Having Breakfast in LA when suddenly... (Ferrari 365 Daytona)

"Gamecat235" (Gamecat235) 12/05/2013 at 11:10 • Filed to: Adam Levine, Ferrari, Daytona, 365, Maroon 5

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Last week I went on my first actual vacation in years, my family and I drove up to Northern California for Thanksgiving and along the way we stayed at a friends place in Studio City. When we got up that morning we went out to breakfast down on Ventura, and about 5 minutes after we got there, this beautiful, beautiful car pulls up.

I instantly recognize it, as do my father and son (yes, I drove up the coast with my wife, two kids and my parents, six people, one of them a two year old. Driving was cheaper, and easier for everyone involved, including strangers). I let my wife know I'm going to go outside and snap a couple of pictures because I haven't seen a Daytona in person before, ever. I nod at the owner and he doesn't give me a second glance as I pull out my phone to take a couple of pictures (I didn't want to be *that* guy who ran to the car and grabbed my real camera gear).

After I take a few pictures I go back in, and the car owner is there with a woman and seems pretty preoccupied, so I leave him alone (though I'm bursting with questions). After we are seated my mother and my son look at me and ask if I know who that was. I look at them a bit confused, and admit that I have no earthly idea. They tell me that it's Adam Levine, and I stop for a second, remembering that he is on the cover of People Magazine currently (something about sexiest man of the year or some such). I admit that I like Maroon 5, but I wouldn't pick him out of a lineup of any 10 people on the planet (I don't watch TV much, and my reading materials are either scifi or involve cars, science or my line of work). My son pulls up some pictures of him on his phone to confirm that it was him, and I search and discover that he does indeed have good taste in cars.

After we finished our food, we wander outside and I immediately noticed that the car wasn't where it was initially parked, and my excitement died off. Then we turn the corner to find our rental and the Daytona is parked there. I go over with my father and son and take a couple more pictures and then Adam and his friend come out, not a minute later. I briefly talked to him about his car, asking how he likes it, confirming that it's a 365 Daytona, and he is friendly and polite and I never realized that my son got a picture of him. He struggled slightly with the drivers side outside latch, and my wife offered to help him with it (LOL).

We never let on that any of us recognized him, we just admired his car and talked to him for a minute or two about it. The car was certainly the sexiest vehicle I saw on the trip.

Your boy, BJR > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 11:13

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no self indulgent wieners here.

Gamecat235 > Your boy, BJR 12/05/2013 at 11:16

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He was surprisingly down to earth and friendly. I had no idea what to expect from him, and I respect him all the more for it. Perhaps he would have been different had I let on that I knew who he was.

OtherBarry > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 11:21

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I think if you would have busted him or had the big camera out he might have been different. I sometimes wonder if celebs get pissed when they don't get recognized or if helps them feel normal to car chat in the parking lot. Very cool story.

Gamecat235 > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 11:26

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Side note, I did notice that the car had no visible tags on it. And I was very tempted to ask about that, but I didn't want to draw attention to something out of line, or that perhaps he is treated differently than others, so I didn't mention it. But I will say that without a plate in that holder (really the only good one would be the old black Cali plate), it just looked amazing.

desertdog5051 > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 12:03

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I was wondering, at first, how you could get all those people in your car. But you answered it for me.

Gamecat235 > desertdog5051 12/05/2013 at 12:04

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The beige champagne Sienna pictured in the background of one of the shots was our rental chariot for our excursion.

Gamecat235 > OtherBarry 12/05/2013 at 12:06

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We had the same idea. Afterward in the car my son marveled at the fact that he actually just spoke to us like a regular guy. Both my father and I let him know that it was likely because we treated him like one as well.

mambochapchap > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 12:15

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He and the car were featured in this commercial....at 1:05.

Gamecat235 > mambochapchap 12/05/2013 at 12:16

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Neat! I had no idea. I don't actually watch live TV other than sporting events (and I'm picky with those as well, USA Soccer and Arizona Basketball).

mambochapchap > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 12:22

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Join the club, its interesting how clueless I have gotten over who's who....I basically watch motorsport and Rumpole of the Bailey. These days I find out who the new celebs are when they go to an F1 race.

TheOracleofStamboul > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 14:53

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That car is a stunning piece of artistry, and I wondered about it not having a plate to impede its good looks. Interesting. I wonder if google can help me with this!

