VW Beetle dipped into the past to recreate an icon, along with Mini, and now Fiat has done the same. Does this blast from the past have what it takes to take over a share of the mini-marketplace?
The Fiat 500 is available in a variety of options including italian branding options. They're attempts are to make this ride an italian icon. Five years ago, Fiat was in negotiations to be bought by General Motors, but they managed to hold onto the brand. Sergio Marchionne, a Canadian-Italian businessman, was appointed CEO of Fiat in 2004 was assigned the task of turning the company around. His first task was to negotiate the independence of Fiat and buy out GM's interest in the company. A jubilant and now cash-rich Fiat put ads in newspapers throughout Italy proclaiming, “Fiat is Italian again.”
These little cars are Fiat's specialty. And hey, they're great for getting around on the small streets and alleys strewn throughout italy. After the success of the Volkswagen Beetle and Mini Cooper, Fiat showed their Trepiuno concept at the 2004 Geneva auto show. Three years later, and 50 years to the day after the first appearance of the iconic original, a party that involved the whole city of Turin welcomed the debut of the ’08 500.
