While I can't be 100% certain of anything at this early date, I can tell you a few things:
- Fact is, Fiat Freak Out is the largest gathering of Fiat enthusiasts in N. America, and the 25th anniversary event will return to where it all started in the Pocono Mountain region of northeastern Pennsylvania. A quarter century is a big deal for any car enthusiast event, for sure! The site will be about an hour from New York City, the biggest media market in the USA. It's also about two hours from Philadelphia, the nation's 5th-largest media market.
- I think arranging a drive and coverage in NY City is a given.
- In the coming months, I'm am going to personally conduct a MAJOR blitz with all auto-enthusiast media: television and magazines. I will be inviting "My Classic Car" and "Car Crazy," two of the biggest national TV shows in the USA, to cover the event on the national "Speed TV" network. I'll also be campaigning major newspapers (NY Times, Wall Street Journal, etc.) and magazines (CarAndDriver, Road&Track, AutoWeek, etc.) to cover the event. I have personal contact with the editorial staff of these magazines and other outlets. I also know that regional television stations WILL be there to cover the event, as I have worked at some of these stations and have contacts there. I am going to leave no stone unturned as far as media coverage is concerned.
Here are some links to what I've mentioned. I have every reason to believe that they'll be at FFO 2008:
http://www.myclassiccar.com/
http://www.carcrazycentral.com/
http://www.speedtv.com/
http://www.autoweek.com/
http://www.caranddriver.com/
There are others as well.
- I have already started to contact the people with Maserati USA, as they are also the same folks who will be spearheading the return of Alfa Romeo to the US market. The FFO site is very near Maserati's and Ferrari USA headquarters in northern New Jersey. We'd like to have a preview showing of the upcoming US-spec Alfas, and having a new 500 in the mix would be ideal! I'm working this angle.
- Overall, I plan to create a media "frenzy" about the event. I'll be at the N. American International Auto Show in Detroit for two weeks in January, where I'll be meeting face-to-face with many principal people from the major magazines and auto TV programs. I can't at this time promise what will transpire, but I do know that these magazines and TV programs have covered events that are of far less importance and significance than the 25th anniversary of FFO, so I'm reasonably certain that we are going to have BIG media coverage. I also know that the Italian broadcasting network "RAI" has crews in New York and does cover news stories in the USA, so I can almost guarantee that they'll be covering FFO 2008, and that will be see world-wide.
I think having a new 500 there will cause a lot of interest and enhance desire to attend.
BTW: Several years ago, when Fiat still had offices in New York, Scott Hill and I drove the funky Fiat Multipla through the streets of Manhattan, courtesy of Fiat USA, which had brought some examples of this vehicle to the USA for several exhibitions. It caused quite a sensation. I'm sure the new 500 would do the same.
Bobb Raynor
Fiat & Lanica Usa