Tuesday, November 19, 2024

2017 Fiat 500e


Here's an unusual sighting this far east. The original U.S. market Fiat 500e battery electric vehicles were solely developed for to meet California mandates for zero-emissions vehicles and were only ever offered for sale in California and Oregon, the two states with the largest percentage of electric vehicle sales. They weren't even advertised outside of those two states, probably because Fiat supposedly lost more than ten grand on each sale.

The front wheels are turned by a 111 horsepower electric motor, powered by a 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. With an EPA claimed range of 84 miles, one can assume that the car wasn't driven here to Indianapolis from the west coast, or if it was, the driver had a lot of time on their hands and a heck of an extension cord.


Car and Driver tested a 2013 500e and noted an 8.4 second zero-to-sixty time and an elapsed time of 16.7 seconds in the quarter and an 80mph trap speed. Sticker price for 2017 was nudging $34,000 which is a lot for such a narrow focus car, if you ask me. It's sure adorable, though.

This one was photographed with a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens in November of 2024. 

3 comments:

  1. Good grief, let's try this again.

    I had no idea this car even existed. I wonder if it was necessary for Fiat to sell them in California to make the overall emissions numbers good enough to sell their internal combustion models there as well. Otherwise, a $10K loss on each sale doesn't seem to make any sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Cali regs are particular about this. Manufacturers get credits for ZEVs, which CARB defines as BEVs, PHEVs, and Fuel Cell vehicles.

      https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/applications/annual-zev-credits-disclosure-dashboard

      Delete

1996 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

The third year of the fourth generation of Ford Mustangs was a notable one. The 1996 model year saw the absence of the classic Windsor pushr...