Reborn Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Castagna is coming to the U.S. and has embraced our bigger-is-better mantra with this trio of seventeen-and-a-half foot stretch limousines built out of Fiat 500s.
Italian car mag Quattroroute.it reports that the stretch limos will come in three different flavors of crazy: the LimoCity, the LimoSun, and the LimoCity President.
The LimoCity is the most normal, with sliding doors and a circular couch. The LimoSun is based on the 500 Cabriolet with an open roof and completely open sides, which you can close with transparent panels. The pièce de résistance (or however you say that in Italian) is the presidential limo, sporting an electric drivetrain with a top speed of about 60 miles an hour and a promised range of 155 miles.
All perfect choices for the president of Fantasy Island.
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- After a disappointing return to the North American market following a 30-year hiatus, Fiat may get a boost with a new wagon version of its iconic 500 subcompact.
The Italian automaker, which also is the majority owner of Chrysler Group LLC, will introduce a five-door model “related” to its subcompact 500 at the Geneva motor show in March, said Olivier Francois, head of the Fiat brand. The new model, he said, will be sold in the U.S starting next year.
The company has a lot riding on the 500, inspired from the tiny 1950s original. Fiat sold almost 4 million 500s from 1957 to 1975, years when the model was as recognizable as Italian movie stars Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. Fiat has sold more than 770,000 of the model since bringing the redesigned version back to the market in Europe in 2007.
The new 500 was to have been Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne’s answer in the U.S. to the BMW Mini. The model’s first year on the North American market went poorly. Only 26,000 cars were sold, about half the number forecasted by the company. That’s thrown a wrench into Marchionne’s strategy to craft a global auto group combining Fiat and Chrysler and increase revenue to more than 100 billion by 2014.
“We thought we were going to show up and just because of the fact people like gelato and pasta, people will buy it,” Marchionne told reporters on Jan. 11. “This is nonsense.”
Now the company is banking on a roomier version of the 500 -- as well as the high-performance Abarth derivative of the model, which goes on sale in North America this year -- to get the brand selling. The new wagon model is expected to be bigger and has been developed specifically for the U.S. market, said Dave Sullivan, a product analyst at AutoPacific Inc.
‘Open Arms’
“There needs to be a reason for people to downsize and spend more for less other than fuel economy and good looks,” Sullivan said in a phone interview. “Dealers would welcome with open arms something with more utility and space” than the 500.
AutoNation Inc. is betting that Fiat will replicate the success of BMW’s Mini brand by opening four Fiat franchises and adding two more. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based retailer has owned Mini franchises since it debuted in the U.S. in 2002.
“Mini started with a product everybody said would never work,” said Marc Cannon, a spokesman for AutoNation, Fiat’s largest U.S. dealer. “They added more product, the pipeline was slowly built and now everybody wants Mini” dealerships.
Distribution Chances
Fiat expects to sell about 25,000 500s in the U.S. and as much as 40,000 cars in North America this year. The brand has 137 dealers open in the U.S. and will eventually have more than 150, Timothy Kuniskis, head of the Fiat brand in North America, said in an interview in Detroit. In November he replaced Laura Soave, who had joined Chrysler in 2010 to reintroduce Fiat in the U.S. Fiat is also selling the American version of the model -- which is built in Mexico -- in China and Brazil.
“The dealers are very supportive,” Kuniskis said. “We still have growth opportunities because we’ve got 12 states that don’t have a single store.”
Awareness of Fiat has grown thanks to Francois’s ad campaign for the 500 featuring commercials with singer Jennifer Lopez, Kuniskis added.
The new Fiat five-door wagon, which will be built at the company’s plant in Serbia, may have a 500 nameplate, said a person familiar with the plan, who declined to be named as a final decision hasn’t been made. The model will come to market in Europe first. Francois said it was too early to discuss the model’s name.
Francois said Fiat may need a third model to complete its offerings in North America. Fiat dealers will also sells Alfa Romeo cars from the end of 2013, when the sports-car maker plans its return to the U.S. market.
Retro Styling
BMW reintroduced the retro-styled Mini hatchback in 2001 as an upscale compact to appeal to urban drivers and has since added variants including a coupe, a convertible and a wagon to broaden its appeal. BMW has expanded the Mini lineup to six models, with the addition this year of a two-seat roadster. The Munich-based carmaker retained the brand after unwinding its failed takeover of the U.K.’s Rover Group.
The brand’s U.S. sales increased to 57,500 last year from 24,590 in 2002, its first year, according to Autodata, a Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based researcher.
