Auto News 5

The readers of Automobile Magazine might think that we editors get to drive Ferraris frequently, but that is not the case. True, I've been to Maranello more than once, and I've driven more than one Ferrari on Ferrari's famous Fiorano test track. In fact, I attended the media launch for the 458 Italia back in November 2009 and stayed at a hotel that was across a roundabout from the Ferrari factory. However, we have plenty of editors and staffers who have never been to Maranello, among them copy editor Rusty Blackwell, who solemnly informed me that, in his entire six-year tenure at Automobile Magazine, we'd never had a Ferrari in the office test fleet. Thankfully, Ferrari North America Public Relations Manager Matteo Sardi sent a 458 Italia test car our way for four brief but brilliant days in mid-July. We made the most of it because this was a Very Big Deal here at 120 E. Liberty Street.