"How fast will it go?", inquired one individual. "What kinda' gas mileage ya" gittin'?", asked another. "Can anybody fit in the back seat?" etc.,etc.
During an 8 day visit to Sacramento, San Francisco, & vicinity, it seemed I couldn't park this car without stares, puzzled looks, smiles, or questions. Day-um, I lamented. I'll bet some of the reaction to this car was similar to the SVX when it hit the streets. Uh....no. I didn't drive the batmobile cross-country.
I pushed the "special" deal button on the Dollar car rental page, meaning you get what we got when you show up. Could be a compact, could be a HumVee, for $14.95 a day. So, when I arrived the choice was between....drum roll... a Crown Vic OR a Fiat 500. As the Ford product didn't include the police package, I settled on Tony's "I'm filthy rich, thanks to you" product.
Now, I owned 2 Fiats back in the 60s. An 850 while in Germany, & a 128 coupe when I hit the shores of the USA. While the 850 met its demise with a head-on "Howdy" to a grosse Lastwagon, & the 124 became iron oxide in the 4 years I had it, I must admit, they were a hoot to drive. So, as Tony bailed out Chrysler, another "quality" company, I decided to stroll down the lane of memories, some pleasant, & hit the Kalifornia Koast in the equivalent of a stretch limo Smart Car. Besides, gas is about 12 bucks a gallon in this shadow of its former self state.
So, while getting adjusted to a car that's about 8 feet long, with every possible electronic display constantly staring at me, I ventured forth putting around 500 miles on the gnat over 7 days. I did the freeways, the hills of SF, & the rotting secondary roads of the Napa Valley (Mmmmm....WINE country!)
Gotta' say - even with its auto-tranny/manual shift slush box, it put some fun into out-dragging Priuses (Priuiii?). The thing had all the goodies including heated seats, sunroof, auto-climate control, satellite Bose 7 speaker radio & a "sport" mode tranny button on the dash. Power everything else. High wind warnings around the bay area didn't faze it, & I got around 35 mpg while goosing it here, there, & everywhere - mostly everywhere. Freeway merge acceleration was quite perky, & I hit 85 mph once without much effort.
I researched this thing. It's probably over-priced. Loaded, it's over 20K, I think. However, I NEVER buy new cars, so in 5-6 years, guessing the resale value will drop like a bag o' stones, I'd give a good 6-7K for a "previously goosed" one. Face it - gas will hit 6-7 bucks in two years. Gotta' be prepared, & I ain't goin' electric - might shock myself.
Can't wait to see the the Abarth version. Vroom!
Ron. (Ain't no car small enough)