The 2012 Fiat 500: eco:Drive

The 2012 Fiat 500….we’ve been talking about it for months: professing our love for this little Italian superstar; bragging about its many attributes – the customization possibilities (not to mention the special editions available – Gucci, Pink Ribbon, Abarth….), its best in class fuel economy, top safety pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, (read more here), all the awards it’s won – ‘best small convertible of the year’ , ‘#1 coolest car under $18,000’ , ‘Best New Design’ and ‘Best New Value’ , ‘Hottest Sports Compact Car’, the MultiAir valve-timing system that not only boasts power but also reduces fuel consumption, Fiat’s Blue & Me system, its very affordable price, and on and on and on….

Somehow, in the midst of all of that, we’ve failed to mentioned one of the most important, most social, and most environmentally responsible features that Fiat has to offer:

Fiat eco:Drive

The 2012 Fiat 500 comes complete with eco:Drive, a software application that analyzes your journeys and converts your driving information into facts and figures that are simple and clear, like fuel consumption, CO2, and money saved. The eco:Drive application is easy to use: just download it to your PC, connect a USB memory stick to your 500’s USB port, drive your car, and then transfer the data to your PC.

Fiat’s eco:Drive Application collects all necessary data relating to vehicle efficiency and, through the BLUE&ME™ USB port, transmits it on to any USB memory stick. Once the driver plugs the memory stick into his or her personal computer, the system presents the driver with the Fiat 500’s detailed environmental performance, including the CO2 emission level for each trip. In addition, Fiat’s eco:Drive Application analyzes the driver’s style and provides recommendations on how to modify it to help reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Originated in Europe, Fiat’s eco:Drive Application has encouraged drivers to set challenges – CO2 reduction targets for specific journeys or over a set period of time. And as part of a global “eco:Ville” community, the system encourages all drivers to come together and pool their fuel and emissions savings to illustrate how many drivers’ individual contributions help the greater good.

Let’s take a look at how it works:

Here is what Fiat North America says about eco:Drive:

The new 2012 Fiat 500’s state-of-the-art eco:Drive Application demonstrates that an automaker’s environmental responsibility should not stop when the car leaves the production line but rather extend into the actual way customers drive their cars.

The eco:Drive software is based on the award-winning, Blue&Me™platform, jointly developed between Microsoft and Fiat. This ecological application was developed on Microsoft’s flexible and updatable platform Microsoft Auto (currently called Windows Embedded Automotive). Fiat has worked closely with Microsoft since 2004 developing different software applications such as Blue&Me™ and eco:Drive.

And now, to make it even easier, more social, and more fun, eco:Drive has become a Mobile App that you can use with your Smart Phone. You can even compare your driving efficiency with your friends – and the world – on facebook. Take a look:

And keeping in the FIAT tradition, eco:Drive brought home yet another award for FIAT. During the Cannes Cyber Lions, a major event in the advertising industry, Fiat was awarded one of only three Grand Prix Awards for the way it has established a new kind of relationship between consumer and car. Ever hear of an advertising award given to a piece of software that helps drivers save gas at the pumps? Well you have now….not surprising for FIAT.

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