Hi Stelios,
 I read your story about reversing Yello into a BMW and wondered
whether you would be interested in hearing about something just a
little more catastophic that happened to my yellow sporting last  
June. 
  I bought 'Virgil' on 8th May 1996 after owning and restoring a
VW Beetle for 6 years it was a completely new world for me driving a
brand new and very quick little car. 
  All went well for just over 5 weeks, I was completely in love with my 
little car and was having great fun whizzing past unsuspecting 
company reps on the motorway in what must have looked to them like 
the roller-skate from hell !
  On one fatefull day however I was on my way home and coming down a 
two lane road I pulled up to some traffic lights next to a bus. 
I was in the right lane of the two, ready to go straight on at 
the approaching traffic island/roundabout, the bus was in the left 
lane. I thought 'That's odd, most busses here turn right at the island 
into the special bus lane, perhaps he's in the wrong lane, I'll keep 
an eye out for him'.
  So when the lights went green I matched his speed and watched for 
him indicating right, when he didn't indicate I assumed he was going 
either left of straight on with me, so I increased the speed and 
headed for my exit on the roundabout..... BANG !! The bus driver 
seemed to think that it was sensible to turn right in the left hand 
lane of the roundabout and had come round and hit me in the passenger 
(left hand) side of my beloved Virgil ! As you can imagine, being 
hit by a 10 tonne bus at about 30 m.p.h (50 kmh) isn't a pleasant 
experience !!! 
  Virgil was hit in the left-hand door about half way along, this 
lifted me up to about 45 degrees and had it not been for the forward 
momentum of the car I would easily have been on my roof ! Fighting 
against the temptation to turn into the lean of the car which would 
surely turned me over I did the opposite and THUD!! the left side 
wheels came down with bowel-shaking force, blowing my front left tyre. 
  There was little I could do after that, I went about another 15 
metres further, collecting a 20cm high curb stone with the right side 
front wheel (another blown tyre and a cracked wheel!) and came to 
rest !
  Surveying the damage with my father and brother the next day at a
holding compoud was when it really struck me how bad things were, the 
inner door panel was pressing a good 5cm into the passenger seat, the 
whole of the rear quarter panel, inner and outer sill panels were 
crushed or warped. The right side front wheel was cracked down to 
the studs, the two left side ones were bent and scratched !!
  Virgil was in a Fiat Approved Body Shop for 4 weeks and had most of 
the right side from the door backwards replaced or reset, 3 new 
wheels and tyres, new glass and winder motor, a few steering and 
suspension parts and about a million checks and double checks !!
  Back on the road now for 7 months and apart from one small fault in 
the paint work and a slow winder motor (both repaired very quickly) 
Virgil is as good as new, having about 10,000 km more behind him after 
that awful day. You may be wondering how I was after that nightmare 
experience, apart from a small cut on my hand where a piece of glass 
got between it and the steering wheel, I was completely unharmed. 
(apart maybe from giving busses a wide berth !)

  I thought this would be good proof of the indestructability of the 
cinquecento as well as the excellence of Fiat's repair facilities. 
I'm afraid I was far too shocked to take any photo's, they would have 
been a good reminder for me. Hope this interests you !

Hope you enjoy your Punto GT, a friend of mine has one and it's very 
fast !!

Yours,


David Corker.