NF500 / flagship

The Economist has an excellent report on the Fiat group.  The article in particular focuses on the companies remarkable turnaround from the brink of bankruptcy to returning a profit, culminating in the release this month of the new flagship Fiat 500.

As many writers have done recently, the author believes the new 500 will serve to add a halo effect to the company, enhancing and reinvigorating Fiat’s image, particularly in their home market of Italy.

The new 500 raises Fiat’s game further. Some analysts have questioned the impact it will have on Fiat’s future, arguing that it is a niche model that will be built at a rate of “only” 120,000 cars a year. But the reaction of the usually hard-bitten motoring press suggests otherwise. In recent years no small car, not even the new Mini (designed by Frank Stephenson, the man behind the new 500), has been greeted with such enthusiasm.

The report, particularly for an online edition, is detailed, informative and well worth a read if you want to appreciate a little better what the 500 means to Fiat, and how the financial world believe it will affect the companies fortunes.

With the launch of the new Fiat 500, the World’s press have been scribbling away voicing their opinions not only about how the new baby Fiat drives, but also offering their own slant on exactly what the new 500 brings to group, and to the wider motoring world.

However, whatever the context of the article, the new MINI almost always seem to get a mention.  Yet the new MINI wasn’t the first on the scene reinventing and reinterpreting a classic design for a new generation.  Before the MINI Volkswagen had made their own attempt at bringing the past back to the future with the new Beetle.  But somehow, the MINI seems to have set the mark by which all other “retro cars”, such as the 500 and more than likely the new Citroen 2Cv, will be judged upon.

Two examples that show the contrasting views on the MINI and Fiat 500 and how they relate to one another come from Car, who’s magazine this month dedicates many column inches to the new cinquecento, and Infomotori who have not surprisingly devoted much time to the arrival of the new Fiat 500.  In Car’s feature, they focus on what Fiat can learn from BMW in their search for success with the new 500, whereas Infomotori take a more pragmatic approach to the comparison, considering factors such as price against power and specification.

It’s certainly an interesting comparison to make, and while the similarities are obvious; both the new 500 and the MINI are small cars, both reinterpret automotive icons that had a huge impact, particularly in their home markets five decades ago, both original cars changed the motoring landscape in their own way, both are “premium” cars offering a little more more style, flair and individuality, but at a price premium.

But as much as the two cars are similar, they are also quite different.  Fiat want the 500 to be a flagship, a jewel in the crown, the iPod to their Apple.  The MINI was never that for BMW.  In fact, when the MINI launched in 2001 it was supported by BMW’s own image of premium class cars and quality engineering.  It was as much an affordable BMW to many as it was an enthralling car in it’s own right.  Early reviews focused on the driving, the charm, the character.  Quality, it seemed, was assured, for this was a BMW.  For BMW it was a new concept, something small and fun, an affordable compact car, and something unique and set apart from the rest of their range.

With the Fiat 500 things are quite different.  Fiat are well on the way to rebuilding their brand image, but in the not too distant past Fiat wasn’t a name the most would associate with quality engineering and premium class products.  But now Fiat are on their way up and the 500 is considered to be the epitome of what Fiat have achieved, their ambitions and their future aspirations.  Big responsibilities for a small car.

What Fiat have to do with the new 500 is prove that they can build a quality car.  Not just a car that looks unique, that stands out in a crowd and comes in half a million different flavours.  The new Fiat 500 must have substance, it will no doubt face a much tougher time and be asked to prove itself much more than either the MINI or new Beetle ever were.  Fiat can make small, affordable cars, everyone knows that. With the new 500 they have to prove beyond doubt they can make small, quality cars too.

The new Fiat 500 will also face the potentially tough task of asking people to spend more money on character and non-essential yet desirable features alone.  How many people will wander into a Fiat showroom, or specify their new 500s online only to think “I could get a Panda for much less than that”.  Many spoke of the Volkswagen Beetle in a similar tone.  It has always been seen by some as nothing more than a Golf made to look pretty, at the expense of practicality, and at greater expense to the customer.  Fiat must do all they can to avoid that happening to the 500.

So it’s going to be a balancing act for Fiat, and only time will tell if they’ve got it right with the 500.  They’ve certainly captured some of the spirit and fun of the original, and the timing of the launch could not have been better.   The reception has been incredible with almost blanket coverage from Italy to Australia, America to the UK, everyone in the motoring media has been talking about the 500, and those who have driven seem unanimously impressed.  But when the party atmosphere has calmed, and you’ve got a customer wandering in from the street into the fluorescent glow of a Fiat car showroom, that’s the real test of the magic of the new 500.  Will it win over enough paying customers to truly become a new cult Classic, will it capture the hearts of a new generation of true enthusiasts, or will the 500 be snapped up by the fashion concious hoards, only to be dropped at the tip of hat when the next big thing comes along.

If initial reports are anything to go by Fiat are on the right track to success with the 500, but the World is watching and you feel the baby 500 has just got to deliver.