cartpix Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Yesterday, I got to drive a Maserati Granturismo convertible. Words can't describe it, but I'll try. First I walked up to the white beauty & pushed the unlock button, on the "switch blade" key fob. I squeezed the carbon fiber door handle & opened the door. I was immediately overcome, with the smell of the red, glove leather interior. I slipped the laser cut key, into the ignition, gave it a twist, & was pleasured, by the cacophony of to powerful, Italian V8. I pushed the sport button, as directed by the owner, & took it out of the parking lot. I drove it, for several blocks & was able to press hard, on the loud pedal, a couple of times. Needless to say, it moved. I was too busy watching out for the "men in blue", to look for the traction control button. I would really like to see how far it would lay down 2 black, smokey stripes, on the blacktop. Maybe next time. When you pull the left shift paddle, it blips the throttle, on downshifts. Too cool. I wanted to keep on driving but I had to take it back, before she started thinking, I had stolen her 2 day old, brand new car. Oh yeah, it is owned by a woman. A woman I hardly know. She's a school site psychologist, at the school district, I work at. She saw me, pull into the district office parking lot, & was smitten with my Mini. She wanted to swap cars but I wasn't interested in her Mercedes. She told me,yesterday, she traded in the Benz & held up the key fob. I saw the trademark trident & said, you got a Maserati? She said, "yeah, take it around the block". She also has a '64 Studebaker Lark...
Harry P. Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 What kind of salary does a school psychologist get there in SoCal???!!!! No wonder you guys are taxed up the wazoo...
Dale W. Verts Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Still, pretty cool. From a Mini to a Maserati. Dale
jeffs396 Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 She hardly knows you & she let you drive her 2 day old EXPENSIVE car, by yourself? She wants you Jeff!!!
Joe Handley Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 What kind of salary does a school psychologist get there in SoCal???!!!! No wonder you guys are taxed up the wazoo... No kidding, my sister looked into getting a job in the library at the high school we went to and would have lost a couple dollars an hour from what she had been making at her current job at the time!
DynoMight Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 What kind of salary does a school psychologist get there in SoCal???!!!! No wonder you guys are taxed up the wazoo... Maybe it wasn't hers but perhaps her husbands??
cartpix Posted June 21, 2014 Author Posted June 21, 2014 What kind of salary does a school psychologist get there in SoCal???!!!! No wonder you guys are taxed up the wazoo... She also flips houses, on the side. She hardly knows you & she let you drive her 2 day old EXPENSIVE car, by yourself? She wants you Jeff!!! I don't think so. I think she plays, on the "other team", if you know what I mean.
cartpix Posted June 21, 2014 Author Posted June 21, 2014 Maybe it wasn't hers but perhaps her husbands?? Nope, it's hers. She says really weird things, about it. Like, "it's just a car". Just weird.
cartpix Posted June 21, 2014 Author Posted June 21, 2014 No kidding, my sister looked into getting a job in the library at the high school we went to and would have lost a couple dollars an hour from what she had been making at her current job at the time! There is a big difference between a Librarian's salary & a Psychologist. She also traded in a 600 Mercedes & she's leasing it.
cartpix Posted June 21, 2014 Author Posted June 21, 2014 Still, pretty cool. From a Mini to a Maserati. Dale I would like to take it on some twisties, though. My Mini turbocharged, with the handling package. I kept up with a Porsche, on Sunset, one night. We both had left an AMG Mercedes, behind us.
Harry P. Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 I think she plays, on the "other team", if you know what I mean. Maybe she's a switch hitter...
vamach1 Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 My story isn't quite as exciting (neighbor let me drive his 355) but I did get to drive it for about 60 miles.
Jeff Johnston Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 My story isn't quite as exciting (neighbor let me drive his 355) but I did get to drive it for about 60 miles. I'd have to disagree Rex. I'd be mighty excited to drive a 355 I'd probably drool all over the leather seats the whole way !!!!
blunc Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I drove a school bus loaded with enough 55gal drums of gas to get from Idaho to Phoenix without stopping. It had a 2-speed differential (which was new to me), that was exciting...but in a different way.
Tom Geiger Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I saw my aunt today and she said that my cousin David had gotten an electric car. I told her that I knew he had gotten a Nissan Leaf last summer, in fact I have driven it. She replied, "No he just got the expensive one.. a Tess something..." Hmmm... I'm hoping I get to drive a new Tesla! Maybe I need to invite him over for a swim!
