2016 Fiat 500 2dr Hatchback Abarth on 2040-cars

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Fiat builds 1 millionth 500, still a ways to go before passing original

There are now 1.1 million examples of the new Fiat 500 cruising the roads of 83 countries, one million of them made at the Fiat's Tychy plant in Poland, the rest in the Fiat plant in Toluca, Mexico. It's taken 69 months since the car's 2007 launch to reach the milestone, the capstone hatchback being an Abarth 500.
Where does that fit into the historical context? We'll never know, since you can't really compare. But if we played with the numbers, according to Automania, Fiat built 3,893,294 of the original 500 (and variants) from its inception in 1957 to the last model being sent off in 1975. If we average the output over time, and assume an even 18-year production run, the total production divided by 216 months is about 18,025 cars per month, which would make for 1,243,725 cars in 69 months.
On the other hand, the first two generations of the early 500 didn't equate to a million units in eight years, so congratulations Fiat. There's a brief press release below with a few more details on the achievement.

P. Diddy hosting Fiat 500L desert party

Fiat didn't run an advertisement during this year's Super Bowl. We've no idea why, though, because based on this recently released 60-second spot, the Italian brand probably could have done quite well during the big game.
The spot, called Mirage, stars Sean "Diddy" Combs (who happens to be the ex of former Fiat spokesperson Jennifer Lopez) and a pair of very unfortunate pedestrians. Wandering through the desert, the two are confronted by what they think are mirages before stumbling into a giant party hosted by the Grammy Award-winning rapper. It's a humorous spot, highlighting a product that Fiat really needs to succeed, the new 500L.
The Super Bowl-worthy ad is part of a larger campaign that will hopefully help distinguish the four-door L model from its smaller, two-door counterpart. "Too many people discover the 500L through the 500. That's what we have to solve for here," Jason Stoicevich, head of Fiat's brand in North America, told Automotive News. "It's awareness. We know it, we understand it and we had to find a creative way to deal with it."

Godzilla stops off for a little Italian in new Fiat ad

Fiat is really trying to push its five-door 500L, which has gotten off to a rather disappointing first year of sales. The Italian brand's first big-name effort involved rapper P. Diddy and a pair of very unfortunate desert pedestrians. Now, it's gone even bigger (quite literally), teaming up with everyone's favorite, city destroying, radiation-breathing green lizard monster - Godzilla.
Yes, the Japanese monster icon is getting rebooted in a new film starring Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, as well as Ken Watanabe and Elizabeth Olsen. With the iconic kaiju hitting US theaters on May 16, the release of the Fiat/Godzilla ad is well timed.
In the ad, Godzilla is doing what he does best, all while devouring standard-sized 500s in the same way that you or I might eat a few grapes. This is working out quite nicely, until the big lizard bites off more than he can chew with the 500L.