All Cars, All the Time

Fiat Barchetta Spotting



As I was walking through a parking lot, I happened to notice a yellow convertible. Upon closer inspection the car turned out to be a Fiat Barchetta with California plates. I'm not sure how the owner got the car over here. Perhaps they went through the entire process of bringing it up to code or used some other method to get the plates.

Back in 1995 Road & Track had this to say about the car:

This is frustrating. The U.S. is the largest sports-car market in the world. We have the best roadster weather on earth. And yet both Fiat's and MG's new sports cars have no designs on America. Are we wrong or is this shortsighted?
Although Fiat's 1200 and 124 Spiders didn't have the same panache (or factory support) in America as MGs, Triumphs, Austin-Healeys and Alfa Romeos, they brought a great deal of fun to several generations of U.S. sports-car owners. And the Italian company's latest—the Barchetta—admirably continues that theme.

Car and Driver added these comments:

The door handles, of all things, set the mood. They are, like the Barchetta itself, cheeky, daring, retro, and contemporary at the same time. And gloriously tactile.
There's a small button at the leading edge of the horizontal slot that's embedded in each door. Push it with your thumb and a lever swings out. Your fingers clasp the thin cast-aluminum lever from behind and pull open the door. Once mastered, the action becomes an elegant, simple movement that immediately defines Fiat's new sports car as different.
Different even from Mazda's Miata. That low-cost roadster has proved an embarrassment to Europe's carmakers, simply because it took them six years to respond and reclaim the territory that was once the sole domain of Fiats, MGs, and Triumphs.

In any case, it's fun to see these rare cars on our shores. Of course, the reverse is true for car fans over in Europe. My cousin almost drove off the road gawking at a Dodge Ram pickup that was taking up 1 1/2 lanes of traffic. For more info on the car, check out this site.