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Want a Fiat 500? You’ll be able to buy a brand-new 2024 Fiat 500e after November.But if you want an original, a company in Italy is doing restomods of the 1957–1975 classics.Builds start under $10,000—including the car—and Real Italian Cars is willing and able to ship completed cars anywhere in the United States.City-car fans, mark your calendars for November 2023. That’s when Fiat North America is unveiling the American version of the 2024 500e. But as exciting as that is for buyers of stylish EVs—as well as Fiat’s current U.S. lineup—it’s not the only Cinquecento resurrection. A new company in Italy is building classic 500 restomods, and unlike Singer’s 911s or Cyan Racing’s Volvo P1800s, buying one won’t require a second mortgage.It’s hard to find clearer, more apt names in the automotive business than Real Italian Cars. Firstly, the new shop is headquartered in the Tuscan city of Lucca in Italy. Secondly, the business’s focus is restoring an Italian automotive legend: the original Fiat Nuova 500. And thirdly, co-founders Amedeo Provenzali, Anthony Peacock, and Mattia Vita all have ties to Italian automotive culture. Vita, for example, is an active rally driver, and Peacock has consulted for Pirelli Media and written stories for numerous car publications.”We’ve been friends a long time,” Peacock recently told Car and Driver over the phone, and he expressed their fondness for vintage 500s. Yet while “millions and millions of these Fiats were produced, they’re a little bit of a dying breed,” he said. The trio wanted to keep the ones that remained around, “to preserve something for the future.” It started as a hobby, with the initial clients being mutual friends asking for repairs. But “without realizing it,” he said, “we were trying to set up a business, one that encourages more people, particularly future generations, to get into classic car ownership.”Regarding that business, Real Italian Cars takes on any 1957–1975 Fiat 500 model, from the base 500D all the way to the wonderfully wicker-seated open-air 500 Jolly. The shop’s services range from simple cosmetic corrections as well as interior and engine work all the way to a full restoration or custom overhaul. That includes sympathetic modern touches like an Apple CarPlay–equipped stereo. And before you ask, yes, the shop has already gotten requests for Abarth re-creations.If you don’t want to go full scorpion, you can also have Real Italian Cars swap the original air-cooled 499cc two-cylinder engine and crash gearbox for a Fiat 126 powertrain. That brings more grunt, courtesy of the bigger powerplant (594cc or 652cc, depending on the donor’s model year) and gear synchros. Peacock’s personal 500 has the 126 swap, and he attests, “The extra power and synchromesh really make a difference.” Considering a stock 1957 500 can’t even hit 60 mph and has a quarter-mile time longer than some YouTube ads, we’re inclined to believe him. Plus, thanks to the synchros, you don’t need to grind and double-clutch to drive your classic car around town. All the better and easier to enjoy your daily dose of vintage dolce vita.It might be getting even easier in the future. Peacock told us that Real Italian Cars is currently prototyping and testing an EV-swapped Nuova 500 build. “The only thing that’s been a headache so far are the brakes,” he said, owing to the extra weight of the batteries. But otherwise, the classic Fiats “are perfect, perfect cars to become EVs,” he claims, due to their simple mechanical nature. If all goes well, the EV conversion option might be available by the end of summer 2023. If that schedule holds, come November, there’ll be two electric Fiat 500 options to choose from in the U.S.You read that right: Real Italian Cars is taking orders from American clients and can even arrange shipping. Peacock said the company already has someone from Florida requesting a build, as well as a California resident who wants to take an Italian summer road trip in his new little Fiat. While the registration process for a restored 1957–1975 500 will vary from state to state, these cars are all good under the 25-year rule. So are all but the last of the 126s, while the earliest ones are exempt from California’s smog inspections. Basically, if you have the money, you shouldn’t have a problem driving one of these restomods in the U.S.Speaking of money, you won’t need crazy amounts of it. As was the case when the business was just a hobby for friends, you’re paying “mates’ rates” (Real Italian Cars has a base in London, we can use U.K. slang). The shop’s builds start at €9000; that’s about $9800 at today’s exchange rates. That includes the cost of the donor car. As with other restomod operations, the more you customize, the more you pay. And starting prices vary based on the specific 500 model. An original Jolly restoration, for example, starts at a little over $27K. But considering an original non-wicker Nuova 500 typically goes for $10,000 to $20,000 these days, these prices are surprisingly reasonable.We wonder how much re-creating Lupin III’s 500 will cost?Research EditorAfter discovering car magazines and Fast and Furious movies in high school, Matthew Skwarczek wanted to create cleaner fuels to keep automobiles around. But after a brief engineering career, the Chicagoland native realized he preferred researching and writing about the cars themselves. That’s how he found himself first at MotorBiscuit and then at C/D. Today, when he’s not reading, he’s daydreaming on Bring a Trailer, backpacking, or riding his motorcycle or bicycle. More

