Fiat Testimonial – Kimberly Ballard
In 2012, when I discovered the Fiat 500, I knew they had built the perfect vehicle for me!
As a lifelong single person, I have never needed extra seating for a little league team. I can’t recall ever being asked to haul lumber to a construction site; I could care less how many cylinders a car has or whether they are turbocharged; and I sure don’t need to crank out 258 pounds per foot of torque since I never carry anything heavier than I can pick up myself. Furthermore, I don’t require luxury driving to visit the grocery store; I don’t want a car I have to park out in midfield to keep others from touching it; and I have no desire to drive faster than 75 mph.
I call my current yellow Fiat 500 Sunshine but she is the second Fiat 500 I have had in four years. I traded Bluey this past November, not because there was anything wrong with her, but because the Fiat is so affordable, I can drive a new car every three years without busting my budget.
Not since I drove a classic 1966 Ford Mustang around the University of Alabama campus back in 1983, have I received as much attention as I do with my Yellow Fiat 500! Fiat drivers are the nicest, friendliest people on the road. They wave at me and I always wave back, because we share something when it comes to automobiles: practicality, style, affordability, reliability, economy, and with my stick, so fun to drive!
Just because she is small does not mean she isn’t safe! Sunshine has seven airbags. In an accident, I would roll and bounce in a big bubble, sort of like the Mars Rover bouncing along the Martian surface!
I recently read an article that said Americans want the Fiat 500 built larger, while Europeans love her just as she is. Fiats are very popular all over Europe and I hope they do not give in to changing her. If she stays the same with little upgrades through the years, I will continue to drive my third Fiat, my fourth, my fifth ….
One fast-food worker said as I came through the drive-thru, “I love your car! It looks like the sun!” Then last November when I wheeled through the Jiffy Lube to get the tires inflated for winter, the auto mechanic said she looks like a yellow M&M!
Well, I love the sunshine, I love M&Ms, and I love my Fiat 500!