Beneteau Oceanis 51.1 – A Floating Beach House
Owning a large sailboat, our is a Beneteau Oceanis 51, is like owning another vacation home. While a sailboat is technically a mode of transportation, from a cost perspective, the annual ownership costs are much closer to what a ski or beach house run. Given that you could describe our boat as a mobile wind driven 3 bedroom waterfront home,…
5- Karenable
5
Aston Martin’s Q3 2022 Results…..The Vanish
Two supercar manufacturers released their Q3 2022 results this week. The first manufacturer, Ferrari, beat both the markets Q3 revenue and earnings estimates. Ferrari, for the 2nd quarter in a row, then raised its guidance for the year. The second manufacturer was Aston Martin. Bernstein analyst Daniel Röska summed up AML’s Q3 succinctly: “No amount of sugar-coating will help here:…
- 5
- Karenable
McLarens: Maintenance Costs & Reliability Update 2022
When people find out I have owned a number of McLarens, they tend to ask a lot of questions about maintenance costs and reliability. As we have just completed another annual service cycle, the following is the updated list of all the maintenance costs and reliability issues we have had across the ten McLarens we have owned over the past…
- 5
- Karenable
Aston Martin’s Latest Equity Raise & the Press
It’s been almost two months now since our last update on the never ending, but always entertaining, saga of Stroll’s Aston Martin. I thought now might be a good time to do a quick catch up as Aston Martin has just completed the £653m Equity Raise that was announced on July 15th (see: Aston Martin's Equity Raise) A more in-depth…
- 5
- Karenable
Ferrari & McLaren’s 1st Half 2022 Results & Strategies
Instead of doing a deep dive into the 1st half 2022 numbers this time, it might be a bit more interesting to just share a few performance highlights before taking a look at each company’s strategy and development. Ferrari today has never been on more solid ground while McLaren is surviving due to the generosity of its owners. In many…
- 5
- Karenable
Aston Martin’s Q3 2022 Results…..The Vanish
Two supercar manufacturers released their Q3 2022 results this week. The first manufacturer, Ferrari, beat both the markets Q3 revenue and earnings estimates. Ferrari, for the 2nd quarter in a row, then raised its guidance for the year. The second manufacturer was Aston Martin. Bernstein analyst Daniel Röska summed up AML’s Q3 succinctly: “No amount of sugar-coating will help here:…
- 5
- Karenable
Aston Martin’s Latest Equity Raise & the Press
It’s been almost two months now since our last update on the never ending, but always entertaining, saga of Stroll’s Aston Martin. I thought now might be a good time to do a quick catch up as Aston Martin has just completed the £653m Equity Raise that was announced on July 15th (see: Aston Martin's Equity Raise) A more in-depth…
- 5
- Karenable
Turtle Soup*: Aston Martin 1st Half 2022 Results
*Please see AML's Q1 Results for an explanation of the Turtle reference Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) released its first half 2022 results on Friday, July 29th but no longer posts a webcast of the analyst Q&A call on the investors site. During the £653m Equity Raise announcement two weeks ago, AML did give a 1st half trading update that hinted…
- 5
- Karenable
Aston Martin’s £653m Equity Raise & Trading Update
“Let me be crystal-clear, black-and-white: we do not need money.” – Lawrence Stroll Feb 2022 "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" - William Shakespeare 1602 I wasn’t planning on writing another article on Aston Martin (AML) until they released their 1st half results at the end of July. Last Friday’s announcement of the £653m Equity Raise and Trading Update…
- 5
- Karenable
Aston Martin: The Stroll Era – How Does it End?
