the subject of feature articles.
Obviously, anytime I accompanied Julie on a visit to see her Bay Area friends, I was particularly anxious to visit with Kevin and talk cars. I found Kevin to be quite affable regarding conversations on cars and he is quite tolerant of those of us that are not as knowledgeable or experienced as he. Certainly, the discussions got me considering a used, er, previously owned, Ferrari as the subject of my car hobby.
The event that became the beginning of the end of my “some days” occurred when Kevin invited me to ride with him as he ran laps with his then nearly new F430 at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca during a HPDE on Easter Sunday (April 8) 2007. Kevin is extremely experienced in HPDE to the extent that the folks at Hooked on Driving (www.hookedondriving.com) have signed him off to take passenger onto the track for demo rides. I rode a full 20-minute session with him. I was tense and held on tightly for the first few laps but learned to trust the 4-point harness and enjoy the ride. Exiting the car at the conclusion of the session I exclaimed to Julie something like, “I gotta get me one of these.” Of course, an F430 was well out of the realm of serious consideration. However, an older mid-engine V8 was certainly a possibility. But, I was concerned about the many stories I had heard of things like $12,000 clutch jobs, so I consulted the expert. Kevin told me, that for any Ferrari, budget a minimum of $10,000 per year for service and maintenance, alone. Gulp! That, unfortunately, nixed the notion of older F355 or 360 Modena in my future. Sports cars certainly seemed to be “It” but Ferrari’s and similar exotics seemed to be out-of-the-question. I needed a ‘Plan B’ |
Kevin Enderby (right)
with his F430 and the author. Photo by Julie Gainsburg |
Copyright
©2008 The author (David W. Miller,
Ph.D.) reserves all rights to the content of these pages. David Miller provides the content of his Corvette Chronicles purely for
entertainment purposes. Dr. Miller
acknowledges that he is not an expert of the subject matter for any of the
technical discussions presented.
Therefore, any information a visitor may glean from these pages should
not be seen as advice from an expert.
David makes no assurances and does not warranty that the information is
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This
page created on December 22, 2008
Last
updated on May 26, 2009
David
Miller Home |CSUN Home | COBAE Home | Accounting & IS Home | Back