Ferrari Mailing List: Re: of Ferrari's and dresssing well....

[BRIGANDBAR (BRIGANDBAR]

In a message dated 2/23/2007 5:16:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
ferrari-request [at] ferrarilist.com writes:

Anyone  else had any thoughts like this... or is it JUST  me?



Gavin: 
 
Which Rolls Royce model do you drive?
 
It might be a cultural issue as well, as with many things, New Zealand  
(Caveat:  Closest I've ever been to N.Z. is Australia so this comment is  based 
mostly upon what I've read and heard, though I have met a couple of folks  from 
your country) it seems to be a little more "colonial" (in the most positive  
sense of the word) than the U.S. 
 
The reason I asked the first question is that I find different reactions to  
different series of RR's. In the Silver Spur, many folks don't realize what it 
 is right off the bat, sometimes they never do if they don't walk around the  
front of the car and see the radiator shell and Flying Lady and they don't 
think  twice about my jumping out of it in blue jeans or other ranch work 
clothes. In  the Silver Cloud, however, it is a different story. I get that 
"Grey 
Poupon"  stare followed by a curious look about the absence of formal dress. 
Audrey says  that the Silver Cloud "looks like a Rolls Royce should look" and 
the 
Silver Spur  does not. As for the Corniche, well I don't think they look 
favorably upon a  western hat or baseball cap, being more given to expect to 
see 
the driver  wearing what we affectionately call a "cocksucker cap".
 
Audrey has one other similar, but only tangentially related rule. People,  
particularly retail sales people, judge others by what they wear and drive to a 
 
greater extent than would be a valid consideration in determining wealth or  
relative station in life. Case in point: On a recent lecture tour in Houston,  
Texas one of our hosts took us out for the evening and the women thought it  
would be a "good idea" to stop at the Galleria Mall to get some desert at the  
Cheesecake Factory. Females being what they are, and since there was a rather 
 long waiting list, they also just decided that we could take the little 
pager  they give you in the restaurant with us and "tour the mall". First stop 
was 
 Bvlgaries (sp?), followed by Bailey Biddle, etc. I think jewelry shopping is 
an  gender specific addiction/defect. In any event, being dressed as a 
typical rural  Texan, not the stereotypical "Urban Cowoy" style, just blue 
jeans and 
boots, and  though my wonderful female companions were admiring some pieces 
that would  require my winning a larger than average Powerball jackpot just to 
be put on  lay-a-way I had a only specific item in mind. My only interest in 
being  there was to look for a specific Piaget watch that had been discontinued 
but on  occasion may be found NOS in the "right" store. In both cases I 
couldn't get the  time of day from any of the serious sales persons, nor even 
enough attention to  be granted the opportunity to ask of them if by chance 
they 
had the particular  watch that I wanted to acquire. Then, low and behold, and 
this happened in both  stores so I have to assume that I am not "jumping to 
conclusions", as soon as  they noticed that I happen to be wearing a Patek 
Phillipe wristwatch their  attitude switch changed to the opposite pole. There 
was 
some serious attention  and in fact serious offers to assist in locating the 
Piaget piece that I was  looking to buy. I hadn't changed, my income had not 
gone 
up, nor was I dressed  any differently than before, but based upon some 
trivial conversation with  the sales personnel, their impression of my 
financial 
status had done an about  face.
 
As for the Ferrari, I have not noticed any real compulsion to "dress for  
success". No new Armani or Seville Row suits in the closet, mostly Luchese 
boots  
for footwear, nor any real bling jewelry. I am generally given to wearing 
blue  jeans with occasional khakis and I'm more given to lambskin and fleece 
coats  than I am to cashmire.
 
Bottom line is that folks may develop expectations based upon what I am  
driving, or wearing, but these expectations do not serve to require me to "live 
 
up to them". I've ridden cutting horses that were worth more than many of my  
cars, one of whom went on to, from what I understand, be worth more than  most 
folks' homes, driven more and less expensive automobiles, traded cattle  that 
may or may not be valuable, and have a few hobbies that might include some  
desirable specimens. In my professional life I dress in normal business attire  
for meetings where it is appropriate, and drive whichever car strikes my fancy 
 for that given day, the destination, road conditions, etc., and the number 
of  people I might have occasion to carry with me to intermediate stops such as 
 meals, meetings, etc. I haven't a clue as to what they really think when I 
pull  up in one car or another, each will probably form their own unique 
conclusion if  any as to the meaning of the car that I am driving at the time, 
and 
that is fine  with me. Does showing up in a Rolls Royce imply success, most 
probably it does  and if it conveys a sense of exceptional competence that has 
resulted in such  success then it has served me well. On the other hand, might 
arriving in a  Ferrari, or the company Excursion give them a different 
impression? If the car  is appropriate to the reason it was utilized and 
accrues 
incidental benefits so  much the better, but I doubt if I have gained or lost a 
client based simply upon  my mode of transportation. But then again, I don't 
have 
many "green"  environmentalists on my client list, so owning gas guzzlers 
won't hurt me  anyway.
 
Dr. Steve  

1964 Rolls  Royce Silver Cloud III    1975 Pontiac GV Conv.
1980 MB  450SL                 1982 RR  Corniche
1988 Rolls Royce Silver  Spur         1994 F-350 Powerstroke  4x4          
1996  Bronco                                  2000 Lincoln Town Car
1995 Ferrari 348  Spyder                 2004 Excursion
+ Audrey's 3x MB's

Dr. Stephen B. Spies, CES,  CFI
Director, Forensic Sciences Laboratory
Explosives Engineering  Technologies

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