I've been published!!! I'm famous!!!

[MickOpalak]

I wrote a letter to Automobile Magazine regarding their article comparing the Exige to a Ferrari F430 and they published it in the new, special 20th anniversary, April 2006 issue! I'm right there on page 31.

Here's the letter if anyone's interested:

"You have to give Lotus credit for building a sports car that is nine-tenths as fast and fun to drive as the Ferrari for one-fourth the price. I have to wonder how fast or fun to drive the Ferrari would be without its traction control, active dampers, paddle shifters, electronic differential, and other driver aides."

[Andrikos]

Sweet!
Is your name mentioned? I didn't notice it.
I'll check it out tonight.
Congrats!

[MickOpalak]

Originally Posted by Andrikos

Is your name mentioned?

Yep.

[EliseAtLeast]

I read the magazine over the weekend in a bookstore and I remember reading you quote. Can I have your autograph?

[Abe]

I found the comments of the previous guy, Hayward B. Oblad from North Salt Lake, Utah, HILARIOUS! quote:

The Lotus Exige nobly acquitted itself against the Ferrari F430 in your very interesting comparison "Do Rich Guys Have All The Fun?". Unfortunately, the racetrack you used was pretty long and has five (!) straights and several high-speed corners. Why didn't you take the cars to Lime Rock, where there is only one brief straight and the rest of the short track has tight corners? In the end, for $200K, you get a flaming red, leather-clad dragster that requires a computer to prevent self-immolation. Such a deal! Really, the reason anyone spends such ridiculous money on a Ferrari was explained by the preacher when only chariots existed: "Vanity of vanities, everything is vanity." I'm neither that vain nor that foolish; therefore, I'll be quite content with a Lotus.

[MitchT]

And the avitar and best writer award goes to........

[shay2nak]

31 is my favorite number.

[SweetDaddyD]

Cool.

I met one of the writers to that mag one time at a VW show (in either OH or MI) He had a sweet Doublecab VW, I remember because it had a crank start option and he showed it to us. Really cool guy, and his kids were a riot too. Everytime they cruised by it was on something different- low rider bike, long board skateboard.....

It's cool they even did that comparison- just like your words point out Mick, 4 times the price, almost as fast, probably just about as fun.

[FunElan]

My dad knows somebody that writes for Automobile magazine. Our Elan was actually pictured in one of the issues.

[mopho]

Oh, yeah.... Well, I know someone who does photography for Car and Driver

[FunElan]

Originally Posted by mopho

Oh, yeah.... Well, I know someone who does photography for Car and Driver

I think you win there, hahaha. Well, one would expect you to know a high ranking photographer because your pictures indicate that you are a high ranking photographer

[MickOpalak]

Originally Posted by EliseAtLeast

I read the magazine over the weekend in a bookstore and I remember reading you quote. Can I have your autograph?

You can even have my shoe's autograph!

[mopho]

Originally Posted by FunElan

I think you win there, hahaha. Well, one would expect you to know a high ranking photographer because your pictures indicate that you are a high ranking photographer

Yeah, he is ugly too, I hate looking at him in the mirror everyday

[MickOpalak]

Automobile has always been one of my favorite automobile mags. To this day I carry around with me a quote from one of the early editorials of the original editor, David E. Davis, Jr. He introduced the piece as a thought on what he would buy if he won the lottery. I think I was about 17 or 18 when it was published and it left a deep impression on me that I carry to this day.:

" I have a friend who understood quality when he graduated from high school. He must have gotten that intuitive appreciation as an extra chromosome, or something. When he graduated from art school, he owned nothing but his clothes, mainly Levis and white T-shirts. He didn't take any vows or anything, he simply resisted the temptation to buy second-rate merchandise, on the reasonable basis that he didn't have much money, so he couldn't afford to buy cheap stuff. He lived in a New York flat without furniture for a long time. When he could afford furniture, he bought an Eames chair, with footrest. When he could afford a suit, he bought a navy blue one from the best tailor in Rome. He didn't purchase a car for a long time, but when he did, he bought an old Aston Martin DB2 coupe. As a result, he never had any junk to throw away. There were never any old bell bottomed trousers or Nehru jackets embarrassing him in his closet. He probably never had to introduce his friends to any girlfriends named Bambi, either. It is entirely possible that he had to push-start that old Aston Martin more than once, but push-starting an Aston Martin while wearing a $2000 suit and Lobb shoes, with the help of a tall, willowy divorcee named Deirdre, is not the same thing as push-starting your '66 Electra 225 with the help of your co-workers from the carwash.
If you are a young reader, seeking way in life, my friend's is the better example. Follow me, and you will wander through a maze of let's-try-this-and-see-what-happens experimental adventures, a lifelong orienteering course with a compass that sometimes, without warning, decides to point south. Follow the example of my quality-seeking friend, and you will, in the deathless words of the father of one of Max Shulman's feckless heroes, be able to "Get rich. Get rich, then you can sleep till noon and screw 'em all." Words to live by. My friend is successfully employed somewhere in Manhattan right now, gazing out over the cityscape, probably and wondering if he ought to buy a Testarossa or a Turbo R, and he won't have to win the lottery to do it."

