Naughty Fiat 500 with a Very, Very Suggestive License Plate

We’ve seen some pretty weird license plates over the years, some funny, some meaningful, some witty and others just plain nasty. No need to explain why you’d be better off staying very far away from the one pictured above.

The…suggestive license plate belongs to a Fiat 500 city car that was spotted at a South African showroom by Carscoop reader Jeff G.

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Fiat Marks 500 Launch in China with 100 “First Edition” Models

The first Fiat 500 to make its way into China was presented today in Shanghai by Fiat Group Executive Vice President for International Operations, Lorenzo Sistino.

To celebrate the launch, Fiat crafted a special version named 500 “First Edition” featuring bodywork graphics by five young Chinese designers. The special edition will be available in a limited run of just 100 numbered units ahead of the city car’s regular launch in China on September 15.

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Fiat to Display 21.7-liter Mefistofele and 500 by Gucci at Goodwood Festival

Fiat’s major attraction in this year’s Goodwood Speed of Festival, which begins tomorrow, will be the famous Mefistofele. The record-breaking classic, which is based on a 1908 Fiat SB4 Corsa, returns after a decade to Goodwood and will be displayed in the “Cathedral Paddock” area. Read more »

695 Tributo Ferrari Headlines Abarth’s Line-Up in Goodwood

Abarth is marking its return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the second year in a row with the 500-based 695 Tributo Ferrari. A 1.388 cc turbocharged 4-cylinder engine delivering 180 PS at 5,500 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 3,000 rpm powers the spirited city car with the Ferrari badges. Read more »

Camal’s Retro Sexy Fiat 500 Marcia Corta

What happens when two people who share their passion for sports cars and motorbikes meet under the right circumstances? It depends, but if we ‘re talking about two Italians, Alessio Minchella (designer) and Alessandro Camorali (surface and product development) who met in 2010 while working at Pininfarina, the result is a new company, Camal, and a new product. Read more »

Fiat 500 Reaches the Hip Movie Geek

It's always interesting to see how a low-volume brand uses its marketing dollars when launching a new product. In this case, we have Fiat which is re-entering the U.S. market for the first time after a 27-year brand absence.

As part of their return, Fiat is sponsoring one of The Onion's properties called "The A.V. Club Pop Pilgrims." The popular satire publication The Onion is bringing more content opportunities as it expands its own brand and the A.V. Club is one extension. The A.V. Club "features real interviews, reviews, and other entertainment-related articles," according to their website.

It's pretty safe to say that the A.V. Club is reaching a young, hip audience and is most likely demographically aligned to Fiat's intended audience. Fiat's integration includes a re-skinned website (see image above) and pre-roll ad units embedded within the A.V. Club's Pop Pilgrim episodes.

Also of note is the physical use of an all-new Fiat 500 used for the video shoots where the A.V. Club drives around in 500 to get to all its video vignettes.

Overall it's a decent integration for Fiat and there are some nice touches including some summary parts of the video where the Fiat branding is very clear and unforgettable. It's a great way to expose the car to Fiat's target and I'm sure aspirational audiences.

Chrysler's New Brand Campaign Looks Back Not Forward

Chrysler launched a new brand campaign called “Coming Home” that will be featured across several College Bowl games January 1-4. The campaign is “in response to requests from Chrysler Group dealers and research conducted which found that consumers do not realize that Chrysler Group has emerged from bankruptcy and is now a different company with a new alliance partner and a healthy product plan.“

The first ad features a driver carrying a leather bag in a full range of Chrysler products through different times in history ending with the 2010 Chrysler 300 sedan. It shows no future products and is a nod to the fine products Chrysler has built in its long history. It also marks the first ad from Chrysler’s new agency Fallon.

There are two dominant approaches to brand campaigns: focus on the nostalgia of the past or go forward thinking by focusing on the future. Chrysler chose the former, which is interesting considering how survival – its biggest issue in the media and consumer minds -- has more to do with the future of the brand. Talking about great products built decades ago to recent cars with no glimpse to future product is a miss.

At minimum, Chrysler could’ve brought the coming Jeep Grand Cherokee or Fiat 500; though, the 500 may not be sold by Chrysler dealers so that's why it may not have shown up. To be forward thinking, the whole concept would have had to change or at least end with a progressive message instead of the stale “Coming Home” line.

The good news is it's at least not talking about releasing political prisoners which was way out of left field.

Fiat Wants You. All Online Expressions of You

With Fiat showing up in the news everyday, I thought it would be interesting to look at how they’re marketing their key product -- the Fiat 500. The 500 campaign is “We have something to say”, but Fiat wants to hear what you have to say so they have provided a self-expression focused digital implementation.

