The Country Club, Revisited

The Globe and Mail has an interesting article on The Private Collection, a Toronto-based car "club". For a $5k charge + $31k/year, members get the opportunity to time-share a stable of automobiles which includes a Ferrari F430, a Lamborghini Gallardo, and a Porsche Cayman S.

It sounds like a fun idea; given the right business partners I'd be quite willing to try it in another major center. In order to reduce the risks associated with giving potentially inexperienced drivers supercars to drive on public roads, I would require the club members to assume liability for the car and any damage they may cause with it -- thereby forcing them to think twice before they test 0-200 times on the nearest on-ramp.

Also, take some time to read the comments: it would seem that a majority of posters echo the sentiments of one colorful commenter, who derided the club's members as "Urban a$$holes looking to let 'er rip...". A bit presumptuous, I think. (One poster went as far as to write, "I couldn't care less if you crash your expensive toy. But what about the wildlife that you threaten?" After all, a great deal of wildlife is killed each year by investment bankers driving $300k Ferraris.)