Still brings a tear to my eye.

[FunElan]

Originally Posted by mopho

Yeah, he is ugly too, I hate looking at him in the mirror everyday

Are you kidding me?? . You have one of the coolest jobs ever! Gosh you're lucky.

[Stormy320]

Originally Posted by MickOpalak

Automobile has always been one of my favorite automobile mags. To this day I carry around with me a quote from one of the early editorials of the original editor, David E. Davis, Jr. He introduced the piece as a thought on what he would buy if he won the lottery. I think I was about 17 or 18 when it was published and it left a deep impression on me that I carry to this day.:

" I have a friend who understood quality when he graduated from high school. He must have gotten that intuitive appreciation as an extra chromosome, or something. When he graduated from art school, he owned nothing but his clothes, mainly Levis and white T-shirts. He didn't take any vows or anything, he simply resisted the temptation to buy second-rate merchandise, on the reasonable basis that he didn't have much money, so he couldn't afford to buy cheap stuff. He lived in a New York flat without furniture for a long time. When he could afford furniture, he bought an Eames chair, with footrest. When he could afford a suit, he bought a navy blue one from the best tailor in Rome. He didn't purchase a car for a long time, but when he did, he bought an old Aston Martin DB2 coupe. As a result, he never had any junk to throw away. There were never any old bell bottomed trousers or Nehru jackets embarrassing him in his closet. He probably never had to introduce his friends to any girlfriends named Bambi, either. It is entirely possible that he had to push-start that old Aston Martin more than once, but push-starting an Aston Martin while wearing a $2000 suit and Lobb shoes, with the help of a tall, willowy divorcee named Deirdre, is not the same thing as push-starting your '66 Electra 225 with the help of your co-workers from the carwash.
If you are a young reader, seeking way in life, my friend's is the better example. Follow me, and you will wander through a maze of let's-try-this-and-see-what-happens experimental adventures, a lifelong orienteering course with a compass that sometimes, without warning, decides to point south. Follow the example of my quality-seeking friend, and you will, in the deathless words of the father of one of Max Shulman's feckless heroes, be able to "Get rich. Get rich, then you can sleep till noon and screw 'em all." Words to live by. My friend is successfully employed somewhere in Manhattan right now, gazing out over the cityscape, probably and wondering if he ought to buy a Testarossa or a Turbo R, and he won't have to win the lottery to do it."

Still brings a tear to my eye.

Wow - that's a great story.

I try to live my life this way, but I'm not as successful sticking to it as this guy.

Example - Every single item Walmart sells is of no long term value and will be discarded throughout the years. Remember this the next time you're there.

I'm going to keep this quote close by.



Oh yea - Congratulations on your stardome - I loved the letter!

[FunElan]

That is a really great story.

[MickOpalak]

I too have tried to stick to this idea as I go on. And it's really true, I find. Buy cheap shoes and you're feet will be sore for the next year and you'll soon be replacing them with more cheap shoes. Buy a quality pair and you'll wear them for 10 years. Pay a little extra for a better house in a better neighborhood and it pays off. The same holds for your career. Spend a little more time doing it right the first time and you gain so much more. The same hold true for coworkers, friends and more. Invest in quality, despite the cost, the it will pay off in the long run. That's why I believe in Lotus, I believe that their experience payes off now and in the long run.

[Abe]

Originally Posted by MickOpalak

That's why I believe in Lotus, I believe that their experience payes off now and in the long run.

And paid off it has

[codymac]

Excellent advice.

My grandfather put it very succinctly while speaking to me in my formative years: "Always go first class and you'll never have to go again."