Gerald Lee Roush (October 5, 1941 – May 21, 2010) was an American

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

expert who specialized in

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

s, with much of his knowledge on the details and histories of the Italian sports cars covered in ''Ferrari Market Letter'', a magazine that he published and distributed. Roush was born on October 5, 1941 in

Durango, Colorado Durango is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States Census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis Coll ...

, but moved several times during his childhood to locations where his father was assigned by

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

. While in high school in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Roush picked up a 1958 issue of '' Sports Car Illustrated'' that featured driver

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...

, winner of the

1958 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 26th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 21 and 22 June 1958, on the Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fifth round of the 1958 World Sports Car Championship, whic ...

and a Ferrari 4.9 Superfast, giving birth to an interest that would last a lifetime. While earning degrees in history at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, Roush started attending car races and shows, where he began tracking details of each Ferrari on 5x7 index cards identified by its serial number, supplemented by details gleaned from classified ads of Ferraris listed for sale in newspapers around the U.S.Weber, Bruce
"Gerald Roush, Font of Ferrari Knowledge, Is Dead at 68"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', May 29, 2010. Accessed May 30, 2010. He was a history professor at

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) is a public college in Tifton, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and offers baccalaureate and associate degrees. The college is named after Abraham Baldwin, a signer of the Uni ...

for two years in the mid-1970s, but quit that post to take a job in the parts department of FAF Motorcars, a

Tucker, Georgia Tucker is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, located near Atlanta and was originally settled in the 1820s, and later developed as a railroad community in 1892. According to the 2016 United States Census Bureau annual estimate ...

Ferrari dealership where he was able to add additional information to his growing database of index cards.Badie, Rick
"Gerald Lee Roush, 68: The "Dear Abby" of the vintage Ferrari world"
''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', May 24, 2010. Accessed May 30, 2010. He started publishing the biweekly ''Ferrari Market Letter'' in January 1976 together with his wife in their home and started working full-time on the magazine two years later. Over time, ''Ferrari Market Letter'' became the paper of record for Ferraris, including a classified ads section that required a

Vehicle Identification Number A vehicle identification number (VIN) (also called a chassis number or frame number) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters ...

for each vehicle. He became a specialist in the histories of specific vehicles and would be called on as an expert to provide information about the vehicles in his burgeoning files. By the time of his death Ferrari had manufactured 130,000 vehicles, and Roush had details of the original specifications, later modifications and ownership history of almost all of them. Roush had owned three Ferraris over the years, but sold them to ensure that there was no conflict of interest when he published ''Ferrari Market Letter''.Bendall, Izzi
"Enthusiasts say good-bye to Ferrari expert Gerald Lee Roush"
''

AutoWeek ''Autoweek'' is a car culture publication based in Detroit, Michigan. It was first published in 1958 and in 1977 the publication was purchased by Crain Communications Inc, its current parent company. The magazine was published weekly and focused ...

'', May 25, 2010. Accessed May 30, 2010. A resident of

Lilburn, Georgia Lilburn is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 14,502 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The estimated population was 12,810 in 2019. It is a part of t ...

, Roush died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at age 68 on May 21, 2010, after having a stroke in March on his way to a car show.

References

External links

Ferrari Market Letter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roush, Gerald Lee 1941 births 2010 deaths Auburn University alumni American magazine publishers (people) People from Atlanta Ferrari people Motorsport journalists