Quick Visit: 2019 Ferrari Club of America (FCA) Meet in Scottsdale, Arizona
Odometer (NSX): 116,205
You want to know how high-class the Ferrari Club of America is? They have jewelry for sale at their meets. I kid you not! I showed up on Wednesday evening to the Scottsdale Doubletree hotel, home base for this year’s massive 300-car club gathering, and took a stroll through the reception hall. The whole place felt like it was on another level: wine bar, hors d’oeuvres (I always love spelling that), and yes – the finest of necklaces & rings for your perusal.
I was tempted to take the NSX to the meet-up, but I didn’t. This was a party for the Italians only. Peter Volny, fellow Phoenix Automotive Press Association member, was one of the key leaders orchestrating this stampede of sportscars. His team developed a comprehensive website outlining the day-to-day details, which consisted of all the customary ingredients for a quality meeting of ‘car people’: Plenty of food, driving opportunities, a show (‘concours’ is the proper term in this caliber of club), and performance driving opportunities at the track. For the track portion, the Ferrari club went to Apex Motor Club which you’ll remember from a recent blog post.
I took a stroll around the property including the “Ferrari Parking Only” section toward the rear. The cars ranged in age, configuration, and color in a wide variety. I’m certain many of them held a market value at or beyond the price of my home. Several of them were covered up – presumably to keep them from being slobbered on by people like me. Perhaps my favorite feature of any car there was the “BUELER” plate on this ride. You’ll recall that the famous movie car from the classic 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was a 1961 Ferrari 250GT California.
I liked this one particularly, and not necessarily because of its color or condition, but because it had bugs on the front end. I get the feeling a lot of attendees – especially those from more than a couple hundred miles away – had their vehicles transported to the event in bubble-wrapped, fully-enclosed, climate-controlled shipping containers. This owner put his Ferrari to use as it was meant to be.
This morning, I visited the Scottsdale Sports Complex where the concours was being held. Judges wore matching yellow shirts and readily identifiable badges on their lanyards. It was clear they took their jobs very seriously. Notice they even opened up the gas door here for closer inspection. Funny enough, we do that during the judging portion at Legend meets, but usually only when a tie-breaker is needed between two exceptionally clean cars.
This year’s FCA meet is reportedly the second-largest in the club’s history: It’s surpassed in size only by the 2015 event which was held in conjunction with Monterey Car Week. I am sure I’ll be seeing a few more ‘raris than usual on my day-to-day travels through the end of the event this coming Sunday morning. Maybe I’ll even sneak my way into the lineup with my Japanese imposter.
The Doubletree is swarmed in high class cars
No shortage of color out here
I think this might have been my favorite shade
So 1980s I love it.
I drove a car similar to these owned by my friend Greg recently.
And the obligatory NSX picture for this post. Notice, I found a convertible Crown Victoria at the gas station.
drivetofive 
November 7, 2019 at 10:06 pm
wow – what an event – and thanks for the new term: ‘concours’
November 8, 2019 at 6:05 am
Haha, gotta make your vocabulary more fancy!
November 8, 2019 at 9:40 am
Haha – indeed
November 8, 2019 at 4:46 am
Nice post and coincidentally I was just listening to John McElroy on “Automotive Insight” that while the “performance” segment is one of the fastest growing in terms of SUVs and trucks the fastest shrinking segment are 2-Dr sports cars! Guess people value space over aesthetics?
But I’d bet Ferrari must be immune to this. I did hear from an Acura salesman that anyone looking to buy a new Ferrari who is not a current owner might as well give up and not apply. Seems they control their market so tightly they only sell to existing owners. So if you have the means and want a Ferrari you must buy used… bummer 😉
Nice story though.
November 8, 2019 at 6:06 am
Very interesting insights. And do we know if Ferrari is building an SUV? Lambo recently came out with their… Urus, right?
November 22, 2019 at 2:47 pm
This is a false rumor probably started by someone from another brand. There is however sometimes a wait list and that can be over a year depending on the model. As an owner I can assure you it’s worth the wait.
November 22, 2019 at 3:08 pm
Which reminds me, I need to meet up with you and get a look at your Ferrari (and any other cars in the collection).
November 8, 2019 at 9:05 am
Beautiful cars! Looks like all the glitz and glamour is in Italy. Tempted to make the switch from Japan yet? 🙂
November 8, 2019 at 9:14 am
If the ownership experience were “all expense paid,” then yes. But I fear the ongoing maintenance costs of a car like that might exceed my mortgage..
November 22, 2019 at 2:48 pm
New ones come with a 7 year maintenance package. Shall I let the dealer know you’ll be popping in?
November 9, 2019 at 5:37 am
Gorgeous cars, all, but I agree – the bug splatter on the front end of that classic Ferrari was awesome. Cars are meant to be driven (even the uber-expensive supercars!).
But the NSX ain’t no imposter… it’s in a class all itself (a reliable sports car… who would have thought it possible back in the 80’s!). Speaking of the NSX, how is it holding up? Any repairs or maintenance in the near future?
November 9, 2019 at 8:47 am
It’s going to need some work on the A/C system next summer but otherwise seems to be running and driving 100%. Hard to believe that next month I’ll celebrate years of ownership with it.
November 9, 2019 at 8:33 am
“Perhaps my favorite feature of any car there was the “BUELER” plate on this ride. You’ll recall that the famous movie car from the classic 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was a 1961 Ferrari 250GT California”.
I recently saw this movie for the first time ever. It was great. 🙂 However, it was painful watching what happened to that Ferrari during the movie. 😦
November 9, 2019 at 8:47 am
I know! Such a classic film, and I think it made that specific model pretty famous.
November 12, 2019 at 8:22 pm
Ferrari’s are great and all ( a friend of mine owns a 308 with a Tubi exhaust – oh God that sound), but the convertible Panther is the highlight of the day!
November 12, 2019 at 10:10 pm
Haha, glad you got a kick out of that. I found out it belongs to the cashier at that gas station, and asked him about it. $500 acquisition and he said it handles great, and he’s been caught in “monsoon thunderstorms” topless with it.
November 22, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for the great article. The Desert Region planning committee headed by a true car guy, Peter Volny, were delighted to have some many participants and such favorable response. Barby Barone
Membership Director, FCA-Desert Region.
November 22, 2019 at 3:08 pm
Thanks Barby. It was great to get a sneak peek of such a cool and exclusive event. I only wish I’d been able to tag along for more of the festivities. I’ll have to keep in touch with Peter and find out where 2020 is going to be held so I can try to be there.