London Residential, an estate agency in Candem, London, has bought five Fiat 500 1.2 cars, as well as four electric scooters as transports for its agents. This isn't, of course, the first time the popular mini car has been used for advertising purposes thanks to its "iconic" status. London Residential claims it chose this model, with CO₂ emissions at 119 g/km, as well as electric scooters in order to reduce the environmental impact of its agents when meeting potential customers and driving them around. The company also applies other green-friendly policies at its headquarters. Agents in the U.S. take note: the 500 might arrive stateside as well.

[Source: Fiat UK]

There has been quite a lot of speculation about a low-consumption Ferrari, or well, just one that uses less fuel (maybe not that little) but some prayers might have been answered by this: Because Fiat and Ferrari are linked, owners of Ferraris will have a special Fiat 500 as replacement vehicle when they take their cavallini rampanti to the dealers for maintenance. The Fiat 500 is the sportiest version available, the 1.4 liter with 100 HP, and before you comment let me be the one to say that they will surely find a difference in acceleration. The 500 will have Ferrari spirit in the sense that it will be painted in rosso corsa, the "Ferrari red." However, don't take out your checkbook yet, the 200 planned vehicles won't be on sale. At least for now.

[Source: Le Blog Auto]

When Fiat unveiled the revamped 500 almost a year ago, the company said it hoped the car would be considered the "iPod of cars." There's one aspect of the iPod, though, that Fiat is probably glad they aren't associated with: the products disposability. I mean, really, does Apple need to release a new version every other month?

Lucky for Fiat, "residual experts" say that the 500 will hold onto more of its value in three years than previously expected. Sure, the vehicle will still be worth less than half of what you paid for it today, but the experts say the value will be 46 percent of the original list price instead of the previously expected 42 percent. All the reasons for the change in prediction were not given, but one is that this is a stylish car that's also pretty clean. Fiat's announcement, pasted after the jump, says that small- and medium-sized companies like the 500 since "it offers drivers a high profile company car that is low on fuel use and CO₂ emissions." Sound like a better deal than having a dead iPod in 36 months.


[Source: Fiat]

You must think that the buyer was crazy, as the Fiat 500 can be bought in the dealer for about £10,000. Why would someone pay £200,000 for one? The car was sold at an auction last week for the benefit of the ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) charity. The auction raised a total of £25 million at a gala reception in the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, England and the car wasn't just any 500. This was one of four specially designed and painted versions created by English artist Tracey Emin. The work, entitled 'Dark, Dark, Dark', was among lots which included diamonds, a safari holiday, a speaking role in actress Uma Thurman's next film, Eloise in Paris, use of a luxury yacht, fashion pieces and other works of art. Still, £200,000 for a Fiat 500 is a lot.

[Source: ARK]

Although the Fiat 500 is made in Poland, Fiat is an Italian brand. What's something else that we associate with Italy? Pasta! Naturally, it was high time to put these two together. With headrests that look like ravioli and a gear stick that finishes in a giant "agniolotto," the Fiat 500 Giovanni Rana can't be more Italian (or weird). Don't miss that the car painted to look like freshly baked ciabatta and the pedals look like linguine.

The car pays a tribute to one of Italy's best-known pasta manufacturers, Rana. The car was introduced by Mr. Rana himself during a food fair called "Cibus" in Parma last week. Without a doubt, this's one of the funniest conversions we've ever seen in a car. We won't see it being on showrooms any soon, but we do wonder what would happen if we drove it into a boiling pit of water.


[Source: La Reppubblica]

It seems that the retro-cool style of the Fiat 500, aside from getting a lot of praise, is also winning a lot of prizes. Besides the Car of the Year 2008 – the little Italian thatʻs made in Poland has just been crowned Best Small Car in the annual What Diesel Car Of The Year awards.

The 500 Diesel is powered by Fiat's 1.3 Multijet engine good for 75 HP, 56 mpg (U.S.) in the EU combined cycle and CO₂ emissions of 111 g/km. Overall, current diesel sales in the UK are approaching those on the Continent, with more than 50 percent of vehicles sold being diesels.



[Source: Fiat UK]

I still haven't seen the documentary King Corn, which digs into all the ways that corn is used (and abused) in our society. Our friends over at ZapRoot, though, got a chance to sit down with Aaron Woolf, the film's director, for their latest episode. This brief video also a segment on those manmade Dubai islands and the 56 mpg Fiat 500 gets a few seconds of screen time as well.

The movie clips from King Corn included in ZapRoot show how this movie focuses more on the food side of the corn equation (i.e., not so much the ethanol), but the movie does get into how complicated the America's agribusiness policy is. During the promotional work for the film, people associated with the movie did discuss ethanol's role in elevating the royal crop. Thanks to a link from the King Corn website, I just found out my local PBS station is showing the movie tonight and if I remember to watch or record it, I might have a review coming up. Check to see if it's playing near you.

[Source: ZapRoot]

The new Fiat 500 is proving to be quite popular in Europe where the crew from the Top Gear web site had a chance to try out the 1.3L diesel model. The cute little 500 draws plenty of attention on the streets of London, but it's what's under the skin that counts. The handling and steering are far superior to what one might expect from a little car like this. It corners flat and turns in smoothly. The 75hp 1.3L MultiJet diesel provides plenty of performance and still delivers 56 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle. According to Top Gear's scribe, even when the fashion aspect of the 500 fades, this will still be one fine little ride.

[Source: Top Gear]

Fiat, maker of the cutesiest bit of neo-retro ever (the 500, pictured above) threw a party to mark the opening of their new flagship store in London's West End. The car company went all out with real celebrities (No, I wasn't there. Sigh.) and an art exhibition which featured, according to the press release, "the work of 22 young designers who are competing to design an accessory for the Fiat 500 that will be chosen to go into production..."

