SCUDERIA NON ORIGINALE™ (SNO)

Scuderia Non Originale ™

Posted by Gary on June 30, 2014
Posted in: SCUDERIA NON ORIGINALE™ (SNO). Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment


“It would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations. There would be a lot fewer smiles.” —  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

felstead_3Alfasbb

Art copyright 2009 Anna-Louise Felstead. Used with permission. You can see more of her wonderful work by clicking here.

http://www.alfelstead.com

SNO News Is Good News!

Scuderia Non Originale Headquarters, Washougal, Washington, March 1, 2021: Scuderia Non Originale™ (SNO), still the world’s fastest growing club for Italian motoring enthusiasts, announces an upcoming expansion and a change in leadership.  Ignoring charges of nepotism and ballot fraud, Founding Director of Directors Gary Williams will be handing the keys to the SNO kingdom to his son Ted this year.  Ted, as you may already know, is a founding member of SNO and has owned several Alfas.

With the change in leadership we expect new innovations .. or perhaps just innovations.  I’m not sure we’ve done any innovating to this point in our 17-year history, except introduce “scuderia non-originale” as a generic term to describe both modified cars and their creative, somewhat rebellious owners.

Ted, who operates a fascinating website at https://www.ingloriousamateurs.com/, will be developing new items for SNO members and friends, as well as looking at how to open the group to restomoders who drive non Italian marques.

When I went rogue and bought a Porsche Cayman, he gifted me with this lovely badge to stick on it.  The car now proudly wears a pair of them, one on each side window.  The stickers thoroughly confuse Porsche owners who can’t figure out what they mean or how they relate to the Alfa Romeo Association of Northern California sticker on the Cayman’s back window.

We’ll be sharing more about this sticker and others with a similar non-Alfa theme in coming weeks/months.  Speaking of “coming months,” SNO’s 2021 calendar of events will be the same as that of every other year … completely blank!   We promise to maintain our original commitment to hold no meetings, publish no newsletters, and collect no dues or fees of any type. Thus, the calendar is completely free so you can enjoy your car(s) for yet another year in absolute peace.

Despite the lack of club activities – or perhaps because of that — SNO expects to continue adding members from around the world. SNO offers what other groups do not, a friendly acceptance of all Italian car and motorcycle enthusiasts, especially those who modify their vehicles. And, did we mention, no dues?

If you’ve been hassled by the Non Originale Police because your  car or motorcycle isn’t exactly as it left the factory, we’re the group for you. And just to prove our classic car hearts are in the right place, you’re also welcome if your vehicle is absolutely, perfectly, Q-tip clean and box stock. Heck, some of our members regularly win awards at concours de elegance competitions … and we still like them!

Below:  First German cars to wear the new logo mentioned above.    

“Who are these guys?”

That’s the question frequently heard at car shows and rallies, as uniformed “originale police” spot our non originale cars, many of which display our not quite correct club logos.  The answer is that Scuderia Non Originale™ (SNO) was founded by a group of Alfisti in October of 2004, at the annual Concorso Italiano in Monterey, California.  The charter members are from the San Francisco Bay Area, mostly in the region south of San Francisco widely known as Silicon Valley.  They include three engineers (Tom Sahines, Richard Lane and Ben Lamprecht), an auto parts manager and former Alfa mechanic (Steve Smith), a former Yahoo web wizard who now works for the government (Ted Williams), and retired business owner (Gary Williams).Ferrari-Pantera logos

Cars include a wide variety of Italian fun machines, from Alfas to Maseratis. The list includes a Ferrari 275 GTB, a Ghibli, an assortment of Giuliettas, Giulias, Junior Zagatos, Milanos, Alfettas, 164s, and an ever-growing list of other Italian sports cars and motorcycles. We’ve even got the one and only Stovebolt HWM racer, not an Alfa, but very much connected to Alfa’s racing history.  For photos of member cars please look under the “Category” heading in the left menu.  You’ll find several pages filled with pictures and stories.

You might say that we’re restomoders with a sense of humor and a bit of attitude.  A motto for the group was proposed years ago:  Andiamo Lesti Fumando Assai (We go fast, making much smoke!).  Some would like to see us adopt a less deprecatory motto.  Others think Andiamo Lentamente Fumando Assai is more appropriate (We go slowly, spewing smoke). This entry shows the high intellectual level of the group and has promise: Veni Vidi Veloce (I came, I saw, I went fast).  Thanks to Greg Gordon for that one.  We’ll keep you posted regarding any late-breaking decisions from the rules committee, once we appoint one, but since we don’t like NO rules and we don’t hold NO meetings, it may take a few more years to make a decision.

