Monday, August 13, 2012 at 6:36PM Fellow Automobiliacs: I have been travelling, and apologize for the week of radio silence! While I get my clothes unpacked and sift through my photos, here's a little something to enjoy.
;)
Photo Credit: James Lamdin
208 GT4, Dino, Ferrari, Lime Rock in Moment of Zen Friday, July 27, 2012 at 5:10PM Fitted luggage has always been a hallmark of travelling in style going way back to the time of the horse and carriage. Starting in the early 1980s, Ferrari began to offer their own sets of fitted luggage to their customers, created in partnership with Modenese leathergoods maker Schedoni. The results were some truly beautiful handmade luggage that slid snugly into the often challenging storage compartments of Maranello's creations. Starting with the Ferrari 308, each successive new model has had a custom set of luggage as an option.
Most of them came in a beautiful shade of tobacco-colored leather with elegant brass fittings. My personal favorite is the nearly round suitcase designed to fill out the spare tire well of the F40! This partnership between Schedoni and Ferrari continues to this day. Entire sets of this luggage, as well as individual pieces can be found on ebay from time to time.
Design, Ferrari, Schedoni, fitted luggage, luggage in Object of Desire Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 10:00AM 
A gaggle of newly-minted 308 GT4's at the factory bound for the USA. What a fascinating array of colors! I even see a lime green one halfway back!
Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 9:51AM ;)
Driving back from Lime Rock yesterday, we were treated to this fine sight and a friendly toot of the horn!
Photo credit: James Lamdin
512BB, Ferrari, street sighting in Street Sightings Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 7:44PM The same year my Dino's body was built in the Bertone factory, Marcello Gandini and his team were creating this wedge-like design study also based on the Ferrari 308 mechanicals. Clearly, these themes never made it into any production Ferrari. But you can see many elements here that would find their way into several small sports cars of the 80s, particularly from Japan. At this time, Japanese automakers had yet to emerge, butterfly-like from their mimetic, unimaginative cocoons. But collaborations between Italian styling houses and Japanese automakers began to bear fruit. Radical Italian ideas of the mid 70s became the new Japanese look of the 80s, and the wedge went from avante garde to mainstream.
