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2016/07/10 ...

My uncle has a Ferrari.

It's a nice car, and surprisingly comfortable, although of course being comfortable is not really the point, but I thought it was worth a mention. The interesting thing though, he says, is the unexpected extras.

For example, he recently received an invitation to a "Track Day" at Le Mans. He says that it was fascinating, and very enjoyable. The lunch was quite nice, and no one tried to sell him anything, which he found a little surprising.

Another surprising extra was a tour of the Ferrari factory. He said that that was also interesting, but did go on to make the observation that the tour guide was a woman from the PR department, or marketing, or similar, with a vacuous smile and a very short skirt.

Contrast that with his tour around the Maserati factory. Apparently his local Ferrari dealership is also the local Maserati dealership, so the two tours came as a kind of package. That tour, however, was led by the recently retired head of engineering. More, everywhere in the factory they went he (the tour guide) was greeted with huge grins, firm handshakes, and enquiries on both sides about the children and grand-children.

My uncle started life as an engineer, and although he went into the business side of things, at heart he is still an engineer. He is in the process of rebuilding a de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk[0], and as a hobby, he is an aerobatics pilot. He has for many years done the English commentary at the Paris air show, and rather likes his cars.

My uncle says his next car will be a Maserati.

Representatives matter.

What does your choice of the people who represent you say about you?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-1_Chipmunk

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