The Fiat 500: the first Fiat car to be made by Chrysler?

by Terry Parkhurst

One of the first Fiats to make it to the United States via Chrysler will be the diminutive Fiat 500, introduced in 2007, with an exterior design meant to recall the original Fiat 500, the ubiquitous Italian car of the 1950s and 1960s (a Fiat 500 was one of the tire sellers in Cars). Power comes via several SOHC in-line four cylinder engines, displacing just 1.2 liters with horsepower ranging from 68 to 74 hp; but for the United States, the base powerplant is expected to be a 100-horsepower 1.4 liter engine, with the optional Abarth turbo version going up to 175 hp (similar in output to the 2.2 Turbo II sold by Chrysler in the 1980s). Like the New Beetle, the 500 is based on a more conventional design — that of the Fiat Panda, which has completely different interior and exterior styling, but essentially the same chassis and components.

Roberto Giolito, head of Fiat-brand styling and designer of the popular 500, says Chrysler will build four versions of the mini-car beginning in 2011. The lineup will include the standard 500 hatchback, a convertible, a station wagon and a sporty “tuner” hatch based on the Abarth version of the 500. According to Fiat, an all-wheel-drive CUV is a possibility. All the versions will be sold as Fiats. Production may be at a plant in the U.S. or at Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico assembly facility.

The tiny Fiat 500 coupe was crowned “best compact car” by Japanese Internet users in 2008, against the equally small Toyota IQ (also coming to America) and Peugeot 308. In Japan, though, people tend to accept small cars more readily; micro cars – powered by engines of just 600 cubic-centimeters (.6 liters) – have been street legal for years.

Fiat had considered building the 500 for the American market at its Case New Holland tractor factories, before tying in with Chrysler. Its goal was to repeat the success of BMW's Mini, which proved that, while Americans generally don't care for small cars, sometimes they make an exception. Automotive history is littered with nameplates that tried to establish a footing in America with small cars and achieved only marginal success, until they faded away: Crosley, Nash Metropolitan, Studebaker Lark, and Geo.

Three engines are sold with the Fiat 500: a 69 horsepower, 1.2 liter engine, a 75 horsepower, 1.3 liter diesel engine and a 100 horsepower, 1.4 liter engine with a 16 valve cylinder head. Those engines could be mated to either a five or six speed manual transmission or a five-speed, Dualogic® sequential gearbox.

Buyers in WhatCar? were generally full of praise for the 500, noting its sporty feel, satisfactory power and cruising, high gas mileage (50-60 mpg), and general reliability. WhatCar? itself noted that the engines were lively, if not particularly fast; the car is inexpensive; and the interior feels high quality while engines have been reliable and safety is on the top of the supermini range. Down-sides were a jittery ride, less than ideal handling, and limited interior space. They preferred the 1.4 liter gas engine, which is probably the only one that will make it to the U.S.

Fiat Start & Stop system

As of February 2009, the Fiat 500 has a new Start&Stop system which stops the engine when the car is stopped and instantly restarts it when the driver wants to accelerate again. The Fiat 500 Start&Stop has the highest mileage of any gas-engined 500, and starts at US$14,000 (£9,500). Gas mileage rises in the urban cycle from 6.4 liters/100 km to 5.7 (from 37 to 41 US mpg, or from 44 to 50 UK mpg). Highway mileage is unchanged.

Start&Stop is based on a battery and starter able to perform a fast engine restart and to deal with a far higher number of starts than a standard system. Sensors and control strategies manage operations, to guarantee safety, driveability and energy balance with a minimum impact on heating and other services. Engine stop is only allowed once a speed of 6 mph has been achieved after pulling away; to restart the engine the clutch pedal must be depressed. The Start&Stop system can be manually activated or deactivated using a button switch.

Start&Stop will not activate in certain cases, including engine still cold, battery in low charge state, heated rear window active, front wiper at maximum speed, or reverse gear engaged.

If the engine has been stopped and the clutch pedal has not been depressed for more than three minutes, the engine can only be restarted using the ignition key. Similarly, if the engine has been stopped and the driver’s seat belt has been unfastened, or a door has been opened, engine restart will only be achieved with the key.

Fiat’s hands-free telecommunications and entertainment system is standard on 500 Start&Stop, which means the car also benefits from eco:Drive, the system that allows customers to monitor and improve on their CO2 emissions and fuel consumption figures. The cheapest fiat 500 is $11,936 in the U.K. and comes with a 1.2 liter petrol engine.

The Fiat-Chrysler deal

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