Darwin at work......

[Daniel]

http://www.fiatforum.com/500/227764-my-500-drove-away-me.html

How can someone be so flipping stupid and then blame it on the car for not stalling :rolleyes:

[Daniel]

I don't quite know whats more disturbing. The fact that this fool started a car in first gear whilst not being within the vehicle, or the fact that he spent his hard earned cash on a Fiat 500.. :eek:
Errrr I have a Fiat 500 :p

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Errrr I have a Fiat 500 :p

Why would anyone buy a Fiat? :p

[GridGirl]

If nothing else this signiture on that forum gave me a good laugh.


Originally Posted by Simmo1
Any man thinking that buying a 500 will get them sex off ladies is going to be sadly dissapointed! Men maybe, but not ladies.

To think that I thought it was just my other half and his workmates that enjoy chasing their once parked cars (with the handbrakes fully on) around their work icey car park. I'm glad to see they are not the only ones chasing cars.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Sad...really sad.....if the car ran the guy/girl over, a Darwin winner for sure...

[Daniel]

If nothing else this signiture on that forum gave me a good laugh.


Originally Posted by Simmo1
Any man thinking that buying a 500 will get them sex off ladies is going to be sadly dissapointed! Men maybe, but not ladies.

That's my signature ;)

[Daniel]

Why would anyone buy a Fiat? :p

Rather :p


Apologies there Daniel, I would not have been so insensitive had I realised your position. I've taken the liberty of looking for the relevent people you may be able to speak to. Its sure a start and I hope one day you can recover your senses and appreciate the finer tastes in life... :p ;)

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Mental-health-specialist-services/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Meh. That 500 is probably the best car I've owned besides the Peugeot 504 I had back in Australia

http://members.iinet.net.au/~fenix1983/Files/500/

If you can show me a better car in that price range and in the same class I'll go and buy it ;)

[Mark in Oshawa]

I might consider a 500 when they start selling them in North America by the end of the year. Then again, maybe not...lol

[Daniel]

Heh I don't see you as a 500 guy Mark :p

[BeansBeansBeans]

I don't know. They say that one in ten men like a Fiat 500.

[Rollo]

If you can show me a better car in that price range and in the same class I'll go and buy it ;)

If you spec a Fiat 500, with a 1.4L engine, black leather seats and a heated demister windscreen, fiat.co.uk prices the car at £11340.
If you put precisely the same options on a an Alfa Romeo MiTo it works out to be £11330.

I'm looking seriously at a MiTo to replace my Ka, and I must admit that the Quadrifoglio turbo version is looking a little tasty... elsewhile I might look at a GTV parked down the street for sale.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Heh I don't see you as a 500 guy Mark :p

Put enough power in there and make it fun to drive and I am a Fiat 500 guy. I like cars that are different and the 500 is radically different from what we have over here now. The Mini Cooper is the only car in that sort of class over here. There are lost of small cars, but a the 500 if sold here would be unique in a sense and would attract people in a demographic who may not like it in Europe.

[schmenke]

Put enough power in there and make it fun to drive and I am a Fiat 500 guy. I like cars that are different and the 500 is radically different from what we have over here now. The Mini Cooper is the only car in that sort of class over here. There are lost of small cars, but a the 500 if sold here would be unique in a sense and would attract people in a demographic who may not like it in Europe.

If Fiat offered a pick-up truck it might sell in my neck of the woods... ;) :p :

[GridGirl]

A decent spec 500 isn't that cheap. :s I'd have to at least spend money on a decent interior.

I'm seriously putting some thought into buying a Mito too. Although the one I costed up in the broshure was considerably more than £11k. :s :p I can't quite bring myself to spend that much money on a new car right now though.

[Mark in Oshawa]

If Fiat offered a pick-up truck it might sell in my neck of the woods... ;) :p :

Imagine a 500 with a tiny little bed? Oh my..THAT wouldn't work in Alberta....you need a trailer hitch to hang the chromed bull's testicles off of!

[Easy Drifter]

There were original Mini pick ups and even one fitted out as a tow truck.
Oh, and the lap record at Mosport in a Smart Car is 3 min 40 odd seconds. :D
ALMS times about 1.05. :eek:

[gloomyDAY]

I didn't know Wade drove a 500! :eek:

[Mark in Oshawa]

There were original Mini pick ups and even one fitted out as a tow truck.
Oh, and the lap record at Mosport in a Smart Car is 3 min 40 odd seconds. :D
ALMS times about 1.05. :eek:

I remember seeing a modified Mini Moke do a lap around Mosport at about 1:34....driver told me he was flat almost all the way to Moss Corner....shifted gears maybe 6 times a lap!!!

