[DeTomaso] my friend Gary Hall

[damaadams at aol.com]

Although having been a DeTomaso enthusiast since 1969, I didn’t actually meet Gary Hall until I conducted a search to find a Mangusta in 1997. I had known about Gary, of course, but never felt like I had any business talking to him until I became a “legitimate” buyer. We finally met at the end of my Mangusta “safari”. I had been searching for a Mangusta for almost two years, and had looked at almost two dozen cars in all areas of the US. On this particular day I had flown to Los Angeles to look at two Mangustas, one at private party and the other at one of the DeTomaso “expert” vendors. I was terribly disappointed, both in the cars and in the way I was treated. I was about to give up on the whole thing. Having some time to waste before my return flight, I elected to go visit Gary at his shop. 


 


He and I hit it off immediately. As you can imagine, Gary gave me the full tour of his shop. I told him why I wanted a Mangusta and what I was looking for and he went over Bev’s Mangusta stem to stern with me to share his knowledge. I also told him I had one last lead on a Mangusta, but it would mean altering my return travel plans to go check it out. Gary told me he knew the car, and that it was worth the effort to go see it. Had it not been for Gary, someone else would probably own my car today.


 


When I needed “stuff” for my car, I w
ent to Gary. I never had anything but a good experience. It’s often said that the best part of our car hobby is the people you meet. In my mind, Gary is at the head of the list.