500C

[Gavin]

Fiat of Austin face-booked that they have 15 convertibles on truck and headed to Texas....

After the slow start with the Primas, well it seems Fiat has the C on the fast track.

Smart as summer is coming....I really thought the C wouldn't be here for a couple or even few more months....

Maybe the Abarth will be on time too? And the electric ( though I have less faith in the electric after recent comments about costs)

Gavin

[sjmst]

Looks great. OK, who else wants one? Why?

[ciddyguy]

Gavin wrote

Fiat of Austin face-booked that they have 15 convertibles on truck and headed to Texas....

After the slow start with the Primas, well it seems Fiat has the C on the fast track.

Smart as summer is coming....I really thought the C wouldn't be here for a couple or even few more months....

Maybe the Abarth will be on time too? And the electric ( though I have less faith in the electric after recent comments about costs)

Gavin

Are you certain of that? Fiat still has to debut the car at the NY auto show next week and it then goes on sale shortly after that. Even if they get the "C"'s in before the debut, they may not be able to sell them until after the car's debut first.

[kzod]

I already placed a deposit  It's an italian convertible available in the low $20's,  What's not to love?  I figured the hardtop is fun, but hardly practical, so why not go whole hog and reduce practicality even more and go wild on the fun quotient.

[ciddyguy]

kzod wrote

I already placed a deposit  It's an italian convertible available in the low $20's,  What's not to love?  I figured the hardtop is fun, but hardly practical, so why not go whole hog and reduce practicality even more and go wild on the fun quotient.

Nice but in reality, the regular 500 is more practical than you may realize despite its size. I had an early 80's Honda civic once with similar dimensions and it was hella practical and yes, it was the 3 door hatchback as is the 500 and while the Civic may have had a bit more space with the seat up for stuff, the 500 is imminently bigger in the back than in the MINI, despite the MINI being about 6 inches longer.

[Gavin]

Well as we know....on truck and headed to studios is not an overly fast turn of events...on truck means 14-21 days...

:)

Still on sale sooner than I thought...I assumed June at best.

Gavin

[ciddyguy]

Gavin wrote

Well as we know....on truck and headed to studios is not an overly fast turn of events...on truck means 14-21 days...

:)

Still on sale sooner than I thought...I assumed June at best.

Gavin

True and I was too lazy to dig up the link to read the actual FB post so hence my post as stated. :-)

That said, still a bit sooner than we all had expected but not that much sooner though I don't think.

[kzod]

True hatchbacks are the most efficient form factor, but you're not losing much with the convertible.  Only drawback is the lose of the full hatchback opening for large items (of course you could open the roof and drop them in!).  Beyond that, it's just little differences like a small increase in road noise.

[sjmst]

Wow, that's great. Hmmmm...I really want one..

Chris, two 500c threads, can you merge?

[ciddyguy]

kzod wrote

True hatchbacks are the most efficient form factor, but you're not losing much with the convertible.  Only drawback is the lose of the full hatchback opening for large items (of course you could open the roof and drop them in!).  Beyond that, it's just little differences like a small increase in road noise.

Actually, I think you DO loose much with the 'vert as I think the cargo area has a fixed shelf but could be wrong on that due to how the top folds down when fully down and I think the same is done for both the MINI and the New Beetle as well.

However, I think the seats DO still fold down though.

Otherwise, tall things can be placed in the back seat area and stick up out of the open roof so in that regard, it'd be more practical.

[Fiat #183]

"Fiat of Austin face-booked that they have 15 convertibles on truck and headed to Texas."

In Italian that means they have no idea where they are.  At least that is what it meant with the PE's

[Mike S]

500C was on the Today show this morning.

[AgentP]

I would be very interested in buying the "C" if it weren't for fears that the top will break.  Has Fiat said what the price will be for the "C" - (I am looking this site and haven't found anything yet) I wonder what's the lifespan can expect on that top, and what the replacement cost for a top like that?  

[SeaDawg]

AgentP wrote

I would be very interested in buying the "C" if it weren't for fears that the top will break.

If you ordered your 500 with a sunroof, I wouldn't necessarily feel any more secure.  It's made of GLASS and it uses an ELECTRIC MOTOR to operate.  Just sayin'...

[ciddyguy]

SeaDawg wrote

AgentP wrote

I would be very interested in buying the "C" if it weren't for fears that the top will break.

If you ordered your 500 with a sunroof, I wouldn't necessarily feel any more secure.  It's made of GLASS and it uses an ELECTRIC MOTOR to operate.  Just sayin'...

Having had a sunroof before (glass and electric in an 88 Honda Accord) it was reliable and the worst thing was the drain holes plugged up and caused water to drip down the water channel into the interior, but that was a design that Honda chose at the time, I don't think most cars do that anymore but could be mistaken and the remedy was the dealer dropped the headliner and blew out the rear drain holes (happened twice during the time I owned the car, but it had many, many miles and was about 10 YO when I got it and that first blow out too), the last blow out was I think 2 years later and it finally gave me trouble in early January of 2006 when water leaking inside cause havoc on the electric door locks and the sunroof as I finally had to crank it closed once it opened.

By then, 180K miles was on the clock and the car had been hit in the rear the previous August.

So it SHOULD be reliable for a good, long while.

[Giallo Edizione]

But between the massive blind spot to the 500 driver's left/rear and now the obliteration of the view out the back when the 'vert top is "down", its going to be a real scary ride. Better add some 18-wheeler mirrors as an option.

[SeaDawg]

Giallo Edizione wrote

But between the massive blind spot to the 500 driver's left/rear and now the obliteration of the view out the back when the 'vert top is "down", its going to be a real scary ride. Better add some 18-wheeler mirrors as an option.

Wouldn't that wierd mirror they incorporate into the driver's side outside mirror take care of the blind spot?

At least it was wierd to me when I drove the demo...I guess I'll adapt over time.

[navy48]

you can now 'build your own' 500c on the FIAT USA site.   they're kind of pricey, but I'm sure they're worth it.  obviously more than a smart Cabriolet but probably still less than a Mini Convertible.

[CaliberSRT4]

navy48 wrote

you can now 'build your own' 500c on the FIAT USA site.   they're kind of pricey, but I'm sure they're worth it.  obviously more than a smart Cabriolet but probably still less than a Mini Convertible.

$25,550 base price for a Mini Convertible.

The Smart is $17,690 which is why Fiat advertises the 500C as being the cheapest 4-seat convertible in the market.

[RedVespaBlur]

I "built" a comprably equiped Mini convertible at the their Canadian website and it was just shy of 35K w/o delivery and PDI etc.  Fuly loaded 500C was 27K with delivery etc - so a good 8K cheaper.

At 6'4'' prefer the more upright 500C.  Our local dealer has two Cabrios coming.  They were supposed to be shipped 19 April so expect them mid to late May?

We put money down on the Pearl White with Red top and red leather/ivory interior and the 6 speed auto.  Pretty much the NY Autoshow show car.  
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Its all about waiting now.