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

The New York Automobile Show was bleak this year, with lots of big automakers not in attendance and very much every single new debut just a facelift of an present product. But in the corner of the Stellantis stand there were two shining rays of light-weight: A pair of new Fiat 500s. The only catch is, the 500 is only bought in Europe and is not going to 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 world), so this was my very first time actually obtaining to see and practical experience a person in particular person. And person is it very good. A ground-up redesign with a entirely electrical powertrain, the new 500 manages to seem way more modern day and upscale when nevertheless remaining as chic and retro as it really should. Its interior is so a lot nicer than the prior 500, with an enhanced infotainment system, greater-close elements and some intelligent information.

Each hardtop and cabrio versions were on show at the demonstrate, with the hatch painted in a beautiful rose gold and the convertible just one of the Project Crimson unique editions. But it was the hardtop that genuinely grabbed my consideration, mainly because the new 3-in addition-just one design provides a very small suicide door to the passenger aspect of the automobile. Inspite of its tiny measurement, the addition of that added door and the lack of a B-pillar can make it considerably less difficult to get into the 500’s back seat.

Stellantis isn’t going to genuinely have an rationalization for why these 500s ended up at the vehicle display. It appears to be like the vehicles were by now introduced more than to the US for CES earlier this year, wherever Stellantis confirmed off its world-wide electrification initiatives, and the organization just resolved to carry them to New York to have one thing on the stand. There are details sheets in the windshields that communicate all about the automobile, and they only have one particular sentence in a quite little font about how the 500 is not offered in the US.

Building the existence of the 500s even extra troublesome is the state of the Fiat model in basic. With the discontinuation of the 500, 500L and 124 Spider, the only Fiat marketed in the US is the 500X crossover, which is now eight years previous and not excellent at all. (It has a cool new Yachting trim with a rollback roof, at minimum.) With the demise of the BMW i3 and Fiat’s primary competitor Mini likely absolutely electric powered, I believe there is unquestionably a market for the new 500 in the US, even if it would will need to use a additional quality selling price tag. Looking at the cars and trucks at the vehicle clearly show just produced me even sadder and madder that it is not going to materialize.