Fiat Dealers?

[vato_loco]

Hecho en Mexico?

The 500s you buy in Europe are made in Poland.

I saw a video of the 500 production site in Mexico and it looked state-of-the art and modern.

Anyway, the 500 is a cool car and one I'd consider it if I were looking for a new car. The turbo version of the MultiAir is the one I'd go for...

 

[Asphaultnaut]

I wish they would have brought over the 500cc Twin motor for the obscene gas mileage. If I'm gonna drive a golf cart, it better get close to 50mpg.

 

[FourT2Infinity]

It's a cute car. I wonder why the commercials are only targeted towards women?

The Abarth commercials feature gorgeous Romanian model, Catrinel Menghia:

I'm gonna go out on a limb here... Fiat is targeting a male audience with the Abarth. arty

 

[TheRobSJ]

Same thing AMC/Renault wanted almost three years ago when they got Gen. Patton to peddle the Alliance on national tv.

[youtube]P-x8xEAPfKg[/youtube]


But yeah, I like Fiat's approach to getting the male demo much better.

 

[FourT2Infinity]

Same thing AMC/Renault wanted almost three years ago when they got Gen. Patton to peddle the Alliance on national tv.

[youtube]P-x8xEAPfKg[/youtube]


But yeah, I like Fiat's approach to getting the male demo much better.

Bro... I'm thinking that's a little more that 3 yrs ago.

 

[stan23]

The Abarth commercials feature gorgeous Romanian model, Catrinel Menghia:

I'm gonna go out on a limb here... Fiat is targeting a male audience with the Abarth. arty

I guess it's both. I love the voiceover on the commercials!

It's a sweet car for sure.

 

[TheRobSJ]

Bro... I'm thinking that's a little more that 3 yrs ago.

Oopsie! Of course I meant three decades.

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

Doh. Too hot.

Well the OP has done research with the pictures for sure ! I love how Stan says 'sweet car' over there !

 

[Charles R]

At the 2012 25 hours of thunderhill, the team next to us had the first race prepped Fiat 500 anyone knew about... http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?story=2778

They rolled it on the first practice day.
Very short wheelbase, and a not really low center of gravity were often brought up in conversations throughout the rest of the event... but no further rolls.

Also... during the race...
They needed to replace, due to failure, every single wheel bearing...
The fronts they did twice.
The car finished the full race, but popped the radiator on the cool down and pit entry.
http://www.fuelculture.com/projectc...rse-fiat-500-attacks-25-hours-of-thunderhill/

All in all, while the press releases all seem pretty cheery, the lead mechanic was left pretty underwhelmed. If he had his way, the entire drivetrain, and anything and everything attached to a wheel would be replaced with heavier duty pieces from some other car model. http://rimiccicorse.com/news/2013/2...arth-to-the-finish-at-25-hours-of-thunderhill

So in the end, I just want to give this semi qualified piece of advise...
The Fiat is a trendy little car that the factory wants to sell to people who will show it off in cafes. To that end, and despite what the ads would have you believe, there are no parts on that car suitable for the harsh reality of track duty. The designers didn't engineer for it at all.

It would be a shame to take that pretty pile of $26K cash, and scrap it out on a track just for a few "yee-hawwzz"

edit: looks like they haven't given up, and are planning on debuting car #2 at COTA, May 17th
http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/id/2932/going-pro-racing-in-a-fiat-part-one.aspx

 

[FourT2Infinity]

At the 2012 25 hours of thunderhill, the team next to us had the first race prepped Fiat 500 anyone knew about... http://www.world-challenge.com/news/story.php?story=2778

They rolled it on the first practice day.
Very short wheelbase, and a not really low center of gravity were often brought up in conversations throughout the rest of the event... but no further rolls.

Also... during the race...
They needed to replace, due to failure, every single wheel bearing...
The fronts they did twice.
The car finished the full race, but popped the radiator on the cool down and pit entry.
http://www.fuelculture.com/projectc...rse-fiat-500-attacks-25-hours-of-thunderhill/

All in all, while the press releases all seem pretty cheery, the lead mechanic was left pretty underwhelmed. If he had his way, the entire drivetrain, and anything and everything attached to a wheel would be replaced with heavier duty pieces from some other car model. http://rimiccicorse.com/news/2013/2...arth-to-the-finish-at-25-hours-of-thunderhill

So in the end, I just want to give this semi qualified piece of advise...
The Fiat is a trendy little car that the factory wants to sell to people who will show it off in cafes. To that end, and despite what the ads would have you believe, there are no parts on that car suitable for the harsh reality of track duty. The designers didn't engineer for it at all.

It would be a shame to take that pretty pile of $26K cash, and scrap it out on a track just for a few "yee-hawwzz"

edit: looks like they haven't given up, and are planning on debuting car #2 at COTA, May 17th
http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/id/2932/going-pro-racing-in-a-fiat-part-one.aspx

Great stuff, Charles!! I'm sure there are more veteran brands with history and experience better suited for endurance racing than the relatively new Abarth, but it was nice to read about a real-world account of it's capabilities and weaknesses in that setting. I certainly don't forsee myself tackling anything that ambitious! A trackday, I can see...

A friend of mine were just discussing the inevitable "what else would you get for $26K" question. Of course, the Subaru BRZ/Scion FRS came up & frankly, I'd like to drive one & compare!

Thanks again...

 

[Charles R]

No problem. I'm sure it would be a fun car even. But I also think it's just so flimsy, that it would most likely need at least one wheel bearing changed. Especially if an experienced diver was flogging it out there.

The brz sure looks good on paper. I haven't payed attention to the forums though, to hear of any track failures