All eyes were on Pope Francis when he landed in the United States last week, as well as the vehicle that whisked him away from the airport: The Fiat 500L.
Newspapers ran headlines about the car, and Twitter users asked where they could buy one (or, better yet, his). There was a major spike in Google searches in the U.S., with five times more searches for "Fiat" on the day of the pope's arrival than the day before, and nine times as many searches for "Fiat 500," the BBC reports. In August, 350 Fiat 500Ls (with an average price of $20,000) were sold in the U.S., and 3,388 cars were sold across all Fiat brands. The Wall Street Journal's Dan Neil said it made "perfect sense" for the pontiff to ride in the vehicle, since he is "charming and unaffected" and the Fiat is "the ultimate everyman car."
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