Modern Buddy

I seem to have unintentionally acquired a few retro European designed vehicles (well... maybe not that unintentionally)

I love car/scooter washing day!

i like the one in the middle

Nice! You have excellent taste. I would love to own that fleet.

How do you like the 500?

ericalm wrote:How do you like the 500?

Its great. The cooper is more fun to drive - handles better and it's a 6 speed manual
but... the 500 rides smoother and is better in traffic with the automatic.
i like the interior on the 500 more and the seating position is more chair like.
both get great mpg.
really happy with both of them.
Its not as bad as on a scooter but you have to watch other people. I bave had people change lanes into mine while driving each car.

ScootLemont wrote: Its not as bad as on a scooter but you have to watch other people. I have had people change lanes into mine while driving each car.

To be fair, you could be driving a cement mixer and have that happen on a daily basis here in the good OLD usa.

ScootLemont wrote:

ericalm wrote:How do you like the 500?

Its great. The cooper is more fun to drive - handles better and it's a 6 speed manual
but... the 500 rides smoother and is better in traffic with the automatic.
i like the interior on the 500 more and the seating position is more chair like.
both get great mpg.
really happy with both of them.
Its not as bad as on a scooter but you have to watch other people. I bave had people change lanes into mine while driving each car.

Does the 500 have the art deco-esque interior? I saw one at work that was dark blue with all ivory/whitish interior elements. Nice.

ScootLemont wrote:I love car/scooter washing day!

I bet you do!

Syd wrote: Does the 500 have the art deco-esque interior? I saw one at work that was dark blue with all ivory/whitish interior elements. Nice.

Mine is black & red - I wouldnt say its art deco - but i think it looks retro

Quo Vadimus wrote: To be fair, you could be driving a cement mixer and have that happen on a daily basis here in the good OLD usa.

yeah... but its worse in a small car - people just dont check their blind spots & the fiat & mini fit entirely into most car's blind spots.

I have a place about 200 miles away in Wisconsin - I have taken the mini there 3 or 4 times so far & each time, someone has moved into my lane without seeing me.
Never happens in my wife's Kia Sportage
I had someone change lanes into mine while I was driving the fiat home from the dealership the day I bought it.

I do make an effort to make sure I am not riding in anyone's blind spot on the highway.

Gawd, I just had that happen to me in our MINI. I was on I-44 near Joplin, MO at dusk, doing the 65mph speed limit in the right lane. This other car (not excessively-big) comes up behind doing a few mph more in the left lane. As he passes alongside me, he starts drifting right into my lane.

Before I even registered a conscious thought, I had flicked car right over onto the shoulder, fortunately nice and wide. I had just put new tires on the MINI and man, does it ever flick!

PeteH wrote:Before I even registered a conscious thought, I had flicked car right over onto the shoulder, fortunately nice and wide. I had just put new tires on the MINI and man, does it ever flick!

thats one, of the many, things I really like about the mini - even at highway speeds the thing handles like a go cart.

As mentioned above, the Fiat rides smoother, but you cant throw it around like you can the mini.

so i see work is going well for you. nice collection.

bigbropgo wrote:so i see work is going well for you. nice collection.

thanks - but none of these three is very expensive - but all great values!
Actually the Fiat is the least expensive new car I have every bought.

Fiat is not selling as many units as anticipated. Mark up was there at first, and now they just want to start moving units. If you're interested in a 500, negotiate the hell out of it. You might be able to get it at cost just so there are a few out on the road and all the advertising money spent in the last 6 months doesn't seem like it was flushed down a toilet. Small cars are a hard sell, even when gasoline is reaching $5 a gal. I think it's because so many americans are fat, but that's just a working hypothesis for now. When I start seeing pasty, sausage fingers reaching out of their compact/A class vehicle towards the bag being held out of the McDongles drive through window, I will re-evaluate my theory.

rsrider wrote:Fiat is not selling as many units as anticipated.

