Well it looks like the new chat room status monitor is a big hit! Think we had a record set of first time chatters in the chat room throughout the day. For all you newbies - welcome and hope you come back often to say hello! While the topics pretty much hover around MINIs, a fair share of topic diversity is shared each night and that usually leads to some funny moments. Here is one of my favorite moments from tonight’s chat room discussion (thanks Deviant for this non-MINI, but extremely funny find):
So next month at the Geneva car show, Fiat is set to present the new Fiat 500 Abarth to the masses. Autocar has a nice write-up on the debut, including some official photos. I must say, this car is looking better every time I look at it.
Now this is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time. A car door that folds down under you so you never have to swing open a door again. Imagine getting this mod installed on your MINI! Those rear passengers can just slide out! Forget that suicide door. Ok - so structural integrity may take a hit - still a VERY cool idea. Thanks to Al Darko for this find!
This has to be one of the coolest ideas I have seen in a long time. Imagine playing football (ok - soccer for us in the US) with a car! Now don’t get me wrong - I am not playing this with my MINI. BUT… I am sure this was a hoot to film. And I bet you that TV ratings for a sport like this would be pretty high. I know I have watched it several times and am sucked in to watching it all the way through eachtime LOL. Thanks to 2phun for this find!
Ok - at first I was not sure about the looks of this Audio concept… I know I know - it is NOT a MINI, but I have to say it is growing on me after watching this video. Check it out:
MSNBC.com posted an interesting article regarding the Fiat 500 as it prepares for its launch this Wednesday:
Fiat Auto will be showcasing the rebirth of an iconic car and its own financial revival when it relaunches the Cinquecento city car at festivities around Italy on Wednesday.
In reviving the Cinquecento in multiple versions, with improved technology and a high price for its size, Fiat is following the lead of BMW, which has produced more than 1m Minis since relaunching an upscale version of the car in 2001.
Fiat will offer customers a choice of accessories for their 500s including chrome elements, special wheel rims and upholstery, and Italian-flag graphics, making – it says – more than 500,000 permutations possible. The carmaker is also aiming for a five-star crash-test rating, ambitious for a car barely 3½-metres long.
The Turin-based producer is also billing the Cinquecento as “the manifesto of a ‘new Fiat’.” Under chief executive Sergio Marchionne, the company has swung back into profit and increased its share in a tough European market. Last month Fitch Ratings gave Fiat’s debt its first investment-grade credit rating in four years.
The new Cinquecento’s price, starting at about €10,000 ($13,600), will put it towards the top end of Europe’s growing city-car segment, where it will sit alongside models such as the Citroen C1 and Renault Twingo. Company officials try to discourage comparisons with BMW’s luxury Minis, which start at €15,850 and go up to €21,600 for the Mini Cooper S.
The full article can be found at the following link:
By now you know that the Fiat 500 is a car I wish would be made available here in the states. I just think it is a cool little car, like the MINI. Well you can imagine my excitement when I saw this over at MotorTrend:
Fiat is considering whether to send the sporty Abarth version of its new 500 minicar to the U.S., reports Automotive News. The car would be sold without Fiat badges at select Alfa Romeo dealers sometime after 2010. If the plan becomes reality, this would be the first car Fiat has sold in the U.S. since it left the market in 1983.
Set to be launched on July 4, the Fiat 500 is a remake of the automaker’s famous minicar from the 1960s in the vein of the Mini Cooper. Not coincidentally, Fiat sees the Mini as the Abarth 500’s main competition. The Abarth version of the 500 will reportedly come with a 1.4-liter four-banger that could push as much as 150 horsepower, depending upon configuration.
Fiat does have reservations about the long-term willingness of U.S. buyers to buy small cars. CEO Sergio Marchionne points out that previous stints of small-car popularity brought on by high gas prices always ended when prices dropped to a normal level.
I know this is not a MINI Cooper, but I think it is “mini” nonetheless. If you want to get a jumpstart on the 2008 Smart car, Smart USA will be taking reservations on their website for $99. If you don’t end up buying the car, you get your money back. Prices range from $12,000 - $17,000. If you reserve one, let us know!
Friday, March 21st, 2008
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Posted by Pedro in Audio & Video, Other Automotive 
