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Awesome review! I'm pretty excited to take delivery of my Abarth now and I'm getting more and more convinced I made the right decision.
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Apr 28, 2012 22:41
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GramCracker posted:Awesome review! I'm pretty excited to take delivery of my Abarth now and I'm getting more and more convinced I made the right decision. How'd you option it out? I'll punch you in the face if you ordered the sunroof option. :-)
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Apr 28, 2012 22:43
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toaster_pastry posted:How'd you option it out? I'll punch you in the face if you ordered the sunroof option. :-) What's your beef with the sunroof? I ordered: -white -red leather -titanium colored 17's -security/convenience package (I wanted an alarm) and.... -sunroof Don't punch me! 
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Apr 28, 2012 22:56
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GramCracker posted:Don't punch me! well, e-punches hurt less. I'm just against things that add complexity/weight to a car and the huge fancy sunroof adds a hefty bit of glass and tracks to the highest point. The idea is to lower your center of gravity, not increase it! Don't worry though, it will be fine. I'm just an extremist. I approve of the color choices though. White wheels would have been better on day one, but you'd spend the rest of your life trying to keep them clean.
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Apr 28, 2012 23:15
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toaster_pastry posted:well, e-punches hurt less. I can totally understand where you're coming from, and I agree completely with your view. However, I don't do extreme tracking on of any of my cars (I haven't actually driven around a track) Since my first car that had a sunroof, I've made a decision to get one, if possible, on any future cars. It's nice to get the extra "openness" and fresh air. Plus you can hear more exhaust noise, and in the case of the Abarth, that's a really good thing  The wait to take delivery of my car is literally going to be the end of me. I have zero patience to begin with, and this is my first brand new car, so the level of excitement is going to be much more.
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Apr 29, 2012 00:01
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Yeah if you care about your lap times and are a really good driver doing mostly track work, you avoid the sunroof - but for the rest of us dailying the car the added weight of the sunroof probably doesn't have a noticeable impact.
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Apr 29, 2012 21:20
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If you want the sunroof, have the sunroof. It's a hot hatch with comfy seats and aircon and electric windows and stuff, not a 106 Rallye.
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Apr 29, 2012 21:54
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Yeah if you care about your lap times and are a really good driver doing mostly track work, you avoid the sunroof - but for the rest of us dailying the car the added weight of the sunroof probably doesn't have a noticeable impact.
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Apr 29, 2012 22:30
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hedge posted:The sunroof has one of those perforated mesh screens, so you have to really like the sun to get one. My S5 has a mesh screen as well to cover, and it's perfectly fine for blocking out the light when it's closed.
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Apr 29, 2012 22:30
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My buddy has settled on an Abarth for his new fun car so hopefully I can get some time in behind the wheel soon.
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Apr 29, 2012 22:33
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D C posted:My S5 has a mesh screen as well to cover, and it's perfectly fine for blocking out the light when it's closed. http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/assets/500%20Sunroof.jpg
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Apr 29, 2012 22:50
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hedge posted:The Fiat's is not so good at blocking light or heat. I must admit that I don't like sunroofs to begin with (I loathe the sun), but I've never actively avoided a car because of one. That mesh bullshit right there would be an instant no-go.
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Apr 29, 2012 23:58
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Just put some limo tint on it, problem solved.
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Apr 30, 2012 00:40
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Yeah some 5% ceramic will block a poo poo ton of the heat and light, but even going to 15% you aren't losing much heat rejection.
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Apr 30, 2012 01:24
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leica posted:Just put some limo tint on it, problem solved.
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Apr 30, 2012 02:21
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Oh hey, look at this: http://500madness.com/500madness/shop/index.php?route=product/product&keyword=sun&product_id=516 It's a quick solution, but not one if you want to have the view of the sunroof. It's best suited for the parking lot I'd assume.
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Apr 30, 2012 02:47
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It seems a little ridiculous that they just don't use a tighter weave cloth.
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Apr 30, 2012 03:13
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I did some photoshopping and here's what my Abarth should look like:
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May 3, 2012 00:06
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toaster_pastry posted:When I saw that, I was like Since we share the same first name, I pretended she was talking to me.