This past week Aston Martin Lagonda’s stock price dropped to a new all-time low of 466p. This is down 78% from its latest 52 week high, making AML stock only a slightly better investment than Dogecoin (-81%) over the past year. While its stock price isn’t sinking quite as fast as the Titanic did, I’m not sure AML will have…
- 5
- Karenable
Thoughts: Ferrari SUV, Aston Martin, SCG, GMA & More
I thought I would share a few thoughts and observations on a number of things that have recently caught my attention in the auto universe. None of these has enough depth for a full blog in their own right but thought they were still worthy of sharing. What the future will look like in six months is anyone’s guess but…
- 5
- Karenable
Monterey Car Week Report 2019
This was our first time at Monterey Car Week. I would probably best describe Car Week as combination of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Goodwood Revival spread out over multiple stunning locations and then supersized in the best American tradition. We arrived on Wednesday late afternoon and departed the following Monday morning (see: McLaren 675LT Spider Road Trip). In between, it was…
- 5
- Karenable
Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible
Weekend With A Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible Courtesy of Park Place, our local supercar dealer, we recently spent a few days living with a Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible. Bentley is a brand that has been slowly growing on me over the last couple of months. This transformation started with the Mulsanne short termer we had last autumn. While…
- 5
- Karenable
Bentley Bentayga
Weekend With A Bentley Bentayga We recently spent 36 hours living with a Bentley Bentayga. Our loaner car was a pearly white and instantly earned the nickname “Beluga”. Going in, it was a car I wanted to hate. It represents just about everything I try to avoid when choosing a preferred mode of transportation. It is huge, heavy, and about…
- 5
- Karenable
Ferrari & McLaren’s 1st Half 2022 Results & Strategies
Instead of doing a deep dive into the 1st half 2022 numbers this time, it might be a bit more interesting to just share a few performance highlights before taking a look at each company’s strategy and development. Ferrari today has never been on more solid ground while McLaren is surviving due to the generosity of its owners. In many…
- 5
- Karenable
Our Top Ten Favorite Routes & Roads
Mrs. SSO and I were recently discussing a few road trip options for the fall when the conversation morphed into a discussion on our favorite routes, roads and why. The only criteria we agreed was these were roads we really enjoyed driving and would go out of our way to drive these routes again. Some of the routes are fairly…
- 5
- Karenable
Heatwave Drives: Porsche 911 GT3 RS & Ferrari F40
This past Sunday was a glorious day, if you were a cactus. Not a cloud in the sky, and no shade to be found anywhere either. Temperatures were pushing triple digits Fahrenheit, the lawn had turned a light shade of brown, and the few tourists I had seen earlier in town had not discovered the miracle of sunscreen as they…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercar Market Insights & Analysis – July 2022
I’ve refrained from doing a market update for the past couple of quarters as a lot of what was happening in the supercar market overall just didn’t make a lot of sense. Back in September 2021, I summarized the situation in the market (Supercar Market Update Sept 2021) as follows: In summary, right now we have a sport & supercar…
- 5
- Karenable
The Horse: Insights on Ferrari’s Q1 2022 Results
Ferrari had an outstanding year in 2021 and has followed that up with a great start to 2022. Every single key financial indicator in Q1 2022 was double digit positive and Ferrari’s guidance for the full year points to another year of expected strong results. The CEO transition to Benedetto Vigna has been flawless and Ferrari has done a superior…
- 5
- Karenable
Beneteau Oceanis 51.1 – A Floating Beach House
Owning a large sailboat, our is a Beneteau Oceanis 51, is like owning another vacation home. While a sailboat is technically a mode of transportation, from a cost perspective, the annual ownership costs are much closer to what a ski or beach house run. Given that you could describe our boat as a mobile wind driven 3 bedroom waterfront home,…
- 5
- Karenable
Planning Our 1st Epic Drive of 2021
I have hope that things will get better this year with the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccines and that by September or October a road trip will be possible. In great anticipation, I reached out to a group of friends with whom we have been doing road trips for over a decade now to gauge interest. It’s a great…
- 5
- Karenable
Porsche Carrera GT to a Beneteau Oceanis 51.1
A Porsche Carrera GT has been near the top of my bucket list for quite a few years now. This year, for the first time in a while, the stars all started to align, and it looked like it might actually happen. Then Covid-19 hit, lockdowns were imposed, social distancing became the in trend for 2020, and the Carrera GT…
- 5
- Karenable
To Cork or Not to Cork?
Editor’s Note: The following article was written by my brother, the Wine Collector (his wine cellar is probably worth more than my garage). The Wine Collector is a bit of a car enthusiast himself and he has owned a Ferrari 430 Spider for many years. Do screw cap wines and supercars go together? You don’t buy a Ferrari or a…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercar Road Trip: Part 3
We recently moved from Texas back to near where I grew up in New England. As part of the move, Mrs. SSO and I decided to drive the Maserati Granturismo Cabrio and the McLaren 650S Spider respectively the 1,800 miles northeast. This would be the first time Mrs. SSO and I had done a road trip driving in tandem. As…
- 5
- Karenable
The Use Case Rule of Car Collecting
Earlier this year I met a wise experienced car connoisseur over zoom (it is 2020). This gentleman has owned a number of cars that have also passed through our garage over the years (including a Ferrari F50, 16M, McLaren 675LT) along with at least one that I can only dream of (McLaren F1). He introduced me to the “Use Case…
- 5
- Karenable
Our Other Sports Cars
Almost all of the articles I’ve written have been on the supercars we have owned over the years. Both before and alongside these cars, we have also owned a number of other sports cars over the years that have remained anonymous. I thought I would do a bit of a trip down memory lane on the rather eclectic group of…
- 5
- Karenable
Ferrari F50 to the Jaguar XJR-15
