Fiat 500 makes trek across America
Click to see the little Fiat's big adventure in hi-res
The jury in Turin might still be out on whether to export the miniscule Fiat 500 to North America, but one adventurer got tired of waiting and took things into his own hands. Jim Magill shipped a Cinquecento from Northern Ireland to New York and embarked immediately upon a trek across the United States. Magil says the car garnered an inordinate amount of attention in Manhattan before they hit the road for Washington, across the heartland through Chicago and De Moines, running through Salt Lake City and Oregon before swinging down through San Francisco, the Bonneville salt flats, Death Valley, Las Vegas and finally... whew... Los Angeles. Although Jim and his co-driver Alan have now returned across the Atlantic, the car is staying behind to make appearances in Pebble Beach at the concours and the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. Check out the images in the gallery below to see the 500's foray into and across the United States.
Gallery: Fiat 500 across America
[Source: Little Fiat Big Adventure via Italiaspeed]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John Johnson 10:15AM (7/29/2008)
Good thing it didn't meet up with any Q7s along the way.
I hope small cars can come to America. I wanted a Mini but with so many SUV/truck drivers out there, it's just unsafe to drive a small car. Not to stereotype, but a I've seen quite a lot of horrible SUV drivers. They figure they have a kid, so it's time for a big huge vehicle!
Not to be un-American here, but I hope gas hits $5/gal. Get a lot of these big SUVs off the road and make people realize that a REGULAR car will suit them just fine. Even a wagon, if you really need all the extra space. I'm a single guy, I like small cars. I want one. Let me have one.
/rant
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Big J 10:35AM (7/29/2008)
I also don't want to be un-American but $5/gallon won't do it. Gas would have to rise to about $7-$8/gallon for people to begin making trade offs between wants and needs. My last car purchase was a full-size sedan because a friend was killed in a car accident and after seeing the remains of the car I realized that I wanted more space around me for safety. In this situation a couple inches would have made all the difference. I'm not a single guy, I like small cars and prefer one but not at the risk of my life with careless SUV drivers roaming the roads.
Atomicbri 10:35AM (7/29/2008)
My theory is you only live once. You can drive a big car and get hit by an 18 wheeler and be killed just as easily. Recently we had a Chevy Suburban and a Semi crash into each other, needless to say, they driver in the Suburban died instantly, the driver of the semi survived. So it really doesn't matter, there is always something bigger on the road. And besides, where I live in NYC top speed is generally about 30-35 on inner city roads. Not 70-90mph like on some highways across America. I think they should bring it. Those pictures of it sitting in the Big Apple made me depressed, because the 500 looked so much at home here in NYC. Looked like it fit right in. Also soon enough most of the Crown Vic taxi cabs are going the way of the dinosaurs soon and we will have smaller more fuel efficient taxis here so that is one less behemoth on the roads here.
Quattrofan 10:42AM (7/29/2008)
"Unsafe to drive a small car"
Where do you live? Bangladesh?
John Johnson 10:47AM (7/29/2008)
"Where do you live? Bangladesh?"
No, I live in America. Particularly, North Carolina. Rednecks and their big trucks, business rednecks with their SUVs. then I go down to Charlotte where every college kid has a Jeep or an Explorer.
There are no areas of the world which contains 100% good drivers. There will ALWAYS be bad drivers around, no matter where you are. I'd rather the bad drivers not choose to drive a vehicle big enough to crush me. If the drivers in your area are that good, lemme know where you live, I want to move there.
John Johnson 10:48AM (7/29/2008)
You'll have to pardon my grammar as well - too early in the morning to realize what I'm typing :).
It's good to know that I'm not alone in my way of thinking though :).
Yar 10:51AM (7/29/2008)
Funny thing is, no matter how expensive gas becomes, people will still hate SUV owners for no good reason.
jgp 10:53AM (7/29/2008)
I can be hit by a drunk driver in a parking lot and die.
I can have an aneurysm burst out of nowhere and die.
