There were Neons going around with the "AAR" paint schemes on them back in the day too...funny stuff!
In all honesty, I really liked the Neon (or "neon" with the lower case "n") and I really like the current Fiat 500 Abarth. It would never be my only car but it would be a fun commuting appliance. The Abarth has some serious attitude and is about as fun as wrong-wheel drive machine can be.