Posted on 01/15/2026 10:31:44 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
Fiat CEO Olivier François said he would "happily" limit the top speed of his company's city cars to 73mph, as an alternative to fitting them with costly safety technology that he considers unnecessary for low-speed driving.
He said that most of the ADAS technology that is mandated by current EU regulations is designed to improve safety at higher speeds so has little relevance for cars like the 500, Panda and Grande Panda, which are mainly driven around town.
Fitting this equipment is therefore unnecessarily hiking up the price of such models for little benefit to the consumer - and François thinks capping their top speed could be a more cost-effective answer.
It wouldn't be a particularly severe limit in relative terms, because none of those models is officially capable of cracking 100mph, and the Grande Panda EV is restricted to 82mph.
François welcomed the EU's proposals for a new 'M1E' category for small cars, because it demonstrates a recognition that the unilaterally imposed safety rules aren't appropriate in all segments.
"We fundamentally think that with all these rules, the most unsustainable portion lies in the city cars and urban driving, because all these cars are small, democratic and inexpensive, bought by younger people and so on for the daily commute in a city," said François. "They are driven at way slower speeds. It's not the same usage.
"I have a hard time understanding why we need to install all this super-expensive hardware: sensors, cameras, road sign recognition... All this is a little bit inadequate, a bit crazy, and has contributed to raising the average price of a city car by 60% over the last five or six years.
"I don't think that city cars in 2018 or 2019 were extremely dangerous. Our proposal was literally to say 'let's go a little bit backward from overloading cars with expensive hardware'."
For this reason, said François, Fiat "could consider lowering the maximum speed" of some of its cars.
"If you take the average legal maximum speed in Europe, it's 118kph [73mph], so above 118kph is [often] illegal, and most of the radars, ADAS and all this stuff has been developed for cars to go way above the speed limit.
"I would happily limit my city cars, my smaller cars, to what is today the maximum legal speed limit. It's already a limitation. There is something weird that I need to over-spec my cars to go above the legal speed limit."
If Fiat were to impose a blanket speed restriction across its line-up, it would be following in the footsteps of Volvo, which in 2020 capped all of its models at 112mph as part of a push to reduce fatal accidents in its cars to zero.
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But it's 73 MPH controlled by the Engine Control Unit. I can reach 80 MPH in my Traverse V6 on Interstate 26. They'd ban my car in a nutshell.
A Fiat won’t go 73 mph for long. In fact, a Fiat won’t go for long.
Fix
It
Again
Tony
🎼 In a Yugo🎵
Why do you think we still have police in Fiat vehicles here? (Charger)
Tony, speed dial.
Sorry for the double Post ... (nothing happened) ... Post ... (nothing happened) but I didn’t push it a third time.
I’ve not seen a recently built Fiat that I think could safely travel at 73 MPH any way.
One of the joys of my life was driving a BMW 750iL on the Autobahn between Cologne and Bonn at or above 200 km/h in the light rain. Until a Porsche flashed its lights behind me for going too slow. LMAO.
My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the Motor Law
And on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the Turbine Freight
To far outside the Wire
Where my white-haired uncle waits
....
Not for going to slow, but for camping in the left lane. BIG difference. You stay in the right lane(s) unless actively passing. Die Polizei are rather firm about that.
FIAT:
It is a bad idea for both vehicles AND monetary systems.
Having once owned a Fiat years ago, I can agree that any Fiat owner should be happy that the damned car starts at all.
It responded with a roar.
Perfect, because Zastava, which made the Yugo, was privatised by the Serbian Government. It’s now known as Fiat Srbja, and was originally the home of the Fiat 500L (the Popemobile), and is currently home of the Fiat Grande Panda and Citroën C3. They also are the home of Jeep and Ram in Europe.
Obama stole Chrysler for not supporting him and gave them to the Agnelli family (Fiat), which merged it with Groupe PSA.
Fiat India (joint venture of Fiat and Tata, home of Jaguar Land Rover) produces Jeep models for the Indian market and converts others to right-hand drive.
“They want to sell more cars for less work, that’s all.”
They want to sell cars cheaper with less additions.
I thought that was mantra on this site.
“Fiat CEO Olivier François said he would “happily” limit the top speed of his company’s city cars to 73mph”
OK Francis, hows about a little test drive?
Texarkana to El Paso...
.
“I can reach 80 MPH in my Traverse V6 on Interstate 26.”
Around here you had better stay in the slow lane.
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