RE: Design your own Fiat 500
Tuesday 9th May 2006
Design your own Fiat 500
Iconic minicar makes a comeback
Have you ever wondered about the purity of the original Fiat 500 -- the fact that it's just big enough for two and costs peanuts to run? Now you can build your own.
Fiat is making the most of the iconic nature of the car and is running an online design competition. You can be subtle or you can install every accessory at Halfords and then some -- and leave your results for everyone else to look at. The execution's quite well done.
And the motive? The Italian car company is making the point that it's only 500 days before the new 500 is due.
Discussion
Maybe I've just been lucky, but the Fiats in my family have always run faultlessly, including a 1.2 Punto, a Punto GT, an Uno and my 1963 500, which after a three years under a dust sheet in someone's garage needed only a new battery, tyres and an oil change to get it back on the road, where it now runs faultlessly whenever i'm lucky enough to use it. As for the new one, I quite like it and prefer it to the vast majority of other small cars on the road. I'd definitely take it over one of those fortwo abominations.
Must have done something wrong.....
My Panda worked.
My Y10 required constant fettling to get it to go up hils.
My first Bravo blew up with the following problems.
Worn cams
Broken Crank (Not my fault. The Fiat garage broke that)
Bent vavles.
Various knockings from the engine bay.
The replacement Punto, which Fiat donated while they attempted to fix the above problems, lasted 5 months before needing some cough cough... Maintenance.
The replacement Bravo which Fiat supplied after they failed to get the first one running was less than perfect.
I want to believe... Honest I do. When the cars worked they were fun. But I never managed more than a few miles before they broke again.
If they've got the reliability sorted I'd get a 500. Could be a real wheeze!
My Panda worked.
My Y10 required constant fettling to get it to go up hils.
My first Bravo blew up with the following problems.
Worn cams
Broken Crank (Not my fault. The Fiat garage broke that)
Bent vavles.
Various knockings from the engine bay.
The replacement Punto, which Fiat donated while they attempted to fix the above problems, lasted 5 months before needing some cough cough... Maintenance.
The replacement Bravo which Fiat supplied after they failed to get the first one running was less than perfect.
I want to believe... Honest I do. When the cars worked they were fun. But I never managed more than a few miles before they broke again.
If they've got the reliability sorted I'd get a 500. Could be a real wheeze!
I've owned 4 Fiat Coupes, never missed a beat. Dealers are crap though, but find a decent specialist and you're laughing.
www.powerfiat.co.uk
www.powerfiat.co.uk
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