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"\n\n It's a problem familiar to most urbanites: Owning a car in the city is a morass of traffic jams, parking fees, and fender benders; on the other hand, mass transit is often a drag, whether walking several blocks from the subway stop or lugging a chest of drawers down the stairs. In this respect, New Yorkers have it pretty lucky. Our public transit system might be a massive public-works boondoggle, but at least its massive. Denizens of many other metropolises around the world (and lazy New Yorkers) need the individual mobility of the car without the cost and clumsiness of the full-sized automobile\u2014and that is where the city car comes in.\n\n When it was released in 1957, the Fiat 500 was a packaging marvel. It's easy to bolt a glorified motorcycle engine into a metal shell and call it a \"city car,\" but the 500 was revolutionary because of a bevy of technical tweaks that fully realized the idea of a practical sub-subcompact. Little things, like a canvas sunroof that added lightness as well as sunshine, and building the cabin light into the rearview mirror to reduce clutter and costs, all came together in one efficient, featherweight bundle. With the mission of maximizing interior space relative to its exterior dimensions, the little Fiat could comfortably seat four with cargo room to spare, despite measuring in at just under 10 feet long.\n\n And yes, practicality is paramount. Meat-and-potatoes cars live on their meats and potatoes. But what puts a cheap car like the 500 over the top, what makes owners overlook the comparatively anemic performance and Spartan interior, is charisma. It is something that seems to be lost on many modern econo-bos, but the small cars of the time had it in spades: the Mini, with a sporty reputation stemming from its legendary success in rally racing, and the Volkswagen Beetle, which\u2026well, we're clueless as to why people love it so much, but they do. In the case of the 500, its cute and bright looks gave it more Herbie-like cheer than the People's Car itself, and a weak-but-peppy engine combined with lightweight driving dynamics made it more fun than it had any right to be\u2014on the cramped city alleys and winding country roads of Italy, at least.\n\n And therein lies the rub: The United States has always been a place of wide open spaces; in the modern suburban sprawl, wide streets and gas guzzlers still reign supreme. As a result, most Americans do much of their driving on the highway, where having as much horsepower as a riding lawnmower and being face-level with someone else's bumper makes for precarious motoring.\n\n But even beyond practical concerns, Americans have always clung to the cult of muscle cars and SUVs, and it seems like no amount of gasoline sticker shock or Day After Tomorrow fearmongering is enough to make them give them up, at least permanently. The new Fiat 500, detailed here by Jamie Kitman, is, in accordance with modern times, a great deal bigger and more powerful than its ancestor; hopes are that it will finally hit the sweet spot, offering the minimum amount of power and size that drivers are willing to wield on American roads. That remains to be seen, Fiat seems to be taking the proper lesson from its success half a century ago with this bite-sized, overeager puppy of a car: Engineering and economy will win over our sensible selves, but the secret to making small stick is a big, heaping dose of charm."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/car-of-the-week-fiat-500>