The original 500 or the current car ? Because the current 500 is small but not exactly tiny by European standards. The Smart is tiny OTOH. Welcome to downsizing Americans !
Agreed - the new 500 isn't all that small. It's small by gigantic American SUV standards, which is a good thing, IMO.
comparisons: smart - 2500 cm long and 720kg old F500 - 2970 cm long and 470kg new F500 - 3550 cm long and 865kg
I'm glad to see Fiat back in business in America. The 500 is a very good looking car. Small, yes, but not like the Smartcars, which to me look like they were invented in some physics class at UCSD. I grew up in the 80's and early 90's in southern CA, and back then, Fiat X-1/9's were seen somewhat often around my area. Very different car than the 500, but also very likeable.
The X-1/9 was an awesome car. So was the FIAT Spider I'd love to see them start making Spiders again. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
the 124 spider was a nice car, but the 850 was even more fun to drive, i used to have one. i got to drive the X1/9 quite a bit in the 70's, it was almost as light as the 850 and had iirc the same motor as the 124. being mid-engined was of course the big joy. the problem was that they were so poorly made they're hard to find now. i remember that doohickies were already falling off my friend's brand new one. in the late 80's i checked one out: the price in the ad was ridiculously low but the car was in ridiculously poor shape... not beat to hell, the guy had actually taken decent care of it, but it just hadn't been designed and built to last more than 10-15 years. you can say that for just about any car from any country (except japan) that was built on the 70's though.