There are several ways for Fiat 500 owners, enthusiasts, and aspirational consumers to express themselves on the 500 Wants You website.

Speak 500 on Video: Send Fiat a video of you saying “500” in your native language.

500 Jingle Video Box: Create you own soundtrack to share on the homepage or download as a MP3 for your own use. Plus, something called “Dante” will even dance to it.

500 Questionnaire: Take a survey (you can’t now, the survey is closed) to discover how well you and the Fiat can co-exist.

500 Video Configurator: This is a build module that allows you to see your custom built 500 in a video sequence. You can send this to a friend and save it for later view.

Fiat Air Drive: Showcase you driving a Fiat, well not a real Fiat; rather, something you created with cardboard or similar material. The videos are then shown on YouTube and 10 winners were selected. They each received 16 GB iPod Touch music players.

Feelings of 500: This allows visitors to share their thoughts on a Diesel jeans version of the 500 in 160 words or less.

500 Faces: Morphs a face with a classic image of a Fiat 500. Why? So you can send an e-card of it.

500 Wants a Mascot: Create a mascot inspired by the 500. Who won? “Dante” the dancing thing from the Jingle Video Box.

500 Wants Your Ad: Two winners were chosen from the 14 finalists selected by our professional jury out of the more than 3300 communication ideas for the launch of the new 500.

The Ad and Mascot contests had significant prizes associated with them and ended up in some relatively compelling professional content. The winners from the Ad contest were showcased at Cannes. The mascot winner collected 3,000 euros and the mascot was featured in 500 communications.

As you can tell, Fiat has turned “We have something to say” into listening what you have to say; even if, what you have to say adds more useless content to the Internet. I actually spent some time reviewing the Air Drive, Video Box, and Speak 500 content and, with only one exception – this weird guy, all of the content is disposable and should not take up a byte of data on a server.

Unfortunately, there is very little vehicle content on the 500 Wants You site. The closest thing you could call vehicle content is a 500C Private Preview that showcases a carrousel of photos with your atypical techno festival soundtrack.

The Video Configurator could’ve been useful vehicle content; instead, all it does is label each option but gives you no information about the option and pricing is absent. Of course, this is not a shopping website but it would’ve been useful for Fiat to include some integrated vehicle content to help visitors and potential buyers learn more about the Fiat 500 while browsing the content on this site.

What I do like about the 500 Wants You execution is that it fits with how the 500 buyer sees himself or herself. The 500 allows a lot of customization in its product options and it’s a cute, quirky car that interests people who want to standout, i.e. express themselves on the highway or city streets.

Fiat also extended the self-expression in an experiential way by providing a billboard in Germany that displayed text messages people sent to a number listed on the billboard. Although done before, it was a decent way to extend the self-expression outside of a web browser and webcam.

What I don’t like is that most of the content is boring and unbearable to watch, like most user generated content. Listening to someone say "500" in Romanian lacks a certain viral effectiveness and you wonder why you are watching it.

Fortunately, Fiat found a couple ways to get some quality content through lucrative prizes that engaged its creative, talented consumers. Or, at least, gave one person 3,000 euros to help buy a new 500.

Going Bankrupt? Just Smile

From The New York Times: "We get a lot of, ‘You’re going out of business,’ ‘You guys are going bankrupt,’ ” said Shannon Melahn, part of the Chrysler presenting team. She shrugged and added, “We just smile.”

It must be a difficult time to be an automotive spokesmodel. I'm sure it is in New York City as they are in the midst of their annual show this week. The New York Times is reporting some of the tribulations models have incurred while trying to showcase new products at Chrysler and General Motors displays.

I attended the Detroit Auto Show last January, two public days and one supplier day, but heard no heckling from the Michigan crowds. Not that it didn't happen, but for some reason it doesn't surprise me in a climate of a new round of bailouts, rising unemployment, and an always opinionated New York population, GM and Chrysler are finding some strange outbursts from show visitors.

My personal favorite, "One G.M. presenter said a woman told her the company was responsible for the death of American soldiers in Iraq. The logic went like this: if G.M. made more fuel-efficient cars, the country would not need so much oil, and if the country did not need oil, United States troops would never have invaded." Yeah, I don't think people like this "woman" really understand the costs of electric vehicles, their unproven long-term durability, and the mass consumption of electric cars it would take to significantly reduce our dependance on foreign oil."

Oh well, I do feel sorry for the attractive women and men having to market the products at the show this year. Maybe GM should just have Bob Lutz be the spokesmodel, while Chrysler's Jim Press crouches behind a Fiat 500?