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"  NEW YORK\u2014The stylish but stark basement of a classic brick building in SoHo, the New York City neighborhood where art, fashion and commerce collide is a fitting place to pitch the virtues of the Fiat 500. Known also as the Cinquecento, the 500 is the first Fiat to come stateside since the Fiat X1-9 of the early &amp;#039;80s and perhaps the first of additional tasty Italian cars heading our way now that Fiat and Chrysler have merged.  Like the current Mini, the 500 is a nostalgia piece, an updated version of a charismatic original. In this basement, there are two 500s glistening beneath spotlights: an original 500, the one sold in Italy from 1957 to 1975, and the retooled version, due to go on sale domestically within the next few months. The question is, will American&amp;#039;s embrace this Italian import like they have the Mini? The Specs The original 500 is extremely attractive\u2014it would only be cuter with dimples\u2014and brings to mind two actresses named Audrey\u2014Hepburn and Tatou. The remake has a similar appeal, albeit a slightly more masculine one, thanks to its wide stance, bulbous silhouette and bug-eye headlights.  Talking with the designers, engineers and public relations people on hand I got the sense of a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation. I suspect that the enthusiasm flows from confidence about the 500&amp;#039;s distinctive personality, which\u2014like BMW&amp;#039;s reincarnated Mini Cooper\u2014draws heavily on the car&amp;#039;s cultural legacy. &amp;quot;There are 27 million Italian-Americans,&amp;quot; says Laura Soave, CEO of Fiat in North America. &amp;quot;This is bringing back a little piece of history to them that they can share with their families.&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;m sure Soave doesn&amp;#039;t mean to exclude other buyers\u2014presumably, an Irish- or African-American customer would also be welcome\u2014but I get her point. The reborn 500 may well resonate with Italian-Americans, since it hews fairly closely to the aesthetic and spirit of the original. Soave points up the 500&amp;#039;s advantage in this regard by comparing it to the Mini\u2014a British original redesigned by a German carmaker\u2014and the Ford Fiesta. Those cars, direct competitors with the 500, lack the &amp;quot;emotion&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;heritage&amp;quot; of the car that defined at least two generations of Italian drivers. Never mind that Chrysler is Fiat&amp;#039;s partner and the 500 will be assembled in Mexico\u2014Soave wants you to join her in celebrating its distinctive Italian-ness. One thing that the new 500 will feature is more power than the original (whose engine may as well have been made by Briggs and Stratton). Built in Michigan, the 1.4-liter, four-cylinder MultiAir engine produces 101 hp at 6500 rpm and 98 lbs-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. The MultiAir technology &amp;quot;maximizes performance and minimizes emissions,&amp;quot; basically by fine-tuning the intake-valve timing and lift, says Joe Grace, the Fiat vehicle line executive. &amp;quot;Even driven hard,&amp;quot; Grace says, &amp;quot;you&amp;#039;ll get extremely good fuel economy.&amp;quot; While the official numbers aren&amp;#039;t in yet, in testing the 500 has delivered 25 mpg to 30 mpg in city driving, and 40-plus mpg on the highway.  Taking a cue from BMW&amp;#039;s Mini Cooper marketing scheme, the 500 will offer &amp;quot;extreme personalization,&amp;quot; including a 14-color exterior paint palette and a customizable interior scheme (also with 14 colors to choose from). The three models first to market are the Pop, Sport and Lounge. All look virtually identical\u2014&amp;quot;cute&amp;quot; is the operative adjective\u2014and have similar dimensions: At 140 inches long, 64 inches wide, 60 inches high and with a wheelbase of 91 inches, the 500 is slightly smaller than the Mini. The Pop is the most basic model. Standard equipment is rather spare and includes a five-speed manual transmission, 15-inch wheels and cloth seats. The Sport is available with the five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission, and it comes with a Bose sound system and 16-inch wheels. The Lounge, the cushiest of the three models, has a glass roof, the six-speed automatic trans, Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port and optional leather seats. The second wave of 500s to hit the U.S., in 2012, will include a convertible, the supercharged Abarth (going head-to-head with the Mini S) and an all-electric model. (An electric version of the 500 is now being produced in Europe by the Swedish company EV Adapt.) With a base price of $15,500, the 500 is meant to compete primarily with the Ford Fiesta and the basic Mini, according to Fiat executives, but having also driven the new Mazda 2, I would add that car to the list. The Drive On a 5-hour excursion that started in SoHo, headed north onto the rural, two-lane roads of upstate New York, and finished with a sprint on the New York State Thruway, the 500 performed admirably in a range of conditions. The differences among the three models were slight, so there&amp;#039;s really no point in my parsing the driving experience too much. The interior feels roomier than the car&amp;#039;s dimensions might suggest, owing not only to the smart cabin design but also to excellent all-around visibility. The body-hugging seats are firm but comfortable, even for this test driver, who is 6 feet tall and, well, not skinny. (However, as with other cars in its class, the 500&amp;#039;s back seat is a tight fit for passengers.) The position of the shifter in the Sport\u2014just below chest-high on the center console\u2014required a more upright driving position than I prefer, but the finely tuned ergonomics put everything within good functional reach, whether by foot or by hand. When I juiced the Sport on the twisty two-lane roads and punched the button that firms up the handling, the 500 hugged the road nicely. As I motored along I couldn&amp;#039;t help comparing the experience to that of driving the Mini S and the Mazda 2. In terms of responsiveness and handling, the 500 is much closer to the Mazda, though slightly more spirited. The feedback from the road erred on the light side, a flaw that compelled the Fiat execs to say, &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;re working on it.&amp;quot;  On the highway the Sport held its own among the trucks and other large vehicles (let&amp;#039;s face it, unless you&amp;#039;re among a clutch of Smart cars, the 500 will be the smallest vehicle on the road), and it cruised easily to 80 mph, keeping pace with the pack. All of this may sound like I&amp;#039;m damning the 500 with faint praise, which is not my intention. I found the car perfectly able, cleverly designed\u2014with fun touches, like the round headrests\u2014and enjoyable to drive. It neither wowed me nor left me flat. The Bottom Line With the small-car market getting more crowded by the day, I have to wonder how the 500 will stand up to the other cars in its class. If I were shopping I&amp;#039;d certainly consider it an option, but it doesn&amp;#039;t make me salivate the way that the Mini did when it first came out. But if the U.S. buying public is really ready for the transition to smaller, more efficient cars, it&amp;#039;s great to know that the 500 is in the mix. Like the original 500, the new version has a quirky personality and style to spare. And come to think of it, the original 500 didn&amp;#039;t set out to change the motoring world\u2014it simply met the demands of people who embraced a modest but hip lifestyle. We should all thank the Italians for that, and welcome the 500 with open arms. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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