Absolutely the best!

 

Thank you very much!

 

Previously, I wrote that "in the sixties, Ferrari and Maserati stood side-by-side as the premier high performance brands on the automotive market. They both featured stylish bodies sculpted by Italy's top design houses--Pininfarina, Touring, Vignale, et al--with plush, leather interiors and performance that represented the top level for the time. They looked and sounded exotic and offered a romance stemming from successful racing histories. Both brands were associated with winning at the highest levels of Formula 1 and sports car racing driven by the best drivers in the world".

Only one thing separated the two brands in terms of their offerings and the distinction sealed the fate of both brands. Maserati offered two engines: a twin-cam straight six and a twin-cam V8. Ferrari offered one: a single-cam V12. Compared to the Ferrari engine that produced a sound that is arguably the most exciting an engine ever made, the straight six from Maserati was dated and sedate. The V8, though more exciting and modern than the six, was only offered in a four-door model or in specially ordered sports cars that were rare, expensive and not part of regular production. As a result, Ferrari dominated the market and Maserati, in spite of its glorious provenance, succumbed and suffered multiple and futile attempts to redeem and revive the brand.

This thought process should be applied whether the brand is a person or a product and I have been involved with branding since the early eighties when I founded my film and TV repertory company. Patterning it after the old Hollywood studio system as I did, the process was to brand the talent and then produce material--movies and television shows--to monetize the brand by selling the products we produced in addition to marketing the talent to others in the industry who would to want to use them as well.

Recently, I've been working with my friend Tom Gurnee with his brand and promotion, which has been easy for me to do inasmuch as his brand is easily defined; he is best at playing characters who are quietly menacing, driven and determined. The articulation of his brand is as easy to understand as is the brand slogan "The ultimate driving machine". What is more, when you have Tom in front of you, that definition is what is looking you in the face.

As part of our work, I wrote a monologue for Tom to play with and use whenever he would be asked to do something that could show his skills. I dictated it to him in about three minutes and thought no more of it until Tom suggested we tape it. I had forgotten what I had written, so he kindly sent me a copy of it. Reading it anew, it occurred to me that we should do more than tape it. I felt we should promote the character and idea as the starting concept for a series--whether a series of short, interstitial programs or longer more conventional half-hour or hour long programs didn't matter. I saw the character and the dynamic of his involvement with the unseen recipient of his "question" to be both enigmatic and foreboding. Thoughts of the old Twilight Zone and Dexter came to mind.

We'll see where this goes.

 

All my sincere respects Mr. krasnavian!

First for sharing that amazing story and the second (and most important) having a great icon of Ferrari´s history. Here we have a 250 GTO too, belongs to an important businesses man and passionate Ferrari collector. Sadly reaching him and see his collection is almost impossible

Enjoy each day that master piece and keep posting. Thanks!

 

Thank you, Zambrano. The GTO was a gift that keeps on giving!

 

Thanks! Enjoy the GTO and life

 

Ralph Lauren owns it today but I made the most of it while it was mine.

 

So whats next? Another Ferrari classic like the 250 GT/E? I love that car! I see one last year in Mexico City... God!! the one of the most amazing good looking cars.

 

What's next? A 16M Scuderia would be an exciting modern or a competition SWB would make for a great classic...

 

A lot was written about how Sir Stirling Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia with D.S. Jenkinson using course notes on a roller. It was forgotten that Bill Stroppe's crew had already used this invention in the Carrera...
Carrera Panamericana