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The new Fiat
500 has won the EuroCarBody 2007 award, the
world’s most prestigious prize for car bodies. The ninth
edition of the Forum organised by Automotive Circle
International was held in Bad Nauheim/Frankfurt from
October 16 to 18, attended by about 600 experts in the
development of the design, materials, processes and
manufacture of car bodies.
The 600 specialists, from 15 international carmakers,
gave the award to the Fiat 500, assigning it 38.33
points out of a possible 50. This enabled the “small”
Fiat – the only segment A model present – to defeat the
other 11 candidates from Japan, the United States,
Europe and Russia.
The experts particularly appreciated the contribution
made by the innovative bodyshell to the car’s NCAP
5-star rating (with a total score of 35 points), and
class 11 “Insurer Impact” assessment: this is a record
that puts the Fiat 500 at the top of its class in the
safety field, and is even more extraordinary if we
remember that it has been achieved by a car that is only
3.5 metres long.
The Fiat 500 is a car designed to reach the highest
quality and safety standards, as the EuroCarBody 2007
award underlines; it is an important award that
highlights the mixture of “creativity and skill” that is
necessary to develop an innovative, winning bodyshell.
Nor must we forget that the final competition is part of
a vaster programme, that sees Automotive Circle
International organising numerous congresses every year
for the exchange of information and experience in the
field of automotive manufacturing processes.
All international carmakers can compete, with a maximum
of two cars per brand. The indispensable requirement is
that they must be standard production cars, manufactured
within 12 months of the official launch. For the final
voting, the bodyshells must be displayed so that they
can be analysed during presentations and in depth
debate, and judged on the basis of 23 evaluation
criteria grouped in 5 macro areas: development and
application of innovative materials; innovative
solutions for development and design; innovative
concepts applied to the industrial manufacturing
process; values that are significant for the customer,
such as safety, ergonomics, acoustic comfort and
quality, and, finally, the comprehensiveness and quality
of the presentation of the required
technical/technological content.
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