Safety is rubbish. We all die sometime, and we have no control over it whatsoever.
John Johnson 11:04AM (7/29/2008)
"Funny thing is, no matter how expensive gas becomes, people will still hate SUV owners for no good reason."
It's not about gas prices. They can buy all the gas they want, it doesn't bug me a bit. And I don't hate *all* SUV owners. If you NEED an SUV, and you can drive it in a safe manner that won't endanger me or anyone I love, that's great. I don't see an SUV driver and go "grrrrr", don't get me wrong. Most people that NEED a big vehicle can drive it better than a soccer mom with two kids who think it drives the same as a Toyota Camry.
Yar 4:17PM (7/29/2008)
But NEED shouldn't matter. If we all drove what we NEEDED then the roads would be full of eerily similar econoboxes and a handful of full-size pickups. People drive SUVs for the same reason they driver Ferrari's or Bugattis, they like them. And if someone can afford an SUV, afford to pay for the gas, and can pass a drivers test (which I personally believe should be a separate test for regular vehicles and vehicles of a high GVWR) then they have every right to drive the gas guzzler.
Travis 2:17AM (7/30/2008)
My other ride is a 10 speed (ok, new 20sp Trek Madone, but you get the idea).
Sorry, but I'm not going to let the fear that something might happen to me to keep me from doing what I love (and if I get clipped by a big rig riding to work, you can put that on my tombstone). This goes for road bikes, small cars, russian roullette, etc. Ok, maybe scratch the last one, but you get the point.
In other words, BRING THIS OVER! I'll take the Abarth 500 SS if you can keep it within a grand or so of the Mini Cooper S.
John 10:15AM (7/29/2008)
Ummm and why are we not getting this? 100hp petrol version and then the Abarth at 150hp...Yeah, I think they might just sell. Heck Mini is out of cars for the U.S. market. me thinks this could be equally hot.
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James 10:17AM (7/29/2008)
I know this is verging off topic, but if a European driver takes his/her car to another European country, an oval country code plate (GB, F, DE etc) or a blue band E.U. license plate has to be shown.
For those rare occasions a car arrives in North America from another continent, does it need any foreign identifier, temporary plates or headlight adjusters? (Although whether the beam from a titchy Fiat could blind the driver of bigger American cars is questionable...)
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VWsat 11:45AM (7/29/2008)
You can't drive a car from another continent in North America without getting it inspected and modified if necessary.
If it meets the roadworthiness and safety standards it may be allowed, depending on how nice DMV is feeling.
Donald 10:17AM (7/29/2008)
I applaud them for the effort, and I love this little car, but couldn't they have picked a better color than "generic white?"
You go through the effort of bringing the car over here, then drive it across the country, taking pictures, photo-ops, and show appearances to get the car noticed, yet you have the car painted in the most annonymous, unflattering color choice possible for the 500.
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paul 10:44AM (7/29/2008)
One thing you can say about white is that it is highly visible. If I am driving a small car I want it to be seen, and I imagine they wanted the decals and lettering to be seen, and what is better than black on white. Yes, I know Red & Chromium Yellow are also visible.
Paul S
djSyndrome 11:56AM (7/29/2008)
Given the popularity of the 500 abroad, a choice of colo(u)r might not have been an option.
iOrange 10:59AM (7/29/2008)
Can't wait to see this at the Cruise!! Woot!
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Matt 11:55AM (7/29/2008)
People in the US will buy good cars if they are available. It's amazing to see the domestic marques surprised about small cars selling well here. Example - Chevy Cobalt XFE - selling well. Mini - practically has a waiting list. I have even seen Smart cars here in L.A. If the Fiat 500 was available here now, I might even trade my (paid for) Honda Civic for an Abarth model. Easy to parallel park, room for the car seats and enough pep to make driving fun.
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MJK 10:52AM (7/29/2008)
not to be picky, but I believe Pebble Beach and Woodward are the same weekend.
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