Fiat recently brought back one of the most loved cars in Europe in the 20th century - the 500 - with a great challenge
Indeed, the 500 is the car that put the impoverished post-war Italians on wheels. It soon became the symbol of Italy’s economic rebirth, then a design icon. It and the Vespa scooter are the best-known symbols of modern Italy. In re-creating the 500, Sergio Marchionne,the Canadian-Italian CEO of Fiat, had a delicate act to perform. The car had to be faithful to its design roots — a piece of rolling nostalgia — yet thoroughly modern and capable of selling in vast numbers. It had to be like the new Mini Cooper, which has sold a million copies since its relaunch in 2001. I believe that has been achieved and the design is truly expectational. With this launch Fiat hopes to emulate the past success of the 500 and unfortunately for time it will not be hitting North American showrooms.
Even more expectational is the site promoting the 500, in particular is the user driven flash-video based car configuration. The experience excites and fuels the passion for the 500 by allowing the user to truly get immersed into building their own customized 500. With some many features to choose from I found myself spending an hour collectively just playing around the site; would I want a the optional sunroof and what vintage feature would go with red?
By the time I departed from the experience my only negative was that I couldn't run down to dealer and drive one off the lot. Enjoy and have fun building your own 500!
http://www.fiat500.com/eng/
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