Latest news with #FiatCinquecento
Scottish Sun
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Inbetweeners fans given chance to relive classic episode in replica yellow Fiat – complete with iconic red door
As an added bonus, drivers who are fastest to the buzzer in each location will be given free tickets to Thorpe Park CAR FRIEND Inbetweeners fans given chance to relive classic episode in replica yellow Fiat – complete with iconic red door Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A REPLICA yellow Fiat, similar to the one seen in The Inbetweeners and complete with a ridiculous single red door, is now available to rent in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Car-sharing marketplace Turo is offering fans the chance to take on their very own comedy road trip in a fantastic copy of Simon Cooper's first car, available for £55 per day. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The little motor was a big hit with fans of the show, which ran for three seasons from 2008 to 2010 Credit: Handout 4 A replica of Simon's unforgettable car from The Inbetweeners is available to rent Available for one month only, as an added bonus, Turo is offering drivers who are fastest to the buzzer in each location free tickets to Thorpe Park - giving them the chance to relive one of the show's most iconic episodes from the first series. The distinctive yellow supermini, which is a Fiat Seicento - rather than the show's Fiat Cinquecento - features the red replacement door made famous by the series. Available on Turo from June 2, the only stipulation is that drivers must be aged 25 or over to book the vehicle. Rory Brimmer, Managing Director at Turo UK, said: 'From its comparison to urine to its eventual watery grave, Simon's car became as much a character in The Inbetweeners as the four lads themselves. 'Now, we're giving fans the chance to get behind the wheel of this piece of British comedy history - and avoid long waits at the bus stop.' The added theme park perk is handed to fans in the form of a voucher for Thorpe Park tickets alongside their booking, or Alton Towers for those based near Manchester. Turo insists that, unlike in the show - where Simon's car faced numerous issues, including having its door ripped off, being vandalised and ultimately rolling into a lake at the end of the show's run - this replica is in great condition and fully functional. The Fiat is a mainstay on the show, which ran from 2008 to 2010 across three seasons of just 18 episodes. Given to the character Simon (played by Joe Thomas) by his parents after passing his driving test, he takes an instant dislike to the car, particularly because of its colour and the fact that it has a tape deck. On the same day he gets the car, Simon takes his friends Jay and Will on a road trip to Thorpe Park, but upon arrival, Jay becomes impatient when Simon is reverse parking and opens the door too quickly, breaking it off against a lamppost. The Inbetweeners - Simon's Car - The Fiat 500 Hawaii It later gets a mismatched red replacement door. Turo allows drivers to rent just about any car, just about anywhere - from tech-savvy EVs to rugged 4x4s and reliable city runarounds. Options also include picking up the motor or having it delivered to your preferred location, with third-party liability insurance thrown in as standard as well as a range of vehicle protection plans. 4 Unlike Simon's car in the show, which faced constant mishaps, this replica is in pristine condition and ready for an adventure Credit: Channel 4
The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Inbetweeners fans given chance to relive classic episode in replica yellow Fiat – complete with iconic red door
A REPLICA yellow Fiat, similar to the one seen in The Inbetweeners and complete with a ridiculous single red door, is now available to rent in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. Car-sharing marketplace Turo is offering fans the chance to take on their very own comedy road trip in a fantastic copy of Simon Cooper's first car, available for £55 per day. 4 The little motor was a big hit with fans of the show, which ran for three seasons from 2008 to 2010 Credit: Handout 4 A replica of Simon's unforgettable car from The Inbetweeners is available to rent The distinctive yellow supermini, which is a Fiat Seicento - rather than the show's Fiat Cinquecento - features the red replacement door made famous by the series. Available on Turo from June 2, the only stipulation is that drivers must be aged 25 or over to book the vehicle. Rory Brimmer, Managing Director at Turo UK, said: 'From its comparison to urine to its eventual watery grave, Simon's car became as much a character in The Inbetweeners as the four lads themselves. Read more Motors News 'Now, we're giving fans the chance to get behind the wheel of this piece of British comedy history - and avoid long waits at the bus stop.' The added theme park perk is handed to fans in the form of a voucher for Thorpe Park tickets alongside their booking, or Alton Towers for those based near Manchester. Turo insists that, unlike in the show - where Simon's car faced numerous issues, including having its door ripped off, being vandalised and ultimately rolling into a lake at the end of the show's run - this replica is in great condition and fully functional. The Fiat is a mainstay on the show, which ran from 2008 to 2010 across three seasons of just 18 episodes. Most read in Motors Given to the character Simon (played by Joe Thomas) by his parents after passing his driving test, he takes an instant dislike to the car, particularly because of its colour and the fact that it has a tape deck. On the same day he gets the car, Simon takes his friends Jay and Will on a road trip to Thorpe Park, but upon arrival, Jay becomes impatient when Simon is reverse parking and opens the door too quickly, breaking it off against a lamppost. The Inbetweeners - Simon's Car - The Fiat 500 Hawaii It later gets a mismatched red replacement door. Turo allows drivers to rent just about any car, just about anywhere - from tech-savvy EVs to rugged 4x4s and reliable city runarounds. Options also include picking up the motor or having it delivered to your preferred location, with third-party liability insurance thrown in as standard as well as a range of vehicle protection plans. 4 Unlike Simon's car in the show, which faced constant mishaps, this replica is in pristine condition and ready for an adventure Credit: Channel 4 4 Drivers will also receive free tickets to Thorpe Park or Alton Towers, courtesy of Turo Credit: Supplied
Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Viewpoint: Your car shouldn't look like it pumped iron at the gym
Smaller cars are better for crowded cities and need less resources to build. PHOTO: CITROEN Viewpoint: Your car shouldn't look like it pumped iron at the gym Smaller cars are an obvious fix for crowded cities, limited resources and a warming planet. Yet, they have become an endangered species, as tougher regulations made them uneconomical to produce and people gravitated towards muscular sport utility vehicles (SUVs). A continent that built iconic, utilitarian and wildly popular city cars, like the Fiat Cinquecento and Mini in the 1950s, needs to make tiny cars appealing and affordable again. Smarter rulemaking and financial incentives can help. In Europe, the market share of small 'A-segment' cars – such as the Fiat Panda and Hyundai i10 – has shrunk to the lowest in at least 20 years, according to figures shared with Bloomberg Opinion by data provider Jato Dynamics. Automakers axed their smallest vehicles to protect profit margins and focused on larger, heavier and more expensive models, thereby denying their youngest and elderly clients a new ride. In the birthplace of autos, Germany, the average cost of a new car has soared to around €57,000 (S$82,830), more than the average gross income. Prices in Italy, Spain and France are not far behind. Larger, more expensive cars are partly a consequence of stricter safety and pollution rules, and hence all the technology modern vehicles must contain. (The number of people killed in road traffic accidents fell 16 per cent in the past decade, so tougher regulation has also been beneficial.) And, of course, they are also a result of the trend for high-riding SUVs, which now account for more than half of European car sales. This has created a vicious circle whereby car buyers worried about the consequences of colliding with an SUV buy one to protect themselves. For Americans, where a variety of ill-conceived fuel economy and tax incentives spurred the rise of gargantuan pickup trucks, the notion that Europe's cars are oversized must seem quaint. But the upshot of bigger, pricier wheels is a shrinking market. Just 13 million new vehicles of all sizes were registered across the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway in 2024, or around three million fewer than prior to the pandemic. Manufacturers have threatened to close car plants or have outsourced production to less expensive countries. Meanwhile, consumers who cannot afford a new vehicle are making do with an older, dirtier one, hampering the goal of reducing emissions. The average age of vehicles on the EU's roads has risen to 12½ years. Speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro last week, Renault's chief executive Luca de Meo made a worthwhile suggestion to revive Europe's car market: less onerous regulation for small vehicles. 'There are too many rules designed for larger and more expensive cars, which does not allow us to make small cars under acceptable profitability conditions,' he said. 'Is lane-departure warning absolutely necessary in cars that spend 95 per cent of their time in the city?' Mr de Meo asked. He was referring to the so-called GSR-2 standards, a package of measures that came into force in 2024, mandating features like autonomous emergency braking and speed warnings in all new vehicles. These require sensors and on-board cameras that further inflate the cost of building a car. Mr de Meo also bemoaned how in crash tests, compact models also have 'to react like a high-end saloon with a hood three times longer'. I'm wary of the safety implications of a regulatory carve-out, but his idea should not be dismissed out of hand. Europe already has less onerous rules for so-called quadricycles like the Citroen Ami and Fiat Topolino, whose speed is limited to 45kmh. Both cost less than €10,000. In Japan, so-called kei cars that have a maximum 3.4m length and small engines and weigh only a few hundred kilos account for almost 40 per cent of new sales. Their success is explained by a variety of purchasing, maintenance and parking incentives, but in case you are wondering, these diminutive vehicles are also surprisingly safe and fun to drive. Establishing another regulatory category in Europe would likely be time-consuming, but there is no reason Europe should not consider similar financial incentives for buyers of small cars or penalise those who opt for a large SUV, or both. France has introduced weight-adjusted car taxes and parking charges, for example. Revising carbon-pollution targets to better reflect lifecycle emissions – in other words, including those generated in manufacturing and recycling – would also drive uptake of smaller cars. From a consumer standpoint, it is regrettable that Europe's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) have stifled a potential source of cheap imports. So, it is imperative European automakers find efficiencies and sell vehicles consumers can afford – if necessary by cooperating with Chinese manufacturers or seeking outside software expertise, as Stellantis and Volkswagen have done. Batteries are getting cheaper and these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. The Renault 5 E-Tech, which costs around €25,000 for the basic version, is a great example of the affordable yet stylish vehicles Europe needs (albeit as part of the slightly larger B-segment). There is even a 540hp 'mini-supercar' – the Renault 5 Turbo 3E, costing €155,000 – which deep-pocketed owners are encouraged to customise to the max. Smaller and much cheaper EVs are in the offing, including the Renault Twingo E-Tech and VW ID. Every1, which are expected to cost less than €20,000 when they go on sale in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Both will be produced in Europe. In other words, small cars look poised for a comeback. But they might need a push . BLOOMBERG OPINION This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for the Financial Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Bloomberg
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Your Car Shouldn't Look Like It Pumped Iron at the Gym
Smaller cars are an obvious fix for crowded cities, limited resources and a warming planet. Yet they've become an endangered species, as tougher regulations made them uneconomical to produce and we gravitated towards muscular SUVs. A continent that built iconic, utilitarian and wildly popular city cars, like the Fiat Cinquecento and Mini in the 1950s, needs to make tiny cars appealing and affordable again. Smarter rulemaking and financial incentives can help.