[Daniel]

Put enough power in there and make it fun to drive and I am a Fiat 500 guy. I like cars that are different and the 500 is radically different from what we have over here now. The Mini Cooper is the only car in that sort of class over here. There are lost of small cars, but a the 500 if sold here would be unique in a sense and would attract people in a demographic who may not like it in Europe.

Perhaps you'd be more of an Abarth man then? :)

http://jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2008/03/Fiat-500-Abarth-Geneva.jpg

[Daniel]

If Fiat offered a pick-up truck it might sell in my neck of the woods... ;) :p :

Well they might rebadge some Chrysler stuff :p

[Daniel]

A decent spec 500 isn't that cheap. :s I'd have to at least spend money on a decent interior.

I'm seriously putting some thought into buying a Mito too. Although the one I costed up in the broshure was considerably more than £11k. :s :p I can't quite bring myself to spend that much money on a new car right now though.

If you were asking me my pick would be

135 multiair or 170 if you feel the need
Binacospino white
Red leather black dash
Veloce spec (nice wheels + Blue&Me + rear spoiler + mock rear diffuser)
Heated front seats
Light surrounds in either chrome or satin effect.

I would tell you how much it costs but the configurator doesn't work :p

I'm thinking at least 17-18k though.

TBH GG I'd say to you to get a 500 Abarth unless you're planning on having a family or something soon.

[MrJan]

Am I the only one who understands where the guy is coming from? Hasn't everyone accidentally tried to start the car while it's in gear? It's not like he wasn't accepting that he was a muppet for doing it, just asking why it didn't just choke and die like cars usually do when you start them in gear.

[Daniel]

If you spec a Fiat 500, with a 1.4L engine, black leather seats and a heated demister windscreen, fiat.co.uk prices the car at £11340.
If you put precisely the same options on a an Alfa Romeo MiTo it works out to be £11330.

I'm looking seriously at a MiTo to replace my Ka, and I must admit that the Quadrifoglio turbo version is looking a little tasty... elsewhile I might look at a GTV parked down the street for sale.

The 1.4 is the bottom of the range engine in the Mito and is only slightly quicker than a 1.2 500. I would wager that the 1.2 is the better engine for a city car as the 1.2 delivers its torque lower down and you have to rev the 1.4 to get any power. Personally I wouldn't get one of the N/A engines in the Mito, I'd get either the turbo 135 or the 170 Cloverleaf and I wouldn't be getting the Turismo which is the bottom of the range as you'll want some decent looking wheels and you'll also want air con and Blue&Me.

We paid £8720 (10720 before scrappage) for our 500 which has nicer wheels, is the lounge spec which is top of the range along with the sport spec and also has a leather interior as well. Much better deal than the MiTo IMHO.

[Daniel]

Am I the only one who understands where the guy is coming from? Hasn't everyone accidentally tried to start the car while it's in gear? It's not like he wasn't accepting that he was a muppet for doing it, just asking why it didn't just choke and die like cars usually do when you start them in gear.
The force of the half on handbrake wasn't enough to stop the engine, mystery solved. Have you never driven with your handbrake partly on Jan Yeo??

[Mark]

Am I the only one who understands where the guy is coming from? Hasn't everyone accidentally tried to start the car while it's in gear? It's not like he wasn't accepting that he was a muppet for doing it, just asking why it didn't just choke and die like cars usually do when you start them in gear.

I've done it once, but you only do it once. It was a Ford Focus hire car and started it and it lurched forward, much to the dismay of pino who was in the passenger seat :p .

Of course before I start the engine now I always do the 'neutral waggle' to make sure I'm not in gear. Although I do quite often run the engine when I'm not in the car (which is illegal, I know), on icy mornings when I'm leaving for work, just to give the front and rear screens time to defrost themselves while I'm putting all my stuff into the car.

[Mark]

The 500 is certainly a nice looking car, my girlfriend would love one. At around 11k new that does seem alot for such a small car. I take it Daniel you don't have children yet? I don't either but in the next couple of years that'll be the case and anything smaller than a Golf will not be an option for me.


I spent most of my childhood being ferried around in a car about the same size as a 500 (A and E reg Fiestas) never did me any harm :p

[MrJan]

The force of the half on handbrake wasn't enough to stop the engine, mystery solved. Have you never driven with your handbrake partly on Jan Yeo??

I've pulled away with it on and it iced up when we had the snow down this way. Handbrake on my car is rubbish though.


I've done it once, but you only do it once. It was a Ford Focus hire car and started it and it lurched forward, much to the dismay of pino who was in the passenger seat :p .

