Gran Toros Credits

While there were many people that helped me with this site, some people must be recognized.

Masimilliano (Miano) Marriotti of Rome Italy.

Miano gave me the Italian advertisements as a gift and found some of the "showcase" cars on this site (the black interior gold Abarth 695ss and the Mercedes C-111 kit). Miano also helped with the Gran Toros and Mebetoys history. Miano is a highly recommended antique toy dealer. I look forward to meeting Miano when I travel to Italy.

Alex Oliva of Los Angeles, CA.

I met Alex through eBay. Many of the showcase Gran Toros and Hot Wheels Redlines on this site came from Alex. After many Gran Toros deals and e-mails Alex and I finally met and became friends. Alex closed his "ToyInc.com" business and is greatly missed.

Benedetto Rubino of Messina Italy (Sicily).

Benedetto was my first eBay experience and a great one. Messina is very close to my mother's home town, Sortino Sicily. Benedetto found the MIB silver Abarth 695ss for me and many other cars on this site. I look forward to meeting Benedetto when I travel to Italy.

Steve Seltzer of Los Angeles, CA.

Steve provided the "grantoros.com" domain name. I met Steve in person at the 2000 Hot Wheels Convention in Irvine California and I liked him from the moment we met. He has great enthusiasm and support for this site.

Doug Etter of Red Lion, PA.

While Doug and I are fierce eBay competitors we've become friends. Doug is an endless source of encouragement and amusement.

Carl Lucas of Southbury, CT.

Besides being a respected professional peer, Carl and I are friends. When I told Carl about this project he offered to, and loaned me his digital camera so that I could finish this site. Carl and I have a mutual friend Garth Bowlby. The three of us have worked for, or with each other, off and on, for years. It is my great honor to know and work with them.

Michael Basile

I met Michael on a message board in 2006. His passion and enthusiasm for GranToros motivated me to build new pages, like the Wheel Variations page. Michael provided catalog images and his expertise and motivated me to restructure the site. More than all that, Michael extended his hand in friendship. I am humbled and blessed to know him and all the people mentioned on this site.

Antonella Besana Roethling

Antonella is the daughter of Ugo Besana. She contacted me thorough this site and provided much information about the Besana family and the creation of the Mebetoys company.

Rayne

Rayne was the technical advisor for this site and provided much encouragement and constructive criticism. She's moved on to other activities but we remain so much more than friends.

My parents have always supported and helped me with whatever I wanted to, including collecting Gran Toros. Here's their picture when they announced their engagement: