NF500 / fiat panda

Well, it is now officially official, the Fiat 500 IS Car of the Year 2008, and here is the official Fiat press release to mark the occasion…

The international jury presiding over the Car of the Year award, made up of 58 specialist journalists from 22 European countries, has elected the Fiat 500 Car of the Year 2008 with 385 votes, ahead of the Mazda 2 (325 votes) and the Ford Mondeo (202).

In addition to winning the Car of the Year 2008 award outright, the super-compact Fiat distinguished itself by obtaining votes from most members of the jury: 57 out of 58 included it in their short-list, and 33 made it top in their personal rankings.

This is the second time – the first was the Fiat Panda in 2004 – that an A-segment model has won the most prestigious award in the world car industry. This extraordinary record brings total Fiat Group Automobiles wins to twelve: the Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa 156 (1998), Alfa 147 (2001), Fiat Panda (2004) and the Fiat 500 (2008).

Launched on 4 July this year, the new Fiat 500 immediately aroused huge interest and very favourable comments made by more than 7,000 people from 63 countries (more than 1,000 journalists were accredited) who homed in on Turin for its début: institutional authorities, financial analysts, businessmen and celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, fashion and sport.

Critical acclaim was immediately confirmed by intense customer interest. More than 105,000 orders were taken in just four months in only two countries (Italy and France), while interest continues to grow in the rest of Europe, (for example: 6,300 orders have already been placed in Germany where the car went on sale just a few weeks ago). As of today, in Europe, the Fiat 500 stands second in the A-segment with a share of 14.1% (behind the Fiat Panda with a 21.2% share).

The Fiat 500 is the manifesto of ‘new Fiat’, a model that is in all respects the physical demonstration of the company’s new approach, the renewed strategies of the brand, a different way of interpreting the car. That is why the Fiat 500 has set new benchmarks in its segment. For example, this is the first time that a car barely 3.55 metres long has been awarded a 5 star crash safety rating by Euro NCAP, and this is the first time that a car in this segment has seven airbags fitted as standard (it is also the only super-compact to fit a knee-bag), with the advanced ESP available on all models (standard on the 1.4 16v 100 bhp).

In addition, this is the first time that a model has been launched with the entire range of power units (1.2 69 bhp, 1.3 MultiJet 75 bhp with DPF and 1.4 16v 100 bhp), built to respect emissions limits set by Euro 5, and all this more than two years in advance of the legislative deadline.

This is also the first time that a ‘small’ car like the Fiat 500 has been able to boast such a broad range, which is made possible by choosing from: four trim levels, three engines and 12 colours (among these are six vintage colours that evoke memories of the ’50s and ’60s, and the three-layer white, a sophisticated paint process that up to now has only been adopted on supercars).

Customers can also choose from 15 interiors including the prestigious Cordura and Frau Leather, nine types of road wheel, and 19 sticker treatments, for a total of more than 500,000 variations.

In addition, 100 original accessories have been designed for the Fiat 500 – among which the most surprising are an electric aroma diffuser and colour-coded key fobs – along with the most advanced infotelematic systems: for example a multifunctional portable navigator from the Blue&MeTM platform.

The Car of the Year award started in 1964. To enter, new cars must go on sale in at least five different European markets in the course of the year. Judgments are expressed on the following parameters: design, comfort, safety, economic operation, driveability, performance, practicality, respect for the environment, price and value for money. A first selection is made from all the new models marketed in the course of the year (this year 33 cars were involved) and seven are shortlisted. Each member of the jury has 25 points to distribute among the seven cars, with a maximum of 10 points going to their first choice.

The award ceremony for Car of the Year 2008, organised by the German magazine Stern, will take place in Berlin on 28 January 2008.

The website of BBC TV car show “Top Gear” has launched an “Uncut” feature, showing sections of the show that didn’t make the TV, mostly due to offensive language. However, one of the first out-takes they’ve included shows a little snippet on the new Fiat 500 (although on screen they show the Trepiùno concept).

Jeremy Clarkson calls the 500 beautiful and Richard Hammond appears equally enamoured, James May on the other hand dismisses the 500 as basically a tarted up Fiat Panda.

Here’s the link. Beware, it’s a bit rambling.

It seems to have been a little bit of a slow week for Fiat 500 news, so we thought you may be hungry for more of anything 500 related.

Infomotori have an interesting, if all too brief review of the new Fiat 500 compared with six other city cars, including the closely related Fiat Panda.  The report is pretty interesting despite offering little more than an overview of each vehicle, and it is good to see the 500 being reviewed on it’s own merits against other down-to-earth models rather than just being glanced over as a stylish and unique car.

Read the full review on the Infomotori website, who also have a few other “500 versus” articles which we feel are worth a read too.

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.

The Wall Street Journal has published a thoughtful, and perhaps thought provoking article on the new Fiat 500. Focusing on how and where it could succeed and fail, and what could be the making or breaking of the new small car.

The article draws attention to the juxtaposition of Fiat, known for their finesse in producing small low cost cars, their factory in Tychy Poland and the relatively cheap labour, and the concept of making the 500 a “Premium Small Car”, charging an excess for style and individuality in the process.

They draw the obvious comparisons between the Fiat 500 and the MINI Cooper, both small cars, both offering a unique style, character and history, but being produced by very different companies. The 500 being built in Poland on a platform shared with the low-budget Fiat Panda and forthcoming new Ford Ka, while the MINI is produced in the UK, with relatively high production costs, on it’s own purposely developed chassis by parent company BMW, who hold a reputation for production larger premium vehicles.

You can read the full article on the Wall Street Journal Website here.