Dino 246 GTS

Chapter 62 Dino 246 GTS

What does it mean to earn a million in six months?

If this were to happen in Ethan Jones's past life, it wouldn't be considered unremarkable, but rather insignificant. After all, in those days, one hundred thousand in assets was not enough to live on, one million in assets was considered poor, ten million in assets was only good for matchmaking, and one hundred million in assets was what it took to be considered human.

There's nothing we can do about it; there are tons of people with hundreds of millions in assets on Baidu Tieba and Weibo.

But in this day and age...

One million US dollars, that's incredibly impressive!

It's worth noting that the world's first Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, which only entered service this year, cost only a few million dollars, far less than the exorbitant billions of dollars that will be spent in later years. Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers, located in the neighboring City of Angels, are only worth tens of millions of dollars, while ten years ago, in September 1965, Jack Cook bought the team for only five million dollars.

Therefore, once Ethan Jones emerged from Atari, his mouth remained agape!

While in the long run, the revenue that "Snake Game" can bring him certainly won't exceed that of the MOS 6502 and Apple, that doesn't matter, right? Because the biggest advantage of video games is that they can generate a lot of cash in a short period of time!

When real money, which signifies elegance, appears, there are just too many things Ethan Jones can do!

For example...

He first went home to share the good news with Linda, and then rushed off to San Jose to buy a car.

In fact, Ethan Jones wanted to get a new car as soon as he received his first dividend, because he just couldn't get comfortable driving his secondhand Chevrolet. However, at the time, he couldn't confirm his future income, and Thomas's passionate social life forced him to leave home, so he temporarily put the idea of ​​getting a new car on hold. Later, the appearance of the MOS 6502 and Steve Jobs' request for help kept Ethan Jones extremely busy, and he completely forgot about getting a new car, something that was optional.

But now...

The second batch of dividends is about to be distributed, so why should he be so reserved?

I absolutely have to buy, buy, buy!

After wandering around San Jose, Ethan Jones stopped in front of a car dealership.

In their showroom, there was a bright red two-seater sports car with a streamlined body, low at the front and high at the rear.

Its headlights are convex circles. Standing on the front of the car and looking at it, you can even feel that what's parked in front of you isn't a car, but a frog staring at you in a cute and innocent way.

Ethan was intrigued by the design, but when he got out of the car and asked the salesperson, the brand the salesperson mentioned surprised him.

"Dino? What brand is that?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

The salesperson readily replied, "Sir, Dino is a sub-brand of the Italian manufacturer Ferrari. It was founded by Enzo Ferrari in memory of his late eldest son, Dino. The car you see here is called the Dino 246 GTS, a convertible sports car. It uses a 2.4-liter V6 engine with a maximum power of 240 horsepower, has an independent suspension system, and is also equipped with a vacuum booster..."

"Oh, it's a Ferrari?"

"I've never heard of that before."

In his previous life, Ethan didn't have the money to play with cars, and his knowledge of cars was limited to the Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918, and McLaren P1 that often appeared in novels about rich people. So he had no idea what the configuration quoted by the salesperson actually meant.

However, one thing he was clear about was that this cool car was very environmentally friendly.

Because it's a V6 engine! Not a V8 engine!

It doesn't meet the American standard of "big V8" and "environmentally friendly, no special code"!

"How much is this car?" Ethan asked, eyeing it.

"Sir, the price of this car is $14,950."

"I'll take it. How do I pay?"

"Sir, do you have Bank Americard?"

"no."

"Then we can accompany you to the bank, and you can transfer the money directly."

The Bank Americard mentioned by the sales team is actually the future credit card brand VISA.

Credit cards have existed for a long time. In 1950, Diners Club launched the first credit card in the United States. It was a small paper card that allowed customers to buy on credit, but only at restaurants, and required full repayment each month.

In 1958, American Express launched the first plastic credit card and a service that allowed credit payments at multiple merchants and in various regions, and allowed cardholders to make payments in installments. This marked the beginning of the infamous revolving credit scheme.