Even as Fiat missed sales targets last year and delayed the U.S. introduction of Alfa Romeo, the brand has increased its franchise count by about 30 percent in the past three months, said Mitch Phillips, global practice director at Urban Science, a Detroit-based dealer consultant.
Seeking Partnership
“The dealer count has been stable,” Phillips said in a phone interview. “There is a demand for those dealerships.”
Fiat also wants to stem losses in Europe with sales of models related to 500, as well as its new subcompact Panda, after sales in its Italian home-market fell 14 percent last year to 506,020, according to the Italian transport ministry.
Marchionne, who acknowledged last April that he neglected European operations in favor of a U.S. turnaround, is now considering combining with another carmaker in the region to cut costs, share platforms and reduce the overcapacity issue as sales may remain flat until 2014.
“The real value of all this” would be in the small-car segments “where you could effectively unify the architectures,” he said last week in Detroit.
Fiat moved Panda production back to a less productive plant in Italy, near Naples, from a Polish factory as part of its investment plan for Italy. The carmaker will begin airing a new commercial Jan. 22 showing its commitment to the country using philosopher Aristotle’s motto, “The things we make, make us.”
“We have to restore the brand equity of Fiat,” Francois said. ”Now clearly we have to re-establish the love relationship with Italians and their brand, as we did here” in the U.S. with Chrysler.
Experience the features of the new FIAT 500 Abarth with FIAT North America Head of Product Marketing Matt Davis at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI.
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In this video, Head of Advertising and Communications for FIAT North America Casey Hurbis gives insight into how the new FIAT 500 Abarth pays homage to its namesake, Karl Abarth. Casey also chats about social media, comments on the seductive new FIAT 500 Abarth commercial, and even talks price.
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“Adding even more style to the new 2012 Fiat 500 Sport, the Fiat 500 Stinger features Giallo (yellow) exterior paint combined with unique blackened exterior and interior appointments – all designed to amplify the hatchback’s athletic Italian styling,” Chrysler said in a statement.
Stage 1 upgrades include the Fiat 500 Stinger’s signature ‘whiskers and logo’ face with circular projector headlamps that are finished in Black Chrome. It also gets the Giallo bodyside exterior door handles, mirror caps finished in Black Chrome, while larger 17-inch by 7-inch Abarth Hyper Black aluminum wheels with wider 205/40 R 17 performance tires, tinted head and taillamps and license-plate brow, and Mopar’s vinyl bodyside and roof graphics in black checker. The inside gets the dual Giallo and black feel with Mopar’s Katzkin leather seats, Alcantara trim carbon fiber panels and all that good stuff.
Stage 2 includes performance modifications that ensure the Fiat 500 Stinger delivers improved power and braking capability. That’s a nicer way of saying no crazy changes are made to the 1.4 liter 16-valve MultiAir, but it just handles and drives a little tighter.
2013 Fiat 500L Revealed Ahead Of 2012 Geneva Motor Show Debut
February 2, 2012
The fourth addition to the Fiat 500 lineup, the all-new 500L, has been revealed ahead of its official world debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.
The “L” in 500L stands for “large” and while this is the biggest model in the Fiat 500 family it will still be one of the smallest cars on the road when it goes on sale in Europe later this year and in the U.S. early next.
Fiat boasts that the 500L features the space of an MPV but with the taller ride-height and capability of a compact SUV.
Overall dimensions come in at 13.6 feet in length, 5.8 feet in width, and 5.4 feet for the height. Inside, there’s seating for five though a seven-seat version is expected to be launched for European markets at a later date.
Note, despite sharing its name and some styling with the Fiat 500, the new 500L rides on a platform shared with the larger Fiat Punto hatchback. Though unconfirmed, both front-wheel and all-wheel drive variants should be offered. This should make it an ideal competitor for the likes of the Ford’s Fiesta-based EcoSport as well as the Buick Encore and MINI Cooper Countryman.
As for engines, the European lineup will initially comprise two gasoline units (TwinAir and 1.4-liter) and a turbodiesel unit (1.3 MultiJet II). American versions will likely come exclusively with the 1.4-liter MultiAir unit, possibly with more power than the 101 horsepower and 98 pound-feet of torque found in the 500, though.
February 2, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The FIAT brand released the first images of the Fiat 500L, an all-new model that expands the appeal of the brand’s iconic Fiat 500.