Thanks for sharing. That's a cool story and some great car porn!

365Daytonafan > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 15:59

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Very cool car (although I'm very biased) looks to be a 71 model and one of the first pop up headlamp versions as the silver strip on the front was supposed to replicate the previous plexiglass arrangement. Also looks like it might have been originally a Euro car as the US side marker lights are missing although these are sometimes removed during restorations.

Gamecat235 > 365Daytonafan 12/05/2013 at 16:29

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Based on your username, I believe I posted this just for you. =)

It was quite beautiful and sounded glorious.

365Daytonafan > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 16:38

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They do here's mine :-)

Gamecat235 > 365Daytonafan 12/05/2013 at 16:44

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Oh my. What year is yours? And that is an absolutely beautiful picture.

(Amusingly, I just noticed that I got linked as a partial answer to the k-mart commercial thread over on ferrarichat)

365Daytonafan > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 16:49

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The Ferrarichat link is how I saw this. Mine's a 73. My Dad brought it in 1974 and it's been in the family ever since. I write about it here http://www.drivecult.com/the-garage/fer…

Gamecat235 > 365Daytonafan 12/05/2013 at 16:56

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Driven regularly, absolutely loved, and shared (through pictures and exposing it to daylight and elements (to a degree)) with the public? You sir, are quite awesome. And if I am skimming correctly, your father owns a Spyder?

I wanted to post these pictures, but I wanted to write up a little something about the experience just to share and get it out there. Glad it was seen.

365Daytonafan > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 17:08

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Yes the Spyder is his. It's not a factory Spyder but one converted from a coupé.

Supreme Kiwi Zorro > Gamecat235 12/05/2013 at 21:30

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Those are beautiful photos for a digital camera. * impressed * Thank you for sharing! :)

Gamecat235 > Supreme Kiwi Zorro 12/06/2013 at 10:46

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I think it's more the subject, than the pictures, that make these look nice. =)

Vee Ate Injun > mambochapchap 12/06/2013 at 14:48

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wow, thanks for confirming - i saw that commercial last week and my spidey-sense tingled at the out-of-focus red sports car at the end. i kept rewinding and comparing to my 1:18 model, but wasn't a 100% sure. it all makes sense now...

cheers

Vee Ate Injun > Gamecat235 12/06/2013 at 14:53

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very cool. thanks for posting this. i'm a big fan of the Daytona - it's on my 5-car "lottery money" bucket list (in a perpetual tie for top spot with the Miura).

SoCal is not a bad place to be if you're a car enthusiast. i'm going to create a tag and start posting pics of the cool rides i find in the wild, though your find above would be tops. for now... ;)

Vee Ate Injun > Vee Ate Injun 12/06/2013 at 15:02

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PS: so you guys ate at Blue Jam Cafe in Sherman Oaks, huh? well, about two blocks away on that same side of the street there's a used car lot on the corner that often has some cool, classic rides... sometimes of the prancing horse variety. (you're not in the area anymore, but next time.)

(source: i used to work in the area and would walk to lunch)

PS #2: that Mexican place across the street in the first pic gave me and my wife "the troubles". kinda our fault, though - we shoulda' known better than to order the machaca on a random monday night...

Vandelay Industries > Gamecat235 12/06/2013 at 20:22

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+1 for adam levine

thought he was tool...this adds a lot of cred

Gamecat235 > Vee Ate Injun 12/06/2013 at 20:45

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Yep. And they were delicious! I didn't mention the name in my post just in case he frequents there regularly. Don't want to make life harder for him.

Super Nintendo Chalmers > Gamecat235 12/06/2013 at 21:32

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This car is TOPS on my list of ... cars that are highly appreciated but "meh" when it comes to what it really is. Overrated.. and I say this because respectfully it is rated VERY highly.

Shiftright > Gamecat235 12/06/2013 at 22:02

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Props to him for having such god taste in cars and not being the average Hollywood douchebag with a pimped out AMG/ Bentley / Masonry monstrosity

PS9 > Gamecat235 12/07/2013 at 00:02

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I see someone is exploiting the same loophole Steve Jobs used to.

PS9 > Gamecat235 12/07/2013 at 00:07

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In Cali, you have six months after purchasing a vehicle to get a plate. You can get around never having to get a plate if you were willing (and had the $$$) to just re-lease a new vehicle every six months like Steve Jobs used to do.

