FIAT 500 News
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The 2012 Fiat 500 minicar is the first all-new car to be sold as part of Fiat's takeover of Chrysler. It's also a very cool and stylish little vehicle that won numerous awards in its first year on the market ... and it's the kind of car conventional wisdom says will never, ever sell in the U.S. Nonetheless, a newly confident Fiat USA launched the car at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, bringing on Laura Soave, head of Fiat North America, to show (even before the car itself) a photo of herself as a child standing on her Italian grandparents' original 500. The message? The Fiat 500 is a car...
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The Magic Numbers In New Compact Cars: 40 MPG From 1.4 Liters
To achieve ambitious 2016 Federal fuel-economy goals, carmakers are working hard to make their engines smaller and more efficient. That's not news. But it's increasingly looking like we'll have a new target for compact cars over the next few years: a rating of 40 miles per gallon highway, from an...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler To Tap Federal Money--This Time, for Green Cars
Chrysler may join Nissan, Ford, Fisker and Tesla in winning a share of federal loans to convert old factories to greener-car production. Automotive News reports that Chrysler has applied to the Department of Energy for approximately $10 billion in low-interest loans, to be used for retooling...
Martin Padgett -
The Italian Invasion: Fiat 500 Getting Closer To American Showrooms
It has been a little while since we have checked in on Fiat and Chrysler—specifically about the coming of the Fiat brand to American showrooms. Even more specifically, we are foaming at the mouth for the Fiat 500 to come to American shores and the Fiat 500C would be an even bigger hit for the...
Jonathan McGrew -
2011 Fiat 500 Testing in Nevada: Exclusive Spy Photo
The 2011 Fiat 500 will go on sale in less than six months, but the company is still hard at work roadtesting pre-production versions for North America. The latest proof is this photo of a Fiat 500 development prototype being road-tested outside Las Vegas, in the hot weather of Nevada. Our reader KJ...
John Voelcker -
Bosch Develops Engine Stop-Start System For Automatics
Autonomous engine stop-start systems, designed to save fuel by turning off a car’s engine when at a standstill, are increasing in popularity, especially in Europe, where fuel prices are often double what they are here. In many cases, the addition of an engine stop-start system can net fuel...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
This must be Fiat 500 News Week. How else to explain the drumbeat of announcements, from its innovative TwinAir engine to a special U.S. model offered only to current Fiat owners? Today's item: The company will develop a mild hybrid version of its 500 minicar, fitted to the 0.9-liter TwinAir two-cylinder engine. Its goal is to reduce the little car's carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions to just 70 grams/kilometer, far lower than any other non-electric car. Fiat plans to pair its 900cc twin to a sophisticated dual-clutch transmission (DCT), which will include a very small 5-kilowatt electric motor...
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Reward For Old Fiat Owners, Finally: New 2011 Fiat 500 Special Edition
It hasn't been easy being a Fiat fan in the U.S. these last, oh, 20 or 30 years. Sneers of "Fix It Again, Tony!" due to rusty and unreliable cars were followed by Fiat fleeing the U.S. market in 1983 with its tail tucked between its legs. But now, with the imminent debut of the 2011 Fiat 500 late...
John Voelcker -
Snapped on the Street: Fiat 500 Electric Car Visits Palo Alto
The great thing about having your company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is that you never quite know what you'll see on the street. There are lots of expensive cars like BMWs and Bentleys floating around. There are also a disproportionate number of Tesla Roadsters, since the company is...
John Voelcker -
2011 Fiat 500 Four-Door Model Being Developed for U.S. Sales
Regular readers know we're eagerly awaiting the U.S. arrival of the 2011 Fiat 500 mini-car, the very first fruits of Chrysler's takeover by Italian maker Fiat. Now it looks like yet another variant may join the range of Fiat 500 models in U.S. showrooms. Auto-industry trade journal Automotive News...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler To Build All-Electric Version of Fiat 500 for U.S. Market
Much mystery surrounded the electric versions of the Fiat 500 that have appeared at auto shows over the last year. Now, Chrysler has cleared up a bit of the confusion: It will build an electric Fiat 500 for the U.S. market, with a powertrain developed by engineers at its Michigan headquarters, at a...
John Voelcker -
Diesel Designs Diesel Fiat 500 For Geneva 2010
The Little Italian Car Goes For Big Style
Jonathan McGrew -
As we keep saying, one of the ways that automakers will meet more stringent fuel economy regulations is by making smaller engines that work harder. Now Fiat has one-upped its European competition by announcing it will offer a 900cc turbocharged twin in European models of its Fiat 500 mini-car. That engine won't be fitted to the 2011 Fiat 500 to be offered in the U.S. at the end of the year; it will use a 1.4-liter four. Fiat and Tata only The tiny new engine, to be called TwinAir (but unrelated to the global air-filter company also called TwinAir), helps Fiat meet increasingly stringent...
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2010 Detroit Auto Show: 2013 Chevrolet Spark
Yesterday's Chevrolet press conference at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show was a pretty muted affair. While Chevy unveiled one concept car--the Aveo RS--the photos and details had been released several days before, so there seemed to be little real news. The 2011 Chevrolet Cruze was also there, but it...
John Voelcker -
Detroit Auto Show Preview: Electric Fiat 500 Mini-Car
An electric Fiat 500 has been rumored for several months now, including before the lengthy October press conference where Chrysler laid out its survival plan. But now, it appears that Chrysler will show an electric Fiat 500 mini-car as one of two concepts it will have on display at next month's...
John Voelcker -
Chrysler set to Unveil Electric Fiat 500
Prior to going into government sponsored bankruptcy, Chrysler had displayed several electric car concepts including a 200C extended range electric vehicle and a 2 seat electric roadster. Since re-emerging as property of Italy's Fiat corp, plans for those Chrysler electric cars have been in limbo...
Lyle Dennis -
What Is Cute, Sporty and Italian? The Answer: A Fiat 500
Fiat Starts to Reveal Plans For the Troubled Chrysler Name Plate
Jonathan McGrew -
Electric Fiat 500 Closer Than We Think From Chrysler?
Much of the auto world is waiting eagerly for Wednesday, November 4. That's when Chrysler will release the detailed product and business plan that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne promises will take the company to profitability within two years. Now comes the rumor that the two companies plan to build an...
John Voelcker