Not sure I’ve shown this picture before.  I stopped in my local Giant Burger for a quick meal and couldn’t resist the photo op.  This is why it’s scary to drive a Sprint as your daily car.  I am happy to see sense returning to the roadways with the proliferation of Fiat 500′s, the new Honda CRX update CRZ, the Scion IQ and others -maybe a day approaches where the Sprint will be the big car int he picture…

Either one of those cars could door ding me on my roof line!  Melee sticker has been removed but a bunch of paint came with it (insert frown).

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It’s been a while.  PP5 was posted on 10/31/09!  I’ve been saving pictures -mostly forwarded by readers, and just came a across a bunch, so why not.  The usual disclaimers apply -not my stuff, not my girl, just captured moments of young women’s lives.  I apologize if this sullies your view of the operation here, but I do need a break from pictures of just cars once in a while.

This is actually how the dream where you buy an 80′s Spider Graduate with too modern wheels plays out.  The lighting is dim even though it’s day time, a hot CG chick with two necklaces on is holding her skirt and if you removed her glasses she wouldn’t have any eyes.  Nicely taken.

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It’s Christmas morning and I’m sitting in my easy chair with my slippers on, sipping tea and listening to PFM -some early 70′s Italian Prog rock.  Winter solstice, what I tend to think of as the start of the new year, was 3 days ago, so days should start getting noticeably longer in a few weeks and warm evenings working on projects and Spring motoring are just around the corner.  I am reminded that this time next year will be a lot less relaxing but very likely more fun since there will be a 10 month old boy hanging around.  I look forward to it.

I always buy my cars presents and this year the Sprint got a new set of Centerline 8mm green spark plug wires.  They sell 5mm wires, but I wore a set out in 3 years, so maybe the 8mm’s will last longer.  The Glas 1700 GT and I are still getting to know each other, but I took a chance and ordered a set of Deves piston rings in standard size (yep, they have them) and Flexible hydraulic lines out of Argentina.

I hope you all get a chance to sit in your easy chair, sip an appropriate to the time of day beverage and reflect on how good life is.  Happy Holidays (or whatever you call it)!

Christine’s rendition of our Fiat 124 hanging on our foil tree says ‘Happy Holidays’ with a personal touch. 

Update 12/10/11: Car Has been found!!

Giulia Spider AR375897.  This car was Stolen recently.  I don’t have any details of the theft, just the vin and description.  Paint is dark gray -shiny but older repaint.  Interior is red.  Was stolen in Berkeley California.

We had been going back and forth for 6 weeks about selling the Fiat 124 sedan and finally let it go on Sunday.  A charming young woman is the new owner and she couldn’t be happier.  I thought long and hard about the reason we had such a hard time letting it go.  Lots of good times were had in it and it represents a physical link to bygone days -albeit in this case not so long ago, having only been in our care for 5 years.  It got me thinking about the cars we’ve had over the years and the good times had in each -and in the big sense, how people everywhere experience similar nostalgic feelings around their old cars.

The take away here is the big smile.  She is in love with this car and excited to own, drive, care for and create good times in it.

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Evan Wilson’s ‘Alfa Romeo Giulietta: 750 and 101 series Giuliettas and Giulias, 1954-1965′, originally published in 1983 is regarded by many as among the finest books about these cars, and even now,  prices reflect this.  It’s no wonder really, Evan’s narration is crisp, insightful and funny.  This year a revised and updated hardcover version of this book was released and is available through Lulu for $34.95. (or on aBay if you care to spend about $55!).

The ‘collector car market’ tracking mentioned in the above description comes from giuliettas.com

Among the revisions and updates is a section about Yours Truly: Giuliettas dot com.  Evan interviewed me about 18 months ago, spent some time with the site and produced a flattering bit of work.  Also included is a series of tables culled from my market pieces, a matrix of conditions, locations and values.  If you dig Giulietta’s (and Giuliettas) then you should get yourself a copy of this book.

Update 4/8/11: I am humbled by the out-pouring of appreciation for this site and the generosity of you all.  THANK YOU.  The bills are paid.  Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Originally posted 4/6/11: It works for NPR so maybe it will work for me.  My Giuliettas.com hosting, domain mapping etc bills are due in a few weeks and I thought I’d reach out to you all, my readers and see if you felt like helping me get current.  If you’ve found my site helpful or entertaining why not support it?  Just click on the ‘Support Giuliettas’ tab above and then the Paypal ‘Donate’ button, you don’t need a Paypal account to donate.  I’d appreciate it a lot!

Hello SS in the dust.