NF500 / fiat automobiles

Consultancy and research company JATO have declared that among the top ten selling vehicle manufacturers in Europe, Fiat Automobiles recorded the lowest average CO2 emissions value for automobiles sold during 2007, setting an impressive benchmark of 137.3 g/km

The full rundown puts Fiat ahead of Peugeot at 141.9 g/km with sister company Citroen coming in at 142.2 g/km. Another French manufacturer, Renault come in fourth place with 146.4 g/km average, followed by Ford at 149.1 g/km. The chasing pack is made up my Vauxhall/Opel, Volkswagen, BMW, and in last palce Mercedes with average CO2 emissions of 188.4 g/km.

The results of this important analysis reward Fiat’s ongoing commitment to finding innovative solutions to reduce levels of polluting emissions and CO2

explained Lorenzo Sistino, managing director of Fiat Automobiles

Fiat’s aim is always to stay closer to people’s real needs and its commitment does not end here. Irrespective of what is decided by the powers-that-be in Europe, our aim is still to achieve the lowest average adjusted level of CO2 emissions for Fiat cars by 2012. Fiat intends to achieve this result by introducing an action plan on engines and transmissions, in addition to the use of the Eco Drive, an innovative application developed with Microsoft that is able – via the USB Port of the versatile Blue&Me system - to analyse motorists’ driving styles, helping them to optimise behaviour in terms of fuel consumption and hence emissions.

While Fiat are very publicly touting their eco-credentials of late, with innovations in the pipeline concerning hybrid drive systems and other combined fuel saving technologies, as recently shown in the Fiat 500 Aria concept, one huge aid in achieving these figures is Fiat’s product portfolio, which leans heavily towards smaller, and therefore almost by default, more frugal and lower emitting cars than many rivals.

Fiat are also working hard to be ready for future regulation ahead of time, for example the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Bravo have already seen the introduction of Euro 5 Ready power units (petrol and diesel) to the range. And by the end of 2009, the majority of engines in the entire Fiat range will be Euro 5 ready. Fiat is also the first manufacturer to develop the Multijet technology that drives all new-generation diesel cars and is a world leader in the field of methane-driven OEM cars (more than 50,000 were sold last year in Italy).

While investing in alternative fuel technology, Fiat is also embarking on a mission to downsize its diesel and petrol engine versions, as demonstrated by the new 1.4 T-Jet and 1.6 Multijet families. The adoption of a new-generation turbocharger, combined with a smaller capacity engine, enables Fiat to achieve performance levels on a par with, or even in excess of higher-capacity power units, but with lower fuel consumption and emissions.

After the success of the new Fiat 500 in Turin, Paris, Berlin and London, attention has turned to Tokyo (Japan) where a novel exhibition was dedicated to the car. The event saw more that 500 guests participate, including journalists, entertainers, representatives from Italian institutions (including ambassador Mario Bova) and the managing director of Fiat Automobiles - Lorenzo Sistino.

Through this striking exhibition, the Italian brand paid homage to Japanese culture, underlining the strong ties that unite the two nations. Japan is particularly attuned to the best Made in Italy products – from fashion to design, gastronomy and art. Among these, the Fiat Group has contributed to shaping the “automobile culture” even outside of the national confines.

Alongside the event in Tokyo, the work of artist Giuliano Ghelli was displayed in the exhibition rooms of the Italian Centre for Culture. Among the works of the Tuscan maestro, the “Macchina per Sognatori” (Car for Dreamers) stands out. The work is a tribute to the Fiat 500 – a symbol of Made in Italy and an ambassador for environmental compliance, as already demonstrated today by its “Euro5 Ready” engines.

The new Fiat 500 comes from a true automotive legend and represents a legacy of stories and concepts that relate to all. It is no accident that this is the “people’s car, created by people” - as its commercial debut also showed (from 15 March) alongside Japan’s spectacular event: the “Sakura” - cherry blossom. For about two weeks in spring, “hanami” – picnics - take place (both day and night) under the spectacular trees which are by now in full bloom. The whole population participates in a ritual dedicated to the beauty of nature.

And in merrymaking Italian style, the brand will open the Fiat Café this spring in Aoyama (Tokyo). Here, the public will be able to appreciate the concept of the “Caffè” which will be a meeting place for excellence and synonymous with cosmopolitanism, human warmth and compassion. All new 500s maintain the singularity of Fiat models and will feature right-hand drive in Japan. Initially, they will be the Lounge version which has a 1.2 8v 69bhp engine, combined with the Dualogic robotised gearbox. The Pop and Sport versions will then become available as well as the brilliant 1.4 16v 100 bhp engine with Dualogic gearbox.

