wagon model?

right!

Don’t knock it. Not many of us would turn down an extra 3.1 inches if it was offered.

that just made my day

If I understand it correctly, they offer 1 Abarth model in Europe (the 135) and an upgrade package (to get to 160). Can’t wait!!!

Does anyone have any idea on how much these are going to cost? If it’s in VW territory, that’s just stupid for this little thing. I can’t see it ever moving past a small niche product, especially at that size.

Jake, it is niche product, but if GM could sell as many Aveo as Mini sold Mini, would they be bankrupt? The answer probably yes, because they were in the hole for 100 billions, but there were more Minis sold then Aveo and Cobalts (and probably G5). I recall Fit being a niche.

FAIL

Since when does 160hp denote a “performance” car in the USA? There had better be a ballsier version in the works… or a lot of people are going to be crying when their Fiat “SS” gets blown away by a Cobalt SS.

It’s not a horsepower, it is also torque that matters and weight of the car. 160 HP on a car lighter then Mini can qualify for performance car. Elise is 190 HP and weighs under 2000 lbs. It does 0-60 under 6 seconds and 1G on the track. FIAT 500 is not Elise, it will never do those numbers, but it is comfortable to drive and with 160 HP it will be very fast.

Cant get here fast enough

According to wikipedia (Reliable source, I know! But Fiat’s 500 site is retarded) the 500 weighs around 1900-2100 pounds, give or take. The Cobalt SS for example according to Chevy is 2900 pounds.

The SS does have a 100 horsepower advantage, but it has a 1000 pound disadvantage… What you might see happening is a smart Fiat 500SS owner upgrading his little car and making a Cobalt SS driver cry.

I think we all are missing the point that Cobalt SS was more apt for Sunday racetrack then everyday driving. 500 is very comfortable in everyday driving. In Europe, I would not mind to live with it. Abarth tuning is just to enhance experience. I would not want to live in US or in Europe with Cobalt. And I drove it as a rental enough to dislike it.

Anyone who has seen the hp-torque curve will clearly see that the Cobalt SS has the torque advantage. Comparing an aftermarket upgraded car to a stock car is meaningless, an upgraded Cobalt SS would likely be much quicker than a stock Cobalt, as well. In terms of performance for price, I’d say the Cobalt wins hands down, but the ride comfort and build quality will likely go to the Fiat.

Whats the name of this crap AFART ??

I don’t particularly like either car, I was just agreeing with Borat that you shouldn’t dismiss a car because it doesn’t seem to have a huge amount of horsepower. But I also agree with you that if I wanted performance and had to choose between these two cars, I’d go with the Chevy.

I hope this means Ford builds the Ka.

I am interested in an Abarth 500. I am wondering who would work on these (Chrysler?) for warranty and other repairs. Does Fiat have a tuner market and if so, will it be available here in the States?

Confucious say: What good is extra hp if car won’t start? What good is extra hp if car always stall? What good is extra hp if car POS?

Actually- I just read the car will likely be assembled in Mexico. I’ll just say that I am not as interested now.

160 hp Abarth SS…that would be fun!

Chrysler Cappuccino SRT4?

Dodge Rapido RT?

I should go into Marketing.

Screw U haters out there.

Yea but the 500 has the style compared to a mundane Cobalt.

I hope we get a diesel option.

Yahoo. Can’t wait.

Mmmmmm…. Abarth. I wonder if they’ll do pre orders. This ought to hit the market right about the time I’m looking for a new car.

Ford bring over the Ka to do battle with the Fiat 500!

Next yr is going to be very interesting with all these small cars going on sale. As for the Cobalt SS, it might be fast, but the styling is not something to write home about. Tailights look like donuts. I wonder how much the engineers get paid to come up with that design. Cobalt doesn’t even look race inspired, whereas, the Abarth does. Typical old school thinking by GM, meaning bland design. A perfect stereotype for them, which is part of the reason they are where they are right now. God forbid if they came up with more exciting cars, like the G8 and Corvette, unlike the Impala. Another car with dount tailights. What a disgrace that car has become in terms of design. It has so much heritage and should have had a design to go along with it. Oh well. Again, that’s GM for you. Rigt, Need More Koolaid for GM?

Abarth rules.

the Abarth should sell well with sweet-sixteeners and popped collar closet case broskies

Donut tailights? I guess you’ve never looked at a Corvette Stingray before… the Cobalt Coupe’s tailights are copied directly from it.

Does it need to look “race inspired” to win races? If that’s the case let me go hand my pink slip to the kid down the street with two huge mufflers and a 3′ wing on the back of his Civic. It looks like a race car… it must be really fast.

The great thing about the Cobalt SS is the fact that it does look very downplayed. It’s a smooth, understated design that doesn’t turn a lot of heads. There are a lot of slow cars out there that look really cool… but that’s not what a “sports car” is really about. Put the pedal down… it’ll eat a Mustang, and have the Mini for dessert.

Gee when fiat go involved with chysler how did we all know that fiats were coming over. Fiat has been trying to get back to the usa for decades. And what a **** car(s) it is.