Joe Handley Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I saw my aunt today and she said that my cousin David had gotten an electric car. I told her that I knew he had gotten a Nissan Leaf last summer, in fact I have driven it. She replied, "No he just got the expensive one.. a Tess something..." Hmmm... I'm hoping I get to drive a new Tesla! Maybe I need to invite him over for a swim! I've talked to a couple Tesla owners, they love the things! Also have a friend who's driven one that belongs to a friend's sister and her husband......apparently 0-100mph comes up very quick, 100-120 however, takes some time.
Harry P. Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I've talked to a couple Tesla owners, they love the things! Also have a friend who's driven one that belongs to a friend's sister and her husband......apparently 0-100mph comes up very quick, 100-120 however, takes some time. And how often does one need to be driving more than 100 mph?
Tom Geiger Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 And how often does one need to be driving more than 100 mph? Agreed. When I used to drive to work on the Garden State Parkway in NJ, which is a stop and go parking lot, I'd often see the same red Ferrari in traffic... inching along with us commoners. And noting that my well worn Plymouth Breeze was doing the same exact job!
Joe Handley Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 Actually guys, I was kinda surprised to hear they found that much open road without law enforcement. My sister hasn't been able.to really stretch her Challenger's legs around here because if there are cops watching traffic the, the roads are clogged up with slow drivers!
cartpix Posted June 22, 2014 Author Posted June 22, 2014 And how often does one need to be driving more than 100 mph? I live in L.A., I have a hard time getting up to the speed limit, on the freeway, most of the time.
Modelbuilder Mark Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 And how often does one need to be driving more than 100 mph? What does need have to do with it? Well..there is also "THE need, the need for speed". Some folks just have it.
Harry P. Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 What does need have to do with it? Well..there is also "THE need, the need for speed". Some folks just have it. No point in having a car that does 120 if it's a street-driven car. You'll never drive that fast anywhere. I'd much rather have a car that handles well and gets decent gas mileage than a car that can do 120 or 150 or whatever, because that max. speed is irrelevant to how and where I drive my car (not on the track, just on the street in normal everyday traffic). It's the same with Z-rated tires... I have no intention of ever driving on the street at speeds where I would need a Z-rated tire.
sjordan2 Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 (edited) Within a week after I bought my 6-speed C4 Corvette, I went out onto the Interstate near me on a Sunday morning, here in Knoxville. There were zero cars around, and a very long view down the road. 115 mph, and one section with all four tires off the surface. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has taken such an opportunity in a responsible way. Edited June 22, 2014 by sjordan2
Harry P. Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 Within a week after I bought my 6-speed C4 Corvette, I went out onto the Interstate near me on a Sunday morning, here in Knoxville. There were zero cars around, and a very long view down the road. 115 mph, and one section with all four tires off the surface. I'm sure I'm not the only person who has taken such an opportunity in a responsible way. So it's important to own a car that can go 115 mph so that you can do that one time? Really? I used to own a Dodge Stealth RT (the Dodge version of the Mitsubishi 3000GT). I took it out one morning like you, Skip... very early morning on a deserted interstate with no cross streets or pedestrians or even other cars. I went to 126 and started thinking "gee, what if there's a big pothole up ahead? What if there's a cop behind the next billboard?" So I quickly slowed back to "normal" speed. In the 7-8 years I owned that car I never again did that. So the fact that it could do that was completely irrelevant 99.999999999999% of the time I drove the car. And I didn't buy the car for its top speed... I bought it for the looks. If its top speed was only 90 I would still have bought it. BTW... I seem to remember that I was in 5th gear (that's all there were) but still far from redline... so the car would have gone even faster if I hadn't chickened out!
Jeff Johnston Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I have to agree that I really don't care how fast it will go, from t top speed perspective. I want to feel how fast it will go right now. I want to jump off the line to 60 or 70 or 80, and I want it to be fun driving on twisty roads, or on the entrance ramp. I'd buy a Jag F type because for me, I think its just about the coolest thing out there right how, and I'm just sure I'd have lots of fun driving country roads and doing the zero to 75 thing...or 40 to 80. JJ
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