Unsurprisingly, they're doing very well in the LA area. I see several every day on my commute and there are now 2 in my small office lot.

Fiat has done a horrible job of marketing the 500. Using J. Lo and Charlie Sheen? Embarrassing, IMHO, especially once revealed that J. Lo's "Jenny on the block" spots were shot on a soundstage in LA, not the "block" she appeared to be driving through. They fired the agency that did the original drive-in movie spots which were better but still unexciting. The cool Abarth commercial was produced by another agency.It's kind of weird because they're doing a much better job with Chrysler these days.

One of the things i like about the 500 is that it is rare.
You cant swing a dead cat without hitting a Camry or accord in my town.
I enjoy owning vehicles that you dont see every day.
I have the only 500 and one of 2 minis in my town of 16000 people and for that matter my stella is one of 3 or 4 scooters in town and the only vintage styled one.

Ooooohhhh you have my dream fleet. I am wanting/planning to replace my BORING Chrysler Sebring (that despite its little 4 cylinders is still quite the gas piggie and it handles like sludge), with a 6 speed manual mini.
Love the little Fiat but how is it to get serviced? I live in St Louis and I have only seen a handful of them. Plus I love the zippiness of the mini.

But ANY smallish car on the road has to really watch it in these parts. Missouri got the number one spot on the list of places with the worst drivers in the US. I believe it too. I notice it even more on a scooter, oh man, they idiots are out en mass.

It's funny, I noticed that while on my scooter the people driving small cars are a whole lot more polite and considerate overall than the larger cars and SUV/trucks. BMW drivers tend to be jerks, a lot more so than Mercedes drivers (what's up with that?).

The screaming exception to the rule are the MIATA drivers!!! You would think, given their tiny size they would be more aware, not less. But I have been passed in a huff (even though I was doing the speed limit and I was in an area with stops on almost every block!!!!), honked (or should I say "beeped") at, and crowded out of my lane by more Miata's than anything else. It
makes me want to yell "DUDE... You are in a squirrel powered skateboard with a rag-top..... Get OVER yourself or learn to drive a REAL sports car. Crap, most of those guys can't even drive a stick, they have automatics so they can talk on their cell phones and eat when they drive. And they act like they are SO cool and in reality they are so past it. If your out of your Viagra perscription don't take it out on the road and the people you are sharing it with. You'll get to Walgreens just as fast if you don't drive like a complete arse lol.

The Abarth ad is very, very naughty. I would love to take one out for some fun on the Pawtucket S-curves. I just can't justify another car when we don't ever use the ones we already have.

Mutt the Hoople wrote: Love the little Fiat but how is it to get serviced?

dont know yet - only a couple thousand miles on it

the dealership is about 20 miles from my house so thats not that bad

One cool thing... right after I bought the 500 I started following their twitter feed. They were having a contest on the & I won $500 in fiat swag - pretty cool

I bought the 500 for my daughter to drive (I drive the mini)
Here is a pic of her with my Fiat Spider (sold it before I bought a scooter in 2008) & then 12 years later with "her" Fiat 500
I love these pics together

Well geeze, if the Fiat is her's why wasn't she washing the cars???

Very nice. I have always been a fan of Minis, the originals more so than the new ones... but the new ones are still attractive.

I'm still not sold on small cars, even though I used to drive a Geo Prizm, and now frequently drive a low 1997 Jetta (the thing is a tank though). Chevy Aveos held the WORST crash test safety ratings, and Smart cars aren't that much better. I think the problem is that a lot of people don't want to feel small on the road with all of the giant SUVs and the semis out there. I could see that there should be less of those monsters in cities, so a smaller car would still be comfortable, but in small towns, even large towns, there are just too many jumbo mobiles out there to feel safe. I never liked riding in my friend's lowered and super-modded mk2 Rabbit GTi for that exact reason, being passed by a semi on the highway was always a nightmare.
I don't think I've seen a single new Fiat in town, but in Albany and Schenectady I see a few of them here and there. I love the new Abarth commercials though

KABarash wrote:Well geeze, if the Fiat is her's why wasn't she washing the cars???

