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| Launch Report Fiat 500 |
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An Icon Revived
It's the revival of an icon, as VW did with the Beetle, followed by BMW with the MINI. Both have been huge successes, trading on the fond memories associated with their ancestors. Now Fiat us hoping to do the same with its latest re-creation, the 500. The company have high hopes that not only will the 500 take off but it will also signify the revitalisation of the once-proud company name which has had more than its fair share of troubles in recent years. They've certainly got off to a cracking start. Even before the prices were announced, several hundred orders had been taken, and that had grown to several thousand before the official launch at 8pm on Monday 21 January 21 - 500 hours into the New Year . . . and as far as Fiat is concerned its new beginning. All the signs are good. The car has been on sale in Italy since last July, followed by France and Germany, and it has gone down a storm. The UK has had to wait until now for the right-hand drive version but backed up by a massive - and innovative - advertising campaign including covering an entire building in London with an image of the car, the advance profile has been huge.
Like the MINI and the Beetle before it, the new 500 has matured from the old Cinquecento which first rolled onto the streets in July 1957. It's a lot bigger for a start, is very much more refined and of course is a lot safer with a maximum 5 star Euro NCAP crash test rating for adult occupant protection, but the designers have done a brilliant job in retaining the distinctive character of the original and making it even better.
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