la nostra machina
We have a Fiat 500. She’s baby blue, she’s very cute and we love her. Almost every time I take the little treasure out, somebody comments and I often see people smiling and pointing as we go past. When I am stopped at traffic lights other drivers will wind their windows down to ask questions about her. In Brisbane Fiat 500s are not all that common. In Italy that is not the case and we see them everywhere.
For a small car it is remarkably roomy inside
The original Fiat 500s, or Fiat Bambino, as they became known, were produced from 1957 until 1975. They were made in Torino and became hugely popular. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa and intended to be cheap and practical. It measured only 3 metres and was originally powered by a 479cc 2 cylinder, air cooled rear engine. There were several models produced between 1957 and 1975, including a tiny station wagon.
Lately we have seen lots of the original Fiats on the road in Italy. Many have been lovingly resored and zoom around the Italian streets like lady bugs. They are incredibly tiny and make the new model look huge by comparison.
Jim standing beside a Bambino in Bologna – I didn’t have a matchbox
Fiat previewed the new 500 in March 2007 – exactly 50 years after the first car. They are now produced in Poland. Within 3 weeks of their launch 58,ooo were sold. Perhaps this is why we see so many in Italy.
a Fiat just like ours in Forte dei Marmi
We drive our Fiat in Australia. In Italy we drive a Toyota Corolla.
According to an Italian friend it stands for – Fix it again Tom
We have had our little car for 2 years now and she doesn’t have a name . We are open to suggestions. Let me know in the comment section if you think of something suitable.
For more on lovely Fiats click here and here .
PS. Our lovely little Fiat has gone! After 13 years of faithful service we reluctantly said goodbye. We now have a shiny red Mazda 3. I hope she is as well behaved as the baby blue Fiat.
I’ve got a Ford Fiesta & I call her “Tango” somehow I think naming my cars makes them more trusty 🙂 I like your little “BabyBlue”, very cute.
By: Anna Johnston on August 30, 2010
at 4:28 am
We used to have a bambino 1963 model & we restored it with David Jones houndstooth upholstery. Sadly it became a wreck & went to car heaven. We still love them – they are so cute. Yours looks fabulous. Don’t ever sell it!
By: Mary on August 30, 2010
at 6:18 am
Sophia could be a good name….or we could have Rina or Tina!!! I am sure you will come up with a great name for the little blue treasure. Liz
By: lizlitzow on August 30, 2010
at 9:57 am
Hi all
Can anyone recommend accommodation in Venice for a family of 5?
Thanks
Ann
By: Ann Paxton-Hall on August 30, 2010
at 10:02 am
Aww she’s so cute! I like how her seats match 😀
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on August 30, 2010
at 10:09 am
I thought of “Alfonso” at first for your cute little car, but then you called it a “she” so, how about “Lucretia” ? My daughter suggests “Pepe le bleu”….
By: sandra Hoopmann on August 30, 2010
at 12:39 pm
OMG!!! I love this car, and it’s the same color then my first car ever! Sweet!
By: elenasc on August 30, 2010
at 9:42 pm
Oh you asked if I ever get to Brisbane to review restaurants there? Sadly not yet but I may some time in the future! 😀
By: Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella on September 1, 2010
at 2:57 am
Wow, the colour of yours is great. We have a red 500 called Carlotta
By: Jim on September 13, 2010
at 8:27 pm
I think the red ones go faster! We love our little Fiat.
By: bagnidilucca on September 15, 2010
at 1:49 pm
[…] snow covered. It was the capital of Italy’s first King, Vittorio Emanuele II, the home of Fiat and it houses the famous Shroud of […]
By: Torino « Debra & Liz's Bagni di Lucca Blog on January 5, 2011
at 12:21 pm
How about making ‘sky, which in Italian is the masculine ‘cielo’ ,into a feminine ‘ciela’ – or corrupt to Cecilia?’
There’s always ‘Powder Puff’ for such a pretty blue car…
By: mltucker on June 21, 2011
at 10:27 pm
It is a very pretty little car. We tend to just call her la macchina, which is a bit boring. We drive a Toyota Corolla in Italy. She has the name Wobbly Bum. The car is silver, like just about every other car in Italy and the name comes from the number plate cs 845 wb. The full name is fairly crude, so we just call her wobbly bum for short.
By: bagnidilucca on June 21, 2011
at 10:56 pm
Che bella! Fiats just arriving in US. So my wait may finally be over.
By: Pamela Marasco on July 26, 2011
at 1:51 pm
We have had our Fiat for almost 2 years and still love it.
By: bagnidilucca on July 26, 2011
at 10:00 pm
bino (as in bambino)
By: Anonymous on December 4, 2011
at 4:28 am
Excellent suggestion.
By: Debra Kolkka on December 4, 2011
at 5:44 am
[…] here to see more on our baby blue Fiat. Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); […]
By: Finding Fiats « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on January 14, 2012
at 7:56 pm
Fantastico Debra. Loved the French green van too. Any name would be great…but for some reason she looks like “Donna” to me….that is, bella donna.
By: Paris Rendez-vous on January 14, 2012
at 8:52 pm
That is the cutest car ever!
By: megtraveling on March 30, 2012
at 9:18 pm
We love our little Fiat.
By: Debra Kolkka on March 30, 2012
at 9:22 pm
[…] had to include our baby blue Fiat. I wrote this post in 2010 and it has been my most popular post ever. It has had more than 3,000 hits. I think it is time […]
By: Colour my world « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on July 17, 2012
at 5:13 am
Lo voglio! I want one…but in RED! Did you buy in Italy or home? Just love it!
By: Postcards from Travel PiZazz on September 17, 2012
at 10:07 pm
That is Brisbane behind the first photo of the car. As I said at the end, we drive this in Australia. In Italy we drive a Toyota Corolla.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 17, 2012
at 11:23 pm
Debra, I re!alized your Fiat wasn’t in Italy after I read the post more carefully. I was so enamored by the photo… Definite car envy! 😀
By: Victoria on September 17, 2012
at 11:25 pm
It is a great little car. I think you should get a red one.
By: Debra Kolkka on September 17, 2012
at 11:28 pm
[…] most popular post ever on the blog is one I wrote in 2010 about our Baby Blue Fiat. It has had more than 4,500 hits and somebody looks at it every day. It is a very cute little […]
By: Top ten posts of 2012 « Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on December 29, 2012
at 2:32 am
I did not see this before. There is a Fiat dealership right next to the college I work for and I pass by it everyday dreaming of driving one. They are so cute. I have a Toyota Corolla too.
By: petit4chocolatier on December 31, 2012
at 9:34 pm
We love our little Fiat, but the Toyota does a great job for us in Italy.
By: Debra Kolkka on December 31, 2012
at 10:36 pm
I got the same one in Luce Blue. I named her Lucy. She’s three days old. I bet I love her as much as you love yours. She’s PERFECT!
By: Jennifer Elsdon Larson on March 30, 2013
at 2:51 pm
How lovely! Just 3 days old. I’m sure you will get lots of looks in your new car.
By: Debra Kolkka on March 30, 2013
at 4:01 pm
Georgous colour blue….the name will need a little thought…I’m sure someone will come up with a great suggestion.
By: Kerry & Jim on August 13, 2015
at 2:15 am
[…] I wrote a post about her not long after I started my blog…I love my baby blue Fiat Bambino […]
By: Goodbye baby blue Fiat | Bagni di Lucca and Beyond on November 14, 2022
at 9:10 pm