Fiat Club Africa, 2008
South Africa
Now here is an interesting book. I have many prospective and existing club members who have an endless set of questions about these little gems; which is the better, a 500 or a 600? Will I like it? What are the differences? How practical? And so forth.
In this handy sized book, Malcolm tries to answer the major questions covering the Fiat 500, 126 and 600 mainstream models through the years and point out the many positives as well as the pitfalls, that a 50-year-old car could have. Both the 500 and 600 have seen a huge upsurge in interest of late both with the revival of Fiat as a company doing exceptional small cars again and of course with the latest fashion icon the New 500, due to come to South Africa this year.
This book will help the reader select the best option for and guide the reader through the tire kicking and buying processes in Malcolm's concise, easy and often humorous writing style. As a relatively small book, it however is not an encyclopedia on these models and does miss out some of the detail that could leave the deep enthusiast a little frustrated. For everyone else this is a great book, even if you decide that the real McCoy is not for you, and you would rather plump for a New 500 with all the toys, you will not have wasted your money.
Enjoy the read and happy hunting.

member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, Malcolm Bobbitt has some 25 books to his credit. He is acknowledged as a writer covering a diverse range of subjects and who regularly contributes to a number of motoring journals as well as having made several radio and television broadcasts. The author's acclaimed book on the history of the Fiat 500 & 600 (published by Veloce and now in its updated and enlarged second edition) has not only been translated into the German and Japanese languages, it has been particularly praised by The Daily Telegraph for its depth of research and model coverage.

1. Is it the right car for you?; 2. Cost considerations; 3. Living with an Rolls Royce or Bentley; 4. Relative values; 5. Before you view; 6. Inspection equipment; 7. Fifteen minute evaluation; 8. Key points; 9. Serious evaluation; 10. Auctions; 11. Paperwork; 12. What is it worth?; 13. Do you really want to restore?; 14. Paint problems; 15. Lack of use problems; 16. The E-type community; 17. Vital statistics; Index.