Car Collecting Journey: Ferrari F50 to the Jaguar XJR-15 Recently I wrote an article on our experience owning a Ferrari F50 (The Ferrari F50). Looking back today, owning the F50 was a watershed experience in our car collecting journey. It both changed the direction, and has heavily influenced, all our car buying since. The F50 firmly cemented several critical attributes we look for in…
- 5
- Karenable
What I Have Learned In 20 Years of Collecting Supercars
Recently I exchanged a few messages with a gentleman who was looking for a bit of advice on plans for his car collection. I quite enjoyed the exchange and hope I was able to provide at least a modicum of useful insights. I found the experience fascinating as it forced me to reflect back on our car collecting experiences over the last…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercars We Have Sold
Supercar Ghosts With the McLaren Senna arriving shortly, I have been reflecting back on the different supercars I have owned over the years. They basically fall into three groups; missed and would like it back, enjoyed owning but it was time to move on, and thank god it’s gone. For the sake of brevity, I will only touch upon my…
- 5
- Karenable
McLarens: Maintenance Costs & Reliability Update 2022
When people find out I have owned a number of McLarens, they tend to ask a lot of questions about maintenance costs and reliability. As we have just completed another annual service cycle, the following is the updated list of all the maintenance costs and reliability issues we have had across the ten McLarens we have owned over the past…
- 5
- Karenable
Ferrari & McLaren’s 1st Half 2022 Results & Strategies
Instead of doing a deep dive into the 1st half 2022 numbers this time, it might be a bit more interesting to just share a few performance highlights before taking a look at each company’s strategy and development. Ferrari today has never been on more solid ground while McLaren is surviving due to the generosity of its owners. In many…
- 5
- Karenable
Our Top Ten Favorite Routes & Roads
Mrs. SSO and I were recently discussing a few road trip options for the fall when the conversation morphed into a discussion on our favorite routes, roads and why. The only criteria we agreed was these were roads we really enjoyed driving and would go out of our way to drive these routes again. Some of the routes are fairly…
- 5
- Karenable
McLaren 675LT Spider: 6 Years & What the Future Holds
The 675LT Spider has been with us for 6 years now. During this period, it has been our road trip car of choice. The 675LT Spider has been driven across the Rocky Mountains, down both coasts, and across a desert. It started life on the US East Coast, moved out to Montana, went on vacation in California, spent a few…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercar Market Insights & Analysis – July 2022
I’ve refrained from doing a market update for the past couple of quarters as a lot of what was happening in the supercar market overall just didn’t make a lot of sense. Back in September 2021, I summarized the situation in the market (Supercar Market Update Sept 2021) as follows: In summary, right now we have a sport & supercar…
- 5
- Karenable
Beneteau Oceanis 51.1 – A Floating Beach House
Owning a large sailboat, our is a Beneteau Oceanis 51, is like owning another vacation home. While a sailboat is technically a mode of transportation, from a cost perspective, the annual ownership costs are much closer to what a ski or beach house run. Given that you could describe our boat as a mobile wind driven 3 bedroom waterfront home,…
- 5
- Karenable
New Supercar Definitions
I have spent most of the last week flat on my tush with COVID (I am double vaccinated and double boosted). After that rather unpleasant experience, like a bad case of man-flu, something a bit lighter was what the Doctor ordered. The following is meant to be taken with at least a grain of salt. Definitions With not a lot…
- 5
- Karenable
A Few Thoughts: Horsepower, McLaren & Chasity, Hypercar Manufacturers
I thought I would share a few thoughts and observations on a number of things that have recently caught my attention in the auto universe. The include the last several decades of horsepower increases, McLaren's current portfolio, and new news on a number of smaller hypercar manufacturers. None of these has enough depth for a full blog but thought they…
- 5
- Karenable
Will Audi Buy McLaren? & a Brief Update on the Aston Martin Saga
Since last November, there have been multiple rumors that Audi (technically it would be the Volkswagen Group which owns Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, and a number of other brands) is about to buy McLaren. McLaren, via Zak Brown CEO of McLaren Racing, has publicly admitted talks have taken place but no agreement has been reached. The reality is these sort of…
- 5
- Karenable
The SSO Awards: 2021
In this final article of 2021, what has been another unprecedented year, I’ve put together my annual SSO Awards list covering the automotive universe in general. In putting this year’s awards list together, I would like to first acknowledge that I have no real basis to be doing this (that’s better left up to the professional journalists and those that…
- 5
- Karenable
Beneteau Oceanis 51.1 – A Floating Beach House
Owning a large sailboat, our is a Beneteau Oceanis 51, is like owning another vacation home. While a sailboat is technically a mode of transportation, from a cost perspective, the annual ownership costs are much closer to what a ski or beach house run. Given that you could describe our boat as a mobile wind driven 3 bedroom waterfront home,…
- 5
- Karenable
Our Top Ten Favorite Routes & Roads
Mrs. SSO and I were recently discussing a few road trip options for the fall when the conversation morphed into a discussion on our favorite routes, roads and why. The only criteria we agreed was these were roads we really enjoyed driving and would go out of our way to drive these routes again. Some of the routes are fairly…
- 5
- Karenable
Heatwave Drives: Porsche 911 GT3 RS & Ferrari F40
This past Sunday was a glorious day, if you were a cactus. Not a cloud in the sky, and no shade to be found anywhere either. Temperatures were pushing triple digits Fahrenheit, the lawn had turned a light shade of brown, and the few tourists I had seen earlier in town had not discovered the miracle of sunscreen as they…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercar Market Insights & Analysis – July 2022
I’ve refrained from doing a market update for the past couple of quarters as a lot of what was happening in the supercar market overall just didn’t make a lot of sense. Back in September 2021, I summarized the situation in the market (Supercar Market Update Sept 2021) as follows: In summary, right now we have a sport & supercar…
- 5
- Karenable
Are there any Supercar Bargains left?