Finally, highlighting the strong ties between Fiat and the nippon culture, the new Fiat 500 has been “scripted” into the animation film “Lupin the IIIrd. Green vs. Red” (the DVD will be officially launched in Japan on 2nd April). The film celebrates the 40th anniversary of the famous “ladro gentiluomo” (gentleman thief) designed by Monkey Punch. However, it is certainly not the first time that the eclectic character has driven a Fiat 500: in fact, over the years Lupin III has often been spotted on board a 500 during his incredible adventures.

Geneva hosts the global premiere by Fiat Automobiles of the Concept car 500 Aria which Fiat claim furthers the exploration of new “ecological” frontiers in the automotive sector.

Manufactured on the base of the Fiat 500 – the first model in its sector with the entire range of Euro5 Ready motors – the Concept car 500 Aria adopts all the latest generation, and indeed future technology, resulting in a significant reduction of consumption and emissions. The Fiat 500 Aria has extremely low CO2 emissions, a record value of 98 g/km.

The prototype vehicle is equipped with a Diesel 1.3 16v Multijet Euro 5 powerunit (with anti-particulate DPF filter) combined with robotic Dualogic shift (distinguished by a transmission and control box with the best containment of consumption).

In addition, the 500 Aria includes a Stop&Start system, allowing the temporary switch-off of the engine and it’s subsequent ignition, typical of urban journeys. In particular, uniting the Stop&Start system and the Dualogic shift, around a 10% (urban cycle) reduction of the consumption is obtained. Fiat predict the technology used here will make it into mainstream production during 2008. So if you’re considering a diesel Fiat 500 for its eco credentials, you may be inclined to hold of a little while before pulling the trigger on your new purchase.

The prototype’s interior foresees the use of recycled materials, for example, the recycled rubber used for the floor is composed by rubber granules deriving from used tyres, bound together with polyurethane binders. The seats have been upholstered with recycled and woven leather (called “mataleather, and supplied by the Matamata company) whilst the fabrics - guaranteed by the Ecolabel brand – are in polyester and in a design similar to the raffia palm with natural whirls (supplied by the Apollo company).

“Mataleather” is born out of the re-use of leather amalgamated with natural lattice and subsequently worked in sheets like real leather. The “DNA” Braided leather (the material used on the 500 Aria) is worked on until it forms a textile of real ecological leather, composed only by natural re-used fibres.

In regards to the textiles, Ecolabel is the European eco-quality brand that rewards the best products from an ecological point of view – the whole life-cycle is taken into account – whilst maintaining at the same time high performance standards.

Lastly, some important interior components – from the samplers to climate control and the control shield, down to the panel fittings – are made in materials composed by thermoplastics and natural fibres.

One day, all mainstream cars could be made like this.

BroadVision, Inc, a global provider of e-business solutions, today announced that Fiat Automobiles, has migrated its BroadVision Portal architecture to launch the new Fiat 500 model. As a result of the launch, the Fiat site saw an increase of daily users who are looking for information regarding different configurations and prices for the new car.

With the high impact launch of the new Fiat 500 and the ensuing marketing and communication campaigns, we recorded a surge in visits to our websites,

said Mr. Stefano Torcello, Fiat Group Automobiles ICT Process Leader for Internet applications.

Thanks to the proven scalability and robustness of the BroadVision architecture, we have easily managed to accommodate the growing traffic on our web sites.

Fiat Automobiles built most of its brand websites on the BroadVision platform to standardize the web technology; cut operational costs; and to quickly deploy additional websites. They chose BroadVision for its scalability, robustness and flexibility. The sites also integrated the BroadVision platform with several vertical applications, such as a powerful car configurator and the dealer localizer.

Fiat Group Automobiles is one of our most important customers in Europe,

stated Andrea Rubei, Vice President and General Manager of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at BroadVision.

We’ll continue to support and help them to improve their web platform in order to achieve a competitive advantage in a challenging market like automotive.

BroadVision supports several customers in the automotive sector including Renault, Toyota and Peugeot. These companies have been quick to recognize the potential of Personalization to improve customers’ web experience and increase their loyalty by taking care of their needs and providing them the right information.

Fiat’s websites on BroadVision include: www.fiat.com www.fiat.dk www.fiat.it www.fiat.hu www.fiat.fr www.fiat.ie www.fiat.de www.fiat.nl www.fiat.es and www.fiat.pt

If anyone ever needed a car giving to them, it has to be an internationally renown top class footballer.  Fortunately for Juventus captain and World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero, Fiat have (so far as our translation tools and skills can figure) gifted him with an exclusive No.10 new Fiat 500.

