Ferrari Mailing List: Re: My Experience with a Kit Car Owner

[BRIGANDBAR (BRIGANDBAR]

I guess in this instance, as in virtually all, the owner is trying to  "pass" 
the car off as what it isn't. One of the guys in our Sat. morning Euro  car 
club has gone to the trouble of buying a personalized license plate for his  
Lamborghini that says "REAL 1". 
 
IMNSHO I don't know as it is really an issue in social conversation, and  
that it couldn't be readily dismissed with a comment such as "nice copy" and  
complimenting this degree of admiration and the initiative to imitate until 
they  
can afford the "REAL 1".
 
On the other hand, I've recently been thinking about picking up a fairly  
substandard RR Silver Cloud III with one of those GM conversions (considered to 
 
be in the same class as the "knockoffs" that we are discussing here in the 
RROC,  etc.) and just throwing on a halfway decent but inexpensive paint job 
that 
tries  to emulate the colors of the real one that I spend so much time 
restoring to  drive in bad weather, around town in mall parking lots, etc. as 
an 
extra car  (which I sorely do not need at this point, and could become a burden 
or  inconvenience). I think that this would be similar to many of my clients 
and  their friends who own imitations of their real jewelry, e.g. knockoff 
Piaget or  Rolex watches, that they wear sometimes to make their insurance 
carrier 
happy or  in places where damage could occur such as wearing a knockoff 
Daytona when  reviewing a project in a strip mine. Scratching or breaking the 
crystal etc., on  a $200 knockoff beats the hell out of doing it to a $15k 
watch. I 
wear one of  the Citizen Eco somethings that is far to complex in its 
capabilities for me to  fully utilize (I'm too lazy to learn to do everything 
that it 
can do) but does  have all of the functions that I need without imitating 
something else but I  don't know that I really would feel badly about wearing a 
Daytona knockoff if I  really had one at home stored and protected from a rough 
environment. Heck, its  okay for all of those Hollywood stars to keep their 
Tiffany or other "real  stuff" jewelry in the safe and wearing their custom 
made 
paste imitations to  many places why not for the rest of us.
 
Wouold I build a 348 kit car just to drive to the mall. I really don't know  
as the 348 "shitbox" might get stolen at the mall (apologies to Clyde) and 
then  I could buy "something real". but I like the car and really don't even 
want 
to  start looking for another 348 Spyder if it were to be stolen, let alone 
in my  small town one would have to be an idiot to do this as many of our 
friends are  troopers or police officers and would call me on the cell phone if 
they saw  someone else driving my car while they were in the process of 
stopping 
it and  interrogating the operator.
 
Knockoffs as cheap imitations for the real thing that one owns, for use in  
circumstances where the real thing might be stolen or damaged, even by road  
salt, vs. knockoffs because you are trying to pretend you are something that 
you 
 are not? Is there really a difference? Is it a bad idea to protect your 
assets  from damage or loss? Or should one simply buy one of those used (up) 
former  police cruiser Crown Vics, saving them from life as a taxicab, as 
transportation  in bad weather and/or bad neighborhoods (short of following 
Clyde's  
advice)?
 
Definitely not for meets, or other places where similar real cars will be  
attending and real owners will be present but then again pehaps we should  
remember that the vast majority of the world is not as obsessed with exotic 
cars  
as we are and will neither know, or care if the car someone is driving is real  
or kit.
 
Dr. Steve
 
Dr.  Stephen B. Spies, CES, CFI
Director, Forensic Sciences  Laboratory
Explosives Engineering Technologies

1964 Rolls Royce Silver  Cloud III.....1975 Pontiac Grandville 
1980 MB 450  SL............................1982 Rolls Royce Corniche DHC
1988 Rolls Rouce  Silver Spur..........1994 F-350 PowerStroke Diesel 
1995 Ferrari 348  Spyder.................1996 Ford Bronco 
2000 Lincoln Town  Car....................2004 Ford Excursion 
+ Audrey's 2 MB's [1980 450SL  & 1987 420SEL] to care for...

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