Frankly Frankl - New Book Launch Party at Ferrari of San Francisco - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My adorable neighbors Bill and Sandra told me that writing a book is just the  beginning. They specialize in military books but the principle is the same. First you write it, then you get an editor and an art director, send it to the printer, pay him and hey presto your book arrives in no time. Yeah right. On pallets with 10 copies in a box weighing 28 pounds each. Thank God Ferrari SF's service people came to my rescue and allowed the copies to be unloaded at their San Rafael premises. So far so good. Then, if this is your first book you realize that you have to  fulfil all your orders from people who have been kind enough to trust you without seeing anything apart from your articles in FORZA. No problem apart from figuring out postage, packing, shipping, labels, invoices,  the sort of things all big publishers employ lots of people to do. So with all of that falling on my shoulders ably assisted by my lovely wife things are getting a bit hectic. Still, we have a launch party organized for Wednesday both October at Ferrari of San Francisco, 595 Redwood Highway, Mill Valley, CA 94941. Cline are very kindly pouring the wine, Piatti will be serving refreshments and I will be happy to sign personalized copies. Neither purchase of a 458 Spider nor of my book are obligatory although Sales Director Mark Paddack will happy to part with one. The book at 40 dollars costs less than any part of a 458 apart from the documentation, without the leather binder of course. Please let me know if you can make it,

e mail andrewfrankl@me.com 

http://www.franklyfrankl.com

Frankly Frankl - Meadow Club - Formula 1 and the Columbus Day Parade My New Book - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles

Some local friends very kindly invited me for a gentle drive to the rather spectacular Meadow Club, not far from Fairfax in Marin County.

 

The variety of cars was simply mind-blowing. The organizers- Ken and Carole Jesmore did a superb job and in addition to making sure that everybody was happy led the way in a light blue 1957 Thunderbird. It has been superbly restored but there was more to it. For once in my life I didn't have to drive settling instead into the very comfortable back seat of Mel Owen's 1956 Bentley. In mint condition it ran like a Swiss clock. There was of course a bright red Ferrari California Spider owned by Tom Price. This is part of Tom's collection which also includes a priceless Maserati 250F. Not to be outdone good friend Dave Olson came along in his 1934 Packard owned by a certain Al Capone. Dennis Barry turned up in a 2012 Bentley Continental. Apparently he went to buy a Lamborghini and ended up with this rather fine convertible. I' ve driven an awful lot of Lambos over the years and I simply could not imagine him or his good lady trying to get into or out of one. Mind you, once you are in an Avantador Spider there very few cars in the World to touch it. A good time was had by all/

Thank you Ken and Carol.

 

 

 

Moving on to Formula One I have to admit that Vettel is rapidly becoming a true champion. He and Horner seem to have got the message and have toned down the sometimes juvenile celebrations. The Japanese Grand Prix showed Vettel at his finest. Alonso already congratulated him on his fourth title and even though there are mathematical chances for a last minute America Co style change of fortune I do believe that in this  instance it is a pipe dream. As for all the driver changes Hulkenberg star seems to be rising, Massa's falling. You have to feel sorry for the plucky little Brazilian who was World Champion for all of 15 seconds before Hamilton took away the title.

I have had a lot of e mails concerning my new book-- Frankly Frankl-:ife, love, luck and automobiles. I too would like see copies arrive to fulfill all the orders. The minute they reach me they'll be on their to you. Thank you for your patience!

 

 

In case you missed it - The Columbus day in the city was fun filled with a Ferrari float and a lot of fun had by all

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.franklyfrankl.com

 

Frankly Frankl - My New Book - Frankly Frankl-life, luck, love and automobiles - My Heroes

Many people have asked me why I didn’t cover  current F1 in my new book-Frankly Frankl-life, love, luck and automobiles which will be ready for shipment by the end of October. Simple. These heroes are not my heroes. Well , some of them such as Alonso and Hamilton are but I simply could not face writing about Sebastian Vettel. It seems that I am not alone. The booing that started several races ago seems to follow him all over the World. Maybe not in Korea as I am sure the locals haven’t got a clue about what is going on and possibly not in Japan either. But come Austin Texas I can guarantee a less than friendly welcome.

I can think of several reasons. The owner, the team, the PR lackeys are all incredibly arrogant. Mix this with a young man who is surrounded by adoring sycophants and you have a mixture that many people find hard to digest. Sticking  up a finger after being fastest in qualifying and again after winning the race might go down well in Austria at Red Bull’s HQ but it turns stomachs in the rest of the World. Vettel is not the first World Champion and certainly not the last. Senna was gracious in victory as was Jackie Stewart. Lewis Hamilton’s victories are a delight to witness, as are those of Alonso. Vettel and his boss Christian Horner both come across as a couple brilliant but preprogrammed parrots. Having said that one has to admire them and their design genius Adrian Newey as well their unsung yet  brilliant Renault engine.

So maybe now you’ll understand why I concentrated on Stewart, Peterson, Cevert and the rest. Anyway, as you can see from the enclosed  front cover it is now only a matter of a few weeks before I start visiting the post office on a regular basis.

For the benefit of those who are new to my blog Frankly Frankl in its first, hard cover, coffee table format will sell at 44.95, 35 pounds in the UK. 499 copies all told with about 400 remaining, 99 having been pre sold. Of those 50 have been reserved for the launch party at Ferrari of San Francisco and another 50 for a book signing at Sardi’s in New York where the monthly meeting of the Chowder Society is held. Take away another 50 reserved for the Royal Automobile Club in London and if my mathematics is right leaves about 250 copies for the rest of the World . If you are going to be in Austin for the Grand Prix next month  and would like to buy a copy please  let me know and I would be happy  take a signed copy for you.
 

Just send me an e mail to andrewfrankl@me.com or go to my website at www.franklyfrankl.com

 Thank you.