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May 3, 2012 03:48
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That one purdy looking car
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May 3, 2012 04:04
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GramCracker posted:I did some photoshopping and here's what my Abarth should look like: For what it's worth, your mirror caps will likely be white. Also, for those that requested shirts: I mailed a bunch out today. Enjoy!
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May 5, 2012 02:55
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toaster_pastry posted:For what it's worth, your mirror caps will likely be white. My dealer is going to order an extra set of caps and paint them black for me 
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May 5, 2012 15:25
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Okay, this is a bit of a read... so to hold you over, pics for clicks! (more like a teaser pic  ) My S4 sold a lot faster than I was expecting, leaving me out of a car much sooner than I'd be able to get into the Abarth I initially ordered. So, since I had no idea when my car would be put into production and it definitely wouldn't arrive before the middle of July or possibly the end of the summer, I needed to do some quick thinking. I scoured over cars.com and autotrader looking for any Abarth that had the options I wanted; red leather, security package, and sunroof (17" wheels were not 100% necessary). I found a white one in California that hadn't been sold and that fit the bill and I was going to have it shipped, but I then found two more. One was in Brooklyn and was white with all the options I wanted and white wheels, and the other was in Boston and didn't have a sunroof or 17" wheels. The possibility of no sunroof made me very hesitant, so I went to Fiat of Larchmont to sit in cars with sunroofs and ones without. When I got there they had two Grigio Abarths in the back, one with 17" wheels, a sunroof, security and black leather. As soon as I saw it, I loved the color. The gray showed off the body lines of the car so well. I was very against the gray because lots of cars are gray, but as soon as I saw these in person, I was sold on the color. So to say, a seed was planted. I got home later that same day and made the decision to go to the Brooklyn dealer and put a deposit on their Bianco car that was coming in before the end of the month (so now I have 2 cars on order). This goes down without a hitch, but the Grigio is still in the back of my head. I go 1 day with the second white car on order, and I changed my mind. Gray it is. I being re-scouring the internets for an unsold Grigio car with all the options I wanted, and with my luck I found one in Easton, PA about 2 hours from my home. SO I give the dealer a call and he says that they just got the car and it hasn't sold and there was LOTS of interest but they'd take my name and number and be in touch, but before they could hang up I inform them that I was actually calling to put a deposit on the car and pick it up in a few days. Que them forwarding my information as fast as lightning and having the Fiat salesman call me. We do a little talking and after a minute I have a deposit on the car (this is the 3rd car I have reserved at this point haha) and have the details of the car purchase covered and the car is confirmed as mine. Fast forward 24 hours and I have figured out a way to get down to the dealership. I arrive at about 7:30pm and the salesman tells me "The car is around this corner" and I round the corner to see this:  My face did this:  I'm so beside myself I ask the salesman if the red car has been spoken for and he says "Nope!" At this point my brain fried. I was the first person to be able to have their choice between two exactly optioned Abarths (except for exterior color). I'm an incredibly indecisive person, so this shot circuited my brain because the Red look really good. After a few hair pulling minutes of being indecisive, I picked the Grigio. It is incredibly subtle, yet very aggressive in all the right ways. So while I went to sign paperwork, the car was brought in the back and had the stripes removed. It is now 9:30pm and it's time to drive home. And now this is where I am today!Yes, finally some photos:   (what an rear end)  Interior:  Home at last:   Overall, this car provides more smiles per gallon than the S4, and I couldn't be happier. The exterior/interior color combo receives many compliments and I'll sum up the car with these 4 words: BEST. STOCK. EXHAUST. EVER. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
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May 11, 2012 04:53
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toaster_pastry posted:Holy poo poo. Thanks to Fiat USA for letting me drive the balls out of the new Abarth for nearly eight hours. Not once did anyone tell me to "go slower" or "take it easy". I drove the cars with the fury of a pissed off god and what was most impressive is how well they hold up to constant tire smoking clutch-dump launches, hard braking, and intense cornering. HAHA this is beautiful. I'm trying to pressure my gf into buying one. You think the dealership would let me rag on one? Also, what is this website you speak of?
