For me, the “bang” is engine performance. As I’ve written before, that’s not just pure horsepower. Most of us won’t be topping out our cars at maximum speed, or ever reaching the edge of grip in turns on a regular basis. What performance for the morning commuter means is acceleration. How fast can we get from light to light, from the on-ramp to merging speed. Horsepower is nice, but what really matters for acceleration is the ratio of horsepower to weight.

Power to weight ratios are a common metric, but to me they feel extremely disconnected from the performance they represent. I prefer horsepower per ton (HP/T). When you hear that a car has 100 horsepower (like the Fiat 500), you know that unless we’re talking about a go-kart, it likely has limited acceleration. On the other hand, 400+ horsepower is usually reserved for sports cars. Horsepower per ton, unlike power to weight, gives you a number similar to the actual output of the engine, just offset by the weight of the car.

So what’s the magic number for the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth? Well at 160 horsepower and 2,533 pounds, the HP/T (US ton) is 126. Since speed is always relative, lets take a look at the Abarth competitors.

The Abarth is definitely at the low end in terms of pure performance, with 6 less HP/T than the VW GTI and 10 less than the Mini Cooper S. However, did you notice the last column? That is a new metric I’ve added called horsepower per ton per $1,000 or HP/T/$1K. This gives you yet another ratio to compare, but this one is an actual calculation of “bang for your buck” which takes into account horsepower, weight, and MSRP. As you can see, the Abarth is in the middle of the pack right now.

Against Mini, I’m sure Fiat hopes to overcome their shortcomings in the performance area with their style and use their value as a selling point against Volkswagen. Just for kicks, I thought I would run the numbers on a few other cars to see what their HP/T/$1K numbers looked like:

• The 2012 Ford Mustang GT is a clear winner at 7.7, beating the Abarth by 2 points.
• At 6.7, the Mazdaspeed3 handily beats the Abarth, GTI, and Mini Cooper S.
• Even with an estimated price of $60k, I thought the 2013 Shelby GT500 would be a clear winner with 650 horsepower on tap, but it turned out to be .1 less of a value than the Abarth.
• Just to make sure the system made sense, I tested a Toyota Prius, which came out to a lowly 3.8. All is validated.
• On the opposite end of the performance spectrum, a brand new 911 Turbo is even less of a value at 2.1.

No its your turn. What cars do you think offer the best bang for your buck performance?

There is a palpable feeling in the air that is as sweet and heady as raw garlic being sautéed in olive oil.  It all has to do with the long-held attraction that has always existed between thousands upon thousand of American drivers and all Italian vehicles – no matter two wheels or four.  The atmosphere I describe exists so intensely that Americans in many urban centers are popping into a Fiat dealership and getting re-acquainted with an old legend: the Fiat 500 and Fiat 500 Abarth – revamped versions of the Cinquecento.

Way back in the early 1900s, Giovanni Agnelli, the founder of Fiat, determined that in order to expand his passenger car market beyond just the European, he would have to offer a low-cost Fiat of practical size and extreme durability that demanded minimum driving skills while offering a maximum fuel economy.  In North America his efforts both succeeded and ultimately failed.  Fast forward to 2009 when Chrysler and Fiat confirmed a strategic alliance that gave Fiat 35% of Chrysler in exchange for access to its technology and overseas market.  The stage was set for the return of Fiat.

It was the Fiat marketing team that spawned the wonderfully cheeky scheme of presenting the revamped version of the Cinquecento as sexy and desirable.  Suddenly, it was the unlikely, but much appreciated, profile of Jennifer Lopez that was seen zipping around New York City in a Fiat 500. I’m hoping that she appears in many American cities with that same smile on her face and the similar crowds waving and watching her roll by.

And can any man not fully understand the meaning of the Abarth commercial that features that stunning Italian woman with the Scorpion tattooed on the back of her neck?  She had me at, “What the (bleep) are you looking at” or whatever that was that she yelled in Italian to the nice young man who was just standing there drinking his coffee.  I should be so lucky.

I’ve studied Fiat’s past, present and projected future importance in the United States market,  as well as the magnetic attraction between this “new” imported car from Italy and the American driver, male and female.  As a result, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are ten reasons the Fiat brand will sell well in America.

1. Americans get a kick out of looking at the gas gauge and seeing the word benzina.   The Italian language is just more romantic.
2. Fiats have a adventurous spirit, i.e. “Life is best when driven.”
3. It provides the opportunity to feel like an Italian character, simply by sitting in the car with dark shades on.
4. The 500 thinks it is Casanova, which gives it a sense of destiny.
5. You’re never too old (or too young) to drive a Fiat.
6. The car is designed to be admired. It makes a good first impression.
7. Fiat has infused the car with history, a unifying spirit of the company’s past, present and future.
8. Italians bottle passion and enthusiasm. Fiat oozes both.
9. The American perception of Italian driving machines (like Fiat, Ferrari and Vespa) is that they are gorgeous, fun, and sexy.
10. Americans will drive a Fiat: it makes drivers scream for more.