MAD Mark's DeTomaso Pantera
1974 L Model #7315
About 20 years later,
He Has My Car: When I left the military in the mid 1980's to attend college, I worked various part-time jobs to help supplement my income. One job I took was a security guard for an upscale condominium located at one of Florida's famous waterfronts. The job gave me time to study during the boring night hours. I walked the area many times but never saw anything out of the ordinary,,,,,until. One night I heard a powerful car start up in the multi-story garage adjunct to the main building. As it made its way down the garage ramps, I was very interested in seeing the wonder car that sounded great. There it was, in front of the main door. It was black. It had a huge wing on it. Was it a Countach? Oh my, it is a Pantera! THAT GUY HAS MY CAR!
Another 20 years later,
Getting My Pantera: One day I visited Matt, a friend of mine who purchased a Triumph Spitfire, similar to a car his dad had when he was a youth. I told Matt my dream car was a Pantera, but never in my life, planned-out how I was going to acquire one. I was getting excited and started to do research on Panteras. One day neighbor Scott notified me that Rob, who owned a local service garage, had a Pantera. Rob would not sell me his car, but he heard of a doctor who wanted to sell his. After a month of tracking-down doctor B and his beautiful black Pantera, we finally closed the deal, and I told Doctor B that I only saw two Panteras on the street in my lifetime. The first time was in the late 1970's on a Florida state road, and second when I worked as a security guard at the condominium in the mid 1980's. Doctor B told me that he owned his Pantera over twenty years and had in fact lived in a condominium at that waterfront twenty years ago. I was astonished and told him how I proclaim to myself, twenty years ago, that "He Had My Car!
