Open Air Stereo

Fiat 500c convertible is a lovable city slicker

Cruising along the highway, slightly above the speed limit, the 2012 Fiat 500c Cabriolet bounces around.

With the top fully down (it goes back like a never-ending moon roof), the wind pushes forward, filling your face with hair and forcing you to keep adjusting your sunglasses. The car feels a little unstable over 80 mph, as if every gust of wind wants to push you into a ditch.

So it's not the greatest ride on the open highway. Little cars rarely are. They lack the weight and substance and wheelbase to smooth out the ride.

But the world is changing. While there are plenty of cars ready to handle the open byways of America, few handle the city streets with as much fun as the 500c. It mixes agility, bursts of speed and one of the most friendly exteriors available. People will like you if you're in this car — even if you're really not that likable.

So instead of riding against its nature, I decided to test the 500c in the environment for which it is most suited: the city.

It's then that you start to love the 500c. Around town, it's a ball, a touring runabout that would look just as good with a couple of door dings and parallel parking nicks and scratches — the little city scars that add character to a vehicle.

The 500c, which many people refer to in Italian as the Cinquecento (and if you're not Italian, you sound like a pretentious imbecille ), can zip into that impossible parking space at Eastern Market, make an easy U-turn along Woodward and still feel fun along the way.

Really, this car just makes you smile. People look at you as if you're an exhibit at the zoo, and they are instantly friendly — welcoming the little fellow to America. (Though when you first see one, you're half expecting to see 18 clowns jump out of it.)

The 500c has about as distinctive a look as a car can have — kind of like the "Heidelberg Project" I drove past in Detroit. Either you love its looks or you hate it; at least with the 500c, there are no stuffed animals nailed to it. The 500c only stretches 139.6 inches in length but packs more style per inch than any car available.

The big, round headlights — designed to pay homage to the original 500 — set the face, which includes a body colored grille that looks more like a crack on an egg shell.

The 500c keeps the shape of the 500 hatchback — with that tall, rounded profile. But it adds a taller windshield, which improves visibility and keeps the wind out of your face if the roof is only partially open.

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