Want to get your hands on the latest special-edition Fiat 500? Don’t book your flight for Malpensa – head to Japan instead, where the Italian automaker is offering this limited-run Pop-Bi edition.

Characterized by its yellow and black paint, the Fiat 500 Pop-Bi is available with either a fixed roof or the retracting canvas panel of the 500C. Though the special hatchback gets a black upper, the convertible version’s is limited to the canvas, which seems like a shame.

The color scheme continues to the interior, save for the light roof-liner. Otherwise, it’s essentially the same as Japan’s base model, which means it comes with a 69-horsepower, 1.2-liter eight-valve four-cylinder and automatic gearbox. Pricing for the hatchback comes in at 2,100,000 yen (equivalent to about $26k), which places it right in the middle of the Fiat Japan’s 1.2-liter 500 range. Only 50 examples will be offered, though, which are sure to be snapped up by the Sailor Moon crowd in short order..

Fiat dealerships aren’t popping up quite as quickly as the original plans showed they would, but the retail outlets could get a push now that the automaker is looking outside of the Chrysler family. Automotive Newsreports that Fiat is now offering franchises to non-Chrysler dealers for the first time. There are currently 59 Fiat dealers nationwide, and the automaker plans to open 130 stores by the end of 2011

At one point, there were reportedly 130 Chrysler dealers that had been approved for a Fiat store, but many deals fell through for various reasons. A Chrysler spokesperson tells AN that letters of intent have already been sent out to seven non-Chrysler dealers.

While opening up the franchising process will likely speed up the pace of adding Fiat stores to the U.S., there are still many hurdles for the Italian make. For starters, the 500 is currently the only Fiat available in the U.S., and it could sit alone on the show floor for at least another year. And so far, Fiat has insisted that new franchises will only be awarded to those with plans to build a standalone store.

Though it doesn’t sound like a great situation to us, we’re guessing there are at least 71 more entrepreneurs willing to sign on the dotted line to gain another foothold in the car business.

What price the sun? That’s the question Fiat is asking potential buyers of its new 500C. All else remaining (mostly) equal, would $4,000 come between you and the chance to have bright, unfiltered Helios riding shotgun? Or, using forty Benjamins to mark your steps, would you gladly throw the money down and do a Tarantella from the $15,500 Fiat 500 to the $19,500 Fiat 500C?

While logic doesn’t own a car in this segment, we can say this: Having spent an afternoon whooping it up in the 500C through the winding lanes of upstate New York, wallet aside, when compared to the hardtop model, the 500C is all gain and just a pinprick of pain.

Covering the automotive business is rife with surprises. Case in point: On a recent trip to the stunning Algarve region of Portugal to test Continental Tire’s new ContiEcoContact 5 (verdict: they’re very good), we had the chance to sample a bit of forbidden fruit.

In the process of learning about the German company’s doughnut-making capabilities (which included a journeyman’s seminar on velocity-excited short- and long-chain polymers, the CEC5′s three-percent fuel economy bump and improved wet-braking capabilities), one test car fitted with Continental’s new rubber was a EU-spec 2011 Fiat 500 Abarth.

Knowing that the factory-fettled 500 is headed our way in two year’s time, we snagged the keys to see if Italy’s hottest hatch was ready to bring the pain to the John Cooper Works-infused offerings from Mini.