Fiat is celebrating its return to North America with the 500 (preferred pronunciation is “Cinquecento”), a small city car that will compete directly with the Smart Fortwo and the Aston Martin Cygnet. It is the first Italian automobile offered in North America for less than six figures since Alfa Romeo left our shores in the 90s. The car pays homage to the original 500, which was mass produced from 1957 to 1975 with more than three million examples made (For comparison, Chevy produced a similar number of Camaros in its first 18 years). Fiat revived the car in 2007 and it has celebrated success with more than 500,000 Fiat 500s sold in more than 80 countries. That’s everywhere in the world except North America, which Fiat hopes will change with the 2012 Fiat 500 and 500C.

Our test vehicle was the 2012 Fiat 500C Lounge. The “C” stands for Cabrio and Lounge is the more upscale option next to the Pop submodel. Lounge adds, among other things, an automatic transmission as standard and items like chrome trim, side moldings, and 15-inch alloy wheels to better accentuate the exterior design. Not that the exterior design needs any help in grabbing people’s attentions; the Fiat 500C garnished stares and gawkers everywhere it went.

Follow the link to read the whole 2012 Fiat 500C Lounge review.



Provided by duPont REGISTRY



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