The Dealer: How One California Dealership Fueled the Rise of Ferrari Cars in America

The Dealer: How One California Dealership Fueled the Rise of Ferrari Cars in America

When Ferrari of Los Gatos opened, few people could afford an expensive sports car. In 1976, the average annual income was $12,686, and a new home cost about $48,000. Motorists in California could only buy gas on odd or even-numbered days based on the last digit of their license plate, due to the global oil crisis. Times were tough, and people were hesitant to take chances, especially with a car that cost more than a house.

At the same time, Brian Burnett and his friend Richard Rivoir had the idea of starting a Ferrari dealership. The Dealer is the story of how one dealership, Ferrari of Los Gatos, fueled the rise of the iconic Italian sports car in the U.S. market on its way to becoming the number one Ferrari dealer in North America. Even Enzo Ferrari himself took notice, flying Brian and the other dealers to Italy to show his appreciation for their success. Customers included movie stars, sports celebrities, entertainers, and some with unusual sources of income and a strong desire for a low profile. Along the way, Burnett made friends, enemies, and millions of dollars, only to lose everything in the blink of an eye.

Author Jim Ciardella shows readers a part of Ferrari that no one has even seen, with behind-the-scenes stories as told to him by Richard Rivoir and Brian Burnett, their customers and employees, and other North American dealers who all rode high and eventually burned out on selling fast cars.

Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History

Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History

Of all the Mexican land grant ranchos in California, only Rancho Boca de Santa Monica and Rancho San Vicente could lay claim to a treasured territory that included the most beautiful shore in North America, Santa Monica Beach. When the land grant Rancho Boca de Santa Monica was awarded to Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes in 1839, little did their families imagine that the sand separating their land from the waters of the Pacific would become one of the most famous beaches in the world, now visited by millions of visitors each year. The Marquez-Reyes union helped define the history of Santa Monica Beach. Now, one of their own descendants has documented that rich and romantic past. Noted Southern California historian and photo archivist Ernest Marquez grew up in Santa Monica Canyon, swam the Pacific waters at the heels of Olympian Buster Crabbe, and snacked on the watercress that grew in the canyon’s creek. As the years passed, he watched what had been known as the Roosevelt Highway become the Pacific Coast Highway, and Hollywood stars build homes along what ultimately would be referred to as the “Gold Coast.” Over the past several decades Marquez has collected both images and information that together define the history of this magnificent beach. Now, with dramatic images by Carleton E. Watkins, H.F. Rile, Valentin Wolfenstein and many more, Marquez’s Santa Monica Beach: A Collector’s Pictorial History is destined to become not only the definitive biography, but also the most beautiful and authoritative record of an American treasure.