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

The New York Auto Exhibit was bleak this 12 months, with numerous significant automakers not in attendance and really substantially each and every new debut just a facelift of an present product. But in the corner of the Stellantis stand there ended up two shining rays of light-weight: A pair of new Fiat 500s. The only catch is, the 500 is only offered in Europe and would not arrive to the US. What the hell, Fiat?

The new 500 was unveiled in March 2020 suitable as the pandemic was wreaking havoc on the auto industry (and the entire world), so this was my to start with time genuinely acquiring to see and working experience just one in human being. And gentleman is it excellent. A floor-up redesign with a totally electrical powertrain, the new 500 manages to search way far more modern and upscale whilst nonetheless remaining as stylish and retro as it should really. Its inside is so substantially nicer than the prior 500, with an improved infotainment program, increased-stop elements and some clever particulars.

Each hardtop and cabrio products had been on exhibit at the show, with the hatch painted in a wonderful rose gold and the convertible one of the Project Crimson specific editions. But it was the hardtop that definitely grabbed my focus, for the reason that the new 3-in addition-1 design adds a small suicide door to the passenger facet of the car or truck. Irrespective of its smaller dimensions, the addition of that additional doorway and the deficiency of a B-pillar will make it far easier to get into the 500’s back again seat.

Stellantis doesn’t truly have an rationalization for why these 500s had been at the vehicle clearly show. It looks like the cars and trucks have been now introduced over to the US for CES before this calendar year, in which Stellantis confirmed off its international electrification efforts, and the business just determined to carry them to New York to have some thing on the stand. There are info sheets in the windshields that speak all about the motor vehicle, and they only have one particular sentence in a really modest font about how the 500 isn’t really obtainable in the US.

Making the existence of the 500s even more annoying is the condition of the Fiat model in general. With the discontinuation of the 500, 500L and 124 Spider, the only Fiat offered in the US is the 500X crossover, which is now 8 decades old and not superior at all. (It has a neat new Yachting trim with a rollback roof, at the very least.) With the demise of the BMW i3 and Fiat’s key competitor Mini heading totally electric, I imagine you can find undoubtedly a current market for the new 500 in the US, even if it would have to have to dress in a much more high quality rate tag. Looking at the cars and trucks at the car exhibit just created me even sadder and madder that it is not going to occur.