That would be harder to pull off with a classic ferrari no longer in production, though.

SPNKiX > PS9 12/07/2013 at 01:32

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maybe... or maybe the poster p-chopped it.

PS9 > SPNKiX 12/07/2013 at 01:43

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In another post on this article, gamecat says this is how the car appeared at the time the pics were taken.

Gamecat235 > SPNKiX 12/07/2013 at 01:52

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Photos are untouched other than some cropping. And minor shadow adjustments.

Gamecat235 > PS9 12/07/2013 at 01:53

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I had that same thought. But wasn't sure about the details.

west-coaster > Gamecat235 12/07/2013 at 09:19

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If it's a '71, the black California plate would be incorrect. The DMV started issuing the blue-with-yellow-letter variety in late 1969 / early 1970. And unfortunately, you can't do the Year of Manufacture (YOM) program for a car later than a '69.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > PS9 12/07/2013 at 09:45

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So he's driving around in an unregistered Ferrari? That doesn't add up..

focus3 > Gamecat235 12/07/2013 at 11:15

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Holy leaning on the bodywork, lady.

Gamecat235 > west-coaster 12/07/2013 at 11:24

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Good point. I couldn't remember the changeover.

PS9 > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom 12/07/2013 at 13:09

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Cali gives you six months to get a plate.

Gaseous Clay > Super Nintendo Chalmers 12/07/2013 at 13:33

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What's wrong with it? Is it just the fact that Ferrari decided to be luddites and combat the Miura's wild success with the same old front-rear V12 formula they'd been using since the '50s? Or is it just not pantomime enough? Because, remember, that era had not yet begun, and hadn't even hit its stride once the idiots in Modena swallowed their pride and put that nice 365 in the middle of a car, finally. In fact I would argue that everything was still mostly restrained once Ferrari replaced that 365 with a big 5 litre flat 12 instead

Gamecat235 > Super Nintendo Chalmers 12/07/2013 at 14:14

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If it looks that beautiful, sounds as glorious as it does, has true racing heritage, and has maintained its aesthetics over 40 years. I'm not sure where it became overrated. Or that it is any more overrated than other deserving cars from the era.

Super Nintendo Chalmers > Gamecat235 12/07/2013 at 14:48

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Won't argue the sound or it's racing history, but beauty is still subjective. I think it's aged 'ok' but the cheese wedge cars in general leave a lot to be desired in terms of aesthetics. But that is only my opinion.

Super Nintendo Chalmers > Gaseous Clay 12/07/2013 at 14:51

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Whats wrong? I think that square hood and wedge of cheese looking front w/ pop up headlights looks more dated than anything else ferrari made in relative eras. Forget engine or engine placement, a Dino -today- looks far better.

Gamecat235 > Super Nintendo Chalmers 12/07/2013 at 15:32

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The nose hasn't aged as gracefully as the 275's and 250's with their round/oval headlights and smooth noses. But very few cars in existence (IMO) look as good in 3/4 rear profile or from behind. But I have different tastes than most in regard to a lot of other things (music, food, beer, etc), so I wouldn't be shocked to discover my tastes diverge from others in terms of car styling as well. =)

Gaseous Clay > Super Nintendo Chalmers 12/07/2013 at 16:28

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Talk about overrated. The only good thing to come from those dinos was the fantastic sound their engines made powering little lancia cheeses around forests across europe in the 1970s.

I wouldn't have a 365 over, say, an LP400 (i'd take kidney stones after any countach that followed, though), but I think this car is probably the apotheosis of the long bonnet, short boot proportion that they have been trying, unsuccessfully, to recapture since the cheese grater for drug dealers bowed out in the early '90s

But if you want dated, look no further than the things they made in the last decade. The 599 already looks ridiculous and the 430 always did. In fact, expand that range to the last three decades and it still mostly holds true. At least in the 1970s Ferrari never sold cars with ridiculous styling gimmicks (side strakes, using the same triangular intakes stolen off that dino on every fucking car for fifteen years, etc) because they could get away with it

Super Nintendo Chalmers > Gaseous Clay 12/07/2013 at 16:56

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Well, I never said the Dino wasn't overrated. Just looks better. LP-400s are no better. The Daytona, like any popular radio hit, suffered from its success and now I can't see one without thinking of Datsun or Nissan's of there after. The LP400 has its own (and even greater) set of look-a-likes out there.