More than just another dealership, the space is being offered up (for a fee, I'm guessing) as "a venue for corporate meetings, fashion shows, art and design exhibitions, and as a lavish set for film makers." Broadcaster CNN has already taken them up on that offer and will be holding a seminar with leading auto marketers and media opinion-formers. I'm still waiting on that invite.





[Source: Fiat]

Even though the Fiat 500 is swimming in praise in Europe, the chance that this popular little car will make it to the U.S. is small and not getting any bigger. According to Just Auto, Fiat brand CEO Lorenzo Sistino "side-stepped" the question during a speech at the IESE Business School's Automotive Sector conference in Barcelona, Spain. Fiat doesn't have a dealer network in America but it will be reintroducing the Alfa Romeo here soon. Since the focus will be on Alfa Romeo, adding Fiat cars to the showrooms would not be the right more, Sistino said.

Just Auto reports Sistino said, "The first brand that Fiat Auto will be selling in the US [on re-entry] will be Alfa Romeo. The discussion about Cinquecento [as the 500 is also known] follows a media report and the idea that the Mercedes Smart is the first such example and that Fiat could follow. I cannot give you an answer now. Certainly the Cinquecento is an absolutely outstanding car for us and maybe it can have opportunities outside Europe. But in the US, the dealer network [lack of] would be an issue for sure - it would present a bottleneck. Probably we would have to think about some new distribution solution."

So, there you have it. Until we hear otherwise don't go to the new Alfa Romero dealers expecting to see a Fiat there the way you can find a Mini in a BMW dealership today.



Related:

• Fiat 500 voted car of the year 2008
• Fiat 500 wins Eurocarbody 2007 award
• Fiat 500 - cute, green and also safe

[Source: Just Auto]

Fifty-eight journalist from twenty-two countries around Europe have voted the Fiat 500 as "European Car of the Year 2008" with 385 votes, ahead of the Mazda 2 (325 votes) and the Ford Mondeo (202). The cute subcompact was also in 57 of the 58 short lists and was voted first by jury members.

Fiat has won already this award 12 times: 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).

The 500 is quite a success: up to date, 105,000 orders have been placed in Germany and Italy. The diesel version is including a Diesel Particulate Filter as a standard, and all engines satisfy the Euro V.

Related:

• Fiat 500 wins Eurocarbody 2007 award
• Fiat 500 - cute, green and also safe

[Source: Fiat]

Fiat has announced the pricing for the Fiat 500 in the UK, which will be on sale in January. Britons will be able to buy it for between £7,900 and £10,900 (that roughly translates to $15,500-21,900).

The array of Euro 5-ready engines available start with a 69 bhp 1.2-liter and 100 bhp 1.4-liter gasoline powerplants and the 75 bhp 1.3-liter MultiJet turbodiesel. Buyers can order their 500 with three trim levels Pop, Sport and Lounge.

Continue reading for complete press release and price list for the UK.

Related:

• Fiat 500 wins Eurocarbody 2007 award
• Rendered speculation: Fiat 500 Giardinera (SW)
• VIDEO: Fifth Gear tries out the new Fiat 500

[Source Fiat UK]

Fiat has just shown that you don't have to be huge to win a car body award. The company just won the Eurocarbody award, which is defined as "the annual Innovation Prize and the worldwide highest accolade of Automotive Circle International awarded for trailblazing engineering contributions to series developments in car body lightweight design and manufacturing," for the Fiat 500. The award was given during an event in Bad Nauheim/Frankfurt, Germany from 16 to 18 October, attended by 600 experts in the development of the design, materials, processes and manufacturing of car bodies.

This means that the 3.5 meter-long car (11 ft 8 in) has proved itself not only beautiful, but also safe (it got a Euro NCAP 5-star rating) and of high quality. To see how stiff the competition was, view the full list of awardees after the jump.

Related:

• Rendered speculation: Fiat 500 Giardinera (SW)
• VIDEO: Fifth Gear tries out the new Fiat 500
• VIDEO: Fiat shows that really small cars don't have to crumple

[Source: Fiat & Automotive Circle]

The original Fiat 500 from the 1950s was available in a Station Wagon version, the Giardinera, which we might consider to be the minivan's grandparent and placed the engine under the car floor. This is not the case for a possible version of the nuova 500, which is speculated in an article by Infomotori: the new 500 has its engine in the front.

Rumours about a SW version of the cinquino (the 500's nickname in Italy) have been heard since the introduction of the model but the Torino marque has yet to announce if the plans are real or just the imagination of an artist. While we're dreaming, wouldn't this be a good base for a modern EV 500.

Related:

• VIDEO: Fifth Gear tries out the new Fiat 500
• VIDEO: Fiat shows that really small cars don't have to crumple
• Fiat hopes that the 500/Cinquecento will become the "iPod of cars"

[Source: Infomotori]

The blokes who host that other British car show Fifth Gear got a chance to sample the new Fiat 500 a few months ahead of its UK launch next January. The new 500 competes in the same premium mini-car market as the MINI. Host Tom Ford describes the looks as chic rather than girly as some observers have. On the inside he found it quite roomy aside from rear seat head room. While the Mini has been around for a few years now he really like the freshness of the Fiat, in spite of it's throw-back looks. The big question now is has Fiat got their act together enough that Tony doesn't need to fix it again? Hey Fiat, why don't you bring some stateside so that we can find out for ourselves. Check out the video of the segment after the jump.

[Source: Fifth Gear, YouTube]