My first encounter and initial impression...

....from an average guy in the States.

I've been following the 500 for some time now. I really liked the design concept of the car and just liked how much of a near carbon copy the new 500 is to the original. Last year I was in Italy for about 2 weeks on vacation. One of the days I was there was July 4th 2007...the day the car was to officially be available to the public. Driving down the Italian highways in the tour bus every other passing truck on the road was a car carrier with brand spankin new 500s on them under car covers with the 500 logo on them. I wanted badly to break away from the group just for a day to go to a Fiat dealer and look at one, and maybe drive one. I was pretty much hooked on Italian cars after that trip (Those Alfa Romeos are just sooo damn beautiful).

Well time has passed since than and I saw the Abarth edition and a supposid upcoming Abarth SS on the net. A 500 with a Turbo?... I'm definitly there. I was searching for information about the release date and specs on the car and stumbled across this site. Searching on the 500 section I saw Jim's post about shipping his 500 over to the States and started reading through it. "Pretty cool.." I thought to myself, untill I saw a picture of the little guy in front of a sign that said, "Welcome to Port Washington". I was freaking out bigtime. Something as cool as this is never in my area, let alone I get to experience. So I jumped on the boards, signed up, and contacted Jim who pointed me to Sam, the gentleman looking after the car. After afew emails we set to meet up this past Saturday morning.

So I'm driving there, half asleep, untill I pull around the enterance of the parking lot. The car was right there staring me in the face. I just couldn't believe it. I jump out and start giving the car a once over. Its just so beautifully designed, and it is smaller than my Scion xA but not that much. I was approached by Sam who is such a really nice guy. He was very eager to show me the inside and out of the car. I was surprised by the interior space. Yes alittle less than my Scion but I sat very comfortable in the driver's seat and had more room for my knees than in alot of the Toyotas I've looked at with manual transmissions. That was a big plus since I'm 6'2" tall. I also had maybe an inch to spare for headroom, tight yes but I fit just fine. The seats have a really beautiful design to them and initially they are some of the most comfy seats I've sat in. If they are that comfy after a long road trip than that's another plus, as every car I've owned the seat hurts my back to one degree or another. The dash is just gorgious. I love the tach within the speedo design. Very slick, and the dash layout was a perfect blend of retro style with modern functionality. Hell even the floor mats impressed me with the white pinstripping going around the mat with the little Italian flag design built in to a small section of the pinstripping, as well as the nice 500 logo stitched right in. The glass roof was also really nice as my car as well as most sub-compact cars in America don't have a factory option sunroof which is a real dissapointment. Kudos to Fiat for offering one. I was very surprised at the amount of trunk space with the rear seats up and down. The car is definitly practical. Also the engine sits very nice in the engine bay, easy to work on just the way I like it.

Just when it couldn't get any better Sam offered to take me for a spin. "Wow, this is F'n sweet", I said to myself. Riding shotgun on the left side of the car was a whole other experience in itself. It was really cool, and more surprising it was extremely comfy. I had a ton of leg room, much more than riding shotgun in my Girlfriend's Scion tC, or my Mom's Toyota Matrix, or my own car for that matter. The ride was very nice and smooth. Just riding along I could get a sense of what Sam was describing to me about the car being peppy, responsive, and agile. It sure blew my car out of the water when it was stock and I think I like the stock 500 setup to my car which is running Eibach springs, swaybars, and upgraded bushings. I really enjoyed watching the tach and speedo playing catch up with eachother, and I also liked the digital data center in the middle. What else that was cool was a guy in a Porsche GT2 gave us the thumbs up and exchanged afew words with Sam about the car.

We pulled back into the parking lot and I was blown away. I thanked Sam and watch him drive off in the 500 before returning home. The car lived up to every expectation I had about it. All I can say is that I WANT IT, I WANT IT, I WANT IT!!! I hope all the hype I've been reading on the internet is true and that Alfa Romeo and Fiat will be makeing their U.S. return. A car like this with our gas prices reaching new highs for us will do extremely well in our country, and if the evil EPA and C.A.R.B. over here don't come up with some new rediculously imposible emissions standards we'll get a diesel model, which my Father and Uncle have their eyes on purchasing which I know gets really damn good mpg. As for me I want the Abarth SS...naturally. I will sell my car for this immediately if/when it comes here, this car is that good.

I just really want to thank Sam again for takeing the time to show the car off to me. I really do appreciate it, and I'm glad you allowed me to experience a rare opportunity. I also want to thank Jim for shipping this car over here, and for doing what he's doing, as well as giving Sam the o.k. to show it off. You have a very nice car on your hands Jim.

A picture of Jim's 500 with my Scion xA parked next to it.

Glad you liked it Steve.
A very good review by the way.
I can't believe that with the oil price doing what it is Fiat won't make the big move of offering some of its better products in the States.
500 included

Steve, great to hear your views from the other side of the pond, really good article to read too !

A really great read, glad you liked it & took the time to tell us all about it

Yes, thanks for the write-up. It is interesting how the new 500 manages to captivate people at first sight, which is just what happened to me. Not many cars have this quality anymore.

Well, I think he really likes it! TBH though so do I. Every time I see one I still have to follow it till its out of view.

I'm over in New York in October,will have to keep a look at for you driving a 500 with a huge smile on your face

[quote=Supa_Steve;1616466and if the evil EPA and C.A.R.B. over here don't come up with some new rediculously imposible emissions standards we'll get a diesel model,[/quote]
american cars v european cars on emisions i think you'r safe on that one

Don't stone me, I prefer the looks of the Scion xA. What is it exactly, or is that exactly it a 'Scion' 'xA'.

Scion is a registered brand of the Toyota Motor Company

OOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo. Lol. I love all things Toyota, probably why I liked the look of the xA

Will do a bit of google'ing I think

Hi there glad you found us and glad you like the 500.

RE: the petrol prices isn't it like $4.5 a gallon? rough calcs put our petrol at double yours, so quit complaining!

PS Fantastic read.

yeah! on our fuel prices the 500 would cost around $80 to fill we pay the equivalent of $10.61 per gallon..
but i still want a toyota tundra

Great report

There's something about the 500, their little faces just make people smile fingers crossed you get the opportunity to own one.

Oh I'm afraid that the 500 will be back in Blighty by then.... And on Ebay! LOL

(Well, I've got to pay for all that shipping round the world some how!!!)

Anyway Steve, thanks for posting. Great to know that someone who's never seen a New Fiat on US roads has such a great impression of them. We see them everyday and kinda take how much fun Fiats are for granted.

Hope you can make it to Freakout if you've got some spare time on the weekend of the 12th July

Jim

(ps, $4 a gallon sounds cheap untill you think that the average domestic vehicle struggles to acheive 20 to 25 mpg in the US. No wonder so many people are like Steve and are moving to smaller cars)

any excuse for some classic python, you deserve it too. Non believer.