She washed the Fiat - I washed the mini & the Stella

AWinn6889 wrote:I'm still not sold on small cars, even though I used to drive a Geo Prizm, and now frequently drive a low 1997 Jetta (the thing is a tank though). Chevy Aveos held the WORST crash test safety ratings, and Smart cars aren't that much better

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crash tested the 2012 Fiat 500, and gives it the highest award. The Fiat 500 is an IIHS Top Safety Pick for receiving the highest score of “Good” in front, side, roof and rear crash tests.

I know a lot of people think the safest thing to do is drive a large car or SUV but they are part of the problem because they handle so poorly in emergency situations.

the 500 has 7 (yes SEVEN!) airbags, stability control, traction control, electronic brakeforce distribution & anti lock brakes.
I feel very good about my daughter driving it compared to the used cars we were looking at to buy her - $10,000 used hondas & toyotas with 2 airbags & anti lock brakes - NO traction control or stability control.

AWinn6889 wrote:Very nice. I have always been a fan of Minis, the originals more so than the new ones... but the new ones are still attractive.

I'm still not sold on small cars, even though I used to drive a Geo Prizm, and now frequently drive a low 1997 Jetta (the thing is a tank though). Chevy Aveos held the WORST crash test safety ratings, and Smart cars aren't that much better. I think the problem is that a lot of people don't want to feel small on the road with all of the giant SUVs and the semis out there. I could see that there should be less of those monsters in cities, so a smaller car would still be comfortable, but in small towns, even large towns, there are just too many jumbo mobiles out there to feel safe. I never liked riding in my friend's lowered and super-modded mk2 Rabbit GTi for that exact reason, being passed by a semi on the highway was always a nightmare.
I don't think I've seen a single new Fiat in town, but in Albany and Schenectady I see a few of them here and there. I love the new Abarth commercials though

Where did you get the info on the Smart car? This link disagrees with your assessment of the Smart's safety ratings.

ScootLemont wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:I'm still not sold on small cars, even though I used to drive a Geo Prizm, and now frequently drive a low 1997 Jetta (the thing is a tank though). Chevy Aveos held the WORST crash test safety ratings, and Smart cars aren't that much better

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crash tested the 2012 Fiat 500, and gives it the highest award. The Fiat 500 is an IIHS Top Safety Pick for receiving the highest score of “Good” in front, side, roof and rear crash tests.

I know a lot of people think the safest thing to do is drive a large car or SUV but they are part of the problem because they handle so poorly in emergency situations.

the 500 has 7 (yes SEVEN!) airbags, stability control, traction control, electronic brakeforce distribution & anti lock brakes.
I feel very good about my daughter driving it compared to the used cars we were looking at to buy her - $10,000 used hondas & toyotas with 2 airbags & anti lock brakes - NO traction control or stability control.

I agree with you, and I'm not surprised at the high ratings.
I was just saying that most people remember the original ultra-compact cars having terrible ratings, and don't think twice about them because of that. I mean, I am frequently behind the wheel of a 1997 VW Jetta, and that's a tiny car, even when compared to my 2001 Jetta Wagon and the 2006 GTI. I also drove a Dodge Ram 1500 for a few months, and man did I feel unsafe in that sucker! The body roll alone is enough to make someone feel like a vehicle that large is just not a good idea.
I know large cars and SUVs are terrible in emergencies too, I'll tell you, when I had my 1992 Grand Am GT (another teeny tiny car) I lost control on black ice and hit a big-ass oak tree at 55mph. That car had ZERO airbags, but it was solid metal, and I was wearing my seatbelt, so I walked away from the accident with only a couple bruises. I have seen trucks and SUVs that have suffered similar, or even less severe accidents that end up completely unrecognizable, and in most cases someone perished in the accident (my mom works at a mechanic/autobody shop, the lot is riddled with demolished cars).
I try to talk my sister into selling her Explorer all the time because my wagon has I think 6 or 8 airbags, compared to her 4, handles incredibly, gets waaayyyy better gas mileage, it's actually 8 cubic feet larger on the inside, and the thing is a damn tank... also because she is one of those people that wants to feel big on the road, but she drives like a crazy person. I worry every day I know that she's on the road, especially when she has my nephew with her.

