2017 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth, fully loaded from the factory, with just a wee bit of aftermarket mods.
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Okay. Full disclosure. I was wasting time watching video clips on WeChat channels (for those not familiar with what I'm talking about, this section of WeChat could be considered the Chinese equivalent of TikTok videos... but I think TikTok is Chinese too, so maybe they're the same thing, but on different delivery platforms... but I digress....)
I came across one that showed a phone mount attached to a sun shield for the infotainment system of a car... sold as one combined unit. Seemed interesting, but after wasting another hour searching, I haven't come across anything that fits our cars (or the Mazda siblings that use the same Infotainment System). What I did find was a US seller of a centre dash mount phone holder. I'm attaching two links.
The first is the one they sell for our Spiders. The second is the one for the Mazda, and I include it because it has some decent customer photos showing it installed and holding a phone. Also, the Mazda version shows the screen found in the Abarth. The one shown in the Fiat product ad is, I think, the smaller screen that comes in some of the other Spider models?
There's a video showing installation in the Spider, and I have to admit I'm a bit torn as to how I feel about it. From a structural integrity aspect, it looks like once in place it's not going anywhere anytime soon. The downside is that you have to pry up a couple of panel gaps to seat the thing, and when done, you can see a deformity in the gap. The other thing is that it parks in front of the centre vent. That doesn't bother me too much as I don't think the centre vent does a heck of a lot to begin with, so IMHO, no great loss in return for a solid phone mount. Anyway, if anyone is looking for a phone mount, this might be an option for you. So, without further adieu, here's the links to the product:
Fiat 124 Spider phone mount
Mazda phone mount
I came across one that showed a phone mount attached to a sun shield for the infotainment system of a car... sold as one combined unit. Seemed interesting, but after wasting another hour searching, I haven't come across anything that fits our cars (or the Mazda siblings that use the same Infotainment System). What I did find was a US seller of a centre dash mount phone holder. I'm attaching two links.
The first is the one they sell for our Spiders. The second is the one for the Mazda, and I include it because it has some decent customer photos showing it installed and holding a phone. Also, the Mazda version shows the screen found in the Abarth. The one shown in the Fiat product ad is, I think, the smaller screen that comes in some of the other Spider models?
There's a video showing installation in the Spider, and I have to admit I'm a bit torn as to how I feel about it. From a structural integrity aspect, it looks like once in place it's not going anywhere anytime soon. The downside is that you have to pry up a couple of panel gaps to seat the thing, and when done, you can see a deformity in the gap. The other thing is that it parks in front of the centre vent. That doesn't bother me too much as I don't think the centre vent does a heck of a lot to begin with, so IMHO, no great loss in return for a solid phone mount. Anyway, if anyone is looking for a phone mount, this might be an option for you. So, without further adieu, here's the links to the product:
Fiat 124 Spider phone mount
Mazda phone mount
My phone mount is my shirt pocket. When I'm driving, the only thing I use it for is phone calls, and the hands free deals with that. In the instances where I need to charge the phone while driving, it sits on the passenger seat. As others have mentioned, distracted driving laws here in Canada (varies by province), can net you an instant $500 fine if you're caught mucking around with your phone while behind the wheel.
