Ferrari Mailing List: Ron Tonkin Dealerships Sold to Gee Automotive

[Doug & Terri (dnt]

Picture this – The first 360 in Kalifornia.  Its early 1999 (I think – or late 1998) in the grey Ventura CA beach city morning, I am at Bills shop, playing hooky from work.  A non-descript truck pulling an unmarked all white race car trailer from Ron Tonkin pulls up to Bills quiet shop.  This is the first time I have ever heard the name Ron Tonkin.  Bills shop is in a tilt up building in an industrial park.  Rick is there.  He is an outgoing quiet broker of exotic cars. His roots go back to Texas to Reno or Reno to Texas dealerships.  His office is down the street in the same nondescript tilt up as Bills - with a single bay full of exotic cars .  Rick had ordered 5 360’s from the factory (other delivery dates - ?) and the first one is in the trailer. 

 

The trailer opens and out rolls a red Ferrari Modena with an F1 transmission.  The truck driver gives Bill and Rick a quick lesson how to drive the new-fangled F1 transmission and off they go.  Bill comes back and invites me to ride shotgun around the then quiet industrial neighborhood.  Zip off we go.  Bill stops, comments let’s see how this thing goes – aaaaah says the 360’s purring motor then aaaaAAAAAAAAA - - - - two upshifts faster than a speeding bullet.  WHOA – this aint ours says Bill and we idle off back to the truck as tire smoke overtakes us. 

 

I get a few pictures, me in the driver’s seat etc. and a copy of the window sticker.  I get the pictures developed and doctored the window sticker.  I leave them openly on my cubicle desk for my nosey comrades who have a habit of looking over my shoulder.  They don’t say anything to me as they are prone to peek at what I am usually up to.  Heh heh.  But there is office buzz.  I just let it hang.  Nothing was immediately said until Patrea, a sweet matronly office clerk asks “do you really have a Ferrari?”  I tell her I prefer to lie about.  She asks again – “well, do you?”  I say “yes.”  She then remarks – are you lying about this?  (They don’t know I have the 308GTS) and my “lie” just hangs there – with a sly grin.

 

Rick’s purchases allow Bill and Dave Gooley to put together a “car guy tour” to Italy for late spring 1999.  Because Rick has made a notable purchase a tour of the Ferrari factory is in order.  My first impromptu tour was in 1979 – I recall the tiny waiting room which greeted Tibor and me in August.  An F1 car with #’s 11 on one side, #12 on the other is stuffed in there too.  I’ve chatted about that adventure.  This time, 20 years later, the Ferrari waiting room is like Disneyland.  Very formal.  A gaggle of about 20 approved guests are also there.  A nice guide requests all movie and still cameras be placed on a table in that room.  We comply.  During my 1979 impromptu tour our Armani suited guide allowed me to take all the pictures I wanted to in the quite closed down for national vacation factory.  I imagine it’s even more Disneyland today.

 

Ach, those were the days.

 

DOUG

 

From: Ferrari [mailto:ferrari-bounces+dnt=dock.net [at] ferrarilist.com] On Behalf Of John Ashburne via Ferrari
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2016 5:39 AM
To: DOUG <dnt [at] dock.net>
Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Ron Tonkin Dealerships Sold to Gee Automotive

 

Might be semantics between Tonkin as a "dealer" and Chinetti as a "distributor", which he was going back to the early 50's. 

 

I don't know when he became a "dealer" but his Showroom in Greenwich CT lives on as the home of the Ferrari dealership for Miller Motorcars. 

 

Regardless, I consider Chinetti as the first Ferrari dealer as he was instrumental in establishing Ferrari's market position in the U.S. 

 

John

Sent from my ATT Bell Rotary Dial Phone

On Dec 16, 2016, at 7:24 AM, George <ygpz4re [at] hotmail.com> wrote:

Brian wrote:

 

"The location was the first U.S.-based Ferrari dealership when the Tonkin’s opened its doors in 1966."

 

I've heard this so many times, but what about Chinetti?  Was he never a "formal" Ferrari dealer?  I know my Dad went to his shop in 1958 for service help with his Ferrari, and of course, Chinetti was a well-known friend of Enzo's....  This has always confused me.

 

Thanks.

 

gp

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