With its Italian design and city-friendly functionality, FIAT’s new five-passenger model expands the brand’s style and efficiency in the growing B-segment. Making its formal introduction at the Geneva Motor Show on March 6th, the new Fiat 500L — the L stands for ‘Large’ — will follow the U.S. introduction of the high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth this spring and a full-electric version of the Fiat 500.
The Fiat 500L will be produced at the FIAT plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, and will arrive in the United States in 2013.
About the 2012 Fiat 500 models
Building on the attributes that made the original version an icon more than 50 years ago – the 2012 Fiat 500 models provide an entirely new generation of drivers with the best of Italian motoring: craftsmanship, style and safety, combined with fun-to-drive small-car efficiency.
The 2012 Fiat 500 offers high levels of safety, fuel economy, quality and advanced technology. With its city-friendly four-passenger size, engaging driving dynamics, all-new fuel-efficient 1.4-liter MultiAir® engine with ecorive™ Application, seven standard air bags and available TomTom® Navigation with standard BLUE&ME™ Handsfree Communication technology, the new Fiat 500 offers a unique driving and ownership experience. This package is further enhanced with new quality and refinement adaptations for the U.S. market, plus a “Top Safety Pick” for 2011 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Expanding on the qualities that have made the original Fiat 500 (Cinquecento) a timeless and efficient automobile, the new 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio (500c) adds open-air freedom and even more driving enjoyment. And with its cleverly designed multi-position power-retractable cloth top and iconic body-side silhouette, the new Fiat 500c delivers style with class-leading interior sound quality.
Offering even more exclusivity and style, the limited-edition 2012 Fiat 500 and 500c by Gucci models arrived at FIAT Studios nationwide in December. For more information, visit FIAT USA | 2012 Fiat 500 By Gucci | Exterior Features. The high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth will arrive into the U.S. market in the first-half of 2012.
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New 2012 Fiat 500 Named “Best Car” in Travel + Leisure’s Annual Design Awards Issue
Travel + Leisure Design Awards recognize thoughtful design that improve the travel experience
New 2012 Fiat 500 models deliver contemporary Italian styling, beautiful craftsmanship and city-friendly proportions combined with intelligent adaptations for American roads
New 1.4-liter engine with state-of-the-art MultiAir® technology, invented and patented by FIAT, delivers power, fuel efficiency and refinement
Starting U.S. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $15,500
February 15, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Known for providing its readers with insight into the authentic, the innovative and the irresistible, Travel + Leisure named the new 2012 Fiat 500 “Best Car” in its eighth annual “Travel + Leisure Design Awards.” The 2012 Travel + Leisure Design Awards recognize new products, buildings and destinations that improve the travel experience through thoughtful design.
“The Design Awards jury applauded the Fiat 500 for its effortless combination of compact practicality with a real sense of style, speed, and fun,” said Luke Barr, News Director of Travel + Leisure.
The Fiat 500 will be featured in the March issue of Travel + Leisure – available on newsstands February 17 and is currently online at T+L Design Awards 2012 - Articles | Travel + Leisure. In addition, the Fiat 500 will be recognized at the Travel + Leisure Design Awards event on March 7 at Department in Berlin, Germany.
“We are extremely honored to win the ‘Best Car’ Design Award title from Travel + Leisure – as the 2012 Fiat 500 offers a unique combination of Italian design, driving fun and efficiency at an unbeatable value,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of FIAT Brand North America. “In addition, our open-air Fiat 500 Cabrio, the exclusive 500 and 500c by Gucci models and the high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth provide drivers with the best of Italian style and driving excitement.”
About the new 2012 Fiat 500 models
Building on the attributes that made the original version an icon more than 50 years ago, the 2012 Fiat 500 models provide an entirely new generation of drivers with the best of Italian motoring: craftsmanship, style and safety, combined with fun-to-drive small-car efficiency.
The 2012 Fiat 500 offers high levels of safety, fuel economy, quality and advanced technology. With its city-friendly four-passenger size, engaging driving dynamics, all-new fuel-efficient 1.4-liter MultiAir® engine with ecorive™ Application, seven standard air bags and available TomTom® Navigation with standard BLUE&ME™ Handsfree Communication technology, the new Fiat 500 offers a unique driving and ownership experience. This package is further enhanced with new quality and refinement adaptations for the U.S. market, plus a “Top Safety Pick” for 2011 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Expanding on the qualities that have made the original Fiat 500 (Cinquecento) a timeless and efficient automobile, the new 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio (500c) adds open-air freedom and even more driving enjoyment. And with its cleverly designed multi-position power-retractable cloth top and iconic body-side silhouette, the new Fiat 500c delivers style with class-leading interior sound quality.
At local FIAT Studios, customers may choose to personalize their Fiat 500 or 500c with selections that include as many as 14 available exterior paint colors, 14 unique seat color combinations, three models and two interior environments. And to ensure that every new 2012 Fiat 500 will be distinct, a full line of authentic Fiat 500 accessories by Mopar® will offer customers even more personalization possibilities, including unique striping packages, exterior and interior styling accessories and authentic FIAT-styled merchandise.
Offering even more exclusivity and style, the limited-edition 2012 Fiat 500 and 500c by Gucci models arrive at FIAT Studios nationwide this December. For more information, visit FIAT USA | 2012 Fiat 500 By Gucci | Exterior Features.
Arriving into the U.S. market in the first-half of 2012 and building on the excitement of the Cinquecento, the new Fiat 500 Abarth is designed for track-day enthusiasts and driving purists who want the ultimate high-performance small car with the pedigree of an exclusive Italian exotic. With its all-new 1.4-liter MultiAir® Turbo engine, Abarth-tuned suspension and brake systems, race-inspired design and technology features not traditionally included on a small car, the new 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth unleashes the brand’s legendary performance heritage to American streets.
The 2012 Fiat 500 and 500c Pop models have a U.S. MSRP of $15,500 and $19,500 respectively (plus $700 destination).
About the FIAT Brand
The FIAT brand stands for discovery through passionate self-expression. It encourages people to be in charge of their lives, live confidently and celebrate the smallest of things with infectious excitement. That philosophy is embodied by the North American introduction of the iconic Fiat 500 or Cinquecento – a small car that lives big. Italian at heart and rooted in a rich heritage, the 500 is synonymous with modern simple design blending form, function and a pride of ownership that is genuine.
Reminiscent of the original Cinquecento, the 2012 Fiat 500 and Fiat 500c (Cabrio) build on the vehicle’s global popularity. Since its initial launch in 2007, more than 700,000 Fiat 500 vehicles have been sold in more than 80 countries around the world. The model’s unquestionable popularity is the result of the Fiat 500’s great ability to deliver unmatched personalization options with advanced solutions in terms of quality, engine and passenger comfort. In addition to success on the sales front, the Fiat 500 has earned more than 60 awards, including being named the 2008 European Car of the Year, 2009 World Car Design of the Year, Best New Engine of 2010 (FIAT MultiAir® Turbo) and a 2012 “Recommended Pick” by Consumer Guide.
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FIAT Pays Homage to Hollywood in Vanity Fair Ad
by Ashley Fournier February 24, 2012
The FIAT Brand offers more than 500,000 ways to personalize its iconic Fiat 500 (Cinquecento), giving each customer a unique design experience to create their own piece of automotive art. You might even say that a Fiat 500 is like an actor, ready to play any role that its driver deems necessary. Whether it needs to be black and stealthy like the new high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth, fun, yet head turning like the open-air new 500 Cabrio, or most stylish and fashionable like the limited-edition Fiat 500 and 500c by Gucci - the possibilities are endless.
The latest Fiat print ad created by Doner, located in Detroit, depicts the different personalities of a Fiat 500 and all of the different options available when customizing one. The print layout displays various Cinquecentos, each customized in their own way, on a Hollywood set. The cars are surrounded by actors, lights, cameras and production equipment, paying homage to the fact that like a highly talented actor or actress, the Fiat 500 models are adaptable to play any role his or her driver sees fit. The headline reads “Don't Get Typecast,” reminding viewers of the ad that drivers of a Fiat 500 are never one type of individual but can rather be anyone because the car can be tailored to fit any person’s needs.
The new ad is featured in Vanity Fair's March 2012 issue which is famous for depicting all things Hollywood, from fashion and culture to movies and their actors. Photographer, David Hill, and Doner have worked together to create this ad that pays tribute to the Hollywood heritage theme that Vanity Fair's March issue is known for. The Fiat 500 is the perfect vehicle to include in an issue on fashion and culture because of its stylish design appointments and iconic Italian-design.
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rive™ Application, seven standard air bags and available TomTom® Navigation with standard BLUE&ME™ Handsfree Communication technology, the new Fiat 500 offers a unique driving and ownership experience. This package is further enhanced with new quality and refinement adaptations for the U.S. market, plus a “Top Safety Pick” for 2011 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
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