Reply to "Sad News: Gary Hall"

We were saddened to hear about Gary Hall's passing. The Halls were great supporters of Pantera International and often ran display ads to help out the club. We were hoping that there would be a memorial service or wake or something where we could pay our respects.

We have a lot of great memories of Gary including when he let me drive Big Red and the Purple Passion. Both exquisite cars. Gary had many other automotive passions including his Best of Show Lincolns, Hot Rods, motorcycles and more. When Hall Pantera wore its racing helmet, the Burgandy Express comes immediately to mind and that amazing race in Las Vegas between the 'Express and the Woodhouse Pantera.

Quite a few Hall-built Panteras made the covers of Pantera International and many enthusiasts used Hall Pantera as the gateway to the hobby.

One of my favorite moments was when Gary Hall stood up to Kjell Qvale when the Qvale organization was threatening to stop everybody from using the name Pantera, including Pantera International! During a summit meeting in Monterey, Qvale took note of Gary's signature overalls and asked him, "are you a farmer?". Gary told him, "yes I am" and "you may remember me because I am the one that had to buy out all the Mangusta parts you were stuck with after the last time you tried to work a deal with DeTomaso." Gary Hall ended up having the last laugh on the failed Qvale Mangusta!

Gary was a true DeTomaso icon and a unique and colorful person. Dave and Linda