Automotive Traveler Expands Vintage Italian Sports Car Tour Program

Feb. 19, 2009 - PRLog -- Just over a year ago, touring Tuscany in a classic sixties Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider and Abruzzo in an iconic fifties Fiat 500, Automotive Traveler Editorial Director Richard Truesdell had an idea. "I was sitting on the terrace of my hotel, having breakfast with my friend of more than 30 years, looking out over the spectacular Tuscan countryside just after sunrise and said, 'Susan, we need to find a way to share this experience with others.' She said, 'What's stopping you?' Now, a little more than a year later, we're ready to share our experience with others on the first Automotive Traveler classic car tour of Tuscany and Abruzzo."

"We are working with an experienced local supplier in Tuscany that has more than 30 different cars available," says Truesdell who has visited Italy many times in his primary job as an automotive journalist. "I want to not only show others the Italy I've come to know and love, but to give guests the experience of living the life of an automotive writer – at least for 12 days – participating in the kind of trips they read about in their favorite magazines."

Making the program work is an experienced team on the ground in Italy, in this case Nicky Pellicciotta and Leonardo De Flaviis and their organization "Sapori e Colori d'Abruzzo" who are coordinating the arrangements and with Truesdell, developing the itinerary. “This program gives a true sense of Italy in the fifties and sixties, something like you remember from your favorite movies” says De Flaviis a Canadian ex-pat who calls Pescara on the Adriatic coast his home. “All while not being too challenging for the vintage cars, some of which are now more than 40 years old.”

The first trip is scheduled to start March 29 is limited to just six couples to insure a completely personalized experience. "Word of mouth within the Italian car enthusiast community in America got the early buzz going," say Truesdell. "And with the dollar gaining strength, we were able to add a day in Abruzzo to the original itinerary and still keep the price under $10,000 per couple which covers everything except for round trip airfare. With trans-Atlantic airfare now so reasonable, $500 from New York and $600 from either Los Angeles or San Francisco, I'm certain that even with just four weeks available that we will sell out the remaining three openings for our initial program."

The all-inclusive package price includes four-star accommodations in Rome (two nights), Abruzzo (five nights) and Tuscany (four nights), a choice of one of five different roadsters with fuel and insurance, three gastronomic indulgences daily including wine, maps and guidebooks, all activities (tastings, two cooking sessions, truffle hunting), guides who know Italy but speak impeccable English, all transfers (including luggage valet services), gratuities, local taxes, and a complementary spa treatment for two at the Villa Danillo in Abruzzo.

The complete itinerary and additional details are posted on the Automotive Traveler (http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/84) website. While the program is currently set up for just participants, with a second tour already scheduled for the fall, editors with an interest in assigning a writer and photographer to cover the trip for confirmed editorial placements are invited to contact Truesdell for additional details.

Now two years old, Automotive Traveler has established itself as the Internet’s premier portal serving the expanding automotive adventure travel category. With an eclectic editorial package of automotive and travel news and commentary, exclusive automotive spy photography, destination stories, travel tips, and links to related automotive and travel websites, automotivetraveler.com (http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/83) is the first place to go when planning your next road trip.

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