Today once again a small Fiat proved to be the big star in Geneva and for the world première of the eagerly anticipated 500C Fiat simply didn't disappoint, a dramatic unveiling ceremony saw four of the new models rising from the Astroturf lawns of the special "500 garden".

Today once again a small Fiat proved to be the big star in Geneva and for the world première of the eagerly anticipated 500C Fiat simply didn't disappoint, a dramatic unveiling ceremony saw four of the new models rising from the Astroturf lawns of the special "500 garden".

Fiat Automobiles CEO Lorenzo Sistino introduced the Italian brand at the 79th Geneva Motor Show this afternoon, on a stand that was entirely given over to the Fiat 500, its biggest success story of recent years. Scattered outside a large central garden, complete with turf, park benches and a large vine-covered dome, were examples of the 500 by Diesel and the environmentally-friendly PUR-O2 versions. Sistino was delighted that Fiat is still Europe's most efficient brand, having come out top again in the exhaustive annual survey conducted by JATO Dynamics and announced at the end of last week (and this was reflected in signeage around the stand). He focused on the technology, such as Stop&Start and eco:Drive.

Sistino was quite upbeat, acknowledging that the current recession is hitting car manufacturers hard, he believes that Fiat is well positioned and the choice to chase efficient small-engine scenarios has proved to be the correct choice. He focused on Fiat's new registrations in the French and German new car markets that have come about thanks to government incentives to buy efficient cars or scrap older vehicles and Sistino sees this filtering around the battered European markets as other states start to introduce similar legislation. He particularly foresees an improvement in the Italian market when the government's new incentives start to bite there.

The 500 was the focus of the press conference though and after highlighting the sales success it has had worldwide, such as an orderbook of 5,000 in Japan, he focused on the 500C which was making its first appearance today in front of the world's automotive media, more than half a century after the original icon appeared. "We have built the 500 a garden," said Sistino, and waved away a stylish unveiling. As the lights dimmed the large vine covered tower, bathed in bright lights, in the centre of the stand, rose to reveal two violinists in a sea of dry ice. They stepped forward continuing to play and as the music boomed and with dozens of dry ice 'fountains' around the garden's edge pumping upwards, four 500Cs slowly rose from the Astroturf lawns of the garden. With an unexpected flash of fire the new cars were revealed and the garden was opened up to the media to inspect the 500C. A fifth example was set in a sunken space in the centre of the garden allowing onlookers to look down on the workings of its neat sliding roof covering. All three roof options are on display: ivory, red and black.

by Edd Ellison in Geneva