Sunday, March 27, 2011

Differences between European and U.S. Fiat 500s


Due to differing safety regulations and consumer tastes, the number of differences is astounding.  Some of them include:

  • rear hatch door (different license plate proportions),
  • larger cupholders (for 32 oz./0.95 liter drinks),
  • longer wiper blades (U.S. regulations require greater sweep area),
  • stronger air conditioning (because we sweat more), and
  • spare tire in Euro model is above the floor; tire in NAFTA model is under flat floor because U.S. has rear crash test and flat floor strengthens the rear.
More changes here and here.

2 comments:

  1. F1outsiderMarch 27, 2011 at 4:57 PM

    slightly off-topic... Those tail lights look like they were taken straight off a Rolls Royce Phantom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AlanMarch 27, 2011 at 11:10 PM

    I also heard on the Gareth Jones on Speed podcast that the power window switches are inexplicably different.

    ReplyDelete