In taking press fleet deliveries from one of the companies I deal with I am constantly reminded of a famous line from one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump. This week was no different as the baby blue 2017 Fiat 500 Cabrio (500c) pulled into the test driveway – I never know what I am going to get.
Fiat is no longer a one-model (number) showroom. Joining the myriad of Cinquecento (500) models the Italian automaker has already brought to America, Fiat has revived its 124 Spider roadster just in time for the model’s 50th birthday.
The test driveway has been treated to a couple of hot little Italians in the form of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and, most recently, the Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio. They both reside under the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles umbrella, both feature a cloth top that opens, and they both have turbocharged, four-cylinder engines.
I have a coworker who just had an awful experience with Chrysler over her Jeep. We joked that she should have called Fiat directly, but after seeing this ad, courtesy of Jalopnik, I think I’m just going to avoid making eye contact with my local Fiat dealer at all. And I won’t look at forest animals the same way again.
Usually when I show up in the review vehicle of the week, friends and family freely express their opinions on the new model and I find these to mostly be favorable but sometimes polarized with love it/hate it reactions. Not so with the new 500L from Fiat where nearly everyone told me it was just flat out ugly.
When I first reviewed the Fiat 500 last year I found the new little import to be fun and quirky but it lacked one important aspect – performance. Ladies and gentlemen, I now give you the Fiat 500 Abarth. Embodying the “small but wicked” spirit of namesake Karl Abarth’s hot little Fiats in the 1960s (something akin to John Cooper’s hotrodded Minis back in the day) the modern Abarth brings to the model line everything the base model is lacking for driving enthusiasts. Right off one sees the styling upgrades along with unique paint and logo applications that adorn not…
Move over MINI, we got the real Italian Job right here… Fiat is taking the ‘New World’ by storm and the hottest thing since the Vespa scooter has landed in America – the Fiat 500c Cabrio. The first “Nuova Cinquecento” debuted in the summer of 1957 as a cabriolet model and offered a distinctive canvas roof that opened right down the middle to the rear of the vehicle. Fast forward 54 years and Fiat builds on the brand’s spirit of building world-class small cars that ignite a “spirit of the times through simple design.” Sporting unique but modern Italian styling,…