*** SoCal Thurs, July 31 & Sun, Aug 3! SAVE THE DATES! ***

[ventura ace]

The Fiat 500 is coming here to Southern California! Please see the following post from the X-Web site by Rudy Mortero:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/12159/me ... +%2A%2A%2A

Jim Magill's new Fiat 500 from Ireland will be at Car Night on Thursday, July 31 at Merkel Weis's house.
Address: 10440 Penrose Street, La Tuna Canyon, CA.
For more info call me at 805-338-1767, or Merkel at 818-768-3552

Then, on August 3, Rudy is putting something together for you to get a better look at inspecting the car on a personal basis (more info later).

Stay posted for more info!

Alvon

[So Cal Mark]

here is info on Aug 3rd;
I hope this is enough notice for everyone.

As many of you are aware, the new FIAT 500 has been making it's way around the country and it is now in Las Vegas. On Saturday, Jim and Allen will start heading towards Dana Point where I will host them for the evening and take them to LAX on Sunday for their return flight home.

Over the next week, the 500 will be featured by Alvon Elrod in another car show on July 31st afterwhich it will return to Dana Point where I will bring it to Cars & Coffee in Irvine on August 2nd.

August 3rd, I would like to assemble the SoCal crew for a gathering, not only for the usual hodge-podge, but to take your turn at inspecting the car as well. Sorry, this is the only open date for something like this as the car needs to begin it's trek back East to Brett where there are more plans for more events prior to it's return to Europe and I need to leave some flexibility for alternate plans/photo shoots/events/etc....and possibly a trip to the Concorso Italiano.

For now, please save 8/3 and I will post back with more details on that day within the next 23.78 hrs.

http://www.littlefiatbigadventure.com

[pope]

Hey Mark, Is that 500 making it to Woodward Dream Cruise August 16th? That way more people can see it in one day then all of its days combined, and probably get on TV and among car lovers and Detroit is on the way to the east coast. Its only 1.5 million of my close personal friends.

Just a thought!

[So Cal Mark]

Pope, I don't have anything to do with the 500 arrangements. I'm just trying to help promote the so cal sessions.

[pope]

I totally understood that Mark. But you are going to be there on the 31st and/or 3rd with the 500 and with someone incharge of it and thought you could drop a hint. Unless its being trailored back to the East Coast in a straight line.
Thanks

[So Cal Mark]

I'll twist as many arms as I can but would one of them eyetalian furrin cars be accepted on Woodward?

[pope]

I have fiberglass panels we can attack to make it look like a 70's Pinto.

[ventura ace]

Some of you have asked how the car handles at 75 - 80 highway speeds or other types of driving, and have offered suggestions for various display venues for the 500 in its journey back accross the USA and on to Ireland. Here are a few comments:

We caravanned with Jim and Alan (in our '70 124 spider and Jim's '08 500) from Pennsylvania to Oregon, and on to
California, and did some switching around of drivers along the way, so I did
get a chance to drive the 500 for several hundred miles. It is a super-
comfortable car at all speeds (I only took it up to about 85, but Jim had it up
to 110 mph on one desolate stretch of freeway!). We typically drove 75 - 80
mph on the freeways, and were not the least bothered by any of the surrounding
traffic. Strangely enough, the car seems large. There is plenty of room
inside for both front seat and back seat passengers. When the 500 was behind
me or in front of me (in my 124 spider), it was as if being followed or lead by
a minivan. I could not see around, over, or through it (Dark tinted windows)
very easily as compared to a typical sedan. It has a big signature for such a small car.

The car handles all speeds quite comfortably. You will notice a lack of power
when climbing a grade, or accelerating (1.2 liter engine), but this can be
rectified by dropping down into 4th or 3rd gear, and then it's not even an
issue. The car gets fantastic gas mileage! Mid 40's to 50's mpg, depending on
the type of driving we were doing. Just think how much the mileage could be if
one drove the car at 60 mph! I was getting about 24 - 27 mpg in my 1.8L spider
at 80 mph speeds, and would typically put in 9 - 10 gallons at a refueling
stop. I'd ask Jim how much gas he pumped, and he'd say "Oh, I almost got 5
gallons in there!" Made me sick!

Though I did not drive the car on curvy mountain roads, I will tell you that it
handles superbly, probably mostly due to its wide stance. We went through lots
of mountain roads, and I was flinging the spider around with all the gusto that
Maureen could stand, and there was Jim with the 500 right on my tail the whole
way!

The 500 will definitely be on my list if it ever comes to the USA. It has all the comforts of any typical modern car, and then some. It has safety and pollution control standards that exceed our requirements here in the USA.

The scheduled route once the car starts heading east?


Sorry, I'm not up to date on the plans. We parted company with Jim and Alan (and the 500) in the Sacremento area on Monday, at which point they headed to the Bay Area for a few events, then on to Vegas for some R&R vacation. We drove straight home on Monday, then back to work Tues - Thurs, before heading out to SE Arizona for a wedding
this weekend. Rudy Mortero is helping Jim and Alan with their stay in Los Angeles, when they arrive here on
Saturday night, and getting them to the airport on Sunday for their flight back
to Ireland. I plan to pick up the car from Rudy on our drive back to
California from Arizona, and take it to car night at Merkel's on July 31. After that, the
plans were for Rudy to drive the car back east to Tennessee some time after the So Cal Fiat 500 gathering on Aug 3, and hand off to Brett Melancon for driving on up to NY to put on the boat to Ireland. Some of
these plans are being reconfigured, to accomodate maximum exposure at various
venues, that's all I know at this point.

Alvon