b'My Fiat 500itmighthavebeenjustafour-cylinder,she was my first car, and she stole my heart.but to me, that little engineroaredlikeait might seem unbecoming for a man of my Ferrari v8! stature6 feet 2 inches and 215 poundsto it is amazing how the vivid imagination of arhapsodize, and in such whimsical terms, child can change the perception of reality.aboutatinylittlecarthatbyamerican it was an older car, a used one, and it wasstandardsseemstobeimpossiblysmall, allmyfamilycouldaffordatthattime.and underpowered. yet i have learned in There were a few dings here and there, butlife that its not about what you see on the welovedourlittleFiat.surfacerather, its about she was our baby. To me,whats inside. and in this shewasasbigasanparticularcase,thereis americancadillacandmore to this little vehicle rode like a rolls-royce. than what you see.some of the happiest mo-The first question every-ments of my youth wereoneaskedmewheni spentinsidethatdreampitchedtheideaforthe machine. she carried meopening sequence for my to school, she took us tonew Tv series was, are the beach, we went shop-you nuts? its a Fiat 500. pingwithher,wetookfamilytripswithyoull never fit in it! My own wife, who has her.Welivedourlivesinthatcar,andalwaysbeenmystrongestsupporter,was shetookcareofallofuswithunre-somewhat miffed at the possibility of driv- lenting pep and determination. i loved her.ing around seattle, where we were shooting i know: our Fiat was just a car, made ofthe series, in such a tiny car. nick, listen. metal, pistons and rubber. but for me, sheit will never make it up Queen anne hill was a magic starship, a mythical chariot.[oneofseattlesmoreformidablehills] 83'