What gives a Fiat/Lancia the smell

[spidernut]

As a marketing guy, there is a reason for the smell of every maker's cars. Back in the old days, manufacturers realized that the smell of a new car affected buyers' decision to purchase. "There's nothing like that new car smell," people would say. So, companies started chemically engineering the smell of the cars.

Some manufacturers left the smell to chance (the chemical odors of carpet and upholstery) and others were obsessed with it. When I swapped out my old interior for the new interior, the Fiat smell of the interior nearly vanished. I can still smell the cardboard, mildew and years of fuel odors that permeated the dashboard, but that's about all that's left. The seat foam was nearly odorless...despite a slight smell of "old".

Under the hood is another story...everyone got it right...burning oil, fuel leaks, etc., make up that smell. When I had them all fixed, there was no unique smell...now it is back.

[RoyBatty]

"Well-weathered leather, hot metal and oil...
the scented country air. Sunlight on chrome,
the blur of the landscape, every nerve aware."
-- Red Barchetta, Rush

Sorry but this needs an edit based on my experiences so far....

Well-weathered leather, hot metal and oil...
the scented country air. Fuel leaks unknown,
a rich carburetor, gear oil everywhere.

[MrWampus]

I have a very sweet story about the Fiat smell. Back when I was in college in the early 80's I had my first spider, a '79 that I dearly loved. I was dating a girl that I knew in highschool and we traveled a lot in that little car. Well, I graduated from college, sold the Fiat, broke up with the girl and eventually got married to someone else.

Last year, my marriage crumbled and I started to think about what had made me happy in the past and started thinking about Fiat spiders again, and I began a search for one. At about the same time I got an out-of-the-blue Facebook friend request from that old girlfriend. I had not seen or heard from her in 25 years and we broken up rather harshly, so it was a surprise. After I bought my current '81 Spider I met her for a cocktail after work and offered her a ride in my "new" car. I opened her door to let her in then walked around to my side. When I got in she looked over at me with tears in her eyes and I asked her what was wrong. She said, "Nothing, it smells just like your old one and it brought back all the old memories all at once."

We had a really nice short ride in the "new" old car and since then our relationship has rekindled. It has been a strange set of events that brought me here, but the Fiat Smell has played a very important role in the journey here and I am grateful for it.

[4uall]

that is awesome

[azruss]

one of the major drivers in taking my car down to the unibody was to rid the car of the old 70's musty smell. Will be interesting to see after replacing all the flooring, upholstery, dash and consoles with plastic, seats whether the car will retain that "smell"

[leftfield6]

A few months back, when I rescued my latest Fiat project, the 86 Bertone, from someone's backyard, I got a concentrated blast of the Fiat smell. This car had been sitting, ignored and closed, for 8+ years. Opening the door and sitting inside the interior was sensory overload. I wouldn't describe it as musty, the interior was perfectly dry, no mold or anything like that. It just smelt "old".

I'm sure the first time I bring the engine to life, I'm sure I'll get the hot oil/fuel/gear oil smell. Right now that is missing since the engine has not been fired in so long.

First I need to finish putting a clutch in my Spider so I can move it out of the garage and move the Bertone in. My garage has the Fiat smell pretty much constantly.

[4uall]

one of the major drivers in taking my car down to the unibody was to rid the car of the old 70's musty smell. Will be interesting to see after replacing all the flooring, upholstery, dash and consoles with plastic, seats whether the car will retain that "smell"

you may just need to go out and buy a spray can of "Good ol Fiat smell"