I’m back, CC Readers. Following the catastrophic failure of my old computer, I have since purchased and set up a new one. Thankfully, most of my files (including my vast library of photographs) were backed up, and thus saved. I have also recently traveled overseas for the first time in over thirty years. I may now add Italy to the list of European countries I’ve visited, which also includes England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Italy as a whole, and Rome and Venice in particular, have stolen my heart completely.
My partner is of mostly Italian descent, so this was very much a significant trip for him to his fatherland, much like my childhood trips to Liberia and Germany. His enthusiasm was infectious and only added to my enjoyment of my week-long stay in this beautiful country. Though I was expecting many Italians to speak English to some extent (and many did), I had also tried to learn and memorize several key words, sentences, and phrases. “Dov’è il bagno?” (Where is the bathroom?), “Non capisco…” (I don’t understand…), “Buon giorno” (Good morning), “Buona sera” (Good evening), “Grazie” and “Prego” all got tons of use. I listened to the language being spoken (Italian sounds so beautiful and mellifluous) and did my best to adopt the proper inflections when attempting to speak it, myself.
I spotted our classic FIAT 500 near the Piazza Navona, while walking to the Trevi Fountain. This generation of 500 was in production from 1957 through ’75, and sold over 3.8 million units throughout its run. I had always thought these were the only 500s produced prior to the current model’s introduction in ’07, but was surprised to learn there had been a “500 Topolino” that preceded it (built from 1936 though ’55), and also a Poland-built “Cinquecento” produced from 1991 through ’98.
This example was one of a bunch (maybe five or six) I had spotted during four days spent in Rome (with the rest spent in Venice, which was devoid of any car spottings for obvious reasons). This made me reflect that it was quite incredible that these examples of such a tiny car (it’s as wide as it is tall, at 52″, with an overall length of 116.9″ on a 72.4″ wheelbase) that were at least forty years old still appeared to be used as regular drivers.
It was at that moment that the charm of our featured car became as obvious and apparent to me as its bright yellow paint scheme. I started to perceive the 500 as a beloved automobile – something of a national treasure. It also saddened me to think of how this car’s iconic status in Italy simply has not translated to here in the United States with the current car, and how many in the U.S. could probably never fully understand the love bestowed on it by people in its country of origin. Many side streets in Rome, throughout many of the areas we visited, were narrow – and parking was tight. A little car like this 500 made so much sense within the context of where we were.
I’ve written many times about my love of vintage things, and combined with the old (ancient) buildings surrounding us, the beautiful, cobblestone streets, the sounds of passersby speaking this gorgeous, expressive language, and the really cool storefront signage, Rome provided me with one consecutive, cinematic moment after another. The sight of the Trevi Fountain literally took my breath away, as we rounded the corner and I saw it all lit up in the darkness of night. I was transported to that scene in Federico Fellini’s classic 1960 film “La Dolce Vita”, when the characters portrayed by Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni actually wade into the fountain.
This yellow 500 seemed to be one of many extras and cast members in the vintage drama unfolding in my mind as we walked around this historic city. My first trip to Roma had me feeling like I was a little bit Italian, myself (a recent DNA test taken by my brother confirmed we have exactly 0% roots from Italy), and I felt flattered and wonderful every time a stranger would start speaking to me in that language, or respond to my (very) limited Italian vocabulary without missing a beat, like I must have been nailing my pronunciation. This is already a much longer post than I had intended to write, but I just wanted to let my CC friends know that I look forward to getting back to sharing more of my automotive finds – both from Italy and here in the U.S. So, Ciao… for now.
Near Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy.
Saturday, November 11, 2017.
Welcome back to the world of CC computing Joseph.
When I taught computer classes back in the day, I told my students there were two types of computer users:
1. Those that had lost all their data.
2. Those that would.
I back up my 9 year old Macbook Pro at least weekly and that’s due to more than one data loosing incident in the past. But I guess it’s time to replace the Macbook so I can once again use iTunes with my iPhone5S (which is also due for replacement).
Sometimes I miss my old Motorola StarTAC.
But modern technology has bitten me recently, especially with Apple’s “iCloud” back up. It’s not a real back up, at least by my standards. It’s more of a synchronization technique for multiple devices. Use with care!
And I’m old enough to remember that eye opening fountain scene with Anita Ekberg.
Great photo of your reflection in the window.
