European Gay Car 2008

For the very first time in the history of the election of the Gay Car of the Year, the present winner is not a convertible!! The FIAT 500 has won the election hands down, outdistancing distinctly more prestigious contenders such as Aston Martin or Alfa Romeo..

Some fifty years after the introduction of the Nueva 500 in 1957, FIAT revives its mythic charming minicar! Spherical headlights, a strong, curved design and some subtle chrome trimming make up a successful formula for this FIAT 500. Admittedly, the new 500 is a bit more thickset. It gained some 58 cms in length (to 3.55 metres) and 33 cms widthwise (to 1.65 metres) and a lot of weight, but the essence is still present. In any street, one recognises the FIAT 500 at the first glance amidst its contemporaries, so one can safely say that the Italian designers have attained their goal.

Parallel to the new Mini, the FIAT 500 acknowledges the nostalgic trend towards the 1950’s and the 1960’s. And FIAT sorely needed such a lucky shot, after their saga of misfortune in which models like Multipla (the ugly duckling), Croma (a misunderstood symbiosis between oversized estate and undersized SUV) and Stylo (generally spurned) have played a prominent role

The success of the FIAT 500 will undoubtedly preponderate in every European metropolis, where it has won this election almost uncontestedly. A real city-slicker, very suitable for going out on the town... and finding a suitable parking space. It will be a very eligible candidate for small families with one or two children, couples and singles searching for individualistic means of transport, something out of the ordinary.