In short. I would take a Fiat 500 as a first car any day, and I really wish more people would hop on the little car trend.

It would definitely make parking easier everywhere at the very least and MAYBE it would sink in for people that they need to be more aware of other vehicles, people, etc etc on the road instead of their dang cell phones!

The most dangerous (later model) vehicle on the road for drivers, passengers and pedestrians (according to the NHTSA) is a small "light duty" pickup.

Syd wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:Very nice. I have always been a fan of Minis, the originals more so than the new ones... but the new ones are still attractive.

I'm still not sold on small cars, even though I used to drive a Geo Prizm, and now frequently drive a low 1997 Jetta (the thing is a tank though). Chevy Aveos held the WORST crash test safety ratings, and Smart cars aren't that much better. I think the problem is that a lot of people don't want to feel small on the road with all of the giant SUVs and the semis out there. I could see that there should be less of those monsters in cities, so a smaller car would still be comfortable, but in small towns, even large towns, there are just too many jumbo mobiles out there to feel safe. I never liked riding in my friend's lowered and super-modded mk2 Rabbit GTi for that exact reason, being passed by a semi on the highway was always a nightmare.
I don't think I've seen a single new Fiat in town, but in Albany and Schenectady I see a few of them here and there. I love the new Abarth commercials though

Where did you get the info on the Smart car? This link disagrees with your assessment of the Smart's safety ratings.

Have you ever seen one post-broad-sided-by-a-speeding-chevy-suburban? It's not pretty. It was completely crushed in on the passenger side. I know that the person driving was hospitalized after the accident, I think they survived, but there was quite a bit of blood in the car, thankfully they didn't have a passenger. I believe the last safety review of a Smart that I looked at was the 2010 Passion fortwo because one of my neighbors bought one after the roof of her Aveo was crushed by snow and ice falling off the roof of our apartment building. The passenger side and the rear impacts were terrible, and if you think about it, most impacts tend to be rear-endings and t-bones (I've been a victim of two rear-endings and one t-bone myself). Of course, I can't remember for the life of me what I was looking at as it was more than a year ago, I want to say it was one of the big car magazines or Consumer Reports.

But, like I said, most people remember the terrible ratings of the original ultra-compacts from the early 2000s. Whether they are better now is only a deciding factor for those who actually disregard previous models and think to look into buying a new one. Hopefully more people will spread the word, like the OP, about how safe certain ones really are now... because you know they aren't going to have some sexy italian woman whisper "it has 7 airbags and gets great ratings from the IIHS" into the guy's ear (even though they should!)

AWinn6889 wrote:

Syd wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:Very nice. I have always been a fan of Minis, the originals more so than the new ones... but the new ones are still attractive.

I'm still not sold on small cars, even though I used to drive a Geo Prizm, and now frequently drive a low 1997 Jetta (the thing is a tank though). Chevy Aveos held the WORST crash test safety ratings, and Smart cars aren't that much better. I think the problem is that a lot of people don't want to feel small on the road with all of the giant SUVs and the semis out there. I could see that there should be less of those monsters in cities, so a smaller car would still be comfortable, but in small towns, even large towns, there are just too many jumbo mobiles out there to feel safe. I never liked riding in my friend's lowered and super-modded mk2 Rabbit GTi for that exact reason, being passed by a semi on the highway was always a nightmare.
I don't think I've seen a single new Fiat in town, but in Albany and Schenectady I see a few of them here and there. I love the new Abarth commercials though

Where did you get the info on the Smart car? This link disagrees with your assessment of the Smart's safety ratings.

