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Just learned FIAT is coming!

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My two kroner, the Fiat 500 is a fine car though the Citroen and Peugeot are much better. I know you guys like to put down cars form third world countries (France and Italy), but really, take an objective look at them.

When I was working as a mechanic in Washington DC the biggest problem with French and Italian cars was getting parts. As long as they keep up that practice, they won't sell anything in the US. There is a big parts distributorship around here so these cars are very inexpensive and very reliable. Quality of manufacture has also increased steadily over the past 15 years and imho is much better than the big three cars I had been working on back in the 80s-90s.
 
Between the MINI and the FIAT 500, my personal preference leans toward the MINI. It has to my mind a more aggressive sporty look, whereas the current FIAT 500 looks more "cute" like a New Beetle.

But between those two and Alfa, I'd imagine that Alfa will get more of my attention.

The problem is that those cars all seem mildly overpriced. The chance of me ever getting to buy one new right off the showroom floor is very slim. I know the exchange rate factors into that, but still.

Back in the day, my best friend lived really close to where I live now. The main drag through town had an Alfa dealership on it that had to have been there until I was around 15. We'd ride our bikes over to look at the cars, and no one seemed to care about us being there. They may have been temperamental rust-prone POSs, but we still drooled over them.
 
though the Citroen and Peugeot are much better.

I would *love* to be able to drive a Citroen DS as a daily driver. Heck, I'd just like to be able to park a decent-looking one in my driveway.

Something about the quirky styling and alot of the engineering that went into them just speaks to me, and I simply can't drive a boring car. But the idea of where to find parts for the suspension system, or where to find someone who can fix what I can't sounds nightmarish.

There are a couple of older Peugeots in town, but it seems like they were once more common. One's a station wagon with maybe a diesel engine. Other's a petrol-powered sedan.
 
Well, my daily transporter is an old Alfa Spider. It has a 1750 from a GTV as its heart and a bunch of other bits from 1600 and 1750 GTV's.

Hard to beat a well prepp'd Alfa. Not so convinced the new Fiats will fare as well.
 
The new MINIs use a Peugeot engine, similar to the engine Peugeot puts in their RCV coupe.

My 50-something female cousin in England just told me she's swapped in her ~RCV~ for a new FIAT Abarth. So far, she really likes it.
 
We've presently got one of those Fiat 500's in the driveway. AAMCO had to give my wife a rental because they're been farting around with the Explorer too long. I have to admit they look really good. The interior styling is excellent. It's also Tardis-like. It's much bigger on the inside.

For only having 101 horses it's pretty zippy. You still know you're driving an underpowered 4cylinder though. Reminds me of mum's spitfire, but not as fun. The car screams for a manual transmission, the automatic isn't fun. Suspension's a bit soft for my tastes, too much roll in the corners.

I read online that there's an Abarth version with 190 horses and a six speed. Now that would be an insane drive.

It passed the "cute test" with the women of the house. My boy thinks it's one of those battery operated kid cars and was quite [censored] when we wouldn't let him drive it (he's 3).
 
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