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May 11, 2012 16:47
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I test drove an Abarth today.  It's a really great car all around. The interior upgrades all of the important parts over the regular 500. I still feel like the seat is a little high, but in actual driving it wasn't too bad. I found that the trick is to put the steering wheel lower than I normally would. The clutch is better than a regular 500, but I still wish the engagement point was more distinct. The gearbox is better than a regular 500 too, but not as good as the ones in either my Cooper S or Mazda 2. But the biggest improvement I'd wish for is in the steering. It turns in alright, but there's very little feedback. It's all too smooth. On the highway, you are definitely aware of the short wheelbase, but not in a painful way. I'll credit the Koni FSDs for that. Power is quite good, even when the car isn't in sport mode. I didn't notice too much of a difference in the sport mode. It doesn't quite give the same surge of power as my Cooper S (which is the heavier Clubman and older 172 hp engine). But it's close. I didn't notice any torque steer or bump steer either, which is a big plus. My Cooper S has mechanical LSD and sport suspension and is consequently all over the place. I think we've all agreed that the car sounds amazing and I think that will be a big selling point. In person, it's a little less harsh than the videos that I've seen. As a package, it's fantastic. I still feel like a Cooper S is more capable, but the Abarth can be just as fun. And it should be less tiring in day to day driving. So now I have a problem. I could replace my Mazda 2 with an Abarth. But then it would live at the train station and spend 95% of its time just getting me to and from work. That would kind of be a waste. I could replace my Cooper S, but I have a large emotional attachment to it. We've been through a lot in the last four years and I still love it a lot. When I got home from my test drive, I found a card in my mailbox from Fiat USA. It was offering a $50 Amazon gift card for test driving any Fiat. Guess I'll have to go drive the Abarth again. 
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May 13, 2012 05:41
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toaster_pastry posted:Also, for those that requested shirts: I mailed a bunch out today. Enjoy! Got it, and love it. Thanks toaster!
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May 13, 2012 06:36
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Great post, GramCracker! I am equally indecisive with cars, jobs, women, computers, and even which city I live in. Is there any penalty for canceling your orders on other cars? Did the dealer try to make you pay more than MSRP? There was a white Abarth here in the San Francisco area (Fiat of Fremont) and they were asking $9,000 over MSRP! I'm really on the fence about the Abarth. I'd greatly like to own one, but it doesn't justify the $7,000 price premium over the base model that I purchased already. Also, I'd get screwed if I tried trading mine in on an Abarth. I'm trying like hell to save money and be responsible these days which doesn't jive well with buying an lolsportscar. On another note, I took my car in for the first service (oil change/tire rotation) a few days ago. The cars don't require first service until 8,000 miles, but I had mine done 5k early because I didn't feel good about waiting that long for the first oil change on a new engine. Additionally, I drive like a criminal and the front tires were showing wear from how hard I go 'round offramps. Oh, and has anyone seen https://www.500rack.com yet? I ordered one tonight! Roughly $400 shipped and it's powder coated in the color of your choice. I went with "ultra chrome" and natural color wood because I think that will look period correct as far as vintage-style roof racks go. Should look good with a car that's the same color as a 1960s couch, no? 
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May 20, 2012 04:20
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toaster_pastry posted:On another note, I took my car in for the first service (oil change/tire rotation) a few days ago. The cars don't require first service until 8,000 miles, but I had mine done 5k early because I didn't feel good about waiting that long for the first oil change on a new engine. Additionally, I drive like a criminal and the front tires were showing wear from how hard I go 'round offramps. Oil change interval on Euro 500s is 12,000 miles or once a year. You have way too little faith in the stoutness of Fiat engines and the quality of modern synthetic oils.
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May 20, 2012 08:37
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KozmoNaut posted:Oil change interval on Euro 500s is 12,000 miles or once a year. grover fucked around with this message at 10:40 on May 20, 2012 |
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May 20, 2012 10:37
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grover posted:Yeah, a lot of european cars are designed for 15,000 mile oil changes now. 19.000 in my diesel Panda, but I do it once a year anyway, since it fits reasonably well.
