Cool Pic Thread - Vehicles

[Llarry]

In General Motor's quest to fill out the automotive choices, it came up with the LaSalle brand in 1927 to slot just below Cadillac and just above Buick.

Here's a 1935 LaSalle 50 convertible.

[mjj]

488 Pista is my all time favorite, followed closely by a 458 Speciale. I would pull the trigger if I were single but no way either one of these makes it past the wife for approval.

Plus the way it works in my house is if I make a large car purchase, then she feels compelled to spend the same/more on something she wants. So essentially I need to always plan for 2x spend of what it should cost.

[Lady Jane]

Saoutchik-bodied Pegaso Z-102. The Spanish Ferrari.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegaso_Z-102

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by mjj

488 Pista is my all time favorite, followed closely by a 458 Speciale.

The 488 was in production from 2015 to 2019, with the Pista introduced in 2018.

I do not have production figures for the 488.

The "base" 488's 3.9 turbo V-8 put out 661 hp, with the Pista bumping that up to 710 hp. Ferrari engines are themselves works of art, with beautiful castings, etc.

Incredible cars!

[Llarry]

An early example of "Pinin" Farina's coachbuilding work: 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara berlinetta.

"Pinin" Farina founded his firm in 1930. The firm was destroyed in World War II and he started over. Post-war, the firm had many successes and in particular styled many Ferraris over the years, as well as other more ordinary vehicles. In 1961, the firm became Pininfarina.

[ash_schwin]

Dream garage!

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by mjj

488 Pista is my all time favorite, followed closely by a 458 Speciale. I would pull the trigger if I were single but no way either one of these makes it past the wife for approval.

Plus the way it works in my house is if I make a large car purchase, then she feels compelled to spend the same/more on something she wants. So essentially I need to always plan for 2x spend of what it should cost.

I will be driving a 488 Pista in a couple weeks in Las Vegas. I'm sure I will want to buy one afterwards along with so many other cars....cars are the best.

[Llarry]

1936 Mercedes-Benz 290K cabriolet

[Llarry]

As we have seen, the government regulations placed on automakers hit Ferrari hard in the 1970s and the import of V-12 power cars to the USA ceased. But Ferrari wanted to keep some skin in the game in what was the largest market for their road cars, and so imported a large number of mid-engine V-8 cars during the period. The Dino/Ferrari 308 GT4, which we have already covered, was the first of these and Ferrari built on that with a two-seat variant which became the bread and butter of the marque.

The Ferrari 308 GTB was introduced at the Paris auto show in 1975. By now the V-8s were Ferraris, not Dinos. The car was based mechanically on the 308 GT4 with the same 90-degree dual overhead cam 3-liter V-8. The styling was by Pininfarina and was quite handsome. The wheelbase was of course shortened as the new car did not have GT4's rear seats.

The car was an immediate hit. The initial lot of 308GTBs had partly fiberglass bodies but soon transitioned to all metal. The wheels were 14-inch with 205/70R-14 tires at first.

The power output was 255 hp in Europe and 240 hp in the USA. The American cars suffered extended 5 mph impact bumpers; over the years the owners converted them back to Euro bumpers.

In 1977 the 308 GTB was joined by a Targa-type 308 GTS with removable roof panel. The GTS proved a hit and spider sales soon outpaced sales of the berlinetta.

In Italy, as had been the case with the 308 GT4, there was a 2-liter V-08 version available for the tax-averse buyer.

Emissions regulations continued to tighten and in 1980, the 308 saw its Weber carburetors replaced by Bosche K-Jetronic fuel injection in an effort to meet the ever more strict regulations. The output of U.S. market cars dropped to 205 hp, a real low point for Ferrari.

Some relief arrived in 1982 with the adoption of 4-valve heads and output for U.S. cars rose to 230 hp. These are referred to as 308 GTB/GTS Quattrovalvole cars. The 308 GTB & 308 GTS QV cars continued to be sold until 1985 -- an unprecedented ten year run for Ferrari.

In 1985, the 308s got a displacement bump to 3.2 liters which brought the power output up to 260 hp at 7000 rpm. By now, too, the 14-inch wheels and tires had been replaced by staggered 16-inchers (205/55R-16 front and 225/50R-16 rear); note, however, that the 308/328 cars were subjected to the same unfortunate period of Michelin TRX metric sizes. Late 328s got anti-lock braking.

Put together, the production run for the 308/328 cars was 1975 to 1989, a record for Ferrari. In 1989, a new 348 berlinetta was finally introduced to update the V-8 line. All told, the 308s and 328s, along with their 208 Italian cousins, sold about 21,500 cars during that period.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_308_GTB/GTS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari 328

A note on photos: Since all the cars -- early or late -- were quite similar in appearance, I've minimized the number of attached photos. The Wikipedia articles have more. You'll note that any search for Ferrari photos yields plenty of red ones!

[Llarry]

When Ferrari replaced the 328 mid-engine V-8s, they quickly ran into an obstacle from an unexpected quarter: Japan. Honda introduced an aluminum-bodied semi-exotic: The NSX. The NSX did not have the heritage or cachet of the Ferrari, but was far cheaper and could be maintained or repaired at your local Honda dealer (in Europe) or Acura dealer (in the USA.)

It took Ferrari a while to respond in kind to the assault but in the meantime, they introduced a new 3.4 liter-powered 348 tb and ts in berlinetta or targa-style spider style respectively. The 3.4 offered 300 hp and the 348s came with 17-inch wheels & tires as well; it seemed that Ferrari was back in the game.

In 1993 a true convertible joined the lineup as the 348 spider. At the same time, the other two body styles got a minor facelift.

The 348 was not universally praised by the motoring press; it was evident that Honda had an impact on the overall market. But Ferrari was awakened by the competition and came back strong with the 348's replacement, the 355. I will cover that model in the future.

Note that the photos show that not all Ferraris are red!

[Llarry]

Although I have plenty of Ferraris left to feature, I must not forget that there are lots and lots of cool cars of all types worthy of this thread.

Here's one: A 1931 Auburn 8-98A phaeton. Beautiful! (Price new in 1931 $1,395.)

[Llarry]

Speaking of *NOT* Ferrari, you would be forgiven for thinking this to be some unusual Ferrari but this is in fact one of three 1959 Corvettes that were sent to Italy to be rebodied by Scaglietti.

[Llarry]

The first American front wheel drive car: 1931 Cord L-29 cabriolet, which made its debut in 1929.

As usual on upscale cars of the period, powered by a straight eight.