If you want to talk dated Ferrari though.. look no further than the 456 the Mondial (yea i know, no shit) and anything Zagato put his name on. In fact, even the F50 is nothing to write home about.

Any common ground yet?

Super Nintendo Chalmers > Gamecat235 12/07/2013 at 17:12

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yea, you are talking to someone who loves the Love it or hate it z3mcoupe

Gaseous Clay > Super Nintendo Chalmers 12/07/2013 at 17:14

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Maybe. I never liked the 456 or the Mondial, and while I'm a big Zagato fan, a lot (98%) of Zagato cars are horrible, awful monsters. If it weren't for the TZ2 and a few other agreeable Alfas, their only saving grace would be being Milanese.

I take issue with your criticism of the LP400, though. While it did start a trend of pointy wedge cars (which I gather you do not like), the flared coke machines that followed made everything much worse, with their giant airbrakes and flares and gills all over and optional white paint on white leather. The 1980s were a very bad time for auto design

Besides, some of those copycats were actually good in their own right, like the pre-flares Pantera or the exists-for-noise-only Maserati Bora

MotoArigato > PS9 12/07/2013 at 19:41

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Cali doesn't use the large paper tags like other states on newly acquired cars, so you get to have fun for a few months pretending to be so awesome you don't need a license plate, unless you're Adam Levine and you are so awesome you probably don't nee a license plate.

MotoArigato > OtherBarry 12/07/2013 at 19:47

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Brad Pitt used to park in front of my place often when visiting a neighbor when I lived in LA. Once our landlord was outside chatting him up about his G500, herself being quite a car fan (XJ6, W123 wagon, several Bentley/Rolls-Royce saloons) and had no idea who he was until after he left and we told her. I got the impression he enjoyed being a normal person for a few minutes. In fact, there is a well used phrase in Hollywood when you work in the biz, "Treat the regular people like celebrities and treat the celebrities like regular people and everyone will be happy."

PS9 > MotoArigato 12/07/2013 at 19:48

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You can do it for longer than that. If you haz infinity monies, just re-lease the same (model, but different) car every six months like Steve Jobs did.

That trick only works for not-rare, still in production stuff though. Perhaps the local constabulary will overlook you because fame and fortune, but they pull over and bust stars and mundanes alike for lesser things, so IDK.

MotoArigato > Vee Ate Injun 12/07/2013 at 19:50

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There are a couple of great lots right in that area, not to mention the old Barris shop and one other guy who did several infamous TV/Movie cars.

MotoArigato > PS9 12/07/2013 at 20:05

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I actually wrote an article about Job's bar code tag here but it explained how all modern Mercedes have this feature (my car is the other one pictured) not really how he got away with his. I didn't know that this was a how he did it, lease a new one every six months. I always heard he just did it and accepted any tickets since paying them off was no real issue for him. Is this confirmed or were you more just saying this is a way he could have done things? Neat stuff, thanks.

PS9 > MotoArigato 12/07/2013 at 20:07

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It's confirmed. They covered it here back when he was still alive.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Dsscats > Gamecat235 12/08/2013 at 03:37

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Studio City? Thats where I live! What restaurant?

TurboBuickFan > Gamecat235 12/08/2013 at 05:49

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Please don't lean on it...

Gamecat235 > Dsscats 12/08/2013 at 11:13

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Down Ventura into Sherman Oaks, we ate at the Blue Jam Cafe and I have to say that every dish we got was awesome. Great breakfast.

(Also, I wasn't going to mention where exactly this was, in case he frequents the place regularly, but since another commenter already did, I see less harm).

Mustang 'DontHitTheCrowd' GT > Gamecat235 12/08/2013 at 14:45

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I bet its scaring the piss out of the Leaf next to it.

Supreme Kiwi Zorro > Gamecat235 12/08/2013 at 14:47

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* waves arm * Film user over here, remember? Looks like digital is finally starting to catch up with film. Either that or the Ferrari is what makes the photo better. :P

Dsscats > Gamecat235 12/08/2013 at 14:56

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Oh man, that place is soooooo good! What did you guys see in CA?

Smiley Cyrus-Poo > Gamecat235 12/20/2013 at 03:24

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You can see Adam Levine's Daytona at the end of this commercial!