Interesting automotive details you may not have noticed...

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike) 06/25/2015 at 23:02 • Filed to: None

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Good evening Oppo! I thought I would take the time to sit down and mention to you Opponauts some of the interesting details I’ve noticed or learned about on various Italian cars over the years - things that I personally find really interesting, or things that many people may not notice or tend to overlook!

Now, some of you may have noticed these or heard of some of these before, so I’m sorry if you have, but hopefully my post will let you re-appreciate them again! These are all a repeat from a previously written note I had created as a moderator on the Italian car fan page I help run on Facebook called FIATALY, so if you read them there, sorry for the repeats! :)

The first thing I will mention in this list is one of my favorite little details. A lot of people take door handles for granted nowadays on most cars. In modern times, most everyday vehicles have very similar exterior door-handle styles...the long handle that pulls outward as you pull on it to unlatch the door (Like this: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). Some more expensive supercars and sports cars have slightly different handles, or fancy integrated handles, or electronic buttons. Some “everyday” companies try to make theirs a little more interesting as well (Like the rear handles on the second-gen SEAT Leon from the VW Group, for example: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), but they are almost universally fairly similar. Sure, all they do is open the door so you can get in, but, if you think about it, the handle is literally the first thing on the car that you touch before you become involved with the car as a driver or passenger...it is your first connection to the car, so it should be interesting and tasteful, yet functional. To that end, that’s why I’ve always loved the door handles on the original 1936-1955 FIAT ‘Topolino’ (the car which was a predecessor to the classic FIAT 500):

The handles on the Topolino, to me at least, look EXACTLY like they should. They are the antithesis of modern door handles...rather than pulling outwards, they pull upwards. Rather than being horizontal, they are vertical. Those aspects alone make them look and feel a little special compared to modern rides. But there is the styling of them as well. Unlike many modern cars, they aren’t just ‘bumps’ that are sticking out of the door, they are sculpted into the bodywork. Check out the way the handle melds with that body ridge line along the side near the top! That neat little teardrop curved indent for your fingers to grasp the tip near the bottom....they could’ve just used an ugly rectangular indent, but this rounded, smooth one fits the swoopy lines of the car and was used right up until the end of production in the Coupé models - the 3-door wagon ‘Giardiniera’ models all got ‘normal’ door handles though! ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). Finally, they are dainty...yet strong. One solid piece of bent metal, but still small and thin to match the car’s tiny stature!

The second interesting detail I will mention today is the front suspension on the original FIAT 500. I actually learned this tidbit from a video Top Gear did about the original FIAT 500 several years ago ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), but I think it is worthy of mention because of just how effective, yet clever it is as a piece of engineering! For the record, as MANY of us know, this design is actually fairly common for suspension back in the day, but I am focusing on the 500 to highlight this design as it is by far one of my favorite classics :) . Now, most people are used to appreciating a car from above...through its bodywork and styling, under its hood where its beating-heart engine lies, and through the interior where the passengers and driver are enclosed. However, we (even us petrolheads, I’m afraid!) rarely appreciate cars from BELOW . Most of us, being petrolheads, know at least vaguely how suspension on cars works and different types of suspension components like shocks, struts, leaf springs, etc. Most of us also know that older cars tended to use leaf springs as the technology wasn’t available for more advanced suspension setups yet. Leaf springs, although not very sporty, were (and still are!) a very reliable and tough suspension system...there is a reason many, many older and newer vans, pickup trucks, SUVs and commercial trucks around the world are still on the road using them to this day! This brings us to the original 500.

Take a look underneath the front or rear end of many an older ride with leaf sprung suspension and you will probably see one leaf spring for each wheel. On the 500, you will only see one across the front wheels! Like it said in the video, sure, this was a way for Dante Giacosa to save the FIAT company money, but it was also a way for the car to be cheaper to sell to the customer - Italy needed to get back on the move after the war and less parts means the sale price of the car can be lower! This single leaf spring also helped to make the car lighter (great for helping the car’s tiny, but spunky fuel-sipping engine!) and also help give the car its surprisingly go-kart-like handling by helping to somewhat stiffen the car WIDTHways as well, just like modern strut tower braces do (to an extent)!

Lastly, the final detail I will mention today that caught my eye is the front turn signals on the facelifted, later versions of the Autobianchi Bianchina, a small Italian coupe, convertible or estate based on FIAT 500 mechanicals. On modern cars, the turn signals are often integrated into the headlight clusters. On older cars, they are quite often a separate light. The way they were added to the Bianchina is very tasteful and stylish in my opinion. Even the turn signals on the older Bianchinas are equally as fitting...sure, an alternate design, but they have chrome surrounds and are still fitted to integrate nicely with that chrome strip across the front of the car, tying into the little grille and company script on the nose and directly above the little vent openings for symmetry - different, yet still stylish and effective ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). The same goes for the turn signals on the facelifted later Bianchinas, which I like even more - they don’t look like they were simply added as a necessary afterthought, but are designed to meld seamlessly into the chrome brightwork of the bumper:

Most are clear lenses, but I think they look equally as nice with amber lenses due to the chrome surrounds ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). They have a subtle curve to the tip at the top that stops them from appearing too ‘blocky’ and the way they almost perfectly meet the front edge of the top of the bumper overriders (excepting the rubber bumper pads, of course) helps give them a long and clean appearance despite them actually being relatively short and a separate piece.

Well, that’s all for now Opponauts! I hope I gave new appreciation for some small, interesting and overlooked details on these little Italian rides - keep an eye out on any car and there is always an element of design choice to be appreciated somewhere! :)

Goodnight Oppo! :D

Dsscats > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/26/2015 at 00:16

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I always notice semaphores. Always. I don’t know why.

Berang > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/26/2015 at 02:07

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Transverse leaf springs were once very common on light cars. From the Model T to the Trabant - and lots of cars in between. I think even the Yugo used one on the rear. Although I think the Waterless Knox takes the cake for creative implementation of leaf springs: