JULY

We first thought that our trip to Italy would be from the comfort of Ferrari’s, Maserati’s, Alfa Romero's and Lamborghini’s. This was far from reality. We started by having a taxi drive from the airport that would put New York cab drivers to shame. Driving down the middle of two lanes at almost 100 mph., being passed on both sides and lots of horns plus a driver that spoke no English made us think twice about renting a car. So we walked, took the train at the termini and hired drivers that had sane driving skills.

Our driver, Raffale, gave us the rules of driving in Italy; for every law there is a loophole, and the lines on the road are just decorations! I'm glad those are not the rules of driving in the USA.

Service areas on the Autostrada, expressways or toll roads, are much different. In the United States we often get off the highway to have coffee, burgers, and sandwiches. In Italy, rest areas sell wine, beer and hard liquor as well as great quality food. Auto Grills all along the Auto Strada make fresh expressos and cappacinos. Shelby and I got hooked on the cappacinos because they make them at a drinkable temperature designed so that you can drink and go, not like American coffee joints' roasting hot coffee.

My first worry about the Auto Grill was the danger of drinking and driving. I was amazed to see almost everyone, including truck drivers, drinking a glass of liquor or wine with their meal.

Speaking of truck drivers, they are banned from driving from mid-day Saturday through midnight Sunday, unless they are transporting perishables or livestock.

DWI's are a concern but, surprisingly, the issue isn't as big a problem in Italy as it is in America.  I'm not sure why this is the case. Maybe its because drinks are usually served with meals whereas bars are not as prevalent as they are in the United States. Still, the fatalities in Italy are about 30 per weekend.

Gas (or benzina) is very expensive and many Italian cars are diesel powered as diesel costs less and gets better fuel economy. Stations are easy to find; mostly pumps on the side of the road with a guy sitting in a chair and no booth.

As a pedestrian in Italy, you learn to walk across the street, show NO fear and keep a consistent pace. Don’t worry, the cars will swerve around you. No kidding! Most experienced Italian pedestrians never show fear nor even glance toward the drivers. If you're especially concerned at a busy intersection, simply place your arm out like a Mussolini salute and start walking - this says you mean business.

Children start driving at the age of 14 years old and learn to drive on either a scooter under 50cc with a helmet or a tiny compact car. The Teen Car Coach will share more out teen driving in Itlay in a future issue. At age 18 you can earn your license to drive a car and at 21 years olds can drive a motor bike over 600cc.

A car lover's dream is to be able to drive and look at all the amazing Italian cars in one day. Your dream can come true with Italian Car Factory Tours from MOTORSTARS. They offer you first class tours through the most presigious Italian sports car and motorbike manufacturers: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Ducati and Maserati.

MOTORSTARS provides high-quality, high-octane tours with expert guides who have worked in Ferrari F1 and other prestigious racing car companies. The guides share your passion and introduce you to the secrets of the most powerful and admired cars in the world. The knowledgeable MOTORSTARS guides accompanied us to the factories and museums in very small group. It was personalized and an enjoyable experience.

We were picked up at the Bologna train station in a luxury air conditioned new Mercedes van, where they showed us videos of each factory and it's history. We were incredibly excited to get to the first factory. The videos wet your appetite with documentary videos of Italian performance cars; both in action and under the hood.

When we arrived at the Ducati factory, we were greeted by a tour guide who took us through the factory and then through the fascinating museum full of history and Ducati race and street technology. This tour is more impressive than you could imagine. The museum curator, Livio Lodi, lives and breathes Ducati's and the museum was incredible.

Our driver, Francesco Bini, the owner and a true enthusiast and racer, was professional, had technical knowledge and was very cordial.

Then we were off to the world’s famous Italian mechanical engineering facilities of Ferrari.

MOTORSTARS made us feel a part of the team. The tour was amazing and it was an unforgettable experience. Now I want a Ferrari in the garage! Even the Ferrari employees looked like they belonged on the race team. The famous town of Modena was all about Ferrari's.

They gave us an option to drive a Ferrari 458, spyder or coupe; Shelby and Paul aren't 21 so they had to settle for a very fast ride with professional race car drivers on Modena roadways. They loved it and returned with very large smiles. Other members of our group rented a drive and were ecstatic with the experience and couldn't stop talking about it.

A note about Ferrari factory tours; they are only offered to Ferrari clients. The Ferrari factory directly manages factory tours in collaboration with Ferrari dealers.

After a light lunch, we were off to the Lamborghini factory tour a short ride away.

