My Black Horse

George Seurat  (1859-1891), Le Cirque 

Some levity on a very hot summer day in Italy



While working on my recent venture I was forced to get rid of my old car and last year I selected my new car based on a long-held dream: a Fiat 500. I was born in the 1960s and at that time Fiat 500 cars were very pupular in Italy and white was the trendiest color at that time.
When I went to my favorite car retailer in Perugia, where my father purchased his first white car early 1960s and where he purchased all his white cars, I said I wanted a white Fiat 500. At first they wanted to sell me a "Lancia Y" car instead (that's their specialty item) and I said "no", I wanted a Fiat 500, I did not care if the trunk was small or if it was overpriced because of the brand name (which is not true, a Fiat can last forever), I wanted a Fiat 500. When I got out of the store I had purchased a Fiat 500 but black instead of white and I was debated for more than three months if I had done the right choice or just followed an impulse purchase, additionally I felt like I had betrayed the family tradition of white cars.
Little by little my choice of a black car turned out to be the best choice: I had chosen a black Fiat 500 because of the fact that the black version was available immediately, I could see it and try it out that day, I knew what I was getting, the name of the Fiat pantone color was very attractive, "nero provocatore" (tr. provocative back). I also remembered what an excellent sales assistant said to me many years ago: "when you select a dress, buy everything but something your mother would not wear", for one time in my life I wanted to be trendy, I usually feel so out of fashion and with such a traditional taste that to some extent it gets boring even to myself. I suddenly felt that the black color was the right color, it was my dream car.

A Pantone Color Chart

By researching about the black color for a car, I discovered what Mr.Henry Ford (1863-1947) said in his book "My life and work" (1922): "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black", this translated to me into class & elegance, also I am more into the first half of the 20th century rather than into the sixties, last but not least my beloved has a black car, which matches perfectly my car, we share the same color as well as the same horoscope sign. This detail changed my perspective for good. What if I had a white car? The idea of yin and yang or of a man and his caregiver (white cars are usually the cars of nuns, nurses, priests and most rental cars in Italy as expression of service) was not the best perspective for my horizons: as we met in our adulthood I want to think we will be healthy forever! We currently park our cars in the public parking lot in the village where we live and he makes sure that his car protects my car from other drivers smashing their car doors into my little Fiat 500, which has unfortunately happened several times in the past. Our cars look so nice next to each other in the parking lot, they really make a nice couple of black cars. This gives me the feeling we are equal, on the same level, which is such a wonderful feeling!

A Beautiful Black Horse 

Before my private life gave a sense to my choice of a black Fiat 500, my earlier concern about a black car was about clients and my "bella figura" (tr."good impression" which is so important to most Italians and of course to me from having to do with art and beauty and by being full blood Italian). The problem was if my Fiat 500 was the right color everybody would like, white was more of a neutral color compared to black, indeed Mrs. Jennifer Lopez a little after my purchase was the testimonial of a Fiat 500 commercial on TV, which was located in New York: a convertible white Fiat 500 with a passion red hood. In my original idea I wanted to buy the best example of an Italian car (=to me a Fiat 500) and symbol of Italy (a historical Italian brand), because this would have been my official car with which I would show up when meeting customers on their shopping experiences, by leading their way to the places they wanted to explore with my assistance.This was the main reason that reinforced my original wish to go for an Italian car and particularly for a Fiat car.
By reading the philosopher Plato last week I learned something interesting that helped me to give an important meaning to my choice of a black car: for Plato the black horse was the symbol of artisans and traders! This additional information from the famous Myth of the Chariot and the Chariotee (also known as Winged Chariot) regarding my work made me so happy and proud that by driving my black Fiat 500 I now feel like riding a beautiful modern horse. This idea made me dream and now I am really happy about my choice. This story is an example of a modern translation of Renaissance times, when the Greek and Latin classics were highly in vogue: giving a meaning to something contemporary through our heritage, thinking and values honored to receive the appreciation of Mr. Henry Ford who said he would tip his hat in front of an Italian car. 

Nevertheless when the car dealer contacted me a few days later I promised them I would be back for a white Fiat 500, looking forward to doing much business with my new venture, deliverying ceramics to my clients as well as meeting them for shopping tours, with the option of selecting the perfect car color for the occasion!

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Other Mr.Henry Ford's Quotes, author of "My life and work" (1922): 

• You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
• An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous.
• A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. 
• Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. 
• Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.
• My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.
• If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. 
• Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
• Vision without execution is just hallucination.
• If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.
• If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get to other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.
• Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement.
• success is 99% failure.

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For Gucci fans, the new Fiat 500 black can be special ordered with Gucci customized details. Additionally Gucci created a collection of apparel dedicated to the Fiat 500 car drivers. This is the link to their products.  

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Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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