Developments, part I

(My Fića is third from the bottom.)

When one plans a trip, one does everything possible to keep negative externalities to a minimum: people like to ensure that they stay at a good hotel and that their flight leaves at an agreeable time (seems logical). When they arrive at their destination, people tend to focus on the experience at hand, blocking out thoughts of unplanned events that are yet to present themselves.

However, rarely does one consider that positive externalities could also occur... So, imagine my sentiment when I learned that the opportunity to visit the Fića in person before it gets shipped was to become a reality.

Besides the unavoidable photo session (more on that in part two), we also came across some photos taken early in the whole Fića story, which I have included here.

The title photograph (zoomed in at right) shows the car parked at my distant, ninth-floor home. To the left of it is a blue Volkswagen Lupo, one of the smallest cars sold in Europe, and to the right is a Škoda Fabia, a car in the same size class as the Toyota Yaris. Tall ones, beware...

The first four pictures below show most of the components that needed to be discarded, meaning those which no restoration could save. The fifth one was taken when the new floorpans were welded in; the red "paint" is the rustproofing solution.