Went Car Browsing Tonight...

"offroadkarter" (04RauderDTR) 08/24/2013 at 04:12 • Filed to: Car Dealer, Dealership, Ford, Fiat, Chrysler

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A couple of years ago my friends and I used to roam dealer lots during the closed hours and scope out the new models, as well as seeing what was on the used car lot. We really didn't have anything better to do, and it was neat to see what new models the manufacturers were putting out, as well as finding odd ball used cars that pop up time to time. Well tonight I had some time to kill so I stopped by a Mopar/Ford/Fiat dealer on the way home. Here are a few things I found.

(quick shot of my car in front of the Ford part)

First off, Fiat

This dealer has a metric ass load of 500's, they always have and I imagine they always will. Honestly I don't even know of any other Fiat dealers in the area. I've already explored the 500 so I didn't care to much about that.

(500's everywhere!)

This is what I wanted to see in person, was the new 500L

Why does this exist? Why do we have this? Doesn't Fiat have anything else they can give us for a sedan? Seriously this looks like 500 that grew a bit and became seriously overweight. Is this how the Italians view Americans? Probably...

The inside isn't horrible. At 6ft 5in I fit rather well inside this car. I found what I assume was a mid range model with a 6spd trans and UConnect headunit (hello Chrsyler influence).

(One thing you can't call the interior is "bland")

The shift throws were smooth, the E-brake is weird as hell (go sit in a 500L you'll see what I mean). Overall I liked the interior better than the exterior, but the 500L isn't even remotely close to on my "want to own" list. I wonder how long it will take until I see one of these on the road.

(The audio system in this 500L was pretty good, and the touch screen was responsive)

I also want to say, I really like the color combo on this Abarth. I tried to find one that was unlocked so I could explore the interior (have only been in a regular 500) but no dice. I don't want to own a 500 Abarth but I'd love to drive one at least once.

Now, what was going on over at camp Chrysler? Plenty of wranglers and fake jeeps, but I saw this sitting in the show room. I also saw the cleaning staff sitting on the couches watching TV, slackers!

(Apologies for the cell shot, I took this before I got my camera out of my car)

Now over at Ford, the showroom was boring so I just roamed the inventory. They had this 2008 GT500 with I believe 6000 miles on it. Willing to bet this was owned by some old guy.

Lots of new mustangs! The white one is a GT/CS with Recaros (which was locked... ffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuu)

Last one for the night, I found a 00 Lincoln LS V8 for sale. This HAS to be a typo, but they wanted 3,995 for the car. Overall it was pretty clean, even if this car has 300,000 miles on it I'd call that impressive.

Always nice to roam the lots and not be bothered by the sales guys.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > offroadkarter 08/24/2013 at 04:35

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What kind of dealers leave the cars unlocked for you to just explore after hours? With the keys for you to explore the radio? Do you live in Trustville, Honestland?

offroadkarter > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 08/24/2013 at 04:38

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A lot of new cars you can turn the headunit on without keys. One dealer (GMC/Buick) up the road actually leaves EVERY car unlocked, day or night. Its their policy to leave them unlocked. I explored a last gen 7 series at that dealer once, as well as a very low mile 02 camaro SS.

Most other dealers its just getting lucky to find a car that was left unlocked. Used cars you always have to watch for car alarms.

matthewklein220 > offroadkarter 08/24/2013 at 05:23

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Ok, if this dealer has a California Special, I'm assuming it's somewhere in California. (Seems like a safe assumption) So where is this dealer that leaves the cars unlocked?

offroadkarter > matthewklein220 08/24/2013 at 05:32

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Nope, try New Jersey lol. While the very first CS was a California only thing, when Ford brought back the GT/CS in 2007 they sold them all over.

This dealer doesn't leave cars unlocked, they just forget to lock a few cars.

matthewklein220 > offroadkarter 08/24/2013 at 05:34

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Ah, as a Californian, that seems really weird... And it makes more sense that they forget to lock them.

joemcm > offroadkarter 08/24/2013 at 08:56

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That really is a metric ass load of 500s! I agree with you whole-heartedly about the L though. I saw one in the mall and have to say it has no redeeming qualities.

offroadkarter > joemcm 08/24/2013 at 09:13

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I should have looked to see how many of these were left over 2012 models. They had a lot more Abarths this time to. The last time I was at this dealer which has to be at least half a year, they had ONE in the showroom, now they had about 6-8 on the lot alone, plus the one in the showroom.

Also, I took this picture at the same dealer in november of 2011

I also found this in the jeep section this past march lol

joemcm > offroadkarter 08/24/2013 at 09:43

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Looks like someone took their browsing next level lol. I'm surprised after something like that they haven't hired night watch.

TurboSloth > offroadkarter 08/24/2013 at 12:43

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Route 22, I see.

offroadkarter > TurboSloth 08/24/2013 at 13:25

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you know it!