Of course before I start the engine now I always do the 'neutral waggle' to make sure I'm not in gear. Although I do quite often run the engine when I'm not in the car (which is illegal, I know), on icy mornings when I'm leaving for work, just to give the front and rear screens time to defrost themselves while I'm putting all my stuff into the car.

I've started the car several times with it in gear. largely because of the cable freezing problem (waiting until the weather is a bit nicer so I can change the cables). Have been leaving the car chocked and in gear on the driveway and the h'brake off. When I go out to start the car to defrost it I quite often just open the door, reach in and turn the key and then close and lock the car with another key while I go back inside. Doing that means I have quite often forgotten that it's in gear, reached in and lurched the thing forward.

Besides that I nearly always leave the car in neutral so the only times I've made the same mistake is when my old man has moved the car, now I just depress the clutch regardless.

[Daniel]

The 500 is certainly a nice looking car, my girlfriend would love one. At around 11k new that does seem alot for such a small car. I take it Daniel you don't have children yet? I don't either but in the next couple of years that'll be the case and anything smaller than a Golf will not be an option for me.

I don't tend to buy cars brand new as its a complete waste of money IMO. Usually I wait six months and pick up a car with 4 or 5 thousand miles on the clock and 3 grand cheaper than its original price. The thought of losing 2 grand in an afternoon leaves me cold to be honest. I have a personalised plate so driving round with the latest plate is not an advantage as no one would know if it was brand new or not. With my philosophy 11k can get you alot more for your money. Maybe if I saw a year old 500 for around 6 grand, it would be alot more appealing.. :)

Nope no children.

IMHO the 500 is overpriced but @ the price we paid (£8720 with some options on top of a well specced model) it made financial sense and even now I suspect we could sell it now 7 months later and either get more money for it than we paid or only make a very small loss. Residuals on 500's are pretty solid.

Anyway I managed to get my parents in the back as well as me and Caroline and it managed fine. You'll get a baby in the back easily along with enough stuff in the boot for a day out :)

[Daniel]

Does your fiance take 2 suit cases away with you when you go away for 2 nights? That and a pushchair combined with a little 'un and my golf clubs is the recipe for a very uncomfortable journey. (looking into the future of course). :p
Well we've got the 500 and a Subaru Legacy which you could probably almost get 2 suitcases and a set of golfclubs in.

[Mark]

Does your fiance take 2 suit cases away with you when you go away for 2 nights?

No. But I do :D

[Brown, Jon Brow]

So I see this has turned into another one of Daniels 'I have a Fiat 500 and I'm in love with it' thread. :p

[Daniel]

So I see this has turned into another one of Daniels 'I have a Fiat 500 and I'm in love with it' thread. :p
Not my fault Corsa boy :p

[MrJan]

So I see this has turned into another one of Daniels 'I have a Fiat 500 and I'm in love with it' thread. :p

Well the only other threads we seem to do are I have a question about the WRC or Why does Langdale Forest have so many questions about the WRC.

Although as I don't look at the WRC section much I find the latter thread much more pointless :p : :D

[Daniel]

Well the only other threads we seem to do are I have a question about the WRC or Why does Langdale Forest have so many questions about the WRC.

Although as I don't look at the WRC section much I find the latter thread much more pointless :p : :D
and why the hell does Langdale Forest bring so many dead threads back to life?

[Brown, Jon Brow]

and why the hell does Langdale Forest bring so many dead threads back to life?

Just be grateful the forum archive isn't still working!

[GridGirl]

If you were asking me my pick would be

135 multiair or 170 if you feel the need
Binacospino white
Red leather black dash
Veloce spec (nice wheels + Blue&Me + rear spoiler + mock rear diffuser)
Heated front seats
Light surrounds in either chrome or satin effect.

I would tell you how much it costs but the configurator doesn't work :p

I'm thinking at least 17-18k though.

TBH GG I'd say to you to get a 500 Abarth unless you're planning on having a family or something soon.

My speced up Mito just using their broshure was somewhere in the region your quoting. When I think that 3 and a half years ago I paid less than £12k for a brand new Fiesta ST then its quite a price differential for a car not that much different in size. I might look on autotrader but I still dont think I will be rushing out to replace the ST just yet.

I've always been put off Fiat Abarth's after seeings them being crashed so many times at the Race of Champions the other year plus I think they are way over priced. :p

[Daniel]

My speced up Mito just using their broshure was somewhere in the region your quoting. When I think that 3 and a half years ago I paid less than £12k for a brand new Fiesta ST then its quite a price differential for a car not that much different in size. I might look on autotrader but I still dont think I will be rushing out to replace the ST just yet.

I've always been put off Fiat Abarth's after seeings them being crashed so many times at the Race of Champions the other year plus I think they are way over priced. :p
Yeah it's funny, we're still in recession (Or did it pop out of recession last quarter?) and car prices are high. The RRP of the car we got was £10720 and to get the same spec car now it's 11730 and only 9 months after we placed our order :eek: Tis mental, but I guess Fiat are just taking advantage of having a product that's in demand.

Once scrappage is gone and the OMFGLOOKATMEI'MATARDANDI'VEGOTA10REGCAR!1111111 brigade are satisfied then car prices are in for a drop IMHO.

If you think a 500 Abarth is overpriced then perhaps consider an Abarth Punto Evo
http://www.italiaspeed.com/2010/motor_shows/geneva/preview/abarth/abarth_punto_evo/2402.html
http://www.italiaspeed.com/2010/motor_shows/geneva/preview/abarth/abarth_punto_evo/gallery/gallery.html
Not as nice looking at the Abarth Grande Punto but still more reasonably priced for what you get than an Abarth 500 and probably still cheaper than a Mito which shares the same platform anyway.

Abarth 500c *throws up*
http://www.italiaspeed.com/2010/motor_shows/geneva/preview/abarth/abarth_500c/gallery/gallery.html

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I don't like what they've done with the Punto Evo

[Daniel]

I don't like what they've done with the Punto Evo
Neither do I Jon, Grande Punto is a much much cleaner design.

[schmenke]

... Although I do quite often run the engine when I'm not in the car (which is illegal, I know), on icy mornings ...

No such thing as remote-starters in the U.K. then? :mark:

[schmenke]

Does your fiance take 2 suit cases away with you when you go away for 2 nights? That and a pushchair combined with a little 'un and my golf clubs is the recipe for a very uncomfortable journey. (looking into the future of course). :p

I hate to break it to you henner but your crystal ball is a tad foggy. You will never have an occurrence where both a pushchair and a set of golf clubs are stowed together in your boot. It’s inevitably either one or the other, and more often the former :D :(

[Daniel]

No such thing as remote-starters in the U.K. then? :mark:
Nope. Here you can just get away with deicing and then jumping in the car and driving away. Idling your car to warm it up just causes excessive wear on your car.

[schmenke]

Nope. Here you can just get away with deicing and then jumping in the car and driving away. Idling your car to warm it up just causes excessive wear on your car.

Driving away when the engine and transmission flluids are at -30 deg. doesn't do much good either... :s
Heck, in my little POS, it's darn near impossible :p :

[Mark in Oshawa]

Nope. Here you can just get away with deicing and then jumping in the car and driving away. Idling your car to warm it up just causes excessive wear on your car.

Try that at -20 or better Fiat boy!! lol..

Remote starters help soften the blow of climbing in a car so cold it freezes you when hit the cold seats.

I would take an Abarth, but I have a sneaking suspicion they will over price the 500 when it hits the roads. Then again, they may sell everyone and god knows Chrysler needs the dough. AS for rebadging the pickups FIAT, no...that aint gonna happen. Dodge Trucks have a great rep, why would the Italians mess with that. Where Chrysler was lost was small cars....and that is why the FIAT marriage has merit...

[Mark in Oshawa]

Schmenke...remember, they paniced in Daniel's neck of the woods when the snow stuck around for a week or two....imagine them having an Edmonton or Winnipeg class cold snap!?

[Daniel]

Driving away when the engine and transmission flluids are at -30 deg. doesn't do much good either... :s
Heck, in my little POS, it's darn near impossible :p :
I agree. But don't you guys have block heaters like your hockey arch rivals the Finns?

[Daniel]

Try that at -20 or better Fiat boy!! lol..

Remote starters help soften the blow of climbing in a car so cold it freezes you when hit the cold seats.

I would take an Abarth, but I have a sneaking suspicion they will over price the 500 when it hits the roads. Then again, they may sell everyone and god knows Chrysler needs the dough. AS for rebadging the pickups FIAT, no...that aint gonna happen. Dodge Trucks have a great rep, why would the Italians mess with that. Where Chrysler was lost was small cars....and that is why the FIAT marriage has merit...

Yeah it's bad when the seats are cold, especially leather eh? :eek:

I can understand it in Canada or Scandinavia but I would have thought you'd have block heaters?

[Daniel]

Schmenke...remember, they paniced in Daniel's neck of the woods when the snow stuck around for a week or two....imagine them having an Edmonton or Winnipeg class cold snap!?

