Keep forgetting to point it out here, but a couple of weeks ago I saw the first Fiat 500 on the road. Which is all well and good, but that’s not the cause of the excitement in the title there. A few days later….

I SAW A FIAT 500 ABARTH!!!! OMFG!

I’m extremely excited, in particular because while the Fiat 500 has been selling in the states since late August, the Abarth edition wasn’t supposed to go on sale until next year. I assume this was either a special order or a dealer’s show-off model taken out for a drive.

And it occurs to me, I’ve seen a lot of rare cars around lately. I see all the high end Porsches all the time because I work up the street from Porsche’s US headquarters, so that’s expected. But several Lamborghinis, a handful of Aston Martins, Bentleys all over the place, a few Maseratis, and even the odd Ferrari. Yet here I am, excited out of my mind for a common, small, tuned Italian hatchback. 

Why? Because it’s a huge step for American cars: the resurgence in importing interesting European designs. Not just the higher end German cars or the super exclusive Italian exotics. They’re bringing back the common cars that have diverged so thoroughly from the US design standard. I’d been excited that Fiat’s return to the US meant Alfa Romeo returned too… though I found out recently that Alfa’s return will take the form of rebadged Dodges. That part’s kind of a pisser. 

I really can’t wait to see where it all goes.