We’re posing this question not because we think that there’s something mysteriously wrong with this car, but because it seems that just about every waking day that we open our eyes and log on to the Internet, we come across another news story of a Ferrari 458 Italia catching fire or getting involved in some kind of accident.
Today, we’re once again burdened with the same depressing news: another Ferrari 458 Italia suffering another meltdown.
This time, the scene is in America – Costa Mesa, California, to be exact – where the first 458 Italia in the country was burned down to a crisp as a result of the engine catching fire. This doesn’t trouble us anymore, actually. What really boggles our minds is that since the middle of May when the first reported crash of the 458 Italia happened, there have been 9 separate incidents of the car crashing or getting burned. To put that in perspective, that’s one car every 10 days.
So excuse us if we think that there might be some higher power at work that doesn’t seem to be too fascinated with the car like the rest of us. The whole trend is completely perplexing and certainly lacks of any concrete explanation.
There’s an old Russian saying that, when translated literally, states that "trouble never comes alone." Mel Gibson is getting to know that saying very well, and it’s not all attributed to his Russian ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. After a DUI in 2006 and the current, ongoing investigation for domestic violence against Oksana, Gibson has also recently crashed his 2008 Maserati Quattroporte into a rocky hillside. The incident occurred on Sunday evening while Gibson was driving on a difficult section of Malibu Canyon Road. Thankfully, or not depending on how you look at it, the actor was only traveling at low speeds so he was not hurt during the ordeal. The Maserati sustained injuries to the right front fender and front wheel totaling about $20,000 in damages.
The California Highway Patrol said they did not suspect Gibson of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the crash occurred. However, police reportedly asked Gibson if he had been talking on a mobile phone at the time of the accident. The actor denied doing so.
It seems that August is not a good month for the new Ferrari 458 Italia. There were three incidents reported during these past weeks alone and today another one was reported. This incident saw the Ferrari’s life come to a fiery end at a cargo warehouse at the London Heathrow airport.
The Ferrari was a Giallo Modena Ferrari 458 Italia with a custom made Dolce & Gabbana interior created for an Arabian customer. The biggest concern for this particular incident is who’s footing the bill for such a catastrophic event. Apparently, the Ferrari was going to be transported, but never made the trip due to the fire at the warehouse. Read the following paragraph where the pointing of the fingers begins.
"Under Article 18 of the Convention the carrier is liable for damage to cargo which occurs during the period defined by the Convention as ’carriage by air’. Carriage by air is defined as ’the period during which the cargo is in the charge of the carrier, whether in an airport or on board an aircraft’. The Air Waybill on which the Ferrari car was consigned shows the gross weight of 1,650 kilos and consequently our client’s liability is limited to 31,350 Special Drawing Rights (approximately US $ 46,994.70). We would be obliged if all future correspondence concerning this matter could be addressed to us at the above address quoting our reference."
Check out the video to see the car before and after the fire, and while you’re at it, comment on who you think should pay for the damages.
You would’ve thought that, by now, people driving rental vehicles would be more careful of the cars they rent.
Apparently, some people are a little more hard-headed than others. Yeah, these are the same people who think that just because they’re behind the wheel of a rental - whatever the car may be - it gives them the license to do just about anything with it.
Now, a new idiot has popped up with another rental car crash. This time, it’s a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS – not as expensive as a 458, but it’s not a Pinto either – that was rented by somebody who thought that jumping it off of a railroad track a la Dukes of Hazard was a responsible thing to do with a rental. The result, as you can imagine, wasn’t what any of them expected.
Just goes to show that if you’re driving a rental, always make sure that you take good care of it because, in so many words, it’s not yours.
It was only about six months ago that 80-year-old Stirling Moss was unfortunate enough to fall down an elevator shaft in his very own home. After recovering quickly from minor injuries, Moss moved forward quickly by purchasing a Porsche RS61 just like the one he raced in the sixties. That little speedster set him back a record $1.7 million, but it was well worth it for Moss as he was set to race it in Monterey this past weekend.
Unfortunately, while Moss was taking a warm-up lap at the the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s qualifying session, a fellow racer ran into him on his out lap. Stirling was unhurt, but the car, however, suffered considerable damage rendering it undriveable for the rest of the Monterey weekend. As this particular weekend was due to be his only race outing in the RS this year, he will now have to wait until 2011, once it is repaired in the United States, to get back behind the wheel of this classic Porsche race car.