Having worked as a computer technician back in the Windows 3.11 days, I’ve always been the kind of guy who keeps all my data in a separate file section on the hard drive, two flash drives on the computer at all times with a complete duplicate of the files folder, two other computers which have one of the flash drive’s content duplicated to a like files folder, and iCloud backup.
And whatever I’ve worked on gets copied to those two flash drives before shutting down EVERY night.
It’s bailed my butt out on more than one occasion. And it’s cheap and easy.
Syke, this is all great advice – thank you. I actually have an external hard drive that is scheduled to back up at certain times during the week. I actually have a *second*, older hard drive that I had forgotten I had – which had a bunch of really old stuff on it. I was so glad to make that discovery.
I don’t, however, back up to a cloud. I figure that with all of the memory I still have left, and with a couple of antivirus programs, I should be good to go.
The problem with having my external drive programmed to “back up as I go” was that it made my computers operating system *excrutiatingly* slow, to where I’d be working on photos or a project, and when my computer immediately started backing up my files, it severely limited my productivity. That problem has since been solved. 🙂
I remember the days of 8088, with 64 or 128K memory and a full height 10MB MFM.hard drive which was formatted on an RRL controller and then doublespaced for around a total of 23-25MB. Slower than molasses but it worked.
I know some people still have fond memories of the Motorola StarTAC, but it was the worst phone, by far, I ever owned. Went thru 3 in less than one year, all defective in one way or another. I have not to this day, and never, will own another Motorola phone.
Thanks, RL Plaut. Every time I honk about that fateful day at the electronics store when I bought my auto-backup external drive, I think about how different my situation could be now.
I kind of like how the comments (so far) have turned this into a sort of computer-related “CC PSA”.
It is good to be back here with a post.
(BTW, the last image is a composite of three different images. I like that it does kind of look like a storefront reflection, as you’ve pointed out.)
We’ve got two or three of these in the Richmond area, and I’m always happy to see one of them out and about.
In Richmond, we’ve got a small Fiat club, mostly stock and modified current Abarth models, that shows up en masse every so often at Cars and Coffee Richmond. Parked with us will usually be a couple of vintage Fiats, usually 124 Spiders. You should have seen the looks of everybody’s faces when one of the second generation 500’s showed up and parked in line with us.
For those who have never seen one of these in the metal, they’re approximately three quarters the size of the current 500. Incredibly bare bones (two thin front seats, a rear seat that amazingly gives almost the same leg room as the current 500 – that is, almost none) with an engine that is, at best, half the size of a first generation Volkswagen Beetle’s.
Had a chance to buy one about a month ago. Very nicely restored, in white, sounded good while running, although I didn’t have a chance to test drive it. At $8500.00, a bit rich for my blood – besides, nothing new on the vehicular side gets bought until the Gold Wing is paid off.
It’s true that these cars are super-tiny. I’m glad the third photo shows this 500 parked near some motorcycles. This should provide some context (as well as the pictures in the vintage ad Paul attached below).
Should have had an average human standing next to it for scale. They are beyond small. An original Beetle would look huge next to one.
Joe, it’s good to see you back. Sitting here at my much used, six year old iMac, I’m thinking I should start backing up my files, lest I duplicate your experience.
It sounds like you had a great trip. Getting out and seeing something different should always be high on anyone’s list.
Syke’s comment sort of leads me to my last thought…my only exposure to one of these Fiats is from the Lane Museum in Nashville. I would contend (and I hate using this comparison) the biggest exposure a large swath of us in North American have to one of these is from a Pixar movie, but I shan’t say which… Darned if they aren’t the same color.
Jason, it’s good to be back (and thank you), and I actually really like that the featured car is the same color as that Pixar creation! I’ve been reminded once again that travel is under-rated. There’s only so much “stuff” we can accumulate. I will carry the memories of this trip to Rome and Venice (and riding the Frecchiarossa train between the two cities) for as long as I’m able.
Good to see you back, Joe. Yes, it always kind of amazed me that Fiat-Chrysler was banking on nostalgia for a car that was never sold here. I guess you sell what you’ve got.
This is a really charming example with enough little dents and scrapes to prove that it gets used. I wonder if that bright yellow is original – I always associate that color with the 70s, so perhaps this car is one of the later ones.
The second generation 500 was sold in the US. However, so was the 850, which was a lot better(?) suited to US conditions, so the number of 500’s in this country are awful small.
The 500 was sold in the US. They even had to put these big bug-eye headlights on it to meet US regs. But its sales were as small as the car. Too small for Americans.