In 1966, Bank of America expanded its credit card service to the entire United States, and Bank Americard became the first credit card that could be used throughout the country. Ten years later, in 1976, Bank Americard will be renamed VISA.

Since then, VISA, the world's leading card payment institution, has officially entered the historical stage.

Since Ethan had studied this financial history in school, he wasn't surprised when the salesperson said he could pay by credit card. However, he was a little confused about one thing: "Don't you accept checks?"

The salesperson paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Sir, this matter will have to be handled by Frank Abagnale. I heard he was paroled last year? We used to collect checks, but collecting checks is indeed a very difficult task for us until this gentleman finds a reasonable, legitimate job with a certain level of financial security."

Please understand.

"Okay, I understand." Ethan laughed.

He was reminded of a movie, *Catch Me If You Can*, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. The character DiCaprio played in the film was based on Frank Abagnale.

Since he didn't have a credit card, Ethan followed the steps the other party had instructed him to take to the bank to complete the transfer. Once the salesperson who accompanied him received the bank's receipt, the brand-new Dino 246 GTS became Ethan's property.

With his new car in hand, Ethan's biggest desire was, of course, to go out and show it off!

He sped off to San Francisco, revved the engine in neutral in front of Frank's shop, and when Frank rushed out in surprise to investigate, Ethan immediately shifted gears and drove off with a grin.

Hey! I'm not showing it to you!

He sneaked up to Jobs's house, put the car in neutral, and revved the engine. When Jobs looked on with envy and tried to pet him, Ethan shifted gears again and drove off happily.

Hey! You can't touch it!

Next, he went to Thomas's orchard, and in front of him, he revved his engine while it was in mid-air, and then...

Thomas then grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the driver's seat.

I watched helplessly as the other person got in.

Touching the brand-new steering wheel, Thomas's face was filled with envy. "Oh! Fxxk! How much did you pay for this car?"

"With taxes included, it's about 17,000."

"Seriously! This car costs seventeen thousand?" Thomas's eyes widened. "Why don't they just rob us?"

"Because it's a Dino!" Ethan patted the car door and said, "It's a Ferrari!"

Ethan expected Thomas to give him a lecture for buying such an expensive car, but to his surprise, the guy immediately started the engine, shifted gears, and sped off after hearing the Ferrari brand name.

Staring at the suddenly departing figure, Ethan was stunned and shouted, "WTF?! Thomas, what are you doing???"

Before the words were even finished, Thomas's excited voice filled the air—

"Let me borrow this car!!! Let me go for a spin!!! And maybe show it off to an old friend!!!"

"..."

Ethan never expected that his newly bought car would be stolen like this.

Seeing that Thomas had no intention of turning back, he could only climb into the Ford pickup truck that had been abandoned by the other party, preparing to go home.

Just as he was about to turn the key to start the engine, he suddenly realized another problem—

"Damn! This guy forgot his keys in the car!"

"Bang!"

Ethan slammed his fist on the steering wheel, then reluctantly crawled into the orchard's break room and made a phone call home.

"Hello~ Linda? Yes, yes, it's me. Thomas left me in the orchard. Can you see if there's any way to get me back..."

"What? You're asking me why I didn't come back myself? Oh! He stole my car!"

"Yes! A brand new car! A convertible sports car! He insisted I lend it to him, saying he wanted to go for a drive!"

"Hello? Hi! Linda? Oh, Dxxm!"

The phone call ended...

Just as Ethan was sulking, a "bang bang bang" sound appeared.

Looking up, I saw that flashy red sports car was back again.

Looking at Ethan's puzzled expression, Thomas shouted from inside the car, "Aren't you coming over?"

"You really think I'm going to steal your car?"

"I just wanted to have some fun; I ran to the intersection and came right back!"

"This car is great, here you go!"

(End of this chapter)