Have you ever seen one post-broad-sided-by-a-speeding-chevy-suburban?

No I haven't, but I've seen a mid 60's Cadillac Coupe de Ville after colliding with a white tailed deer. In AZ, deer only get to a low few hundred pounds, (and probably get extremely low IHTSA ratings). But that big ol' hunk of Detroit iron ended up with it's tranny in the rear seat. So what's the point?

Syd wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:

Syd wrote: Where did you get the info on the Smart car? This link disagrees with your assessment of the Smart's safety ratings.

Have you ever seen one post-broad-sided-by-a-speeding-chevy-suburban?

No I haven't, but I've seen a mid 60's Cadillac Coupe de Ville after colliding with a white tailed deer. In AZ, deer only get to a low few hundred pounds, (and probably get extremely low IHTSA ratings). But that big ol' hunk of Detroit iron ended up with it's tranny in the rear seat. So what's the point?

This is a pretty funny exchange from people who ride scooters.

ericalm wrote: This is a pretty funny exchange from people who ride scooters.

^Eric, you beat me to this!

ericalm wrote: This is a pretty funny exchange from people who ride scooters.

If I was broad-sided by a speeding suburban on the scooter there would probably be nothing left to look at, my body and the scooter would just vaporize upon impact. At least I hope it would anyway

No one ever said the scooter or motorcycle was a safe mode of transportation. It certainly takes some big bolas to regularly be so vulnerable on the road, especially with all the crazies out there these days.


ScootLemont, I love the two pictures of your daughter with the Fiats.
My dad used to have an MGB in British Racing Green that he used to take me on cruises in when I was little... I always wanted a little green convertible to match. I passed on a green VW Cabriolet for my wagon though, convertibles tend not to fair well in the typical Upstate NY winters.

Heh. If I didn't have the "courage" to drive a Ford Festiva or a Geo Metro among the Hummers and Suburbans (as I did for years), I certainly wouldn't get on a Genuine Buddy.

ScootLemont wrote:I bought the 500 for my daughter to drive (I drive the mini)
Here is a pic of her with my Fiat Spider (sold it before I bought a scooter in 2008) & then 12 years later with "her" Fiat 500
I love these pics together

Beautiful!

I had a red 124 Spider back in the '70s and loved it. As soon as I get back from a trip to Italy in May, I'm going to be trading in my 2003 Mini Cooper S on a red Fiat 500 Abarth.

ScootLemont wrote:

KABarash wrote:Well geeze, if the Fiat is her's why wasn't she washing the cars???

She washed the Fiat - I washed the mini & the Stella

We have an 08 Clubman that my daughter wants to take to college in another 10 years. Maybe I should get her started with wash detail!

What is it about Genuine and Mini? Obviously a few folks on this board have that combo in the garage...

Uncle Groucho wrote: We have an 08 Clubman that my daughter wants to take to college in another 10 years. Maybe I should get her started with wash detail!

My daughter was always wanted to help wash the Fiat when she was little.
She was actually a little upset when I sold it when she was 12.
When we started car shopping all she kept saying was "Red Fiat" (I made her look at 4 other cars but we both kept coming back to the 500)

Syd wrote:

ScootLemont wrote:

ericalm wrote:How do you like the 500?

Its great. The cooper is more fun to drive - handles better and it's a 6 speed manual
but... the 500 rides smoother and is better in traffic with the automatic.
i like the interior on the 500 more and the seating position is more chair like.
both get great mpg.
really happy with both of them.
Its not as bad as on a scooter but you have to watch other people. I bave had people change lanes into mine while driving each car.

Does the 500 have the art deco-esque interior? I saw one at work that was dark blue with all ivory/whitish interior elements. Nice.

