Fiat Is Rude As Hell for Bringing the Europe-Only 500 to the NY Auto Show

The New York Auto Show was bleak this yr, with lots of important automakers not in attendance and quite much each individual new debut just a facelift of an present model. But in the corner of the Stellantis stand there were two shining rays of light: A pair of new Fiat 500s. The only capture is, the 500 is only marketed 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 automobile market (and the planet), so this was my to start with time genuinely getting to see and practical experience a person in particular person. And gentleman is it very good. A floor-up redesign with a completely electric powered powertrain, the new 500 manages to seem way additional present day and upscale whilst nevertheless remaining as stylish and retro as it must. Its inside is so a lot nicer than the preceding 500, with an improved infotainment process, higher-end supplies and some clever information.

The two hardtop and cabrio types have been on screen at the present, with the hatch painted in a wonderful rose gold and the convertible a person of the Task Pink special editions. But it was the hardtop that really grabbed my focus, because the new a few-as well as-a single model provides a little suicide doorway to the passenger aspect of the car. In spite of its little sizing, the addition of that additional door and the lack of a B-pillar tends to make it considerably less difficult to get into the 500’s back seat.

Stellantis does not seriously have an explanation for why these 500s have been at the automobile clearly show. It appears like the automobiles had been already introduced over to the US for CES before this yr, where by Stellantis confirmed off its international electrification initiatives, and the company just determined to carry them to New York to have anything on the stand. There are details sheets in the windshields that communicate all about the motor vehicle, and they only have one sentence in a very tiny font about how the 500 just isn’t obtainable in the US.

Earning the existence of the 500s even extra irritating is the state of the Fiat model in typical. With the discontinuation of the 500, 500L and 124 Spider, the only Fiat sold in the US is the 500X crossover, which is now 8 decades previous and not superior at all. (It has a great new Yachting trim with a rollback roof, at the very least.) With the death of the BMW i3 and Fiat’s key competitor Mini going absolutely electric powered, I feel you can find surely a market for the new 500 in the US, even if it would want to dress in a a lot more quality value tag. Looking at the autos at the automobile show just built me even sadder and madder that it won’t take place.