FWIW, the original Mini sold in very small quantities in the US too. So both of the neo-versions are not really selling on actual Americans’ memories of the originals. They’re selling on what they are, cute small cars with a heritage that most younger buyers are totally oblivious about. Marketing.
Now that I see the pictures of the American market 500 (never noticed them back then, was lusting for an 850 Spider, I don’t think the Erie dealer even carried a 500), I realize that all the ones running around Richmond are European imports.
Interesting, Paul — I don’t recall seeing Fiat 500’s with those bulging headlights, when I was a kid in the ’60’s.
But didn’t the Renault Dauphine have headlights that were smaller than the typical size in the US?
My dad had a Mini (1961 Austin 850), whose stock UK headlights were acceptable in the US. I suppose British & US regs were in sync. You mentioned these sold in small numbers in the US. Any idea of total sales?
thx!
Welcome back! Computer failures are a pain, and usually happen when you need it the most..My 10 year old Dell laptop decided to head back to the mothership end of May, so I took the plunge and replaced all my devices, laptop, desktop, printer, and phone. Some great pictures there of a city I have always been fond of. And that FIAT is just too cute. Maybe the modern 500 hasn’t caught on in the States because it is simply ugly? I sure think it is.
R&D Man, you are so correct – this computer stuff happened at the worst, possible time, with a friend’s out-of-town state visit immediately preceding my Italy trip. I suppose there’s no really convenient time to have your computer die, but I’m so glad it all mostly worked out in the end.
I actually do kind of like the current Cinquecento. It took a while to really grow on me (I liked the Mini Cooper almost immediately, by contrast). There are a bunch of them in my neighborhood.
Bella bella. I’m always bragging about how much I adore my new electric 500e. I even quite like the styling, though like you it had to grow on me.
Automatic internet backups by a company like Backblaze is the way to stay safe now that most of us have broadband internet. Been using Backblaze on our computers for years, very happily. Easy to get your files back. I’ve even done it for a 2-day-old file I mistakenly deleted.
ALERT: Tonkin Fiat in Portland has five 500e electrics available to lease now for $99/month for three years with $3K up front. That’s how I got mine at the end of February. Helluva deal on a very well-equipped and fast electric car!
Welcome back. As someone who lost six years’ worth of computing and backups due to a home invasion, I know it’s definitely devastating. Weird how that works. Glad to see you’re writing (I need to do the same thing!). Sounds like you two are definitely living La Dolce Vita, though. Happy for you!
Mya, thank you so much! I am just glad that in your case, you didn’t lose those wonderful pictures of your former Nightbird (Ford Galaxie convertible). I hope the rest of what was lost wasn’t devastating. When my computer crashed (at a very bad time), I kept thinking about years and years of photographs I had taken. It was an eye-opener and a positive lesson reinforced for me.
Looking forward to your next piece.
Ah, the joyful, always smile generating, petite 500 in its natural element of Italy. The 500 is surprisingly petite compared to the Smart, as seen in these pictures in Rome.
Joe, good to have you back, and here is another Roman view of the 500 and Smart. Ciao.
GeelongVic, thank you so much – both for the words and also those great comparison shots. There really is no other way to understand / comprehend the diminutive dimensions of these Cinquecenti, outside of seeing them parked next to other objects.
Interestingly, that Smart is part of a carsharing service (Car2Go, by Mercedes – BMW also offers it). Part of mobility in major European cities, where space is at a premium, but so is time, when buses are slow.
Excellent, Geelong.
THX
Welcome home Joseph ;
It sounds like the trip of a lifetime, thanx for sharing both the great photos and your thoughts .
in the mid 1970’s a guy I know had two Fiat 500’s and found an adapter that allowed him to bolt in a VW Beetle engine, making for much merriment and dangerous tomfoolery .
I’d like to hear more about ‘automatic backup device’ .
-Nate
Thanks, Nate! It certainly was, in your words, a trip of a lifetime. I can’t stop thinking about it.
As far as automatic backup device, it’s just an external hard drive that came with software you could set (like a timer) to back up your files at a certain time during the day / week / etc. I like that it’s on a schedule, which means I don’t have do to squat.
O.K., now I know what it is, I’ll maybe give some looking for one .
I use both tower and lap top computers….
At this late date I doubt I’ll ever make it to Europe .
