Snapped on the Street: Fiat 500 Electric Car Visits Palo Alto
Do Electric And Natural-Gas Cars Compete Against Each Other?
We've been thinking a lot about natural-gas fueled vehicles, for reasons that will become clear in... Read More
- #3LEADERBOARD RANK
- 2901ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
- 1950COMMENTS POSTED
Add to circle
Related Photo Galleries
-
2012 Fiat 500 Cabrios, Manuals More Popular...
-
2010 Los Angeles Auto Show: 2012 Fiat 500...
-
2012 Fiat 500 Cabriolet: Best Gas-Mileage...
See more photos »
Also See
-
2012 Fisker Karma Electric Car First Drive...
-
Nissan Celebrates Leaf Electric Car's Second...
-
Exec Stands Firm on Nissan Leaf Batteries...
See more video »
The great thing about having your company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is that you never quite know what you'll see on the street.
There are lots of expensive cars like BMWs and Bentleys floating around. There are also a disproportionate number of Tesla Roadsters, since the company is based in Silicon Valley.
But sometimes you get something even more unexpected.
We received this photo of an electric Fiat 500 that was snapped while it was driving around downtown Palo Alto. It parked in front of our local Starbucks, with two men inside and a Michigan manufacturer plate on the rear.
How'd the photographer know it was electric? First, it's silent; second, the front license plate says "Elletra" (that's Italian for "electric") in the same script used on the car when it appeared at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.
A couple of months ago, Chrysler announced it would build an electric version of the 500 for the U.S. market. The powertrain will be developed by engineers at its Michigan headquarters.
The Fiat 500 EV will go into production in 2012, perhaps as a 2013 model, at a price that Chrysler calls "competitive with similar electric vehicles in the market."
By that time, the market will offer several electric cars, including the 2010 Tesla Roadster, the 2011 Nissan Leaf, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the 2011 Coda Sedan, the 2011 Fisker Karma, and the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid.
So what was it doing in Palo Alto?
Well, many automakers have advanced technology outlets in Silicon Valley. (BMW's in particular is well-known for the world's first iPod integration in a vehicle.) There's also a growing base of EV engineers.
Perhaps Chrysler and Fiat hope to draw on some of that expertise. Or perhaps they're talking to third-party engineering shops like Atieva. Either way, we're sure they had a full schedule of appointments.
The standard 2011 Fiat 500 will land in selected Chrysler dealers by the end of this year. It will be built in Mexico and powered by a 1.4-liter gasoline engine that will be used in future new Chrysler compact vehicles as well.
Related Articles
-
2013 Dodge Dart: More Teaser Photos, Now The Instrument Panel
-
Electric Fiat 500 Spied Testing In Michigan, Intro For 2013 Likely
-
Chrysler: “We’re Making Hybrids, But Only Because We Have To”
-
2013 Dodge Compact Sedan: More Info On Chrysler's Most Crucial Car
-
For Better Gas Mileage, Ram Shrinks The Van To European Size
-
Follow Us
On Facebook
Most Popular This Week
More »
Tesla Model S Vs Chevy Volt: Owner Compares Electric Cars 
Can Tesla Raise More Than $1 Billion On Soaring Stock Price? 
North Carolina Wants To Make It Illegal For Tesla To E-Mail... 
Audi Startled By Tesla Sales Success? Deleted Press Release... 
The 60 MPG Honda Civic... Not Sold In The U.S. Find Green Cars
Photo Galleries
More from High Gear Media
- Follow Us
Have an opinion?
Hemidakota Posted: 5/14/2010 11:42am PDT
B-Man Posted: 5/14/2010 12:52pm PDT
I might buy an ev when im done paying my current car of, KIA Soul (:
Danny Boy Posted: 5/20/2010 4:20am PDT
jstack6 Posted: 10/14/2010 4:05pm PDT
Have an opinion?Join the conversation!