Benvenuti amici!
After giving the folks in the area a chance to make their way to our Local Studio (LS) and this blog for more information on the club... After an enjoyable month of writing about the history of our little mice, it's time to cut our own tiny slice of FIAT history.
After giving the folks in the area a chance to make their way to our Local Studio (LS) and this blog for more information on the club... After an enjoyable month of writing about the history of our little mice, it's time to cut our own tiny slice of FIAT history.
On the subject of history, one of the longest running FIAT car clubs in North America can be found here. That club began with one man's desire to stay in touch with other FIAT and Lancia aficionados. That is not very different from what motivated me to propose the CC5C. With so many national and international clubs, blogs and forums popping up nowadays, we are living in what may be the best era of the Italian small car-loving variety of drivers in this country. Couple that with the fact Chicago will host the 2014 FIAT Freakout! and we have a major motivation for establishing our club in the region now.
I have been wracking my brain for a clever Italian-themed name for our meets, in the tradition of Cars & Coffee. I dig the idea of a Saturday gathering @ our LS, having a relaxing cup of caffè while connecting with a group of thoughtful and passionate people, heading out for a nice drive and ending the meet with a tasty gelato. So, I decided on Guidare e Gelato. It may not make perfect grammatical sense, but it's a concept not an Italian language lesson. Right? 'Guidare' is 'to drive' and 'Gelato' does not need translating. It needs eating.
Our inaugural meeting is Saturday, 31 August 2013. I propose noon as the ETA. The date should give people more than enough time to wrap up summer holidays and pick up their window badges. The studio has a few badges and my CC5C business cards onsite. If anyone needs extra badges or simply needs to contact me prior to the meeting date, the card would be the best way to get my contact information. Feel free to write or phone me with any questions you may have.
Finally, don't be concerned with whether or not you have have the coolest, most heavily modified or immaculately detailed Cinquino. That is most definitely not why I decided to pour energy into this idea. It doesn't matter whether you drive a classic FIAT, a bare-bones 500 Pop, a slickly modded Abarth 500, a sexy 500 by Gucci or a fresh off the boat 500L. They are all superb personal choices. I dig FIAT proposing rather than imposing.
FIAT put working class people on the road. Small 'city' cars are utilitarian in design. They are made to get you from point A to point B without breaking the bank or causing major parking anxiety. The Italians simply make them with Latin style. I think it is cool to celebrate life in a daily driver. Heaven knows most everyone not in a FIAT likely bemoans their commute. So, this truly is about you... me... us having fun and not about us outdoing one another.
Until I see you & your 'cento in August...
Vivere.Amare.Guidare.
Ciao!
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