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Former Ferrari chief Montezemolo to be chairman of Alitalia

Luca di Montezemolo may be 67 years old, but he's not quite ready to retire just yet. Not, at least, if the latest reports emanating from Italy are to be believed. According to Reuters, the longtime former Ferrari chief is due to be named chairman of Alitalia.
The troubled Italian airline is on the verge of being bailed out after years of financial difficulty, with Etihad Airways of the United Arab Emirates set to take a 49-percent stake in the company. While the reports have yet to be confirmed by the parties involved, Reuters cites multiple inside sources in revealing that the airline's board met last week and agreed to appoint Montezemolo as chairman, with current Etihad chief James Hogan to act as chief executive officer.
Montezemolo, of course, long served as chairman of Ferrari, having assumed leadership of the company not long after founder Enzo Ferrari died. He also served as chairman of the Fiat group for several years after the passing of Umberto Agnelli, and has headed numerous trade organizations and sporting bodies. But his tenure at Ferrari and the broader Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire came to an end two months ago when clashes with Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne saw Montezemolo step down.

Ferrari California replica from Ferris Bueller is so choice

We like car auctions well enough, but often the high-end affairs are a bit too much like outdoor museums - very beautiful and very cold, and you're not allowed to touch anything. A perfect case in point is the upcoming Mecum auction during the 2013 Pebble Beach weekend, which will feature the legendary replica Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder used in none other than Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Only three were made. The current owner spent ten years restoring this car. It is his love, it is his passion. (Well, it was before he decided to auction it, anyway.)
Actually built by Modena Design and Development in El Cajon, CA, the official name of the stunning replica is Modena Spyder California. Built up on a tube frame, with a meticulously maintained interior and powered by a 500-horsepower small block V8 the car is so choice. If you have the means, we highly recommend picking one up.
Mecum hasn't suggested a predicted auction price for the Hollywood relic as of yet, but with the perfect pedigree to pull Gen X heartstrings, and the proliferation of stupid-wealthy fourtysomethings in and around northern California, we wouldn't be surprised to see a decent value. Just don't wait on it, life moves pretty fast around Pebble Beach. If you'd like to read a full description of the car with fewer script-quotes, look, it's real simple, scroll down.

Ferrari 212 Barchetta highlights RM auction at Villa d'Este

While show-goers sip champagne and basque in the glow of some of the most beautiful classics and most notable concept cars at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, at the Villa Erba just down the shore, collectors bid on some of the most tempting automotive creations. And this year was no exception. Highlighting RM Sotheby's auction this year was a rare classic 1952 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta. The Touring-bodied competition roadster from Ferrari's early days fetched an incredible ˆ6,720,000 – nearly $7.4 million at current exchange rates – to set a new record for that model. According to Sports Car Market, the previous record was held by a 212 Export coupe that sold for $3.2 million early last year. A Barchetta failed to sell for a high bid of $1.97 million in 2008, which just goes to show how far this auction raised the bar for the 212. Though it was by far the top lot of the day, it wasn't the only million-dollar sale of the day. Heck, it wasn't even the only million-dollar Ferrari sold. A quartet of Ferrari supercars – including a 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo – each fetched seven figures, as did a 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso and a 250 GT Cabriolet. So did a Lamborghini Miura, a '73 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 and a '53 Fiat 8V Cabriolet, if you can believe it. Other notable lots included a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este Coupe, a '74 Lancia Stratos and a rare stick-shift Ferrari 599 HGTE. All told, RM Sotheby's racked up nearly $30 million in sales at its first European auction since merging and rebranding, selling 34 out of the 39 lots consigned, but that stunning 250 California Spider did not appear to be among them.