I think I couldn’t disagree more with the way things are being managed at Fiat Group. Outside of Italy only a handful of cars sell in decent numbers and that’s because they don’t make that much sense any more. The one shining light the past couple of years has been the 500, easily one of their best ideas ever with over a million sold since launch.
Fiat wants to capitalize on the retro chic style and popular badge, so when Marchionne finally gives the green light for new Fiats to be developed, all of them will likely be called “500”. A replacement for the Punto is on the way for 2015 and this car will drop its current name and become a 5-door 500.
Development hasn’t even started yet, but they will likely use the modular Panda platform and carry over all their existing small engines. Speaking to Auto Express, Fiat’s global design director declined to give any details, but did say the rumored 500X crossover will debut next year.
So what do we think about a 5-door 500? The love we have for the Fiat brand is growing weaker by the day and this report isn’t helping a bit. The current Punto is not a bad car and lots of people still respect it. It’s just a very old model that has outlived its purpose. In addition, I think about a third of Punto owners have 3-door cars, not 5-door ones and I’m concerned that the poshness of the Cinquecento badge will affect practicality and value, which are key in the supermini segment. This really is uncharted territory and if they make a wrong move, it could be a total shipwreck.
Development hasn’t even started yet, but they will likely use the modular Panda platform and carry over all their existing small engines. Speaking to Auto Express, Fiat’s global design director declined to give any details, but did say the rumored 500X crossover will debut next year.
So what do we think about a 5-door 500? The love we have for the Fiat brand is growing weaker by the day and this report isn’t helping a bit. The current Punto is not a bad car and lots of people still respect it. It’s just a very old model that has outlived its purpose. In addition, I think about a third of Punto owners have 3-door cars, not 5-door ones and I’m concerned that the poshness of the Cinquecento badge will affect practicality and value, which are key in the supermini segment. This really is uncharted territory and if they make a wrong move, it could be a total shipwreck.