On the other hand, if enough of us congregate at Concorso Italiano one fine August, and those who can’t attend weigh in via e-mail, we might just  eventually select a motto.

Sincerely,
Gary Williams
Founding Director of Scuderia Non Originale™

To contact us:  SNO at gwandrw dot com

How to join

See the membership list

Order SNO stickers

Scuderia Non Originale™ (SNO) — Membership List

Posted by Gary on June 29, 2014
Posted in: SCUDERIA NON ORIGINALE™ (SNO). Tagged: , , , , , , , .


“It would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations. There would be a lot fewer smiles.” —  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

felstead_2 8c alfas 72dpi
© 2009 Anna-Louise Felstead. Used with permission.

Please note that ALL members are Scuderia Non Originale (SNO) Directors.  Our  impressive titles come with no authority, no responsibilities, and absolutely nothing to direct. That makes SNO Director an almost ideal job. Ideal would be if we all got paid.  Hmm, maybe we need to find a lobbyist.

To contact us:  SNO at gwandrw dot com

How to join

See the membership list

Order SNO stickers

Scuderia Non Originale™, Join Us

Posted by Gary on June 24, 2014
Posted in: SCUDERIA NON ORIGINALE™ (SNO). Tagged: , , , , , . 4 comments


“It would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations. There would be a lot fewer smiles.” —  Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Giulietta by Felstead

Art copyright 2009 Anna-Louise Felstead. Used with permission.

 

Joining SNO is easy … and the price is right

There are only two requirements to belong to this group:
(1) You must be more enamored with Italian cars than is emotionally or financially healthy, and
(2) You must not be offended by fellow enthusiasts who change the wheels on their cars, modify mechanical systems, or make other changes, such as painting their cars non-stock colors.

Other than the two points noted above, there are NO rules, NO meetings, NO dues,  NO activities, and NO reasons for joining.

At the risk of being redundant, we want to emphasize that by joining SNO, you are acknowledging you will pay NO dues, attend NO meetings, receive NO newsletters, and will refrain from mocking non-originale Alfas and other Italian sporting machines … at least not openly.

Next, send an e-mail to : SNO at gwandrw dot com.

In your message, state that you accept our membership rules and — though you have no idea why — you’d like to become a member.  Be sure to include your name, city, state, country, and Italian fun machines you own.  If you want to attach a digital photo or two, we’ll put them on the web site.

You have lots of Directors.  What do they do
and how can I become one?

Every member is a SNO Director. As such, SNO Directors have have NO authority, NO responsibilities, and NO pay.  However, if you are the first from your state, country, continent, planet, or whatever criterion we randomly apply, you may be named your area’s Director, making your title even longer and more impressive. Again, we have nothing to direct except our individual addictions to Italian sporting machines, we just like handing out titles.

To contact us:  SNO at gwandrw dot com

SNO in the media

See the membership list

Order SNO stickers

Scuderia Non Originale and Non Originale are trademarks of Gary Williams,Washougal, WA 2004

Scuderia Non Originale™ (SNO) — How to Order Stuff

Posted by Gary on June 20, 2014
Posted in: SCUDERIA NON ORIGINALE™ (SNO). Tagged: , , , , . 5 comments


“It would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations. There would be a lot fewer smiles.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

To contact us:  SNO at gwandrw dot com

How to join

See the membership list

SNO in the media

Scuderia Non Originale™ (SNO) in the Media

Posted by Gary on June 19, 2014
Posted in: SCUDERIA NON ORIGINALE™ (SNO). Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment


“It would be a drab world without meaningless social aggregations.  There would be a lot fewer smiles.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

papajam quinlisk web

Jerry Quinlisk has a knack for capturing the cars and the people who love them. Here he depicts “Papajam”, Jim Neill, friend to many an Alfista in need of assistance. Art is © 2008 Jerry Quinlisk. Used with permission. To buy or view his terrific artwork, go to AlfaBB.com and search for Jerry by name … or just click on the drawing.

