Vivere. Amare. Guidare.

Benvenuti amici!

With July and the first complete year of building a Cream City foundation in the books, it is time for a bit of reflection on the past and fixation on the future...

As you may be aware, I have been busy, at work, doing my part to establish a strong North American FIAT community. Taking on this kind of challenge is not a simple task ~ which explains why they call it… a... challenge. It is very easy to lose sight of the end goal. So, setting my sights on a fixed target is crucial to accomplishing what I set out to do. Where to begin? Ah, yes.

Everything begins with a thought…

There isn't a goal worth reaching for that can be had without some serious thought. This includes establishing a FIAT community. FIAT has been around a long while and the world around the automaker has seen many sides of the same company. For me, there are two primary approaches to building a community around an automobile or an automaker; Performance a/k/a Motorsport and/or Lifestyle a/k/a Social Driving. Despite my drag racing pedigree, I've never been much of a Motorsport guy. Don't get me wrong. My father took his two sons to Great Lakes DragaWay and we were absolutely thrilled. I remember building model cars (and modifying the designs to fit my own creative vision). My brother & I breathed the scent of the electrified metal and tiny burning tires on various toy race tracks. I collected... and lost... innumerable Hot Wheels toy cars. But, as I grew older, I found myself pursuing things not immediately associated with Gas - Tires - Oil.

When I made the commitment to kick off the first Milwaukee-based FIAT club I considered what I most wished the brand had in North America. The one thing that stood out, as I joined various online communities, is a lack of passionate fanaticism. It seemed as though FIAT could be any other brand and too many communicated their belief the Italian automaker ought to conform… falling in line with USAmerican tastes & whims. No one digging the brand & coaches would truly want the company to be any less Torinese than it is. So, I sought out other Wisconsinites interested in celebrating the life & style the coach builder pours into everything it does.

I decided to take FIAT's eco:Drive Social online campaign literally. Rather than drive alone, only sharing cyberspace with others bent on driving as eco-friendly as possible, I would drive with a group of fun-loving people and share our life experiences (and the way/s our FIATs enhance them).

As it would turn out, there were quite a few people looking for; 1) a new way to celebrate their favorite daily driver, and 2) a fun excuse to get on the road. Thus, Cream City 500 Club was born. Oddly enough, the most successful of our events/gatherings have also been the most people-focused, social of the bunch. People will drive through rain, sleet and snow for fun activities with a likeminded group. Quite frankly, it has taken me by surprise while validating what I thought car clubs were missing in this country. But a local club is just that… local. I considered how to spread the news.

Back to the internet!

Armed with the CC5C blog and an online persona, I wrote about FIAT history, our local club exploits and shared photos… first on our club blog and, then, on our Facebook page. I found people in other parts of the country (as well as the world) were interested in this social endeavor. Maybe they were missing the same thing? I reached out to people, asking whether they would be interested in supporting the effort by sporting a free CC5C window cling on their FIAT/s. Many were happily willing and shared photos of their 500s adorned with the logo I created. Others chose to start their own club/s.

Along with their photos, I shared their exploits. If they organized an event, I promoted it. If they founded their own club, I announced it. If they launched their own Facebook page or forum, I pushed it on this blog and our Facebook page. Fortunately, for me and our club, they reciprocated and brought additional notice to CC5C. These mutually beneficial relationships continue to grow our individual efforts as a collective… C-O-M-M-U-N-I-T-Y.

With the growing community, I can see people becoming more passionate about FIAT as a brand (and specifically their runabout of choice). FIATisti, in the US and Canada are repeat customers at their respective Local Studio. They are paying off their first FIAT and choosing to slide behind the wheel another trim or model. They are keeping their first FIAT love and mating her/him with another one… or two! Is this a direct result of the efforts of community builders? I don't really know. But having a support group, cheering on ones fandom, can't hurt.

So, with the social driving aspect of FIAT life taking firm root, what's next? How do we keep a good thing going? Well, as is the case with any other relationship, evolution is the key to continued growth. Yes, I believe it is paramount we keep the "Live. Love." element of our local club as the primary focal point/s of what we do and why we do it. But our respective purchase, or purchases in many cases, is what created the opportunity.

My gaze has fallen back on childhood motorized fancies. Seeing the FIAT logo on Ferrari F1 cars, following/attending the Pirelli World Challenge and including typical car club-type events to the CC5C 2014 schedule of Famiglia gatherings, I've noticed there isn't enough attention and/or respect paid to the racing heritage of Italian runabouts. Raised to believe one ought to put much energy into fixing something prior to complaining about whether or not the thing works at all, I am devising ways to include some overdue FIAT-sized trackside excitement to community activity (CC5C vs PWC, Trofeo CC5C, CC5C at ABARTH Track Experience). I trust you are ready to join me on the "Drive." 

Vivere.Amare.Guidare.

Ciao!

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