Changes be Damned

     Change is difficult. You would have thought I was denying the earth was round, I secretly kick puppies, or (blasphemy!) Ferrari didn’t create the greatest sports cars in the world.

     None of that is true. Like Enzo Ferrari if you don’t continue to change, the competition will leave you behind.

     If you haven’t heard, the print edition of the Ferrari Market Letter is going to disappear at the end of this year.

     Change is difficult. From the first issue of the Ferrari Market Letter on January 3rd, 1976, to the last issue on December 27th, 2025, the FML has provided news and information on Ferrari prices, events and much more.

     Over the years thousands and thousands of Ferraris have been advertised. Owners have purchased their first Ferrari or sold their tenth Ferrari through the pages of this biweekly publication.

     Founder Gerald Roush took a grand leap of faith and started the FML when information on these cars was scarce and much was unknown about them at the time.

     The early issues were actually called the FAF Ferrari Market Letter as Roush and the owners of FAF had come up with a new and novel way to find cars to purchase and sell.

     The June 17th, 1978, issue reflected a new name and cover. Roush had left the employment of FAF and the Ferrari Market Letter as we know it today was born.

     Gerald Roush had hired me in October 1977 to work in the parts department and for those six months or so I learned all I could about Ferrari cars and history.

     It is ironic that today, all these years later, I am writing for the FML.

     For these many years the format of the letter has not changed, but that doesn’t mean there have not been changes.

     In 1997 the FML debuted on a newfangled place called the internet; www.ferrarimarketletter.com was born.

     The same content, the same ads and information can be found at the website.

     For nearly thirty years the Ferrari Market Letter has maintained both a print and online presence. During that time the world has changed. As much as I like to hold a printed magazine in my hand the time has come to move forward to capture a rising generation of Ferrari owners.

      When Gerald Roush began to publish, information was difficult to come by. The FML provided that news and transferred knowledge to others who wanted to seek out answers to their questions.

     Today, all the world’s knowledge is held in the palm of your hand. What used to take days of research to find an answer is now moments away.

     The internet has changed the way we operate in life and while the Ferrari Market Letter wishes to be relevant it has become difficult to provide a service that caters to the market.

     Historically, the online version mirrors the print. The same ads, the same articles are posted on-line. This limits what the FML can provide to our subscribers.

     Going completely online frees up article content and size. Photographs so limited on a page can now be shown to provide more coverage of an event or news.

     Classified ads for cars can now be unlimited in description and multiple photos used to showcase the Ferrari.

     Those are the things we are working on presently, but there will be more features to come that will make finding all the things you love about the FML even better.

     Change is difficult. I have received many notes about how much the print version will be missed. I get it, but like many other publications the cost of paper, postage, and printing work against the bottom line.

     Magazines like LIFE and Newsweek are no longer around and my goal is to have the Ferrari Market Letter be a trusted independent resource for Ferrari information and knowledge well into the future.

     In 1976 there were 131 brave subscribers who signed up for a magazine nobody had ever seen. Unfortunately, many of them have passed during the fifty-year run.

     But the proof of what we have accomplished is that we still have six subscribers who have endured all fifty years.

     I wish to personally thank THE SIX.

    Alan Boe, James Brown, Robert Dusek, Thomas Kosasa, Dyke Ridgley, and Jim Wall

     The FML has survived economic downturns, market shifts, heart attack, vacations, Gerald’s passing, new ownership and so many other challenges throughout the years.

     This move to a brave new world will have its ups and downs. I hope you will move with us and continue to enjoy what the Ferrari Market Letter has provided throughout the years.

     Damn, I love what I do. I hope you will continue to enjoy the journey.