Yes the snowpocalypse was funny :) As someone coming from Australia I thought it a bit silly that people didn't think a bit more in terms of practical ways of coping with weather that other countries just take in their stride. I've got my winter tyres which will probably come off in a few weeks and although we've not had any significant snowfall which has stuck for a long time, I've been fine even though my car is only 2wd. The British are a funny bunch of people though..... I saw another forum where someone asked the question "Should winter tyres be compulsory in the UK" and people were bleating on about the EU and freedom of choice and so on and so forth and totally missing the point of the thread and completely ignoring the fact that weather that other countries take as normal almost brough Britain to a halt.

[MrJan]

No such thing as remote-starters in the U.K. then? :mark:

Some people have them, usually on heavily modified turbo cars as they warm it up and then also have it to keep going when they leave the car. Something to do with letting the turbo wind down gently.

[schmenke]

Some people have them, usually on heavily modified turbo cars as they warm it up and then also have it to keep going when they leave the car. Something to do with letting the turbo wind down gently.

I would have thought it had to do with the tight tollerances of the turbine against the housing. In cold weather, the housing metal may contract, causing too much friction when the turbine spools up, which could be catastophic.


Yes, we have block heaters, however (at least in my car), it does bugger-all to warm up the transmission fluid, or your leather seats :p : . Still, remote starters are popular here because you can simply start up your vehicle from the comfort of your home whilst in your jammys eating your breakfast wheaties.

[Daniel]

Some people have them, usually on heavily modified turbo cars as they warm it up and then also have it to keep going when they leave the car. Something to do with letting the turbo wind down gently.

Basically you need warm oil in a turbo to lubricate it properly. When cooling down if the turbo is still spinning and you shut the engine down then there is no oil going through the turbo and the oil gets cooked and cakes everything up. Not nice.

[Daniel]

Yes, we have block heaters, however (at least in my car), it does bugger-all to warm up the transmission fluid, or your leather seats :p : . Still, remote starters are popular here because you can simply start up your vehicle from the comfort of your home whilst in your jammys eating your breakfast wheaties.

But of course neither block heaters not warming up the engine by idling do much to warm up tyres, dampers, wheel bearings etc etc :)

[schmenke]

... I've got my winter tyres which will probably come off in a few weeks ...

I'll think of removing my winter tyres in May :mark: :bigcry:

[MrJan]

Basically you need warm oil in a turbo to lubricate it properly. When cooling down if the turbo is still spinning and you shut the engine down then there is no oil going through the turbo and the oil gets cooked and cakes everything up. Not nice.

That'd be it, couldn't really be arsed to explain.

[schmenke]

But of course neither block heaters not warming up the engine by idling do much to warm up tyres, dampers, wheel bearings etc etc :)

True :mark:

[Daniel]

I'll think of removing my winter tyres in May :mark: :bigcry:
Well maybe I'm just being optimistic Schmenke :p It's quite a warm day today 10 degrees c but it's meant to be getting colder again soon.

[V12]

Don't you need to be killed (or survive but be rendered infertile) to be eligible for a Darwin?

[Captain VXR]

Don't you need to be killed (or survive but be rendered infertile) to be eligible for a Darwin?

Think so but you can get an honourable mention

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Nope. Here you can just get away with deicing and then jumping in the car and driving away. Idling your car to warm it up just causes excessive wear on your car.

I don't see how it causes excessive engine wear. Surely reving your car through driving off when it is still cold will cause more wear.

The other morning I was too cold to bother getting out of my car to scrape the ice off, I just sat inside and let the heater do the work. It was nice not having to drive with numb hands.

[Daniel]

I don't see how it causes excessive engine wear. Surely reving your car through driving off when it is still cold will cause more wear.

The other morning I was too cold to bother getting out of my car to scrape the ice off, I just sat inside and let the heater do the work. It was nice not having to drive with numb hands.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/09/27/2156431.htm

Read up on a thing called bore wash Jon, basically when your car is cold and you idle it for a long time the atomised petrol condenses on the cylinder walls and washes the oil from the piston rings.

[Mark]

I don't see how it causes excessive engine wear. Surely reving your car through driving off when it is still cold will cause more wear.


Most wear occurs when the engine is cold. Modern engines will only warm up properly when they are driven. So basically by driving off as soon as possible, you are getting your engine up to operating temperature and allowing the oil to work much sooner. As long as you don't do any racing starts while the engine is cold, but for most of us we have to drive slowly for the first few minutes anyway to get of the the estate etc.

[BeansBeansBeans]

Don't you need to be killed (or survive but be rendered infertile) to be eligible for a Darwin?

A man driving a Fiat 500 probably isn't interested in fertilising anyone.

[Daniel]

A man driving a Fiat 500 probably isn't interested in fertilising anyone.
:o