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In a message dated 11/5/13 10 17 27, michaelsavga@gmail.com writes:<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE CITE STYLE="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">This information doesn't make them any less of a car, in fact, given the improvements between the first 300 pushbutton cars and the<BR>
72 pushbutton that came over 2,000 cars later, I'd rather have the later one, you can't possibly think that the only thing left unchanged were the doors.<BR>
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>>>You're right about that, to a degree. Since the first-generation Panteras couldn't be sold in the USA because they failed crash standards, some partially completed cars were pushed to the side after the initial European market demand had been filled, and production of USA-compliant cars was underway. As the existing Euro cars were sold and more were needed, semi-completed cars would then be finished off, and equipped with some then-current features.<BR>
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Stephane Bergeron's #1267 is a perfect example of this, as it came with rounded bumpers, and a Dash-2 gearbox and two-slot wheels. Brian Lerose's car #1272 is similarly equipped--it was started in January 1971, but not completed until November 1971, and sold in Italy in June 1972.<BR>
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All interesting stuff! If you REALLY want to get into arcane, interesting stuff, talk Vallelungas! I've been helping research the whereabouts and disposition of the three Fissore alloy-bodied prototypes; two were known and one has been 'missing' for years. That car has since turned up and an arrangement was made to buy it just yesterday, but we're still waiting to get more information. The two known cars both have the same VIN! It will be interesting to see if the third one does as well???<BR>
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Mike</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"></FONT></HTML>