Lorenzo Sistino, CEO of Fiat Automobiles, handed the new 500 to Del Piero at the Mirafiori Motor Village, inside the historic Mirafiori plant in Turin.  The 500 in question is a 1.4 Sport model with automatic air conditioning, fog lamps, and red painted brake callipers listed among its optional extras.

We’re not sure if there’s any kind of charity tie in or if it’s a pure case of “give a footballer a free car, get some cool credits in return”, but we really hope it’s the former, or he actually paid for it.  If anyone knows for sure, we’d love to know score here!

The Fiat 500 has achieved the prestigious Euro NCAP five-star rating (with a total of score of 35 points) taking over top spot in its segment for safety. This is an important award which, added to those assigned recently to the Fiat Bravo, the Grande Punto and the Fiat Croma, confirms the special attention Fiat Automobiles Spa pays to all aspects of driver and passenger protection.

In the case of the Fiat 500, this effort has produced such excellent results that the new car is rated as one of the safest in the entire automotive industry. To achieve its rating, the designers examined every possible type of accident: front and side collisions, overturns, rear-end collisions. The different speeds at which collisions take place, the different types of obstacle involved and the protection of occupants with widely varying physical characteristics, were also taken into consideration.

The coveted award was achieved thanks to the many sophisticated devices that the Fiat 500 offers as standard, starting with those dedicated to passive safety: 2 dual stage front airbags, 2 front side airbags for chest/pelvis protection, 2 window-bags and a driver knee airbag. Front seat-belts with double pretensioner and load limiter are also standard.

In addition, the new car guarantees constant, predictable road behaviour that will forgive many driver errors and enable the person at the wheel to overcome critical situations without difficulty. As well as a high performance braking system, the Fiat 500 deploys the most sophisticated electronic devices for the control of the car’s dynamic behaviour: from braking to drive assemblies: ABS with EBD (Electronic brake force distribution) and, above all ESP (Electronic Stability Program), the system which cuts in to assist the driver when conditions approach extremes and the stability of the car is at risk. The device is standard on the version with Fire 1.4 16v 100 bhp engine and an option on the other two units. Further, the ESP proposed on the Fiat 500 includes a number of additional systems: the ASR (Anti Slip Regulation) which limits the slip of drive wheels in poor grip conditions; the MSR (Motor Schleppmoment Regelung) which cuts in during an abrupt change of gear during a climb, restoring torque to the engine and so preventing excessive drag on the drive wheels; the HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assistance), the electronic-hydraulic device that cuts in during emergency braking; and, finally, the Hill-holder which assists the driver in hill starts.

In a word, the Fiat 500 is a car designed and built to achieve the highest levels of quality, as today’s safety award by the Euro NCAP confirms. This total protection feature has contributed to the commercial success of the model: in fact, since the launch the car has won over Italy and France with about 70,000 orders. A great success prior to the marketing of the car in the main European markets: from 27 October in Germany and, thereafter, in Spain, Poland, Switzerland and Austria.

You can see a full report on the Euro NCAP site, videos follow below:

Frontal impact test:

Side impact test:

Pole test:

Fiat have revealed they are now seriously considering how best to expand the Fiat 500 family, following a rapturous reception from the public and a vast majority of motoring media alike.

Of course, beyond the three engine types offered for the new Fiat 500, a hot new Abarth version will be unveiled to the public at the Tokyo Motorshow later this year, and a Cabriolet is already under development to be premièred next year. Although it remains to be seen if the 500 Cabrio will sport a full cabriolet soft top, or perhaps be more like the traditional 500, with a full length canvas roof peeling back, leaving the side-pillars and cross section in place.

Beyond these variants, Fiat will decide “by the end of the year” on how viable SUV and Wagon versions of the new 500 would be. Fiat has indeed already shown a station wagon concept, which appeared in a video shown at the 500’s media introduction last week. Like the original 500 Giardiniera launched in 1960, the new model concept shown in the video was a three-door wagon.

So the Fiat 500 family could quite possibly end up consisting of the hatchback, including Abarth and 155 hp Abarth Super Sport, Cabriolet, Station Wagon and SUV.

The SUV could potentially utilise the body of the station wagon, and AWD system from the Fiat Panda.

Yet talk of all these future possible configurations feels somewhat premature, as demand for the hatchback alone as exceeded all expectations, with Fiat Automobiles CEO Luca De Meo telling Auto News Europe

If Italian orders continue at this pace, we might delay the new 500 introduction outside Italy.