# Pothole 1, Ferrari 0 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901 "2004-06-17T18:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/21 "2004-06-18T15:30:21Z")
> [@Beadalin](#): > > 179,000… Euros? Pounds? Dollars? It makes a difference, you know. The $320,000 quoted in the _Washington Times_ article was (obviously) in dollars. The ad specifies 149,000 euros, which [converts](http://www.xe.com/ucc/) to $180,676.07 US. 'course, this one’s _used_. : sniff : : sniff : ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/22 "2004-06-18T16:58:09Z")
I can see spending $320,000 on a car if you have the kind of money that people like Bill Gates or Oprah do… but what kind of idiot priorities do you have to have to spend that kind of money on a _car_ otherwise?! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/23 "2004-06-18T17:04:51Z")
Why are we revelling someone else’s misery? ☹ Oh yeah, 'cause it is damn fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/24 "2004-06-18T17:11:36Z")
A long time ago my roomie was unbelievably happey about his Brand New Car. He picked it up at the dealer’s and, half-way home… BAM! …a guy ran into his side. He never even got the car all the way home to brag about it. It wasn’t a $320,000 Ferrari, but I think he felt the same way … ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/25 "2004-06-18T17:27:51Z")
What in the hell is the deal with foreigners and their ponies? ---
**Author:** ![Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Lathe\_of\_Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lathe_of_Heaven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/26 "2004-06-18T17:33:11Z")
(Told to me by my high-school history teacher; take with salt) Once upon a time in my hometown, a guy had just taken his company public. Flush with cash, he proceeded to the Ferrari dealership, bought a Ferrari… and got killed in a car crash on his way home. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/27 "2004-06-18T17:46:50Z")
24 years ago I laid down a 1000cc Z-1 Classic coming home from the dealership. Aside from the obvious physical discomfort of digging gravel out my palms and knees, looking at your brand new beater evokes a pain unlike any other. Our trip to Yosemite a couple of weeks ago coincided with a Ferrari club’s stay there… new ones, old ones, every make and model imaginable. I tell ya’, I can’t even fathom what it would feel like to damage one of those beauties. They’re orgasms with a clutch. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/28 "2004-06-18T17:53:09Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > They’re orgasms with a clutch. Hmmm…the one in the ad (referenced earlier in this thread as a comparable to the wreck) is shown as an automatic. 1. Why would they put an automatic in one of these? 2. I wonder if that’s the reason for the price difference? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/29 "2004-06-18T18:19:53Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I can see spending $320,000 on a car if you have the kind of money that people like Bill Gates or Oprah do… but what kind of idiot priorities do you have to have to spend that kind of money on a _car_ otherwise?! > > 😕 Can I assume you’re a woman? These exotic sports cars are almost exclusively a Guy Thing ™ If I ever have 6 figures just lying around, I’ll have a Diablo in my driveway. ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/30 "2004-06-18T18:39:42Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I can see spending $320,000 on a car if you have the kind of money that people like Bill Gates or Oprah do… but what kind of idiot priorities do you have to have to spend that kind of money on a _car_ otherwise?! > > 😕 Babe magnet :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/31 "2004-06-18T18:51:33Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Hmmm…the one in the ad (referenced earlier in this thread as a comparable to the wreck) is shown as an automatic. > > 1. Why would they put an automatic in one of these? > 2. I wonder if that’s the reason for the price difference? It’s not _really_ an automatic: you can buy Ferraris with a sequential manual gearbox (SMG), which is essentially a computer-controlled manual. It’s the same transmission that you’d get if you bought one with an ordinary manual, but the gear selector and clutch are computer-controlled. An ordinary automatic transmission is much more complex, heavier, and less efficient. Compared to the overall price of the car, this isn’t that expensive an option. Around $15,000 or so, last time I heard anything about it. That doesn’t mean the guy isn’t an idiot: if I had saved my whole life to buy a Ferrari, I would want to row through the gears myself. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/32 "2004-06-18T19:15:25Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > [$320,000?](http://www.rsportscars.com/slo/avto/ferrari_575m.asp) :dubious: > > I’ve seen Mazdas that looked snazzier than that. Well, sure, but how many uber-babes will take you to bed because they rode in your Mazda? Seriously, I’d have to be immensely wealthy before I’d spend $320K on a car. Hey! The washing machine ate one of my $1200 socks! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/33 "2004-06-18T19:18:47Z")
For the difference between a Miata and that Ferrari, I could _rent_ a seriously huge number of uber-babes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901.md?page=1)