This car dealer can't keep his ciao down.

• Author: Roush, Chris
• Position: People - Steve Barney

Steve Barney knew he wanted a change in 2000. He thought he'd get it retiring from Greensboro-based Foreign Cars Italia, the dealership he had owned or worked at for 20 years, selling Ferraris to Michael Jordan and dozens of Tar Heel businessmen. "It took me about six months to figure out that wasn't my cup of tea."

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He went back into high-end car sales, but now he's primarily peddling Lamborghinis. Customers looking for the $200,000 sports cars come to Summerfield, north of Greensboro. Barney, 61, built his Sport Auto Inc. dealership there because it's near his 21-acre Prancing Horse Farm, named after the Ferrari logo.

Last year, Sport Auto sold three Lamborghini Murcielagos, which carry a price tag of $280,000, and in December received its first two Lamborghini Gallardos--priced at $180,000. He expects to sell 30 Gallardos and five Murcielagos in 2004.

Barney, who grew up in Waterbury, Vt., the son of a nurse and a creamery worker, graduated in 1965 from New York University with a bachelor's in Italian. He joined the Navy, where his linguistic ability got him stationed in Naples. While there, he bought his first Ferrari, a 250 GTE. After getting out of the military in 1970, he sold Fiats to tourists in Rome until 1977. But he was receiving calls from Americans who wanted him to find used Ferraris. At the time, Italians considered the cars gas guzzlers. He also became friendly with...