Does The New Fiat 500 Have A Chance For Success In The U.S.?
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Senior European Editor
Amsterdam Bureau
The Auto Channel
LOS ANGELES, November 18, 2010. When Fiat unveiled the American variant of the 500, I was wondering, who would be buying this small Italian car?.
In The Netherlands, the 500 has been on the market for a couple of years and has sold mostly to women in larger cities. They use it to take kids to school or run errands. Also the real estate brokerages bought them for their employees and put advertisement on the cars.
The Fiat 500 is still sold in reasonable numbers, but even in a country where there are many smaller cars on the roads, the 500 is called ‘mini car’. Not unlike the Mini, that sits in the small car segment, but has a choice of serious engines and offers excellent handling.
Now, what will Americans consider the Fiat? During the second media day of the LA Auto Show, I overheard two women saying: “Oh, what a cute little car!” Indeed, but will they be prepared to take it any further than the streets of downtown L.A., drive it on the 110 Freeway onto the 5 and be squeezed in between the mainstream cars and trucks that do 80 mph when it is not rush hour?
I was thinking of this again, when I drove from Downtown in the Volvo C30 that I am testing this week. The smallest Volvo around is not considered small in Europe, but compact. I remembered talking to the CEO of the Swedish car manufacturer at the Detroit show some four years ago. He told me the C30 has the minimum size that his company would build. “Any smaller than this, will be hard to make as safe as we would want it to be.”
On the freeway, I do not feel threatened, but most cars around me are at least one size up. The T5 engine in the Volvo, however, accelerates quickly and entering lanes with fast traffic is no problem at all. I can outperform many mainstream cars.
Not so with the Fiat 500 though. Sure, its excellent 100 hp strong 1.4-liter engine is nice and quick, and very fuel efficient too. But the overall feel is what it is all about. Will Americans feel relaxed and safe?
Even though the 500 has a slew of safety features (with 7 airbags standard), and a 5-star Euro-NCAP safety rating in Europe, it is more about the feel, the perception of being safe in such a small car.
Therefore, I am not convinced at all, that the Cinquecento will make waves in North America. Even more so, now its price of $ 15,500 is pretty stiff. For even less, you can buy the new 2011 Hyundai Elantra ($ 14,870).
We will all have to wait and see if this “cute” made in Mexico Italian can find buyers among those to whom size doesn’t really matter.