Fiat 500 Models
Everything about the 500 is innovative. It's a new small car packed with all the quality found in cars twice its size, and all the trimmings. Go play.
It's official: the world's cutest car just got even cuter. We've taken everything that's great about the 500 and added an electric soft top to create the 500C Convertible.
Fiat Produces The Fleet Manager's Dream - Cars That Teach Their Drivers To Save Fuel
Monday, 22 February 2010
Fiat's award-winning eco:Drive system is now available in a Fleet version that will help fleet managers not only run their car fleets more efficiently and effectively but also reduce their impact on the environment, with tests showing up to a 15 per cent saving on fuel.
The Fiat eco:Drive system is standard on all Fiat cars with the Blue&Me telematics system that includes voice activated hands free mobile phone operation and MP3 player connections. With eco:Drive the owner can monitor their driving skills and the car provides feedback on how to save fuel and drive more efficiently. With the new eco:Drive Fleet makes it possible to analyse vehicle mileage and fuel consumption retrospectively, as well as suggesting sustainable driving behaviour for the future.
"This really is intelligent design at its best," explains Andrei Zaitzev, General Manager of Fiat Australia. "Rather than give some form of generalised, unfocussed advice on how to drive more economically, the Fiat eco:Drive system examines the skills of each individual and provides personalised advice specific for them on how to hone their skills and drive more economically. The new Fleet version adds to this data storage and collection to aid fleet managers in their constant quest to save money and also help the environment. And, when it comes to saving money, the fact that this system is included in every Fiat fitted with the Blue&Me system makes its cost effectiveness unbeatable."
Fiat eco:Drive Fleet optimises the fuel consumption and the safety of company car fleets by measuring the mileage data for all vehicles (kilometres, time, fuel consumption etc); it shows the data related to vehicles and drivers either individually or collectively; it automatically updates the fleet manager's database with management costs and the kilometre count for maintenance intervals; it evaluates driving behaviour and its impact on fuel consumption, and, above all, it offers all drivers advice on becoming an 'eco-driver'.
This new technology is an important gauge of quality for Fleet Managers, who can manage their entire fleet efficiently, setting drivers goals based on the need to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Suffice it to say, eco:Drive Fleet allows savings of up to 15 per cent on fuel costs, as well as playing an important role when it comes to wear and tear: in fact, a true 'eco-drive' ensures that all the car components are used with optimum efficiency.
Free and easy to use, eco:Drive Fleet is available for all Fiat vehicles equipped with the Blue&Me(TM) platform.
Apart from Fiat, other important companies have already demonstrated their belief in this innovative project: from Bosch and Eni (both companies contributed to developing specific sections of the software) to Coca-Cola in Europe, which has decided to improve its own fleet with vehicles equipped with eco:Drive.
Fiat eco:Drive Fleet therefore offers fleets all the advantages of eco:Drive, the software application (which can be downloaded free of charge from www.fiat.com/ecodrive) that runs on the Blue&Me(TM) interface - the most widespread on-board telematics platform in Europe, with more than a million units installed - a result of the partnership between Fiat Group and Microsoft(TM).
In detail, eco:Drive receives parameters related to fuel consumption from the engine control unit through Blue&Me(TM). The data recorded can be transferred onto PCs via a USB key, and processed by the appropriate software, in order to analyse motorists' behaviour and to help them to optimise fuel consumption and emissions.
Based as it is on a user-friendly, efficient and sustainable idea, eco:Drive has been an immediate hit, as borne out by the 100,000 copies of the system which have been downloaded to date since its launch at the Paris Motor Show in 2009. What's more, every day, more than 32,000 drivers use it and at least 4 million journeys have been logged and analysed on the dedicated website. Taking into account the commitment of the drivers who have joined the eco:Drive Community, it is possible to estimate an overall CO2 saving of approximately 2500 tonnes.
Last year eco:Drive also won numerous international awards, including 'Best Digital Technology' (Guardian Innovation Award 2009), 'Best Use of Innovative Technology' (Clio Awards 2009), 'European Product Innovation Award' (Frost&Sullivan 2009), 'Green Champion' (International Green Apple Awards 2009) and 'Cyber Lyons - Grand Prix', at the Cannes Festival.
The eco:Drive system is evidence of Fiat's consistent attention to environmental matters, with tangible results. In fact, according to analyses carried out by the independent institution Jato Dynamics, in the last two years, Fiat has been the most environmentally-friendly brand of the top-selling 25 car brands in Europe, with an average CO2 emission level of 129 g/m compared to the market average of 146 g/km.
This record is due to Fiat's great commitment to 'eco-technological' innovation, a factor which characterises all its product choices. Fiat is in fact a world leader in alternative fuels, and offers a complete range of Natural Power vehicles which run on methane, the most environmentally friendly fuel available on the market. In addition, the Euro 5 ranges of all the most recent models, such as Punto Evo and Nuovo Doblo, offer content typical of higher segments with little environmental impact and low running costs: these include the Start&Stop system, the latest generation of Multijet II diesel engines, and the revolutionary Multiair system, which slashes fuel consumption and emissions by up to 25 per cent, simultaneously enabling a power increase of up to 10 per cent.
