FINALLY!

Lorelei's First Top Down Convertible Ride

Our new 2013 Fiat Cinquecento Cabrio Pop

The Little 500c looks huge next to 82 Fiat X1/9




"Eye Candy" with Avorio (Ivory) and Rosso Corso d'Italia (Italian Racing Red)



I've Been Chalked!

We have taught our daughter not to draw on walls, furniture and many other things.  We have never told her not to draw on the cars!  Fortunately chalk washes off very easy.

2012 Milwaukee Masterpiece - Club Day



My 1982 FIAT X1/9 in the FIAT-Ferrari-DeTomaso Corral



Lorelei admiring and commenting on Ferrari Dino

She found the one with the biggest smile and eyes!  Ran straight to it and was telling me all about how happy it was.

Black Forest Auto Repair sponsored the children's art car - a c.1975 Mercedes Benz 450 SEL painted to look like a cow.

Beautiful Alfas and Lancias there.

Gorgeous Mercedes Benz 300 SE Coupe

Beautiful Oldsmobile Rocket 88 in White over Salmon Pink

FIAT X1/9 more Lorelei's height.

Ford would have shut without GM, Chrysler aid, Rattner says

I find this article very interesting.  Ford, at the time of GM and Chrysler's bailouts, did not request help but supported the federal government in the bailouts of their competitors.  The reason being that if GM and Ford were to disappear they would also lose some of their suppliers.  I assume the result of losing suppliers would be a loss of competitive bidding and higher production costs for Ford.

An update to the bailouts is that Chrysler has repaid all of its debt to the federal government with all the interest due.  They did not renegotiate any of the debt.  I believe GM has repaid most or all of their debt.  Today the big three are doing strong business with great profits and are the leading industry in the recovery from the recession.  Article below is from Automotive News:

Ford would have shut without GM, Chrysler aid, Rattner says Angela Greiling Keane  October 9, 2012 - 11:20 am ET

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the only large U.S. automaker that didn’t receive a U.S. government bailout, would’ve failed along with General Motors and Chrysler if President Barack Obama’s administration hadn’t rescued the industry, said Steven Rattner, who headed Obama’s auto task force.

“Ford would have closed because it wouldn’t have been able to get parts, because the parts industry in this country was in arguably worse shape than the assemblers,” Rattner said today at the Center for American Progress in Washington.

Rattner, now chairman of the Willett Advisors LLC investment firm, led the $63.4 billion bailout in 2009 of GM and Chrysler, which he said would have fired all their workers and ceased to exist without the bailout.

President George W. Bush, who preceded Obama, “did the right thing” by beginning the bailout process, giving $17.5 billion to GM and Chrysler in 2008, Rattner said.

The auto bailout has been a point of contention in the presidential race between Obama and Republican Mitt Romney as they compete for votes in swing states including Ohio, home to U.S. automaker and parts-supplier plants. Romney opposed the government bailout.

Ford's view

Ford CEO Alan Mulally last month concurred with Rattner’s view, saying he testified before Congress in support of taxpayer support for his competitors because it also saved Ford.

“We think about that a lot, should we have gone back and testified on behalf of our competitors who were bankrupt,” Mulally told reporters Sept. 18 in New York. “I would do the same thing again today.”

Mulally said he agreed with the assessment of “the economic advisers of the Bush administration and the Obama administration that if GM and Chrysler had gone into free fall, they could have taken the United States from a recession into a depression.”

The U.S. government was the only entity that could save the domestic automakers because no one, including banks that were dealing with their own financial crises, was willing to put private capital into GM and Chrysler at the beginning of 2009, Rattner said.

“If you can’t pay your workers, if you can’t pay your suppliers, if you can’t pay your electric bills, then you have to liquidate,” he said. “This is what government is set up to do.”

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20121009/OEM/121009878#ixzz28rgEbSVR

Its Car Show Season Again!

Its Jume and the car shows are off and running.  This Saturday, June 9th, is the 19th Annual Volksfest at Concours Motors and the BMW Clubs Show at Concours BMW on North Green Bay Road.

19th Annual VolksFest This Saturday!

Presented by Concours Motors & The Milwaukee-Area Volkswagen Club!
Saturday, June 9th, 2012; 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
at Concours Motors (back parking lot), 1400 West Silver Spring Drive; Glendale, WI 53209
(414) 290-1400 http://www.concoursmotors.com/
SHOW IS FREE TO ALL SPECTATORS & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Car Show * Swap Meet * Auction * Music * Food * VW Toys * Merchandise * MKE Mustangs
Car Show Entries: Must drive on to lot to qualify for trophy. Day of show registration ONLY. $10 per vehicle.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call MAVWC Hotline: (414) 290-1525
http://www.mavwc.com/

The South Shore Water Frolics Sunday, July 15th at South Shore Park in Milwaukee 10 am to 3 pm.  Also a great Art Show that day 9 am to 5 pm.





My Fiat X1/9 at the 2008 Frolics Show



 And the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d'Elegance August 25th & 26th with Fiat and Mercedes Benz as featured Marques. Milwaukee Masterpiece Link

Who Makes Fiats?

Its the question I get a lot when driving a Fiat.  "Who makes Fiats?"  Usually asked innocently by someone, and occasionally asked with snickering undertone by rednecks.  I think the rednecks thought Fiat was bought out by somebody a long time ago and put to death.  Kinda like AMC, MG, NSU, DAF, Packard, Studebaker, Rover or Triumph.

My is response always: "Fiat makes Fiats!"  The innocent usually look a little confused.  The rednecks start to realize this might become a conversation and try to avoid it.  I explain that Fiat Group is one of the largest producers of cars in the world like Ford, Nissan, Honda or VW.  In fact they make more cars than Honda.

Now it is 2012 and Fiat Group owns Chrysler Group.  They have nearly 60% ownership in Chrysler Group and the shares are growing.  The first totally new Dodge under Fiat Group is the Dart, just unveiled at the Detroit Autoshow.

So I will rephrase the question: "Who does Fiat make?" Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep.  They also make Vespa/Piaggio, Aprillia, Case International Harvestor, New Holland and more.

2013 Dodge Dart

The Super Bowl Car Ads

In case you missed them, here are the best auto ads form the 2012 Super Bowl.  I watched most of the game but for some reason missed many of the ads.

Autonews article and Videos click here
Fiat Abarth Video click here

Acura's "Transactions" with Jerry Seinfeld is great.  Close runner up is Fiat (not considered a Super Bowl ad because it was run before on other shows).  The Audi and BMW are good - yes, I agree a heated steering wheel must be a good thing.  Cars.com ad is disturbing. Chevy "Joy" gets the cute award but VW gets runner up cute.  At the beginning I thought Chrysler's was a political commercial but it wasn't - or was it?  Chrysler did pay back all of its bail-out money last year (with interest paid to the US) and made a profit for the first time in several years.