-Nate
something about the new retro cars et al that somehow doesn’t cut it for me. i think it’s the ‘trying to be’ vs making a whole new cult car today. i’d rather cherish a whole new iconic car than imitate the past. maybe it’s the lack of trying to come up with something that ‘could be’ instead of taking the easy way out. i love the old fiat 500…. hate the new one. love the old mini…. the smartfour2 spider is probably one of those cars that is.
I actually saw a Smart ForTwo Spyder for the first time (in Rome), and I had to do a triple-take. It actually looks really cool (to me) in person. I was like, Why can’t we get the good stuff like this in the U.S.? Actually, is it available in the U.S.? I couldn’t confirm on my lunch break…
smart spider not in canada. from my visits to the usa and never seeing one… i doubt it’s in your homeland either. in canada you can import them once they are 15 yrs old.
I remember seeing a fair number of 600s and a FEW 500s back in the ’50s and ’60s. The 600s were imported and sold in the expected places like NYC and college towns, but Fiat didn’t export the 500s officially. Early 500s were easy to spot by their bug-eyes, which must have been smoothed out later on.
If Fiat really wanted to capitalize on nostalgia, it would have done better to call the new model a 600.
I’m glad you had a great trip. Italy, like all of Europe, must be seen at least once in a lifetime.
I saw several 500s in Paris too. Can’t be beat for a cheap city car.
Thanks, Paul. It’s good to be back.
Welcome back Joseph! Glad you’re (mostly) intact after computer problems.
Welcome back, Joe! Beautiful pictures. Glad you and your boy had a good time. Looking forward to more CCs from Italy!!
I find whenever I go on holiday, I come back with a trove of pictures. I still have dozens of photos from Mexico I haven’t shown on here, even though I wrote so many articles on Mexican CCs!
‘ …“Grazie” and “Prego” all got tons of use.’
When I was studying in Rome many years ago, we decided that “Prego” was the most useful word in the Italian language. “You’re welcome”, “Thank you”, “Please”, “No thank you, I really couldn’t”, “You must be kidding”, “Screw you and the horse you rode in on” – all of these could be conveyed with the same word, depending on the intonation.
Adam, it was for the reasons you describe about the many uses of “Prego” that had me double- / triple-checking often to make sure I was using the right word! What would be a word in North American English that would have a similar amount of uses?
“Fucking.”
Noun, verb, adjective, adverb… pretty much.
Great to see you back Joseph, and also to read of your wonderful holiday.
I think you can post photos of Venice here anytime, maybe just as a “What’s missing from this urban centre?” sort of thing. You can offer prizes for correct guesses!
And hello little Fiat, still at it after all this time in what is reputedly quite an adversarial driving environment. Well done! A tidy example reached $AUD 13K at auction here on Monday night.
In the movie, “A Touch of Class,” there’s a great scene in which George Segal (&
his mistress, Glenda Jackson), tries to drive a rented Fiat 500 in Rome, and has never driven a manual before. It’s a 1973 film, so the car is still in general use.
He jumps along, popping the clutch, time after time. She is not impressed.
Can’t find any still or video clips of the hilarious scene.
If you find a clip or photo, please post.
Meantime, I’m dating myself, but so what — “you had to be there!”
Dan, I had to check Wikipedia about this film, and it looks like a good watch! Thanks for the recommendation.
+ 1
I had a feeling something was slightly “off”? the last little while with our wonderful website, Joe.
How we know why! Welcome back!?
Those Nuova 500s were locally assembled and called a Bambina I saw one in mint cond recently there are quite a few survivors despite the rust they were reknowned for and fragile engines.
The current 500 is okay, but – IMHO – in Abarth flash it is about as much fun to drive as you can have. Here’s my 2012 right next to my ’81 X1/9…
Thanks, everyone – it’s great to be back, and to finally sit down at my computer and write another entry. Much of November was nuts… it feels great to be back into a sort of groove. Here’s to no more computer failures for any of us – at least through the end of 2017! 🙂
I spotted this one in Ragusa, Sicily a couple of months ago. I owe this group a trip report on the CC’s of Sicily.
Nice ! .
You shoulda bought it and brought it home with you….
Yes, I realize it isn’t for sale .
-Nate
Though a 850cc Panhard Flat-Twin was fitted into a Fiat 500, it seems there were actually plans at Fiat for an air-cooled 2-cylinder 850cc horizontal engine featuring a piston-balancing mechanism for both military applications as well as for long-term development for the Fiat 500 (or later Fiat 126) equipped with an automatic gearbox.