Ciao, Yaris!

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by david_827

weird, the IIHS just named the fiat 500 as a top safety pick for MY 2013

I think SailDesign's post #33 does an excellent job of debunking information from the site that Yarisworld member DMZ found.

I recently had a chance to sit in the most inexpensive Fiat 500 model/trim level, and it also didn't have any options. I think the interior is very well thought out and looks more expensive than the price point. I also feel it is a great value feature wise (if you don't need the extra passenger and cargo room a Yaris provides) --- lots of standard features for that price point. In looking at the interior and under the hood, one thing concerned me -- the engine compartment is so tight I fear that it might be very time consuming to work on, driving up such costs. I will be interested in hearing about what MPG SailDesign and other owners get, and what mechanical problems they have (two things that are very important to me). It would be easier to find a parking space for and easier to fit into my garage than a Yaris.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by auxmike

These cars are REAL nice build quality inside and out. They are smaller than the Yaris and look real sharp going down the highway. Unfortunately there appears to be only one studio in my county so I'd be stuck with them only unless I want to travel far for the next dealer. I think the dodge dart shares the same engine as the 500 and the engines are US built. The cars I examined at the local fiat place were made in mexico...
Price starts at 15.5k with the 5 speed. Power windows etc. Are standard equipment.

This post piqued my curiosity, namely re the engine source...so I did a few searches. Yes, the engine is built in Michigan by Chrysler LLC. That's all I needed to know. If we had a federal government that cared more about the rule of law than selective political expediency, then the bondholders wouldn't have been left out in the cold while sixty percent of the equity (in what became Chrysler LLC) was handed to the UAW pension fund. The 500 could be twice as reliable as a Yaris, get 70 miles to the gallon combined, and cost $10,000....if it still had an engine from that source I wouldn't buy it just for that reason.

P.S. I would consider a Ford, if everything about the vehicle fit my parameters, but not a vehicle From GM or Chrysler because of the bailouts/bondholders left out in the cold....and the engine being shared with a 'sister' company (at least in this case)...no...too much...too close.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

This post piqued my curiosity, namely re the engine source...so I did a few searches. Yes, the engine is built in Michigan by Chrysler LLC. That's all I needed to know. If we had a federal government that cared more about the rule of law than selective political expediency, then the bondholders wouldn't have been left out in the cold while sixty percent of the equity (in what became Chrysler LLC) was handed to the UAW pension fund. The 500 could be twice as reliable as a Yaris, get 70 miles to the gallon combined, and cost $10,000....if it still had an engine from that source I wouldn't buy it just for that reason.

P.S. I would consider a Ford, if everything about the vehicle fit my parameters, but not a vehicle From GM or Chrysler because of the bailouts/bondholders left out in the cold....and the engine being shared with a 'sister' company (at least in this case)...no...too much...too close.

Feeling this way = not without a heavy heart. I have a fondness for selected Corvettes -- especially the '63 with the split rear window.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

especially the '63 with the split rear window.

I stopped at Barnes and Noble tonight about 40 minutes before they closed and happened (among other mags) to thumb through the March 2013 issue of Corvette Magazine. On the back page a 'posed' picture of two '63 Corvettes and one, *sigh*, was a Classic Silver split window Coupe (to me, the holy grail of Corvettes....my next door neighbor had one when I was a little kid). I thumbed through the rest of this issue and found (on pages 62 and 63), *gulp*, the beginning of an article entitled "The Icon". Spread over these two pages is a crystal clear picture of a Daytona Blue '63 split window Coupe (with New York plates) driving down a road in a bucolic setting. The rest of the picture, other than the Corvette, is a motion blur.....a little bit of heaven.

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Interesting. Please keep us posted with the MPG you're getting when you have a chance .

Will do. So far, on my second tank, I'm getting almost exactly what the Yaris did for my usual commuting run mixed with weekend chores. The first tank was a bit less than normal, because i was "playing" in Sport mode... It tightens up the throttle response, but also gives the steering more feedback. My personal thought was that the steering was deader, and certainly heavier, and the extra sensitivity from the throttle is not worth that.

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by david_827

weird, the IIHS just named the fiat 500 as a top safety pick for MY 2013

Exactly.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by SailDesign

Will do. So far, on my second tank, I'm getting almost exactly what the Yaris did for my usual commuting run mixed with weekend chores. The first tank was a bit less than normal, because i was "playing" in Sport mode... It tightens up the throttle response, but also gives the steering more feedback. My personal thought was that the steering was deader, and certainly heavier, and the extra sensitivity from the throttle is not worth that.

About an hour after my post #37 I looked up the Fiat 500 on cars.com and there were 31 customer reviews. Quite a few of those customers are getting 40+ MPG combined (what I normally enjoy in my Yaris) and only one person is suffering manufacturer defects that I don't think would ever happen with Toyota. I just can't get past the source of the engine -- coming from a company that is 60% owned by a group (the UAW pension fund) that was handed that equity by a government that was flipping the bird at the bondholders and ignoring the rule of law. The bailout itself stirs the same feelings in me. If execs at Fiat ever decide to use an engine for the USDM that is not made by Chrysler LLC (or GM), and the repair record turns out to be reasonably close to a Toyota, I'd consider a 500. People I feel are wonderful people will disagree with me re avoiding the engine source and why I feel that way. Good people will sometimes disagree.

