True, and corruption is everywhere, but infrastructure investments are necessary, especially when you consider that a train arrives in the center of a city and you can board 5 minutes prior to departure.

Milan > Naples takes 4h15" by Frecciarossa (high speed train) and it’s approx. 400 miles on map.
Just as Boston > D.C. but with added mountains.
We also have “express” runs which take 2h50" Milan-Rome no-stop (the biggest Italian cities are aligned along the route, just like the BosWash corridor: Milan > Bologna >…

I still can’t conceive that in Italy, a nearly bankrupt nation with a mountain range running north-south, we have high speed trains which have replaced aircrafts routes between Milan, Rome and Naples and in the USA you can’t build a high speed network among Boston, NYC and Washington DC.
I’m not trolling, I really…

Uhm... no. I’ve driven a supercharged Opel Speedster for hundreds of km in Germany and I did not feel safe. Too small and low for my taste. I had a Boxster S for 8 1/2 years and that felt way bigger and more protective in case of a crash.

I’ve driven a VW T-Roc powered by the same engine and it’s zippy.
In an Up, it should be brilliant.
I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable driving one of those (or a 500, for that matter) in the USA. For the same reason one does not feel comfortable when sitting in a Lotus Elise in the traffic and realizing that your head is…

I agree. I had for many years a 280 HP Boxster and I always wanted a tad more, but not too much: 400 hp are useless on open roads and dangerous to exploit (even on zero-police roads, because trees/cliffs).
On track, it’s another story.
In the end, on a non ground-effect-benefitting-car, the amount of speed in the…

They’re not. I was laughing hard at that scene :D

You’re missing another point: the quality of the road surface.
Often it’s made of huge *concrete slabs*. Not asphalt. Which is noisy. And causes terrible, terrible aquaplaning even at very low speeds.
B-roads, on the contrary, are wonderful.
In my experience (I used to go from Italy to the Nordschleife 2-3 times a year…

Looks more like a painted raccoon to me. Sad.
Besides, no hat. Fake!

I hate red Pandas. Everyone hates red Pandas in Italy. Especially because they’re always driven by old men wearing a hat (a so common occurrence, it has become part of the Italian urban dictionary: “old man with hat” = slow driver).
Otherwise, we love it. The 1st Gen. Fiat Panda has a sincere cult following it.…

He is a German of iRaNian (not iTaLian) origins.

The biggest bet is the interest rate of the central bank of your country (in fact, only US, China, EU and Japan central banks matter, the others follow). A sharp rise of the upsaid rates will wipe out any not-so-big appreciation (because historic cars won’t be hedge funds anymore, like now). Of course if the…

“Buy the right car that’s appreciating”
And, may I add, do the math on the historical appreciation rate of that particular model.

I totally hate it and disable it every time. I’ve a modern turbo engine in my new car (it’s a petrol 1.4 TSI, the version with 150 hp and cilynders deactivation) and I intend to keep the car at least 8-10 years.
Why the hate?
Google “engine cooldown” and you’ll understand.

Would you have preferred the death of Chrysler, Mopar and Dodge, with all related jobs?
Because that’s what would’ve happened if Marchionne hadn’t saved their ass, like it or not.

He turned upside down an automaker which was going to go bankrupt.
During his tenure as a CEO, Marchionne made a lot of bold moves:
- Tripled the number of cars manufactured in Italy.
- Launched the Fiat 500 sub-brand, with huge success.
- Bought the Chrysler group for a bunch of coins at the right time.
- As I wrote, made…

Marchionne is Fiat (now FCA) CEO since 2004. 13 years.
The Ferrari spin-off is only a part of a greater strategy.
Today the rumors talk about the spin-off od Magneti Marelli, also a high value asset.
He’s basically leaving for the Agnelli family (a bunch of dividend vultures, if you want my opinion, but hey, it’s their…

1st gear:
Marchionne has always had a simple mission from the Agnelli family: maximize the value of the brands and sell them all, except Ferrari.
He’s not a product guy, he’s a finance guy. And the second best CEO in the automotive industry after Carlos Ghosn, a true genius.
He tried to sell Fiat to Opel (and got a…

Latin America? Rome will suffice.

“I am ashamed to say I might already be tiring of the styling, though.”
I am too. Two weeks ago I was at a supercar meet in Milan and there was a 720S and a 570S. The interior of these new McLarens is very clean and hi-tech and refined, but the exterior looks weird for the sake of it.
I know that there’s an intense…