I’ve refrained from doing a market update for the past several months as a lot of what is happening in the car market overall still doesn’t make a lot of sense. Porsche Carrera GTs suddenly jumping up $1 mil. in value and 1-2 year old V12 Ferraris, which normally have the financial buoyancy of the Hindenburg next to a lite…
- 5
- Karenable
The Bayside Restaurant: Home of New England’s Best Lobster Roll
This is actually the first standalone restaurant review we have ever done. All the prior one’s have been included in road trip reports. However when a restaurant consistently makes the best lobster roll in New England, it has earned the right to have its own review. The Bayside does, and it certainly has, for the two years since we first…
- 5
- Karenable
To Cork or Not to Cork?
Editor’s Note: The following article was written by my brother, the Wine Collector (his wine cellar is probably worth more than my garage). The Wine Collector is a bit of a car enthusiast himself and he has owned a Ferrari 430 Spider for many years. Do screw cap wines and supercars go together? You don’t buy a Ferrari or a…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercar Road Trip: Part 2
We recently moved from Texas back to near where I grew up in New England. As part of the move, Mrs. SSO and I decided to drive the Maserati Granturismo Cabrio and the McLaren 650S Spider respectively the 1,800 miles northeast. This would be the first time Mrs. SSO and I had done a road trip driving in tandem. As…
- 5
- Karenable
Supercar Road Trip: Part 1
We recently moved from Texas back to near where I grew up in New England. As part of the move, Mrs. SSO and I decided to drive the Maserati Granturismo Cabrio and the McLaren 650S Spider respectively the 1,800 miles northeast. This would be the first time Mrs. SSO and I had done a road trip driving in tandem. As…
- 5
- Karenable
Chicago
Chicago: A Great American City By Mrs. SSO While I normally write about Hotels, that was just a functional aspect of a recent trip to Chicago with Mr. SSO. Chicago is right up there with other great International Cities. It is so much more than being home to the Chicago Bears Football Team or the Chicago Cubs Baseball Team (although when you…
- 5
- Karenable
SCG 004S Test Drive & First Impressions
Guest Article By “Zombie Physicist” I recently pulled the trigger to order a Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) 004S and thought I would do a review after having a test drive. This review is a bit long, but broken into two parts: Part 1: observations on the car itself, and Part 2: driving impressions. The two parts are further broken down…
- 5
- Karenable
A Few Thoughts: Horsepower, McLaren & Chasity, Hypercar Manufacturers
I thought I would share a few thoughts and observations on a number of things that have recently caught my attention in the auto universe. The include the last several decades of horsepower increases, McLaren's current portfolio, and new news on a number of smaller hypercar manufacturers. None of these has enough depth for a full blog but thought they…
- 5
- Karenable
SSO’s Supercar Plans for 2022
Sitting here on a cold sunny Saturday morning in January watching the colors of dawn poking through the forest, got me thinking about what 2022 will bring in terms of both already planned new arrivals in the garage, another addition I am seriously considering (it’s been submitted for Use Case testing), and a few other cars I would like to…
- 5
- Karenable
The SSO Awards: 2021
In this final article of 2021, what has been another unprecedented year, I’ve put together my annual SSO Awards list covering the automotive universe in general. In putting this year’s awards list together, I would like to first acknowledge that I have no real basis to be doing this (that’s better left up to the professional journalists and those that…
- 5
- Karenable
Anticipation Grows – The SCG 004S
It’s been about six months since I last posted an update on the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) 004s’ development (1st Impressions, the SCG004S). I had just had the chance to visit the new SCG factory in Danbury, Connecticut and see a couple of the 004S development mules. I was very fortunate to have Jim Glickenhaus provide a personal tour and…
- 5
- Karenable