P.S. Feeling the way I do will probably save me money in the long run....picking up a Corvette book If I see one I like, rather than buying an actual Corvette. But I'd rather not feel the way I feel, and have a federal government that I feel would be more of a source of pride.

[Hershey]

Here's a test drive of the Sport with a 5 speed manual at Mpg-O-Matic . Got 37.1 overall . http://www.mpgomatic.com/2011/11/28/...-sport-review/ . MOTORWEEK did a test drive of both . How's it working out for you ? Gas mileage ? Etc.?

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by Hershey

Here's a test drive of the Sport with a 5 speed manual at Mpg-O-Matic . Got 37.1 overall . http://www.mpgomatic.com/2011/11/28/...-sport-review/ . MOTORWEEK did a test drive of both . How's it working out for you ? Gas mileage ? Etc.?

Working out nicely, thanks. Love the little beast.
Mkileage? almost exactly what the Yaris got. Cute factor? Same.
Parking? 12 inches shorter. Much easier.

[Superfly]

I got to finally sit in the 500 Abarth at the Chicago Autoshow and I will admit that Fiat definitely grabbed my attention. Their interior materials are really nice, but I hate the way the console is laid out. Do you find the radio and climate control easy to sort out? How are the seats for lengthy drives?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Hershey

Here's a test drive of the Sport with a 5 speed manual at Mpg-O-Matic . Got 37.1 overall . http://www.mpgomatic.com/2011/11/28/...-sport-review/ . MOTORWEEK did a test drive of both . How's it working out for you ? Gas mileage ? Etc.?

Another good video from Mpg-O-Matic. Thanks Hershey for posting the link. For a 'quite a bit shorter than a Yaris car' all levels of the 500 best the Smart and the IQ. I have quite a bit of stuff neatly packed under my package shelf (various travel mugs, umbrella, a rain parka, a ream of paper, a beach towel, my cheapest 15 inch laptop, and quite a bit more) and the same area in the 500, the IQ, and the Smart Car wouldn't fill the bill (I haven't looked at that area in the Mini Cooper). I also find the Yaris just the right size for a long solo trip. Smaller would = snug (for me). If the Yaris = still too big for someone's parking requirements, the 500 would probably be the best option .

I sat in all of the 500s (I believe) at an auto show last month, including the 500L (a 4-door version of the 500 that is not yet on the street in the U.S.). I didn't check the 'package shelf area' in the 500 L to see if it is the same size as in the Pop or the Sport.

[Hershey]

, glad you're enjoying it . Keep us updated . Gotta try one of these out when the weather gets warmer .

[TLyttle]

Someone please explain the allure of the Corvette, GM's answer to Tupperware? When I belonged to a Volvo club, we used to run slaloms and gymkhanas, but there were so many Vettes around that we had to run a special class for them; the Mustangs were eating them alive in Large Sports. Things are different now, but the Split Window handled like a hog on ice...

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by Superfly

I got to finally sit in the 500 Abarth at the Chicago Autoshow and I will admit that Fiat definitely grabbed my attention. Their interior materials are really nice, but I hate the way the console is laid out. Do you find the radio and climate control easy to sort out? How are the seats for lengthy drives?

Love the console. I had manual windows in the Yaris, so it is just as painful getting used to power ones as it is to get used to the buttons being on the dash.
The radio is never used. I have every CD I own ripped to a thumb drive in the glove box - 16Gig of all my favorite music on tap, shuffle play, controlled from the back of the steering wheel for volume and track.
Standard bluetooth hands-free was a nice bonus. Climate controls are just in a different order, so very quick to adapt to.

Seats are lovely - I don't find them too much more comfy than the Yaris seats (which I loved), but the rest of my family loves the new ones to death. Haven't tried more than a 45 minute drive yet, so won't comment on long drives.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by TLyttle

Someone please explain the allure of the Corvette, GM's answer to Tupperware? When I belonged to a Volvo club, we used to run slaloms and gymkhanas, but there were so many Vettes around that we had to run a special class for them; the Mustangs were eating them alive in Large Sports. Things are different now, but the Split Window handled like a hog on ice...

For me the appeal is emotional.

The dad in the family next door to me while I was growing up had a Classic Silver '63 Split Window. He was a Pharmacist who owned several pharmacies, and his wife is an RN who was Director of Nursing at a hospital. They had two daughters and no sons. His family was his #1 priority. He'd gotten to the point (I learned the details later, not when I was a kid) where he'd paid off any debt re his business, paid his house off, had the kids college taken care of, had tons of insurance, and felt like treating himself by buying the Corvette. He loved that it was 'wholly American'. He was Japanese and his wife is Chinese and he loved everything about the U.S.A. My neighborhood was almost all guys growing up, and we loved that car almost as much as he did. We'd help him vacuum it and then wash and wax it. His wife would cook while we tended to the car, and then have us all in for dinner. Another neighbor had a yellow Pantera and an older, goldish colored Mangusta, but neither of those cars garnered the attention that Corvette did (and my town was very foreign car oriented....one family had a 'museum' that displayed their collection (located in a different town), and another family owned a Lamborghini dealership and several other businesses). Sadly, when both of his girls were still short of 10 years old, he had an aneurysm burst while at home. He made it to the hospital, but (if I remember correctly) not even 24 more hours.

His wife sold the pharmacies and the Corvette. She devoted herself to the girls. She didn't date or decide she wanted to work again until the girls were both in college. She still lives in that house.

[TLyttle]

Oo. Very sad story, explains your attraction to the beast...