Hello from Northern Illinois (long / pic heavy)
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:27 am
Hi, my names Vince, I live about an hour and a half NW of Chicago. I've been a Fiat owner for about a year and an enthusiast for longer. It started when my wife, before she was my wife, had to buy a car right out of college working as a waitress, they don't hire a lot of teachers right after school gets out in the spring. So uncertain of the future, she went against my advice of a Fiesta (because you don't have to drive an hour to get to the dealer) and found herself in a new 2013 Fiat 500 pop. She was right, I was wrong, the Fiat has been a fantastic car, now with over 50k miles on it.
Fast forward to about a year ago, my beloved Miata started doing the dreaded crank pulley walk and I feared the end of the 1.6 was near, and I did not have the time or the motivation to swap it. So, inspired by enjoying driving my wifes car so much, I found a used 2013 Abarth at a local Ford dealer, and traded the Miata in on it.
It was black with black cloth interior with 63k miles on it and had the sunroof and beats package. I absolutely loved driving it, and planned on driving it until I couldn't anymore. Unfortunately that day came sooner than I expected, when a Grand Cherokee made a left turn in front of me, totaling the car about 5 months after I bought it.
Dashcam footage: (Warning: Loud audio) https://youtu.be/xvYabLJ2D1k
Afterwards, I looked around seeing if there was anything I thought I'd enjoy more than the Abarth in a similar price range, to which the answer was no, and although a good replacement Abarth didn't show itself right away, one did pop up a few weeks later. A 2013 white with red leather with 32k miles with every option. I've now had this one about 5 months, and I hope I get to keep it for much longer.
I'm also a big fan of 2 wheels. A 1975 Honda CB750 and a 2016 Kawasaki KX250F
Fast forward to about a year ago, my beloved Miata started doing the dreaded crank pulley walk and I feared the end of the 1.6 was near, and I did not have the time or the motivation to swap it. So, inspired by enjoying driving my wifes car so much, I found a used 2013 Abarth at a local Ford dealer, and traded the Miata in on it.
It was black with black cloth interior with 63k miles on it and had the sunroof and beats package. I absolutely loved driving it, and planned on driving it until I couldn't anymore. Unfortunately that day came sooner than I expected, when a Grand Cherokee made a left turn in front of me, totaling the car about 5 months after I bought it.
Dashcam footage: (Warning: Loud audio) https://youtu.be/xvYabLJ2D1k
Afterwards, I looked around seeing if there was anything I thought I'd enjoy more than the Abarth in a similar price range, to which the answer was no, and although a good replacement Abarth didn't show itself right away, one did pop up a few weeks later. A 2013 white with red leather with 32k miles with every option. I've now had this one about 5 months, and I hope I get to keep it for much longer.
I'm also a big fan of 2 wheels. A 1975 Honda CB750 and a 2016 Kawasaki KX250F