May 16, 2009Gossip Girl Revs My Engine.

photo via: gossipgirlinsider.com

Thank God for Gossip Girl, seriously.  Mondays are rescued by this indulgent, hour-long, not-so-guilty-anymore pleasure.  

Blair Waldorf’s dynamite one liners, Dan Humphrey’s brooding adolescent intellectualism, and Chuck Bass’ outrageous wardrobe are impeccably complemented by the New York cityscape.  Existing thoroughly outside of reality, Gossip Girl is the ultimate escape in these difficult times, offering up entirely absurd television that is laden with genius references to current events, pop culture and accurate New Yorkisms.  The show’s broad appeal is a testament to its masterfulness and efficacy.

Okay, enough Gossip Girl doting.  This week’s episode was, to put it mildly, a little schizophrenic for my tastes.  ”Watching last night’s Gossip Girl, cross-pollinated as it was with the new spinoff show, was like having your favorite song come on the radio on a long, lonely country drive only to have the station keep sputtering out of range, replacing it intermittently with Billy Ray Cyrus” (NYMAG).

Nevertheless, one exceptional thing came from the episode: my personal discovery of the Ferrari 246 Dino.  In Monday’s episode, Andrew McCarthy leaves Brittany Snow in the parking lot of a restaurant, driving a Ferrari 246 Dino.

Dino = Divine. The 246 Dino was the first Ferrari to be mass-produced.  Initially “Dino” was meant to be its own sub-brand and was intended to encompass any Ferrari vehicles with less than 12-cylinder engines.  This course was quickly abandoned, the Ferrari was re-inserted.  The Ferrari Dino was produced from 1968 to 1976.

Performance aside (it’s a Ferrari…it’s obviously going to perform well), the Dino 246 is absolutely exquisite.  The vehicle’s distinctive architecture is positively striking thanks to the deep grooves around the headlamps, the large rectangular vents on the hood, and the bold furrows on the sides of the car.

I want one.

photo via: wikipedia.org

photo via: www.telegraph.co.uk