I can assure you my friend that I am not nuts. I may view her as being fat and that is my prerogative. You can view her anyway you choose. And from your post I would guess you view most things in a crude viewpoint.

 

I agree that FIAT is making a mistake. MINI knew that a small cute car would be perceived as girly, and they tried to shape the MINI image by never allowing an ad or official photo to show a woman driving (until the Countryman -- I guess they feel it's manly enough). The FIAT 500 is a small cute car, which already will makes it perceived as girly, but the JLo ads will firmly cement it in the public mind as a girly fashion item.

 

I hated that J-Lo commercial so much. I actually kind of like the Fiats- always look at them when I see it on the street- but that commercial makes me seriously question towards whom this car is marketed... Car is still cool though. Wouldn't own it over a MINI- ever.

 

I love Chile Red Coopers. Motor On!!

 

To the OP: You'd have to pony up at least $5K extra, on top of the Fiat, to match the base price of the Justa. And that doesn't even begin to count the zillions of options you can get on the MINI.

Yes, I cross-shopped them. I bought the one I thought was the better car.

 

i agree ("bad press is still press..."), except the "hot" part, whoa. c-l-a-s-s-l-e-s-s t-r-a-s-h, like the car. yuck.

and keeping with "if you are not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" thought, how 'bout using Sophia Loren driving while licking a lolli-pop, eh?

but remember: THERE IS ONLY ONE, AND IT'S A MINI.

ciao.

 

i would agree that they could have done a better job w the commercial

not to veer too far off, but my dad brought one home in the early 70s...we had ten acres of woods and that was the car i learned to drive a stick on at about 11..(yep, showing my age)...the new car certianly keeps the flavor of what i remember from those days, so while the ad may leave alot to be desired, the car is a great reincaration . as always, YMMV

 

“Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.”
~Charles Bukowski

Yes. I admit it. I am an *** man.

I'd love to own an SS Abarth, but I'd rather throw money down on a used Corvette Z06.

 

MINI marketed smart with 'The Italian Job': Marky Mark, Jason Statham, and Charlize Theron. An All-American dude, a brooding European dude, and a hot (African-American) chick!

 

I like that idea better as well. Z06 all the way.

 

Thanks, Pat. I love the color too! My other favorite is an r53 with dark silver or better yet, all blacked out and slammed to the ground with some sweet rims... kinda like this:



*droooool*

 

TOTALLY agree mate.

A sorry commercial. Completely alienates the male driver and prolly only appeals to a small number of female drives.

And the dance move at the end, with J Lo in granny shorts?

What in the world was Fiat thinking?

But console yourself with the fact that it's a still a nice car - I prefer a MINI, but Fiat has a winner there.

 

The Fiat commercial was dumb; but it's just another car commercial, nothing really offensive or controversial about it.

The MINI commercial on the other hand was tasteless, a poor attempt at English humor. It got pulled immediately, due to the overwhelmingly poor reception.

Fiat made a mistake with the commercial IMHO, but it's not going to kill the car. Fiat will find it's niche. And the Abarth, by every account I've read or scene, is a damned fun car to drive.

It's funny; if your masculinity is threatened by a commercial, don't bother to buy a MINI--otherwise you're going to want to dump it the first time you hear it called a "clown car" or "chicks car.". In the end, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks/says, unless you value other people's perception more than your own; it matters what YOU think of it.

 

All very true.

Also, the MINI commercials I've seen online are also mostly pretty bad. Trying a little too hard to be anti-establishment I think.

Honestly, the MINI sells itself - no need to create a fake "image" for it.

And the "Two Untamed" commercials - gawd awful.

 

I like where your head is.

My MINI and my Z06 (with C5R 427 and other goodies). Oh I luuuurv J-Lo but yes, the commercial was lame but many are lame these days; not unusual.

 

It looks like your hood is not closed all the way on your Vette.

 

Apparently you never looked at the car before you purchased it, huh?

One look at that though it may be marketed as classy, artsy and european, it’s only that.... marketing.

Glad you found your way back....


Mark

 

I say keep the Fiat buy a MINI anyway. The Fiat will still serve you well... An effective door stop... A wheel chuck for a Cesna... White elephant you can trade at a Christmas party for a real nice bottle of scotch... Perfect size and weight to use as an anchor on a skiff... Heck, just mount it on a plinth in your front yard, paint the word "oops - should have bought a MINI" on the doors, send an e-mail to Jeremy, James, and Richard and tell them you found a really good use for it: a deterrent... So many wonderful uses to put it to waste!

 

How clever it would be for Fiat to show that old commercial ( or part of it ) with that same soundtrack. Then, at some point, have an old "Cinquecento" morph into the new one- albeit in living color- with a super-imposed image of Marcello Mastroianni driving, and Sophia Loren in the passenger seat.

( Mini could then show the same commercial ending with an MCS leaving them in the dust )

(Thanks for the link, Christo....)

 

It's not. It's plugged into a battery trickle charger since it's just for occasional fun while the MINI, on the other hand is for just about every day fun. For all other occasions and severe weather days I use my AWD Subaru.

 

I'd drive a Fiat. I drive a MINI. From 1996 to 2010 I drove one of three different Miatas, owning two at the same time twice.

I'm obviously secure enough in my manhood that I don't care about a commercial, or the world's perception of me based on the car I drive, or I wouldn't have driven a Miata for all those years. I must admit, though, that many men *will* refuse to buy the car now because they're worried about what people will think about them as they drive it. It's already a "girlie car" or a "clown car" to a lot of people, but they don't have to perpetuate the misinformed stereotype through poorly-executed marketing.

That said, she's hot. Always has been. I could watch her all day, provided they turn the volume down so I don't have to listen to her autotuned butchery.

 

I don’t think it’s a matter of if it’s manly, it’s still a Fiat (no offense to the OP)

I’ve owned two miatas myself... of course, one was supercharged and the other was a supercharged 306 cu.in but who cares if it’s manly, if you like it, don’t worry about anyone else.

Mark

 

I'd like to drive a Fiat, but I'd never own another. My last one (I owned 2 "back in the day") rusted through before it was a year old. It never saw salt or snow.

Old joke, also from years gone by: "Fiats rust from the amount of salt McDonald's uses on their fries." So true back then, although I suppose (hope) they've improved things since...

I would like to see how they compare with the MINI, though.

P.S. The J-lo commercial did nothing for me. Liked the old commercial, though, and yes, it would have been great if they'd incorporated it with the new.

 

Your gonna also have to hand over a few grand (depending on features.....a few few grand) in order to make that trade fair!

 

I was interested in the 500 until I started seeing them around. Not thrilled with the looks so much in person. If the Abarth turns out to be more interesting I might check one out after my Cooper's paid off (as an additional car, not a replacement). At this point I'm of a mind to buy an R53 instead.