FIAT News

  • 2007 BMW 335i and 2015 Fiat 500e electric car in driveway, May 2015  [photo: Chris Baccus]

    It's been said before, but the only way to understand why electric cars are a better way to drive is to drive one. The shorthand for that rule is "getting butts in seats." That's the process of putting inexperienced drivers behind the wheel of modern plug-in vehicles to let them experience the smooth, quiet power and the torquey acceleration from rest. DON'T MISS: Electric Cars' Secret Advantage: They're Just Nicer To Drive Now comes a blog post that indicates how well that process works. Southern California marketing executive Chris Baccus has been a friend of Green Car Reports for a while...

  • 2016 Fiat 500X, Bear Mountain State Park, NY, May 2015
    2016 Fiat 500X AWD: Quick Drive Report

    The 2016 Fiat 500X drives more like a tall car than a shrunken SUV.

  • 2015 Fiat 500e
    Third Recall For Fiat 500e: 5,600 Electric Cars To Be Checked For Software Fault

    Roughly 5,600 Fiat 500e electric cars will be recalled by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to fix a potential software problem with the cars' Limp Home mode. In a notice issued Saturday, the company said that, "incompatible software between Electric Vehicle Control Unit and Battery Pack Control Module may...

  • New 2015 Fiat 500e, San Jose, California, March 2015  [snapshot: Joe Nuxoll]
    Group Buy Of Fiat 500e Electric Cars Ignites 'Feeding Frenzy,' 100-Plus Bought

    Suppose you could get a new electric car for $83 a month--and its running costs per mile were only a fraction of what a gasoline car would in fuel. That'd be almost a free car, right? Indeed, the allure of such a deal added to the viral nature of the Internet led to sales of roughly 100 Fiat 500e...

  • Fiat 500X development test car in camouflage near Fiat Chrysler HQ, Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jan 2015
    Is The Next Chrysler Compliance Car An Electric Fiat 500X?

    For those not familiar with the term, a "compliance car" is a zero-emission vehicle built in small numbers and sold largely or exclusively in California. Its sole purpose is to keep an automaker in compliance with the state's requirement that its six highest-selling carmakers sell or lease a...

  • 2016 Fiat 500X
    2016 Fiat 500X Small Crossover SUV To Start At $20,900

    We've got 2016 Fiat 500X pricing info.

  • 2016 Fiat 500X, introduced at 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show

    The 2016 Fiat 500X makes its North American debut at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show.

  • 2014 Fiat 500e  -  Driven, July 2014 (NWAPA Drive Revolution)
    Fiat 500e Vs Chevy Spark EV: How Electric-Car Torque Figures Can Be Deceptive

    The 2014 Fiat 500e has far lower power and torque numbers than the 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV; yet at city speeds, of below 40 mph or so, the 500E feels (and is) quicker. Given their nearly identical curb weights, the numbers would suggest the Spark being far quicker. The Chevrolet Spark EV is rated...

  • 2014 Fiat 500e
    2013-2014 Fiat 500e Electric Cars Recalled For Possible Coolant Leak

    A large recall of Fiat 500e electric cars addresses possible coolant leaks.

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    Chrysler CEO Underscores, Again: Electric Fiat 500e Loses Money

    OK, clearly he shouldn't have said, "I hope you don't buy it." But last week's little media explosion over Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne's negative comments on the 2014 Fiat 500e electric car his company sells--in limited numbers, in California only--shouldn't be a surprise. To summarize his...

  • Fiat 500X crossover teased during presentation of 500L MPV in Italy
    2016 Fiat 500X Crossover To Be Officially Launched On July 4

    While the Chrysler portion of the newly constituted Fiat Chrysler Automobile company moves ahead on its revised product plan, there will be a new Fiat coming soon as well. The long-awaited 2016 Fiat 500X crossover utility vehicle, with available all-wheel drive, will be unveiled on July 4th...

  • 2014 Fiat 500
    2015 Fiat 500 Updated With New Instrument Cluster, Display Options

    The 2015 Fiat 500 gains new technology features, and an automatic transmission for Turbo and Abarth models.

  • 2014 Fiat 500

    Fiat, like MINI before it, thinks it's on to a good thing with its retro-styled small car, the 500. And like MINI, the Italian automaker thinks the best way of expanding on the car's popularity is to apply the badge to a whole range of vehicles--the latest being a four-door version of the currently two-door minicar. Auto Express carries computer-generated images of what the new model could look like when it appears in 2015. In Europe, the four-door 500 will replace the existing Fiat Punto subcompact--once one of Fiat's most popular models, but lately forgotten in the face of stiff competition...