This prairie-sized Galaxie is particularly imposing in the rarely seen fastback body style.Underneath the acres of sheetmetal, this ’60s cruiser has been modernized with a reworked Hotchkis suspension and Wilwood brakes.Metallic blue paint, a subtle hood scoop, and black steelies with dog-dish hub caps complete the understated look. Car and DriverOne of the world’s most scenic roads, Canada’s Icefields Parkway runs north from Calgary up to the tourist town of Jasper. Sure, you could rent a Chevy Equinox to make the trip, but here’s a much more charismatic sled to haul you past the glaciers. Up for auction in Calgary is this 1968 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe, a prairie-sized cruiser with some very cool tricks hidden up its sleeve.Today’s pick from Bring A Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos) is the kind of carefully prepared vintage machine that provides 1960s nostalgia without the old-car dynamic drawbacks. This Galaxie is a true full-sizer, a big ol’ boat from the blue oval. It should be driven while wearing the full-denim Canadian tuxedo, singing along with Stompin’ Tom Connors as he belts out Bud the Spud. But tucked behind those 18-inch steel wheels are a host of parts from the likes of Wilwood and Hotchkis. It’s a boat all right—but a speedboat.Bring a TrailerThe Hotchkis sport suspension is the really tasty part of this build. When Jay Leno went looking for a way to improve the handling of the 1966 Ford Galaxie he built as a tribute to a beloved Leno family car, he had Hotchkis design a setup incorporating big anti-roll bars, Fox shock absorbers, uprated springs, and even reworked control arms. This ’68 Galaxie gets essentially the same treatment, and it should corner as flat as a Saskatchewan wheat field.Bring a TrailerUnder the USS Eisenhower–sized hood is a comprehensively rebuilt 390-cubic-inch V-8. Galaxies came with bigger powerplants, but this 6.4-liter makes all the right noises without any high-strung motor bad habits. It huffs out growly V-8 noises through Hooker long-tube headers like a big friendly mastiff.The transmission is a highway-friendly three-speed automatic, refreshed and rebuilt. A 9-inch rear end with an Eaton limited slip differential gets that V-8 power to the ground via 255-series Firestone Firehawk tires wrapping 18-inch steel wheels.Bring a TrailerWilwood six-piston front brakes connected to braided lines and an upgraded master cylinder should enable this big Ford to safely shed highway speeds. A three-core aluminum radiator with twin 11-inch fans keeps things cool in the summer.Bring a TrailerThrow in a laundry list of other driver-friendly tweaks—better seats and steering among them—and this Galaxie is an ideal retro road tripper. Cruise on up into the Rocky Mountains, make friends with the bighorn sheep, then thunder across the Plains on your way back home. Bidding at this writing is just under $10,000, and the auction runs through May 31.Car and driverCar and driver Lettermark logoContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. More

For the past few years, new-car prices have obviously been climbing, so it’s nice to learn that there are some traditional Memorial Day deals out there this year.With the pandemic fading away and the related supply-chain problems sorting themselves out, we’re back to perks like low financing offers and factory discounts.The best deals available knock around 10 percent off the price of the car but don’t expect that sort of sale on everything on the lot.For years, Memorial Day has been in the rotation for holidays that often come with deals at local car dealerships. It’s the start of summer, after all, and that means hitting the open road to experience construction and traffic jams in new places. After years of a pandemic and related supply-chain problems, there’s reason to wonder if new-car shoppers can expect exceptional discounts on a new set of wheels this weekend. The good news for buyers is that there are a few signs that things are getting back to normal. How normal? A joint forecast from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive projects that new-vehicle retail sales for May 2023 will be 9.6 percent higher than May 2022, with almost 1.1 million sales predicted.Shopping ListDiscounts and Lower Interest Rates?This year, the best Memorial Day deals take the form of up-front discounts and lowered finance rates. That’s good, but let’s not forget that the average new car price in the U.S. was just over $48,000 last month. That’s a lot, but it represented a bit of a plateau after almost two years of upward movement. It was the first time in 20 months that the average price of a new car once again dropped below the sticker price. As the world figures out its post-pandemic reality, including normalizing supply chains again, we find ourselves in a short moment of price stability, and dealers aren’t making as much per car as they were before.”The improved supply of vehicles vs. a year ago has resulted in a decline in dealer profits. However, dealer profits remain well above pre-pandemic levels,” J.D. Power analyst Thomas King said in a statement. “The primary reason for the decline in profit is that fewer vehicles are being sold for prices higher than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). This month, only 31 percent of new vehicles are projected to be sold above MSRP, which is down from a high of 49 percent in July 2022.”The somewhat stable prices and improved supply of new vehicles mean shoppers can indeed find deals this weekend. While not all of these are specific Memorial Day promotions, they’re all available until at least the end of the month. With all of this in mind, here’s an overview of some of this weekend’s best new-car deals.Check Your Dealer, but Discounts Are Out ThereConsumer Reports found that the best deals available this weekend could drop the price of a new car by between 6 and 10 percent off the original MSRP. At the top of CR’s list is the 2023 Chevrolet Equinox, which can be had for a 10 percent discount. Other Big Three models are also discounted: the 2023 Dodge Charger and 2023 Ford Edge are both seven percent off right now.Related StoryPlenty of models—including the Hyundai Santa Cruz, Honda Passport, and Subaru Outback—currently come with some sort of discounted lease deal. According to U.S. News, for example, the Outback can be had for $345 per month if you sign a three-year lease and bring $3545 to the signing.There are Memorial Day sales offers and substantial factory discounts on some new Jeep models. Until the end of May, the Compass can be had with up to $3500 off—that price is for returning lessees, however—while there are discounts up to $2000 available for the Wrangler. Overall, these discounts are good for between 3 and 10 percent off. There are other deals to be found, and availability varies by location and other factors, but the good news is that car shoppers might just get lucky this weekend.Contributing EditorSebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology’s importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.  More