Got to agree with you. I've read that the boss of Fiat wants to move away from mass market cars. Odd decision, but they must presumably have done their sums. The Fiat Forum will become the 500 500 500 500 500 ForumI must admit to being disappointed by the way the range is going. All models are going to be 500s or the 500's strange looking cousins.
They also seem to be going down the "car as life-style accessory" rather than car as.....well, car. I probably will replace my Panda MJ with a new one next year, but I have to say that if I was looking to change a Punto or Bravo then I'd have to look elsewhere.
And another thing I don't quite get, instead of giving the 500L Rollover Mitigation Doodahs, why not just give the bloody thing the steering and suspension all the other models should have been given years ago. Instead of boasting another load of acronyms, they could have had motoring journalists praising its driving characteristics, which can lead to more sales than something no buyer actually cares about.
Premium hi-fi system developed in collaboration with Dr. Dre. Come on, that would be like buying sunglasses developed in collaboration with Stevie Wonder. Hi-Fi developed in collaboration with Bower & Wilkins I'd pay extra for.
No, it's a slightly modified form of the same platform, just as the new 500L sits on a modified Punto platform. Thats why both the Bravo and the Giulietta have thew same cramped pedal box and the same poor rear legroom.
Platform design is terribly expensive which is why these things are shared between models, and even makes.
The Corsa and Punto share a platform, just as the 500, the Panda and the new Ka do. There are modifications, but the fundamentals remain the same.
They won't have that over on the Alfa forum, insisting that the Giulietta is an all new platform.
I've heard that before, yet I had one for a week and had no trouble at all with resting my left foot, oddly enough on the foot rest. I must admit I enjoyed that week enormously, and, in comparison with a Golf TDi that I had a few months later I also found it endearing. Something I wanted to go back to again and again. The Golf I handed back to Avis and just walked away. It left no impression other than that it was a competent machine.In this country the Croma had the most appalling driving position, with the relationship of all the major controls very bad. Likewise the Bravo, which, like the Giuietta that is based on it, has no proper place for a clutch foot to move and a badly placed seat. Oddly, the Punto is easy to get comfortable in.
I haven't I must admit, but then my Luddite attitude extends to all sorts of things, such as an aversion to fashion designers who make watches, for instance. I wouldn't buy a shirt designed by Seiko, so I wouldn't buy a watch designed by DKNY.
Beats audio is actually very good, have you tried their stuff?
They won't have that over on the Alfa forum, insisting that the Giulietta is an all new platform.
..but then my Luddite attitude extends to all sorts of things, such as an aversion to fashion designers who make watches, for instance. I wouldn't buy a shirt designed by Seiko, so I wouldn't buy a watch designed by DKNY.
I know little of Dr. Dre (is he a Phlebotomist?) but would guess that he is a producer so apart from his name I'm not sure what he brings to audio reproduction. I'm also deeply suspicious when I see the likes of Premiership footballers wearing a pair of the good doctor's headphones.
After all, why would you trust the judgement of people who set fire to their bathrooms, or even turn the traction control of their Ferrari off when they're giving it a bootfull.
I'm sure his products are very good, but Audi are using Bose and Jaguar and Maserati both use Bower & Wilkins while FIAT are using products associated with a man who wears sunglasses indoors.
I've heard that before, yet I had one for a week and had no trouble at all with resting my left foot, oddly enough on the foot rest. I must admit I enjoyed that week enormously, and, in comparison with a Golf TDi that I had a few months later I also found it endearing.
Slight inaccuracy there, Audi actually use Bang & Olufsen not Bose as I inadvertently put earlier. B&O are rather more a case of style over substance to be fair, but Bose do have serious Hi-Fi credentials. When their 901 speakers came out (rather a long time ago) they were a real revelation; and still are. I heard a pair that a neighbour can't bear to get rid of recently and they really are superb. Of late, however, they seem to be concentrating on compact stereos and surround sound speaker systems. Wow that's a lot of Ss.And Bose audio really isn't very good, although it has a certain cachet.
Practically every maker seems to be teaming up with somebody in the sound business these days.
Does the Giulietta have a foot rest? I wear size 11 shoes and I couldn't find anywhere to the left of the clutch for my foot to go. LHD versions of course are different. A friend who is 6'3" jumped in and almost immediately out of the car, so uncomfortable did he find it.
But then we all have different ideas about comfort. And I'd agree wholeheartedly about the Golf. The Giulietta at least looks great, and especially so from the back at night.
For most people wearing a pair of sunglasses in doors is a style statement but for you it must be a necessity. I wonder if you sometimes get people making comments, as I probably would, although not loud enough for you to overhear.Best post I've read for ages...!
Mrs homeward says it sounds like me having "one of my typical rants..." -- which, to me, is a compliment...!
Even as "a man who wears sunglasses indoors", sometimes (I'm extremely photosensitive... -- as is my son, god bless...), I have to agree with just about every word.... Thank you!