Almost fifteen years ago, way, way back in 1995, Chrysler came up with a truly brilliant idea: A small car should not only be cheap to make, but it should be quick, nimble, and fun to drive. They hit one outta the park with the Neon. These days, Chrysler’s not doing so hot, but I’ve found a glimmer of hope for the folks who, at least once upon a time, managed to pull off something brilliant.
Am I the only one who sees a resemblance, here? There’s no shortage of people who might argue that the Neons were prone to a number of mechanical shortcomings and the paint wasn’t always, okay the paint usually came off the car, but what might Darwin have to say about these two small cars with the happy little faces being separated by an ocean?
Granted, the Fiat 500 was around long before the Neon even existed on a napkin somewhere in Detroit, but set aside differences in size, shape, and the like, and consider the similarities. The Neon was an instant hit mainly because it was a fresh new face and was fun to drive. When the new Fiat 500 was presented to the world, on the 50th anniversary of the original 500, it was an instant hit as well. By the time the votes were tallied in the 2008 European Car of the Year contest, the new 500 was the clear winner.
Now, COTY awards are generally not something to which this would-be author aspires, but to give you an idea of how well-received this little bambino is, there were 58 judges for ECOTY. 33 of them placed the 500 in first place. The other 15 ranked it second. In the final score, the Fiat 500 beat the second place car (the Mazda 2/Ford Fiesta) by 60 points. By comparison, the 2009 ECOTY results do not impress as much when you consider that the Opel/Vauxhaull Insignia (*cough*Chevy Malibu*cough*) took top honors by just one point over perennial contender, the fabulous Ford Fiesta. What’s more, nearly half the judges in the 2009 competition would have given the award to the Fiesta. The GM product got lucky, whereas the little Fiat truly shone brighter than the competition.
Chrysler has confirmed that the Fiat 500 will be coming to America in 2011. That’s a while to wait, but some things are worth the wait, right? I might be the only one to think the Fiat 500 could be the shot in Chrysler-Fiat’s arm that the Neon was back in the mid-nineties, but I doubt I’m the only one who’s noticed the prices are creeping back up again at the pump. It might just be perfect timing. When gas prices are back up into the stratosphere and people are balking at the thought of paying a premium for some bland, overweight, technologically complex hybrid, the Fiat 500 might just be the friendly face they’ve been waiting for.
Of couse, while Fiat now owns a chunk of Chrysler, they’ve also a stake in Alfa Romeo, making me wonder if, one day, I’ll have to choose between the Fiat 500 Abarth SS or the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA, and experience spontaneous cerebellum fusion.