 

Ripped from yesterday’s headlines


The 21st Annual All Italian Car and Motorcycle Show
The following article is excerpted from the October 14, 2008 issue of VeloceToday.com, an excellent on-line publication devoted to Italian cars of all types. It was written by Brandes Elitch.

The San Francisco Bay area has many car events, but if you have an Italian car, chances are your favorite is the Italian car show held in Alameda, a charming town just fifteen minutes east of the Bay Bridge.

Steve Smith Sprint from VeloceToday
The show is held the first or second weekend in October, which is just before the first rains of the season usually appear, so weather is never an issue. How many neighborhood car shows do you have in your neighborhood where the majority of cars are Alfa Romeos? It seems that Alfa owners are a particularly interesting lot, although this does seem like a hopeless generalization, and here (is one) that I found particularly so.

…Steven Smith showed his 1959 Giulietta Sprint, which he has owned since 1973, when he bought this car and a 750 Sprint in a wrecking yard for $300 (for the pair). Alfa means “Always Looking For Another” and Steve has done his best to fulfill this role, having had many cars over the years, but this is the one that stayed. He upgraded it with parts from his Guilia SS, which was hit by a garbage truck when parked in front of his house, and totaled by the insurance company (arghh!). As a result, every time he showed the car, someone would say,”This is a nice car, but (this or that) is not original.” In 2004, Steve met other Alfisti who were experiencing the same exasperating comments, so they formed Scuderia Non-Originale. It now has about 150 members, and Steve proudly displayes the club decal on his car. The club has no rules, but has entertained two mottoes: “Veni, Vidi, Veloce” (I came, I saw, I went fast), and for older cars: “Andiamo Lentimente Fumando Assaiâ” (We go slowly, spewing smoke). I think that this club is one of the more promising developments in the car collecting hobby, and you can read about it at www.gwandrw.com.

(Steve represents a ) passionate, knowledgeable, charming, and discerning car guy, in short, typical Alfa owners. There were dozens of other like minded Alfisti there, most of them with equally interesting stories. It is shows like this, with its $5 entry fee, and convenient parking, that make you glad you’re a car guy!


The story below appeared in the July 15, 2005 edition of the San Jose Mercury News, San Jose, Californa. The Mercury is a major metropolitan newspaper, covering the San Francisco Bay Area. Our story was the lead item in a popular column written by Leigh Weimers. Reprinted with permission.

 

Team takes pride in non-originality

By Leigh Weimers

Sweet are the uses of adversity. That applies not only to William Shakespeare, who said it first, but also to the sports car scene today.

Steve Smith and Richard Lane of Santa Clara, Ben Lamprecht of Mountain View, Ted Williams of Los Altos, Tom Sahines of Milpitas and Gary Williams of Sunnyvale were showing off their Alfa Romeos last year at Concorso Italiano, the big Italian car event that precedes the Monterey Historics races at Laguna Seca each August. But, relates Gary Williams, “Throughout the day we noticed that a number of people who wandered by grumbled and muttered because our cars are not entirely original. We have non-stock engines, different upholstery, different wheels, etc. Our quip of the day became, “Well, it’s nice, but not original.”

Thus dissed, the six decided to roll with it. As a joke, they named their team Scuderia Non Originale, Italian for “team not original.”  Gary tacked a Scuderia page onto his personal Web site (www.gwandrw.com) and they had Scuderia stickers made for their cars, based on the decades-old Alfa racing symbol.  Then things took off.

“Little did we know that Scuderia NO would become a hit with Italian car enthusiasts who find us and sign up for our free membership, even though we don’t advertise and all we offer is the guarantee of NO dues, NO meetings, NO publications and absolutely NO relevance,” Gary notes. Branches even have sprung up in England, the Netherlands, South Africa and, of course, Italy. Their furthest outpost: Balad, Iraq, where member Russ Turner of Texas displays the team’s colors on his battered U.S. Air Force Humvee. And yes, the team will be back at the Concorso on the Monterey Peninsula on Aug. 19. Standing proudly while purists sniff at their modified Alfas. The cars may be non-original, but their owners’ creativity isn’t.

SNO in Iraq?

 

turner hmv b

When stationed in Iraq, Texas Ferrari Director Russ Turner sent SNO photos from Balad, Iraq, where he was serving with the U.S. Air Force. Note that his Humvee proudly wears a Scuderia Non Originale team sticker. we can safely say we were the only Italian car scuderia in Iraq.

turner himself b