The factory was in-between model years so we visited the museum at the factory. Every model Lamborghini was present including the very rare LM002. A friend of mine has one and they are impressive. We were allowed to sit in a few of them and drool on all the current models. There was even a Reventon which is worth around $1 million. The stealth look is just awesome.

MOTORSTARS took care of every last detail, their goal was to understand our needs and to help us receive the most out of our experience. This is a highly recommended tour! If you find yourself in Italy, make sure to contact MOTORSTARS for the tour of a lifetime that I promise - you won't forget it!

Lauren Fix has appeared numerous times on Oprah, TODAY, The View, CNN, FOX News, ABC 20/20, Headlines News, MSNBC, TBS Makeover and a Movie Inside Edition, The Early Show, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, The Weather Channel, ESPN, Discovery, Speed, B. Smith Style and National Public Radio. Lauren can be seen and heard from coast-to-coast!

A highly credible automotive and lifestyle expert, Lauren Fix provides solid information on safety and on a wide range of automotive topics and issues.  Her motivational speeches as the “Carma Coach” will help you “read the road signs” and find the “vehicle” that gets you “where you want to go.”

She toured with O Magazine for “Oprah’s 2005 Live Your Best Life Tour” presenting motivational inspiration, consumer information and automotive advice.

Lauren is listed in The Yearbook of Experts, Authorities and Spokespersons since 1998.

Lauren Fix is the host and automotive expert for Talk 2 DIY Automotive, a show on Scripps Do-It-Yourself Network (DIY), airing in its 4th year.

Lauren’s two syndicated segments called: The Car Coach® covers car care tips and His Turn–Her Turn™ car reviews from a male and female perspective.  

Lauren is the automotive editor of YourLifeMagazine.com and editor-in-chief for CarZen.com; contributing content to USA Today; Good Housekeeping; Woman’s World; Redbook; Self; In Touch Weekly; Seventeen; Essence; Marie Claire; Prevention; Motor Trend; Truck Trend; Hot Rod; Car Craft to name a few.   

Lauren is also the author of Driving Ambitions: A Complete Guide to Amateur Auto Racing and the award winning Lauren's Guide To Loving Your Car! with St. Martins Press, June ‘08.  She is working on her fourth book with her daughter, Shelby.

Lauren Fix is the spokesperson for the “Be Car Care Aware” program, a consumer education campaign promoting the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair and Midas for their media outreach programs.

Lauren is an alpha-mom, her degree in management/marketing plus sales and marketing to design experience makes Lauren a hands-on expert that offers consumers education and personal experience that makes autos easier to understand.  She is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) since 1980 and ASE Certified technician.

Ms. Fix owns Automotive Aspects Inc., a consulting firm that provides media consulting, broadcast messaging strategy services and motivational seminars.

Lauren Fix has a high “trust factor” and can connect with viewers everywhere.

Lauren has earned many awards including: 2008 Women of the Year – Aftermarket Automotive; “40 Under 40 Business Award”; ‘00 Car Care Council Communications Award, ‘02 Women of the Year - Business Advisory Board of NY; ‘03 International Automotive Media Award-Public Service; ‘04 Top 25 Women Who Mean Business Award; ‘04 Northwood University Automotive Aftermarket Management Award, honored with the Best Business to Consumer Public Relations Efforts Award for ’05 and’06 as well as a Stevie Award for Best Marketing Campaign of 2006 and 2008 Automotive Woman Of The Year.

Lauren is currently working on two TV pilots, a book and a line of products

Lauren Fix  •   www.laurenfix.com •  716.440.3888

Background:
Lauren Fix travels regularly to speaking engagements around the country. But how did she get started?
It all began in Detroit, Michigan - known as ‘The Motor City' - the city where Lauren was born and where she learned how to maintain and work on cars at the tender age of 10. Lauren does have motor oil running through her veins.

Now Lauren is a highly credible and trusted automotive expert, capable of providing solid information to the public on a wide range of automotive topics and safety issues. Lauren has been a leader in positive consumer awareness in the automotive world for over 20 years.

Most importantly, Lauren is also a wife and ‘Alpha' Mom of two teenagers. When she isn't on TV she enjoys spending time with her family, working out, and gourmet cooking in Buffalo, New York.

Lauren is involved with several automotive associations:
•    The National Women's Automotive International
•    Women's Board Car Care Council,
•    SEMA Businesswomen's Network and Steering Committee
•    American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT)
•    Automotive Communications Council  
•    Car Care Council Member
•    Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).