The New 2012 Fiat 500

The New 2012 Fiat 500   By Jim Bennett and Roger Rohrs

November, 2010

“The new Fiat 500 changes the rules of personal transportation and delivers a new sense of individual expression and opportunity,” said Laura Soave, Head of Fiat Brand North America She noted “Beautiful Italian styling combined with timeless functionality, efficient design and innovative technology – these are the attributes that made the original Fiat 500 (Cinquecento) a timeless icon. More than 50 years later, the same qualities make the new 2012 Fiat 500 relevant for an entirely new generation of drivers.”  She also felt. “The new Fiat 500 brings something truly unique to a fast-growing segment in America, delivering Italian-by-design function, value and efficiency intelligently tailored for our market.”

Reminiscent of the original Cinquecento, the 2012 Fiat 500 builds on the vehicle’s global popularity. Since its initial launch in 2007, more than 500,000 Fiat 500 vehicles have been sold in more than 80 countries around the world. The model’s popularity is the result of the Fiat 500’s ability to deliver personalization options with advanced solutions in terms of quality, engine and passenger comfort. In addition to success on the sales front, the Fiat 500 has earned 60 international awards, including being named the 2008 European Car of the Year.

“The new Fiat 500 brings something truly unique to a fast-growing segment in America, delivering Italian-by-design function, value and efficiency intelligently tailored for our market.” . “The new Fiat 500 brings something truly unique to a fast-growing segment in America, delivering Italian-by-design function, value and efficiency intelligently tailored for our market.”

Tailored for the U.S. Market

“The new 2012 Fiat 500 has been intelligently adapted for the North American market.”
– Doug Betts, Senior VP Quality

“The Fiat 500 is an icon of efficient personal transportation, and for its U.S. premiere, we adapted the entire vehicle while retaining its Italian essence,” said Doug Betts, Senior Vice President – Quality, Chrysler Group LLC. “The Fiat 500 is an excellent package to start with. As we enhanced it to match North American driving conditions and consumer expectations, we also made sure to preserve the world-class fit-and-finish standards achieved by Fiat’s development team.”

Taking lessons learned from the European-produced model, the new 2012 Fiat 500 starts with a redesigned body structure to meet North American regulatory requirements for increased strength, crashworthiness and performance.   With its new efficient 1.4-liter MultiAir engine, Fiat engineers designed the 2012 model with a larger 10.5-gallon fuel tank for extended driving range. An enhanced heating and cooling system was designed to be environmentally friendly with lower CO₂ emissions while providing the performance needed for North American climate extremes.   A specially engineered suspension delivers tailored performance for the U.S. market. A redesigned twist-beam rear suspension features retuned bushings with more built-in roll stiffness, delivering ride comfort and handling suited for American drivers. Revised front-suspension geometry reduces dive during braking and features an increased front-stabilizer bar rate for reduced body roll and added driver confidence. In addition, retuned twin-tube shock absorbers and springs, all-new structural sub-frame brace, upgraded upper-strut mounts and retuned control-arm bushings make the U.S. market Fiat 500 as nimble as its European cousin while delivering a more comfortable and quiet interior cabin.

New 2012 Fiat 500

SPECIFICATIONS          

Dimensions are in inches (millimeters) unless otherwise noted.