Nostalgia and charm have been key factors in the good marks the Car of the Year 2008 Jury has given to the retro-looking 500, a car of classless appeal in the Fiat tradition. In the showdown between two small cars, the Fiat has had a clear win with 385 points against the Mazda2, that finished with just 60 points less. The 500 has received top points from 34 of the 58 Jury members plus 17 second places. The Ford Mondeo was third, with 202 points, with the other finalists well behind.
Beyond its reality as a practical urban car, it was clear from its inception that the retro-chic 500 has enormous public appeal. This cute car copies the aesthetics of the legendary 500 of half a century ago, but it is a modern vehicle in functionality and safety features, reasonably roomy for its size and shape, and with efficient engines that provide performance and economy. With a better noise insulation, one would even venture into longer road journeys.
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Exterior = qualified success. The striking, loveable face is all what keeps this car from being utterly forgettable and like any other econobox. But as in politics and movies, some times a good face can cover mediocrity or evil.
Interior = failure. The white on black baloney slice dashboard are on the right track, and the four buttons/lights are on the right track, but the steering wheel and gearshift/control pod look utterly out of place...as if they were from a test mule, not a finished product.
It is very sad when exteriors and interiors have nothing in common in form language. It makes the car seem like a person whose innner world and outer worlds are disconnected.
I think the journalistic acclaim and likely popularity have to do with the car connecting to an emerging zeitgeist of smallness, rather than this being a thoroughly good design. The original Volkswagen Beetle and Mustang did something similar. They were decent designs that became wildly popular, because they became icons of of a yearning in the population, rather than because they were such great cars (they weren't), or because they were tour d' force designs (they weren't).
I like this car because its cute and because of what it represents, not because of the brilliance of its design. It is not a brilliant design that advances the automobile. It is just the best looking cheap suit this season, which is an accomplishment, if not an advance.