Fiat

While the modern-day Fiat 500 may be going away here in the U.S., it’s still an iconic little car, with lots of fans around the globe since its inception way back in 1957. To celebrate the heritage of the 500, LEGO has announced the release of a new Creator set based on the classic version of Italian subcompact.

While the idea of a 6×6 Mercedes G-wagon has tremendous appeal to me, it’s not necessarily the case that more wheels are always better. Take, for example, this ridiculous looking creation that recently turned up in Russia.

Fiat is discontinuing sales of the smaller 500 in the United States. So instead of throwing a fit over the demise of the little Fiat 500 and its feisty Abarth doppelgänger, let’s take a look at the vehicle that first sported the triple digit badge: The aptly named, “Fiat Nuova 500.”

Designed by the inimitable Pininfarina, this gorgeous concept car embraced the best of Italian sportscar design, while sporting the almost always daft underpinnings of Fiat’s Abarth division. The one-off prototype was based on the chassis of a Fiat Abarth 2000 Sport Spider, but clearly had a dramatically more impressive body design than its sibling.

Revealed at the 1969 Turin Motor Show, Bertone showed off this wild ride which looks a bit like what might have happened if Speed Racer’s Mach 5 mated with a powerboat. The car was designed by Marcello Gandini, and was powered by mid- mounted 1.1L Fiat 128 engine and matching 4-speed gearbox.

Every FIAT 500 being sold in the US for the 2018 model year will now sport a 1.4-liter MultiAir turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. Plus, that engine has been upgraded to make about 34% more power than the prior version.

The FIAT 500L will never be confused for a large and spacious vehicle. Despite its bigger than normal dimensions for a FIAT, it’s still a bit smallish. The new 2018 500L is billed as the smallest seven-seater vehicle out there. 

On occasion, websites will put up special versions of cars for sale. I always wonder how that works. I assume that most people need to finance these cars, so how do you do that when buying online via a website?

With cars like the 500 Abarth and the 500X, FIAT has been making a reputation for itself for making fun, small vehicles with Italian design flair, and great maneuverability. They’re not concerned with power, but there’s no question they’re entertaining vehicles to drive.

If you happen to have purchased a Fiat 500e back when they went on sale back in 2013, you have some bad news coming when you go to offload the car. The value of the car in the used market is terrible.

Let me start out this review by saying I am most definitely an old soul. You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I can name for you more songs by Rosemary Clooney than is publicly acceptable.

Sitting at your desk trying to avoid work? Two-screening it in front of a boring game on TV? Maybe browsing on your phone in line at the bank? Take a quick getaway in a rally spec Fiat 124 Abarth R GT on a test run, a car that has your friends here at 95 Octane waxing poetic.

I really like the Fiat 124 Abarth, and I want a white one with matte black hood pretty badly. As much as I like the factory Abarth, this 124 Abarth R GT rally car makes me want to take up rally racing like right now.

Loïc Maschi, the 19-year-old French owner of a gorgeous blue Fiat 850 Sport, fell in love with automobiles when he got his first model car at age six. Before he was even old enough to drive legally by himself, he found the Fiat online and bought it.

Inevitably, when I meet someone who likes cars and they find out that I teach people to drive on a racetrack, they ask me “What is the best track car?” This is a loaded question because everyone has their own opinion on that.