2017 Spider Color Bait and Switch

[flatlander]

After 10 years of work on my '76 to get it ready for a coast-to-coast post-retirement road trip, my plans were put on hold by the news of the re-introduction of the Spider. I LIKE the style, and I even like the fact that it is being built by Mazda (given the quality-control histories of both companies) so I have anxiously waited for the cars to actually arrive. I got an email from my local dealership a couple days prior to the arrival of the Prima Edizione but decllined to take the time to go look at a car that I knew I was not going to buy (because of the price and because all of them are blue) so I asked to be notified when they got a Classisa or Lusso availiable in Rosso Passione paint (the deep, rich red featured in dozens of pre-release promo photos and shown in the color selector on the Fiat website). I took my checkbook with me when I went to take test drive. I was absolutely crushed to find that Rosso Passione is now just Rosso - a very ordinary Red Flyer kind of red. I drove a bronze version - everything about the drive was genuinely satisfying: throttle response is smooth, consistent and actually responsive (not neck-snapping, but responsive), the clutch and transmission are silky witout being mushy like most Japanese cars, steering is precise, the seats are comfortable and supportive, the sound system is listenable, and wind noise is almost non-existent, but my heart was set on that Passion Red paint so I came home empty-handed. I am posting this just to find out if anybody else is bent out os shape about this particular bit of misleading promotion. I made an inquiry to Fiat USA about this a week ago but have not heard anything from them - I am mulling the possibility of filing a suit against them just to try to force them into factory-painting one in the color that shows up on their web page. All thoughts (including the ones that tell me I am a complete wack-job) will be appreciated.

[baltobernie]

Have you seen the new Miata in "Soul Red"?

[flatlander]

Only on line. It appears to be a better red than the Spoder, but it still does not come close to the deep red of the Fiat promo materials.