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May 20, 2012 11:00
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toaster_pastry posted:Oh, and has anyone seen https://www.500rack.com yet? I ordered one tonight! Roughly $400 shipped and it's powder coated in the color of your choice. I went with "ultra chrome" and natural color wood because I think that will look period correct as far as vintage-style roof racks go. Should look good with a car that's the same color as a 1960s couch, no? The roof rack looks fantastic. All the photos show the wood slats as being curved. Is that true? Seems like that would make it slightly less practical for actually carrying something up there, but what do I know. Please report back once you have the rack - now I'm interested in getting one of these!
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May 20, 2012 16:22
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toaster_pastry posted:Great post, GramCracker! I am equally indecisive with cars, jobs, women, computers, and even which city I live in. Is there any penalty for canceling your orders on other cars? Did the dealer try to make you pay more than MSRP? There was a white Abarth here in the San Francisco area (Fiat of Fremont) and they were asking $9,000 over MSRP! Thanks! I literally couldn't choose, but I think I made a good decision. There were no penalties for cancelling my orders, everyone refunded me my money without any issues, thankfully. My car was $2k about MSRP, but I was okay with that. I paid a little extra to get a car sooner rather than be out of a car for a while. I've heard of the price inflation in SoCal, it's UTTERLY RIDICULOUS! But I'm really not surprised people there are paying it. I don't like the idea of waiting til 8,000 miles to do the first oil change on a brand new turbo motor, so I'm going to change my oil and filter next weekend or so (I'm at about 620 miles now in a week of ownership!). It'll be interesting to do this oil change since the filter is basically under the turbo...  Other than that, this car is so much loving fun to have!
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May 20, 2012 17:34
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Why are you changing the oil that soon? Also, if there is a break in oil they are shipping the car with you might not want to change it that soon.
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May 20, 2012 17:39
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Yeah, there's no reason not to run the factory fill until the first service interval.
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May 20, 2012 17:56
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Phone posted:Yeah, there's no reason not to run the factory fill until the first service interval. Bovril Delight posted:Why are you changing the oil that soon? Also, if there is a break in oil they are shipping the car with you might not want to change it that soon. Because there are little bits of loose metal floating around in it? http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm I don't know, I just am not bothered by spending $40 and changing the oil and (personally) having peace of mind. But that's just me.
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May 20, 2012 18:44
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That is what filters are for. Also modern engines are almost always broken in at the factory.
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May 20, 2012 18:53
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GramCracker posted:Because there are little bits of loose metal floating around in it? http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm That page reads like the biggest snake oil marketing pitch ever. "The results are always the same... a dramatic increase in power at all RPMs." Yeah, ok.
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May 20, 2012 19:09
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GramCracker posted:Because there are little bits of loose metal floating around in it? http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm grover fucked around with this message at 20:42 on May 20, 2012 |
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May 20, 2012 20:39
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GramCracker posted:Because there are little bits of loose metal floating around in it? http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm There are basically two schools of thought about engine break in. The Mototune guy's and everyone else's. And Mototune guy sounds like a snake oil salesman. Like previously mentioned, engines are more or less broken-in from the factory these days. All you need to do is to not stay at the same revs for extended periods and refrain from beating the poo poo out of it for the first couple of thousand miles, and always let it reach operating temperature before you beat on it after that. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 21:16 on May 20, 2012 |
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May 20, 2012 21:13
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Okay okay, so as legit as everyone seems to praise that site, it's not. Got it.grover posted:Send a sample off to Blackstone Labs for $25. Not only will they give you excellent feedback on proper oil change intervals for your car and your driving style, but it will alert you to a number of engine issues as well. Hell, you could probably just send them an email asking for their opinion of break-in oil on Fiat 500s and they'll give you straight-up knowledge from other Fiats. I actually used to send them samples from my S4 all the time, they are a great company and I definitely plan to send the Abarth samples to them and see what comes back.
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May 20, 2012 21:48
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