Fiat 126p vs. Rolls-Royce on Rodeo Drive
So there is some crazy Polish guy, also named Kamil, specifically Kamil Knapczyk, who decided to travel around the United States. Very cool – if you haven’t taken a cross-country trip, you should do it as soon as possible. That Kamil chose a very atypical vehicle for this trip, however, a classic Polish-made Fiat 126p, also known as Maluch.
I don’t know what’s up with Polish people and traveling in Maluchs, perhaps you remember the guy who drove his Maluch around Africa, but that’s just nuts. The 126p is a tiny, 650cc 2-cylinder, under-powered, and uncomfortable vehicle. Yes, we look at it now and we think it’s cute and cool. But when I was a kid, in the early 80s, we had live with this thing and it wasn’t that cute. Even a short trip to my aunt’s farm, thirty miles away, was a pain in the ass. It stunk in the winter too, because the tiny air-cooled engine couldn’t warm itself up.
Anyway, the other Kamil drove through Beverly Hills and managed to find convenient street parking in front a yellow Rolls-Royce. Bijan Pakzad used to park his yellow cars there and whoever runs his company now still parks the yellow Royce there. It even has its own yellow meter, so it’s not just coincidence. Of course tourists don’t know that it’s a setup and are starstruck the yellowness. But a funny thing happen when Kamil parked his Fiat 126p in front of the Rolls… a popularity war started.
