"Mikeado" (mikeado)
09/24/2013 at 12:27 • Filed to: Fiat 500
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"Mikeado" (mikeado)
09/24/2013 at 12:27 • Filed to: Fiat 500 | 2
| 9 |
This !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! reminded me of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I saw earlier today. See, the Fiat 500 is - by modern standards at least - a pretty small car. Much of America considers the Ford Focus a small car, so when sales of something two size categories down from that were slow in the US, I wasn't overly surprised. Now that they've picked up and the car's been out elsewhere for nearly 7 years, Fiat are readying the new car for 2015 to tackle the new BMW 0-Series for 2014/5. But do they listen to the America or Europe when it comes to size?
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See, Europeans like how easy to drive and park it is in packed cities, but Americans have more space to play with and want bigger cars, which is actually the only reason the 500L exists (that and the CoUNTryman). In Europe it's the second-best-selling city car, after Fiat's own Panda, and making it bigger would move it into a different market segment altogether. But the US - largely because of the sheer number of them - has now become the 500's biggest market, out-buying even Italy. So what do they do?
According to Carscoops, one thing they are going to do is make a five-door version that sits between the normal one and the 500L, to in fact tackle the Fiesta and Clio and Polo and Corsa and so on in the next size category up. There's no name for it yet, so I'll call it the 500Y, after the Lancia Ypsilon that's so far failed miserably to do that job. With that in mind, I suppose Fiat's decision is whether to keep it in the A-Segment it currently dominates in Europe and keep it more or less the same size, or whether to simply make it into a 3-door version of the "500Y" that's going to replace my Punto in the B-Segment.
Call me European, but I'd rather it didn't get any bigger than necessary, given that the 500's size was part of its original USP. The BMW so-called "MINI" is a B-segment car, though, so Fiat would be fighting them on equal terms if they sized it up. But smaller cars are more fun and model bloat's undeniably a bad thing, plus the Panda is sort-of a B-Segment car as well (but taller and more practical like a Honda Jazz/Fit), so it wouldn't take long before Fiat were competing with themselves.
There'd be a lot of head-scratching for them if they made it bigger. It should stay where it is!
But what say you?
Goshen, formerly Darkcode
> Mikeado
09/24/2013 at 12:32 |
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The current Fiat 500 is nowhere near what the original car was conceptwise. It only looks like it, other than that it's entirely different and shouldn't be compared.
And Fiat has already built two cars that came close to be modern 500s. The execution was terrible but the idea was there. Also, nice "CoUNTryman" pun.
PelicanHazard
> Mikeado
09/24/2013 at 12:39 |
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They should keep it where it is.
The US is the largest single-country market for the 500, with 43,772 sales compared to the second largest single-country market, Italy, with 42,919 sales. But notice the US just edges out Italy . Not the entirety of Europe, only Italy. Taken in sum, this means the majority of 500 sales are still in Europe, so the new car should still follow European preferences in order to not alienate its largest market. US buyers looking for something bigger can be enticed to a 500L or the 500Y.
Having test driven a 500 for ~24 hours, though, I believe it to be big enough for a second car/teen car/just-get-me-from-A-to-B-alone car as it is. The American obsession with size still boggles me.
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Mikeado
> Goshen, formerly Darkcode
09/24/2013 at 12:40 |
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It's not as easy to make a car that small anymore. Toyota tried with the iQ and despite their excellent packaging ideas it was too cramped for four people. Cars these days are thicker thanks to safety regs, so even the likes of the Seicento would be hard to do now. At least it hasn't bloated quite as much as the MINI, which is even spelt in all-caps these days to make it look bigger.
I don't think it would've been as successful outside Europe if it was VW Up-sized.
duurtlang
> Mikeado
09/24/2013 at 13:18 |
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Both. Keep the Fiat 500 the same size for Europe, it's an iconic car and already quite large compared to the original. Then there's the aging B-segment Punto, which needs a replacement as soon as possible. You could make some kind of 500-like version as a replacement for the Punto, and sell that on both sides of the Atlantic. That way it'll appeal better to American cupholders fat asses cheap gas wide open spaces better as well.
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Mikeado
> duurtlang
09/24/2013 at 13:36 |
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This would be best IMO. The 5-door "500Y" set to replace the Punto can be the compromise car.
Spasoje
> Mikeado
09/25/2013 at 18:30 |
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Why not just call the bigger 500 a 600?
The original 600 was exactly that: a bigger 500. Since they are already staying true to historical names, this would be a logical next step.
mike89
> Spasoje
09/26/2013 at 04:04 |
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The original 600 came out before the 500. And they didn't have anything in common, except the brand.
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Mikeado
> Spasoje
09/26/2013 at 04:56 |
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I think "500" has become a sort-of brand in itself now. Fiat sell loads of 500 merchandise and so on, and every new car they make seems to have 500 on it apart from the Panda. So I think it would keep the 500 name and have a letter on the end like all the others.
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Spasoje
> mike89
09/26/2013 at 16:45 |
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Never said the 500 came out first!
Both the 600 and 500 were meant to be replacements for the original Topolino, with the 500 being designed by the same man with the same purpose. The 500 was a 'compressed format' version of the 600 meant to fill out the bottom of Fiat's range. They have tons in common...