Decided to make a change today.

[DJ]

So I decided to part ways with Fabio, my rosso FIAT 500 Prima Edizione today. For all you Richard Petty fans, Fabio is #43 and can now be yours at Hendrick Fiat in Cary, North Carolina.

These mobile phone pics are a bit grainy due to low light but meet my new little buddy, Caesar.

[bjwhite]

So...arent the cars basically identical? Why the change?

[DJ]

So...arent the cars basically identical? Why the change?

Almost identical except this one has a spare tire and integrated GPS.

Not really much of a story to it other than a stupid situation with my job relocation last year.

When I first ordered the Prima we had decided to pare down on cars and car-related expenses. We had already ended a lease on my wife's Volvo but my old Alfa 164 driver was in need of more than I was willing to do for it so I was in the market for a new economical car for commuting. We decided to bear with the Alfa until the FIAT arrived but in the several months between the time that I ordered the Prima and received it, my employer required that I relocate cross-country. With the Colorado real estate market in the dumper and heading the wrong way, it took forever to sell our home there and we ended up in a stupid battle with the mortgage company which impacted our credit rating until the home was sold and situation resolved. Consequently, when the Prima arrived I was in a situation where I really needed it but we essentially had two sets of living expenses so I had to finance the car. Given the situation at the time, I ended up only being able to get an exorbitant finance rate which I planned to refinance once our mortgage situation was resolved.

The home is now sold (at a major loss) and the credit situation resolved and I was planning to refinance with my bank when the dealer called with a year-end sales deal that actually worked out better with a significantly better finance rate (less than a fourth of the original).

I know. Ridiculous.

[davidb]

Sorry to hear of all that DJ. The FIAT dealer up the street from me
[Fiat of Creve Coeur] must have over 100 500s on their lot. Looks
like a Midwest distribution point or something! I don't know what
kind of "in-house" financing they have/offer but it's apparent to
my eye [I drive by there daily] they can't give these things away.

[DJ]

They must not be doing a very good job of marketing them. The cars are incredible little beasts and most everyone who drives one is impressed by them. There are quite a few starting to pop up on the roads around here.

We had our (grown) kids out for Christmas and we drove all over in the FIAT. I was surprised how well all four adults fit in the car and found it made zero difference on drivability except for a slightly noticeable difference in stopping.