The Feel of a Fiat 500

Since the turn of the 20th century, one car company has been at the forefront of the Italian automotive industry; a manufacturer at the grassroots of Italian car racing; the enterprise that brought the Lancia name to fame; the brand that tamed Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, and pulled Chrysler from the abyss of bankruptcy. An acronym for “Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino,” that brand is Fiat, and with the Fiat 500 once again rolling onto North American asphalt, Canadians can finally grip the wheel of this revived iconic ride.

“The car was made to really appeal to the public, and that’s what it did,” says Remo Ferri, president of The Remo Ferri Group of Automobiles, regarding the original Fiat 500 that launched in 1957. “And of course, the car made so much history, in movies and so on, that it became part of the Italian style in life … It’s part of the Italian heritage.” Read more