  • 2014 Fiat 500 Abarth
    Fiat 500 To Match MINI Cooper, Offer Endless Variants In Growing Range?

    While basing a selection of models on the same platform is nothing new these days, only MINI has managed to spin a whole range of cars off a minicar designed in the 1950s. If Fiat gets its way over the next few years, MINI won't be alone for long. According to Autocar, Fiat's global head of design...

  • 2014 Fiat 500L at twilight, upstate New York
    2014 Fiat 500L: Gas Mileage Test Of New Tall Wagon

    There aren't many cars like the 2014 Fiat 500L on the market today. It's a tall wagon, not a crossover, because all-wheel drive isn't available. And it shares only a name and an engine with the much smaller Fiat 500 minicar that reintroduced the Fiat name to the U.S. market after a long hiatus...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    2013 Fiat 500e Recalled Over Potential Half-Shaft Failures

    It hasn't been on sale for long, but the 2013 Fiat 500e is already subject to its first recall. Chrysler has announced it's to recall more than 270 examples of the battery-electric 500 to replace bolts securing the car's half-shafts. Detroit News reports the recall was initiated following an...

  • 2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio, Catskill Mountains, NY, July 2013
    2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio: Fun But Far From Fuel-Efficient

    Although we hate to say it here, for certain cars, sometimes gas mileage really just doesn't matter that much. That's our verdict on the 2013 Fiat 500c Abarth Cabrio, the new convertible version of the hot-hatch 500 Abarth minicar--the one whose television ad people are still talking about. Just in...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    2013 Fiat 500e Electric Car 'Sold Out' In California

    Fiat has never hidden the fact that its 500e electric car had been developed primarily for compliance reasons, thus there was little surprise when it was announced that sales would be limited to the state of California, at least, initially. It looks like Fiat may have reason to speed up plans to...

  • Fiat's 'Environmentally Sexy' matchmaking site

    We liked the 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, a lot. It may be the best of the low-volume compliance cars, in fact--though the 2014 Chevy Spark EV and 2013 Honda Fit EV are pretty great too. We're less sure how we feel about the ad campaign Fiat is using to pitch the car, under the tagline, "Environmentally Sexy." Take the ad above, titled "Ryan's Story." It clearly plays off the gorgeous-European-women-in-high-heels meme that blazed the Fiat 500 Abarth hot hatch into public awareness, courtesy of now-superstar model Catrinel Menghia. This new ad for Fiat's 500e electric car even repeats the...

  • 2014 Fiat 500L live photos, 2012 L.A. Auto Show
    2014 Fiat 500L: Under $20,000, On Sale Next Month

    If you've owned the retro-style Fiat 500 and subsequently had a family, or maybe always liked its styling but want a car with more space, then the 2014 Fiat 500L is probably the car for you. It's also on sale next month from a starting price of $19,100, with four trim grades to choose from and a...

  • Sergio Marchionne
    Chrysler CEO: Going Green is Good, But Natural Gas Better Than Electric

    Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne isn't known for his love of electric vehicles. We really rate the company's first offering, the 2014 Fiat 500e electric car, but Sergio himself doesn't--speaking at the Society of Automotive Engineers 2013 World Congress, he reiterated that the company is losing...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e electric car, Los Angeles drive event, April 2013
    2013 Fiat 500e Electric Car: First Drive

    The 2013 Fiat 500e may be a compliance car, but its engineers created an electric car that's so much fun to drive that seemingly they want it to be more. And with remarkably aggressive pricing--the same $199 monthly lease payment as on a top-of-the-line gasoline 500--Fiat's marketers are trying...

  • 2013 Fiat 500e
    2014 Fiat 500E Drivers Latest To Get Use Of 'Free Car' Loaners

    "But what if I want to drive across the country?" ask people who never drive across the country, when discussing the subject of an electric car's range. In a way, they do have a point. Unless you have time on your side, or a Tesla Model S and a string of Superchargers between yourself and your...

  • Fiat Lussino plug-in hybrid [Image: Joseph Martinez/Coroflot]
    Fiat Lussino: 100 MPG Hybrid Design Study Fiat Needs To Make

    Like celebrity reality TV shows, concept cars are a tantalizing glimpse into a life we can approximate, but never fully enjoy ourselves. Take this Fiat Lussino concept, for example. "Lussino" is derived from the Italian word lusso, or "luxury". "Ino" makes it "small luxury". It's the work of...

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