[DeTomaso] "Throwaway Cars" tale

[Charles Engles]

Dear Forum,

 

 

                  A true story follows.  

 

                 A friend of mine owns a Lamborghini Diablo.  He has owned
it for several years and was driving it on a backroad when it lost power.
He came home on a roll back.  He thought  it was a bad oxygen sensor.
Further home diagnostics seem to show that it is the main engine computer
and that accounts  half of the V12 cylinders missing in action.

 

                When that diagnosis came up, he thought, "This is bad."   A
call to our nearest Lambo dealer and service center in Dallas-Ft. Worth gave
him an unpleasant earful.  It seems that they have a Diablo with the same
problem.  It has been in their shop for *several* months.   They have
plugged three new computers into it and untold man-hours and still haven't
solved the problem.   They were able to obtain the few remaining factory NOS
engine computers.   Lambo does not make them any more.  It appears that
there is no source for a new Diablo engine computer.

 

                Further research showed that there are apparently two guys
in the U.S. with the ability to understand the computer circuitry and code
who can actually work on a sick computer rather than just replace it.  One
fellow is in Ohio and the other is on the West Coast.   He'll have to put
the Diablo on a transport and send it to one of them and hope they can fix
it.

 

                The plan that occurred to me: pull the offending and
uncooperative Diablo computer and install something more user friendly---has
already been done by other Diablo owners.  Some have converted to a Motec
system that is supposed to cost about $20k..!

 

                After the onset of this major headache, he said that he was
reminded of something that Bob Smith  (  www.bobsmithcoachworks.com ) said
years ago when we were touring his fabulous Ferrari and Exotic Restoration
Shop in Texas.   Someone in the group asked about newer Ferraris and sports
cars in the post carburetor  era.   Bob said, "They're throwaway cars."
Cold and succinct.    My friend said that in his current situation, he is
afraid that Bob was right.

 

                I hope he gets it fixed, but it does make me appreciate my
Panteras even more.

 

 

                                Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles