- U.S. customers will get an upgraded version of the European Fiat 500.
- The U.S. car will ride on a new platform, one shared with the Fiat Panda.
- Benefits of the change include better crash protection and a quieter ride.
TURIN, Italy — The Fiat 500 that is coming to the U.S. market in 2011 will ride on a different platform from the European version but look exactly the same externally. It will be built around Fiat's new-generation baby car A platform, which will also be used on the 2011 Lancia Ypsilon and Fiat Panda.
The latest version is slated to debut a few months after the U.S. 500 goes into production in Mexico in December of this year.
The main benefits of the new platform are improved crash protection, reduced noise, vibration and harshness and a lighter body-in-white, all areas in which the U.S. 500 will be slightly superior to the European version. Europe will not be getting the update because the sizable cost of switching platforms is not justified by the gains. But the change-over makes sense in the U.S. because the 500 is being produced at a new plant on new machinery.
Fiat is also in the process of deciding what to call its baby in the U.S., the choice being either the numeric 500 or the Italian version of the number, Cinquecento. The company believes that the Italian spelling of the number has some value in the U.S.
Inside Line says: U.S. 500 buyers will get a slightly better car than European customers as Fiat modernizes its platforms. — Richard Bremner, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
timbodaddy says:
10:43 AM, 06/15/2010
I'm sorry, did I see someone write that the 500 was a POS and the MiTo was a better-looking car? It's never too late to get those cataracts removed, fella...
k55 says:
11:01 AM, 06/04/2010
put a Hemi in it........and ...........watchout comingthrough outamyway ohsht cantstop maybenota goodidea toolate .................
you laugh?......you watch ...someone will.
pipolino says:
11:46 AM, 03/28/2010
I'm all for a Fiat 500 diesel any time.
juan_mx says:
09:44 AM, 03/17/2010
I agree with adb4.
No new platform, just some tweaks to the suspension and the stucture to adapt it to the Americas
(NHTSA, DOT, etc.).
By the way, "I know a guy who knows a guy... " (Ok, it is a rumor) that the main market
for these cars will be South America, and not North America as Marchionne has hinted.
shahulx says:
07:17 AM, 03/17/2010
Italian company car, popular in Europe, sold here as a American Chrysler, Hencho en Mexico.... lo siento
adb4 says:
05:14 AM, 03/17/2010
Well, this sounds a little... fishy. I find it hard to believe Fiat would drop the current set of sheetmetal on a 'new' platform--and I find it equally hard to believe that Fiat would re-do all the sheetmetal--after only three years--to fit a 'new' platform. My hunch is that the 500--which is built off the current Panda--will be getting some suspension upgrades and perhaps some structural stiffening to improve crash and NVH, but the term 'different platform' is probably stretching the definition.
Where is this info from, anyway? "I know a guy who knows a guy..."?
debbaranko says:
11:17 PM, 03/16/2010
I hope we can get a diesel.
juan_mx says:
02:55 PM, 03/16/2010
@thedream21479
When you see the car in a parking lot and compare it with all the other cars around, you will understand what I mean, it is not only the interior space.
cz75 says:
02:47 PM, 03/16/2010
Do you not remain 6'3" if you lay off the Costco ice cream?
thedream21479 says:
02:31 PM, 03/16/2010
Juan , as someone stated earlier, lay-off going to Costco and buying those 3 gallon icecream containers and these small cars are just fine.
cz75 says:
01:07 PM, 03/16/2010
I want the MiTo, not this ugly POS.
ms3hothatch says:
12:39 PM, 03/16/2010
That one (nissanfanatic) might instead by the Abarth R/T...
ms3hothatch says:
12:37 PM, 03/16/2010
On 2nd thought Chrysler 5 might imply 5-door so does not seem to work either - Maybe the mICRO. It's Italian and English, but might cause people to underestimate it. It's a full time job for someboy in marketing to figure that one out.
nissanfanatic says:
12:34 PM, 03/16/2010
I think 500 is better. But it really doesn't matter as long as we get the Abarth SS version.
ms3hothatch says:
12:32 PM, 03/16/2010
500 will confuse people used to see Chrysler products in large sedans such as the 300. "Look it's a 500, but it's smaller than a 300..." does not seem to make sense. Maybe Chrysler 5 or cinque (or whatever) just thinking.
tp660 says:
11:48 AM, 03/16/2010
Call it 500. I doubt most people in North America will be able to pronounce Cinquecento properly.
felonious says:
09:33 AM, 03/16/2010
Wow, that has to be a first!
juan_mx says:
09:27 AM, 03/16/2010
Upgraded or not, wait until you can compare it against a Yaris liftback 3 door.....
then you will realize what segment A, or city car, means in Europe.....
too small to be practical in the US in my opinion.
yankee831 says:
08:01 AM, 03/16/2010
HAHA FINALLY the U.S. gets the upgraded car while Europe has to sit accross the pond and watch!