This seems to be a Common problem these days. I drove 30000 miles last year in various vehicles. The smaller the car the more likely to be a victim of contempt, road rage or carelessness. My other daily Ldriver is 92 3/4 ton dodge diesel with straight pipe out the side. I've never get hassled in this truck. And the careless people I blast with side pipe and crop dust em with smoke.

ericalm wrote:The most dangerous (later model) vehicle on the road for drivers, passengers and pedestrians (according to the NHTSA) is a small "light duty" pickup.

I have a 1990 Toyota standard pickup, and if I was in a crash I would probably die or be severely injured. There is nothing, nothing between you and impact except the sheet metal. So I would have to agree.

The Chevy Aveo is continuously derided in the car magazines.....even though they don't sell it anymore....the jurnos hate that car with a passion, and it is deserved. The Aveo is absolute cr@p, the Yugo of the 21st century.

ericalm wrote:

Syd wrote:

AWinn6889 wrote:...Have you ever seen one post-broad-sided-by-a-speeding-chevy-suburban? ...

No I haven't, but I've seen a mid 60's Cadillac Coupe de Ville after colliding with a white tailed deer...

This is a pretty funny exchange from people who ride scooters.

I really wanted an electric 500 in red, but I've read that Fiat is rethinking their introduction of these cars in the United States. Oh well, I can't afford an electric car these days anyway. It damn near cost me $4.50 to fill up my Buddy tank the other day......outrageous! Haha

Great shot of your vehicle collection!

I gotta say, I do like the new Beetle
I wasnt crazy about the old "new" one but the tweaked it just enough

ScootLemont wrote:I gotta say, I do like the new Beetle
I wasnt crazy about the old "new" one but the tweaked it just enough

That pic looks better than any I've seen in person!

I think there's too much competition in this segment now and don't know that a more masculine Beetle is really the answer. We had a NB convertible and it was fun for about 10 minutes but overall didn't drive well. My wife prefers her newer plain as white bread with no crust Golf. (I tried talking her into a TDi, GTi, Passat Sportwagen, anything a little more fun. She likes plain-ass car.)

I have seen a a few in person & think they look better in person than they do in pics.

I do like the golfs- really like the GTI but for the money.....

I have the 500C cabriolet in espresso/ ivory. The car is very good and has great styling after the original 1957 convertible. The biggest problem so far is the dealerships or so called "studios" have a big communication problem
with Fiat home office and the service departments do not know how to service the cars yet. People say I would not want to be hit head on from a semi. Do they think anyone driving anything would do Ok being hit head on from a semi? Similar to being on two wheels some other drivers on the road can be real jerks and even go out of their way sometimes. So like the scooter have to be on the defensive especially when they are tailgating and talking, texting, and who knows what else. My 500C is very similar to the color scheme of one of the international buddies. The interior is really nice and the way the top opens is very unique. There are not many on the road as of yet around this area but if more dealerships open may change.

We looked at a Fiat 500, but it was insanely expensive for what we could afford Even used Minis were out of our range. Not everyone has the income for a compact that costs 18k out the door. I would LOVE to trick one out since I love the design, but sadly my income barely supports the 12 year old Vitara.

Who knows? If the economy EVER picks back up one day I may be able to pick one up. But, if that day ever comes my wife insists the Vitara is the last gasoline-powered car she wants to buy.

Update -
the Fiat 500 now has 13,000 miles on it & has had no problems.
None, zero, zilch
Not even a rattler or squeak.
Only time it has seen the dealership is for the (included for three years) oil changes & maintenance)

Very happy with it.

neotrotsky wrote:We looked at a Fiat 500, but it was insanely expensive for what we could afford Even used Minis were out of our range. Not everyone has the income for a compact that costs 18k out the door. I would LOVE to trick one out since I love the design, but sadly my income barely supports the 12 year old Vitara.

Yes I get that point clearly myself. R