They’re so lovable!
Daniel Golson/CNET
The New York Auto Exhibit was bleak this calendar year, with numerous important automakers not in attendance and rather a lot each new debut just a facelift of an current product. But in the corner of the Stellantis stand there were being two shining rays of mild: A pair of new Fiat 500s. The only catch is, the 500 is only bought in Europe and will not likely occur to the US. What the hell, Fiat?
The new 500 was unveiled in March 2020 correct as the pandemic was wreaking havoc on the auto industry (and the environment), so this was my initial time actually finding to see and knowledge a person in human being. And gentleman is it excellent. A ground-up redesign with a absolutely electrical powertrain, the new 500 manages to seem way additional modern day and upscale when however remaining as chic and retro as it really should. Its interior is so a great deal nicer than the prior 500, with an enhanced infotainment process, increased-close elements and some intelligent particulars.
The 3-moreover-a person product gets a little suicide doorway.
Daniel Golson/CNET
Equally hardtop and cabrio versions ended up on show at the clearly show, with the hatch painted in a wonderful rose gold and the convertible a person of the Challenge Crimson exclusive editions. But it was the hardtop that seriously grabbed my consideration, because the new a few-plus-one product adds a little suicide door to the passenger aspect of the auto. Even with its little dimensions, the addition of that further door and the lack of a B-pillar tends to make it far a lot easier to get into the 500’s back seat.
Stellantis does not actually have an rationalization for why these 500s were at the auto clearly show. It appears to be like the automobiles were being presently brought over to the US for CES earlier this year, the place Stellantis confirmed off its global electrification attempts, and the enterprise just decided to bring them to New York to have one thing on the stand. There are info sheets in the windshields that chat all about the vehicle, and they only have one particular sentence in a incredibly tiny font about how the 500 is just not readily available in the US.
Creating the existence of the 500s even much more troublesome is the condition of the Fiat model in common. With the discontinuation of the 500, 500L and 124 Spider, the only Fiat bought in the US is the 500X crossover, which is now 8 several years outdated and not good at all. (It has a awesome new Yachting trim with a rollback roof, at minimum.) With the demise of the BMW i3 and Fiat’s primary competitor Mini heading thoroughly electrical, I imagine you will find surely a market for the new 500 in the US, even if it would will need to use a extra premium price tag tag. Seeing the cars at the car present just built me even sadder and madder that it would not come about.