Any Takers? Fiat 500e Goes on Sale this Month

It's supposedly a total blast to drive.

 

I joked about getting one before settling on the Prius, but seriously, those are far from practical. It could hardly fit my purse and worse than that, you sacrifice all that room for what? Bad gas mileage? They aren't cheap. The ones I saw at the Atlanta Auto Show were more money than the Prius I bought!

 

This is an electric version.

 

This Fiat 500e commercial was my favorite


YouTube

 

There's a semi-NSFW but funny ad at Fiat 500e EV discussion | PriusChat.

 

That's the commercial. Brilliant creative.

 

I understand. They didn't have the EV at the car show. So, I was just explaining why I didn't go for the regular version when I looked at it. It never makes sense to me how a smaller car doesn't get better gas mileage. I guess the EV version is like an adult version of the power wheels vehicles.

 

Sounds like a great deal:

• Arrange financing and make deal with Fiat of Palm Springs, CA
• Drive 2,000 miles to Palm Springs with wife's 1.8L Prius, 30 hours driving
• Buy Fiat 500e
• Configure my tow-bar setup on the Fiat 500e
• Drive 2,000 miles back to Huntsville, AL towing Fiat 'dingy' style, 30+ hours driving

Drive over to local Fiat dealer and ask for some service . . . 'check the battery.'

The problem is the Fiat 500e still has at 100 mile range and I need to be able to do a round-trip to Nashville TN, 120 miles away, three or four times per year.

Bob Wilson

 

^^^
LOL! Err... you don't have to buy/lease a CA compliance car. There is the Leaf since I'd imagine you wouldn't want to spring for a Model S. Leaf's range isn't enough for that TN trip but you don't do it that often and you do have 2 "range extenders".

Rav4 EV (aka "poor man's Tesla") has enough range to do that trip 1-way, barely. But, you'd need to get it shipped from CA.

 

Here you go... 2012 Nissan Leaf Gets Unofficial Jet-Powered Range Extender, Quick Charger

 

^^^
LOL! I was at that meeting. Notice the cost? Phil is aka pEEf over here.

Actually, now that I think about it more, a Leaf might work for Bob, provided there's enough CHAdeMO infrastructure along the way.

AFAIK, there's some in/around Nashville due to Nissan North America's HQ being in Franklin, TN and their influence. I'm pretty sure there's a free to the public CHAdeMO (DC fast charger) at their HQ. Some I hear are at Cracker Barrel.

CHAdeMO can charge a Leaf from 0 to 80% in ~30 mins. After 30 mins, it gets much slower...

 

<AHEM>You don't want to see my version.

Bob Wilson

 

^^^
BTW, '12 Rav4 EV can be had for net ~$32.5K for those outside CA (not including tax) after $7500 Federal tax credit and aggressive Toyota So Cal incentives ($10K off WITH 0% financing). But, sadly, it has no CHAdeMO port.

 

In the past, the smaller car's advantage was in weight. With current safety and emission regulations, the weight differences between small and mid size are less. Then the public drives fast, and longer car bodies are easier to make aerodynamic.

The public driving fast also means NA doesn't get the smaller eco engines available over seas. The slowest small car of today is likely twice as fast as the slow one of the '80s.

I like the Fiat. It looks like fun. The standard features of cars these days keep them from being cheap though. The Smart fortwo and Nissan Versa sedan are the only cars available in a truly stripped trim.

 

Here is a good article from PlugIncars

First Drive and Full Details about the All-Electric Fiat 500e | PluginCars.com

 

There is a Fiat Dealership near me among many car dealers, and one weekend walking through Car Country I strolled on the Fiat Lot. Noticed a bunch of twenty something gals kicking the tires. In my hood I see an occasional Fiat 500 and some fashionable 20 something behind the wheel looking all free and happy. I noticed much of the advertising is directed at young gals, i.e. the infamous J Lo commercial.

Is this a Chick Car ?

 

^^^
From the styling of the Fiat 500, in general, it feels like a chick car to me. I liked those J Lo ads. I ended up buying the MP3 from Amazon.

I've always wondered why Nissan doesn't bring the March/Micra to the US. Nissan Micra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia looks like a chick car to me. Seems like it could steal some sales from the VW Bug.

 

The right way to own and operate a vintage Fiat 500