Sorry for the less than stellar shot, but speaking of the Abarth, I just had to share (I got this plate yesterday):

That's kind of irrelevant. Additional power can be had in ways other than F/I. It was mentioned at one point that a high-revving 250hp N/A version of the engine may be in the works. Besides which, I think that fitment issue is just BS, I'm sure they could squeeze in a turbo or a supercharger without too much trouble.

I believe this is a meth pipe situation.

I test drove the FR-S and nearly pulled the trigger but got an Abarth instead. If the BRZ/FR-S just had a bit more torque and felt just a little rowdier that probably would have won me over. More than likely I'll trade in the Abarth for a hotter version of the FR-S/BRZ whenever that comes to fruition.

Ah, Ford Focus if I'm not mistaken.

Same here. These days I try to limit my reaction to a palm up (what were you thinking?) or thumbs down (you are bad at driving). Although yelling and displaying more profane hand gestures still happens from time to time.

Based on these maps Ohio is the focal point of the U.S.

FX35 was what I was thinking as well.

Money brah. I'm sure my Abarth was a good $5k less than your car. JCW Mini's are awesome but they don't come cheap. I looked at the FR-S, GTI, and WRX but with some haggling the Abarth was the cheapest of the bunch by a good bit.

Very true. Buy whatever makes you happy at the time (and is feasible financially), you can always trade for something different down the road.

I dislike how the headlights connect to the grille more and more every time I see it.

I don't know if that's the production steering wheel but it sure looks a lot like the one in the 500 Abarth. Exhaust note sound similar too. Not that those are bad things.

Agreed, the concept does look sharper and possibly a little more compact, which I like. Could be worse though.

I destroyed the the passenger side one on my '12 Focus from hitting a cone in autocross. The cone pushed the flap thingy into my tire and the tire completely chewed it up. Fortunately my Abarth doesn't have those.

I see an inexplicable number of these in the Philly area. I was hoping they'd be so rare that I'd never have to see one.

It is a decent looking (sub?) compact hatch. If I had to drive a Prius I'd choose the C.

That exhaust note is a significant part of what won me over. I all but signed the papers on an FR-S, but decided to test drive an Abarth just to make sure I tried all the options in the cheap sporty car segment. I think I would have been just as happy with the FR-S, but the Abarth might be a bit more fun for everyday…

Lol, great story!

Ha! Very true.