the Italians should design a few things on cars,
Nothing else.
Note to Carolyn: At the risk of being off topic, donāt try to dance the night away in Amalfi shoes; they may not last till the last waltz.
I always buy a couple Italian belts for $10. The suits though are $2000 and requires about three fittings over several weeks. Doesnāt fit my budget or time frame, plus I donāt wear suits hardly anymore. New one in the closet never been worn just waiting for the proper wedding or funeral or Governorās invitation. Collecting dust. Oh yeah the belt had to be restitched by the local shoe repair guy.
Please ,fix it again Tony .
@Docnick I know some about Italian cars. Had an uncle that used to take a Fiat 128 (circa 1972) to Rally races and would help him work on it. Then when I was very young, I bought and restored a Lancia Beta Zagato, targa top (google it). Nice car and drove great for what it was, but it would rust like crazy and I was told that Italy does not have cold or humidity.
I visited there a few years ago and was quite surprised at the number of old Fiat 500ās on the road. They donāt drive as much as we do.
How does Italy not have cold . . . ?!
They have the Alps . . . and Iām assuming itās cold as ice on the top of a mountain
Even in Germany, Fiats would rust like nobodyās business :naughty:
No rust prevention measure whatsoever 
And getting parts for an older Fiat was a cruel joke 
āAnd getting parts for an older Fiat was a cruel jokeā
Yup!
Before Fiat departed from the US marketplace a few decades ago, it wasnāt unusual for it to take a couple of months to get parts from overseas.
Some dealerships actually resorted to taking parts off of new cars on their lots in order to repair Fiats that were brought in for repairs. Then, when the ordered parts finally arrived, they were installed on the new ādonorā cars.
Since Fiats tended to sit on dealer lots forā¦many monthsā¦this was a practical way for dealers to keep disgruntled Fiat owners a little less disgruntled.
In the 80s my neighbor bought his wife a neat little Fiat 128 because it was easy on gas. It had those hideous jerry-rigged bumpers to meet the 5 mph crash test, which Europe did not have at that time.
Talking to him in his driveway he put his foot on the corner of the carās rear bumper, and it promptly broke off completely! The rest of the car went downhill fast and the āFix It Again Tonyā nickname was well earned.
@VDCdriver
"Before Fiat departed from the US marketplace a few decades ago, it wasnāt unusual for it to take a couple of months to get parts from overseas.
Some dealerships actually resorted to taking parts off of new cars on their lots in order to repair Fiats that were brought in for repairs. Then, when the ordered parts finally arrived, they were installed on the new ādonorā cars."
Several decades ago, a friend that I rode motorcycles with had a Ducati (nice bike) and your description of obtaining Fiat parts was an exact description (replace ācarā with āmotorcycleā) of obtaining his Ducati parts.
Ducati had to take a charging system part (donāt remember exactly which one) off a brand new āStates Sideā Ducati to finally get his part after a long delay.
CSA
Inventory control my man, inventory control. Instead of ordering one, order two and put one in stock. I hate running out of stuff so I usually carry a pretty good inventory. Especially if I think its going to be hard to get another.
Iām not saying the work force is to blame but Italy is not exactly a capitalist country. I remember we were down in the southern part and it was time to leave to go back to Rome by train to catch our plane. Nope, no train. No bus, no nothing. The entire transportation system was on strike. What for? Just to make a point that they could. Come noon, everyone came back to work as scheduled by the union. I had the same experience in a couple hotels where they think they are doing you a great favor by renting a room. Yeah not everyone, and there are some frustrated people, but same day shipping is a foreign concept. Now they are fighting a huge illegal immigration problem that may change the culture-to what who knows?
@Bing Italy is unique! On my last trip there I wanted to cash in some American Express traveler checks. It was 12:30 and no bank was open! They all closed for lunch just when many people want to do their banking.
I had that in Greece. I think it was Wednesday afternoon. Everything, banks, stores, everything closed for the afternoon. And it was right in the middle of their financial crisis. I would have thought that would be the time to try extra hard to make money but donāt want to interfere with an afternoon off.
There are still a whole lot of small towns in the U.S. that virtually close up after 5 or 6PM, especially in the Midwest.
Yeah maybe at 5:00 but not noon.
True, but Greece has its own customs.
My only experience with this is in the U.S.
LOLā¦ Italiansā¦Italian Cars, and many other Italian things are all āEmotional Creationsā
They also seem to have emotionsā¦Car doesnāt feel like running todayā¦it will tomorrowā¦ Car is in a bad mood todayā¦it will passā¦ It seems the early Italian vehicles had as many emotions or moods as their creators. You did know that Italy basically shuts down between 2-5pm right?
You did know that it was and is common to have Wine with lunch at work right? These things will more than likely never changeā¦ Im sure its changed a little but you get me.
Before anyone tries to chastise me hereā¦ I am 100% Pure Blood Italianā¦Whatever that means with Italys conquest historyā¦lolā¦
Aside from the 1000ās of stories of āMoody Italian Vehiclesā I will never forget a scene I saw in some movieā¦I dont recall the movieā¦just the jist of the scene. It went something like thisā¦ It was in reference to an Italian designer succeeding in some design of somethingā¦ He had triumphed in whatever it was he was designingā¦someone asked what now? A woman in the crown turned to her friends and answered for him and saidā¦ He will probably take the month off being satisfied with himself for a whileā¦before he returns back to workā¦
That sorta sums up Italy pretty well. They arent Hell Bent on profit usually and take time to smell the Rosesā¦ Good for lifeā¦not so much in businessā¦ But it is what it isā¦ Haha I surely resemble these remarks personally. In so many waysā¦ I work hardā¦then I play hard and let neither interfere with the otherā¦works for meā¦
Other countries have a similar twistā¦ Who is right? Who is wrong? Is right for us who work ourselves to death for the Almighty Dollar ? Is it wrong to take time to Smell the Roses?
Like the Tootsie Pop Questionā¦ The world may never knowā¦ LOL Do what works for you I guessā¦
Captain Off Topic Strikes Againā¦Sorryā¦ This sorta fits thoā¦
Blackbird
@āHonda Blackbirdā
Were you born in the United States?
Do you/did you speak fluent Italian . . . forgive me if I donāt know the names of any dialects?
Iām just trying to figure out if youāre American-born or foreign-born . . . like I am . . . and some/several of the other regulars?
It seems to bring something to this melting pot of a country . . . Iāve probably dated myself because I havenāt heard anybody use that term for quite some time
Iām going to date myself again . . . a few days ago, somebody at work was talking about a conversion van they had, and I asked if it had captainās chairs
He didnāt know what the heck I was talking about and gave me a blank stare 
@db4690 From what I know āCaptain Chairsā are still used in Minivans and crossovers, I donāt think one has to be old to know what they are. Maybe the guy was clueless anyway.
I agree with @āHonda Blackbirdā on the assessment of Italians. It is spot on.
OK, I take back what I said about Italy. According to an article today Roma citizens are taking to the streets-to fill pot holes (car related), clean up trash, and plant trees that have died. There is hope. They are tired of the government not taking care of their city and taking the law into their own hands. Bravo.
I like ācaptainās chairsā, but when I bought my minivan they were options on most vans. The standard middle and third rows were bench seats, and the standard front seats on most were buckets but lacked the arm rests that make them ācaptainās chairsā.