Report: Fiat to Raise Chrysler Stake to 30 Percent within the Next Few Weeks

Fiat SpA is planning to increase its Chrysler LLC Group stake to 30 percent in the next few weeks, according to insider sources quoted by Bloomberg news. The Italian company, which currently holds a 25 percent stake in Chrysler, will get an additional 5 percent from the U.S. government after it will meet two performance criteria.

The first condition is that 90 percent of Fiat's Latin American dealers must offer Chrysler vehicles as well. To satisfy this request, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to sell Chrysler models rebadged as Fiats in Brazil, Latin America's largest market, where the Italian brand holds the number one spot.

Read more »

3:04 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Fiat to Introduce Two New Dodge-Based Sedans in China and Russia by 2013

As time goes by, Fiat SpA’s integration with the Chrysler Group LLC deepens and the results become more evident with the two carmakers making several plans for the future. Speaking at Fiat's annual shareholders meeting on March 30, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed plans to launch two new Dodge-based sedans in China and Russia.

The first sedan will be a compact model built on the next generation Dodge Caliber, which is expected in the USA next January. According to an Autonews report, this model will enter production in China in the second half of 2011, while timing for the Russian launch has not yet been disclosed. The other four-door saloon will be a mid-size model based on the replacement for the Dodge Avenger, which is scheduled for launch in the USA in 2013. It will go on sale in China and Russia the same year.

Read more »

10:14 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Meet the Mefistofele, Fiat's 21.7-liter Record-Breaking Car from Hell

The story of the Mefistofele started in 1908, when Fiat introduced the SB4 chain-driven Grand Prix racer. After seeing it race, Sir Ernest Eldridge from Britain bought the car with the aim of turning it into speed record breaker.

However, there was one problem: the original car's 18.0-liter engine was considered rather small by Eldridge, who decided to replace it with a massive airplane powerplant (you can read a similar story here). He opted for a liquid-cooled Fiat-built 21.7-liter inline six-cylinder unit (type A-12 Bis) that developed 320 horsepower at 1,800 rpm after various upgrades such as the fitting of four valves and four spark plugs on each cylinder.

The story goes that in order to accommodate the long and heavy engine, Eldridge lengthened the SB4's chassis using parts from a London bus. The car was chain-driven and had brakes only at the rear, which made it a handful for even the most experienced of drivers. Interestingly, experts fail to understand even today the mechanism that allowed the car to reverse, since there is no trace of it left.

Read more »

8:06 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Toyota, PSA and BMW Closest to Achieving EU’s New CO2 Targets

Toyota, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and BMW are the carmakers closest to reaching their CO2 targets next year, according to a report by market research firm JATO Dynamics. The targets are imposed by the European Union, whose objective for 2015 is to enforce a fleet average CO2 level of 130 g/km for manufacturers selling cars in Europe.

In order to reach that objective, CO2 targets are lowered progressively each year. In 2009 the average was 145.9 g/km and in 2010 it went down to 140.9 g/km. Emissions regulations will be imposed starting next year, with significant fines to be enforced to automakers that will not comply with the new emissions limits.

Read more »

2:49 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Report: Fiat to Begin Assembly of New 2012 Panda Mini in November

The first examples of the successor to Fiat’s current generation Panda city car will roll off the production line in Italy this November, according to a top Fiat executive. The third generation of the Panda is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September.

"We are on track in refurbishing Pomigliano, which will become a truly state-of-the-art plant when it begins production in November," Fiat Group chief manufacturing officer Stefan Ketter told Autonews Europe.

Last year, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the updated Pomigliano d'Arco plant in central Italy would manufacturer the new Panda as part of the firm’s “Fabbrica Italia” (Italian factory) plan to increase vehicle productivity in Italy from around 650,000 units in 2010 to approximately 1.4 million cars in 2014.

Read more »

12:04 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Fiat Still Keen on Moving Headquarters from Italy to the USA, or so it Claims

In February, at an industry conference, Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne suggested that that the Italian automaker could eventually merge with its Detroit counterpart and move its corporate headquarters from Turin, Italy to the U.S.A.

Soon after, Fiat’s Chairman John Elkann, the grandson of Gianni Agnelli family who owns 30 percent of Fiat, stated the company had no plans to leave Italy. Marchionne also backtracked, but only after a meeting with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and other politicians, saying no final decision has been made and that nothing would be decided on the carmaker's future headquarters until 2014.

Fast forward to March and a lengthy article on Reuters regarding Sergio Marchionne and future of the company, where the subject of Fiat’s headquarters is once again put on the table.

"The location where you establish the legal HQ is where you pay taxes," said the second top Fiat source. "If I pay 70 percent tax in Italy and only 30 percent in the U.S., it's a no brainer where to go."

Read more »

12:54 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Donations for Japan Continue, Fiat Offers €100,000, Mercedes-Benz gives €2 Million

The donations for Japan keep coming in, with Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler announcing today that it will provide €2 million (about US$2.8 million at today’s exchange rates) as immediate aid for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in the Asian country. Daimler said it has approximately 13,000 employees in Japan through its subsidiaries Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Mercedes-Benz Japan, as well as Daimler Financial Services.

The Fiat Group, which includes Alfa Romeo, Lancia, the Fiat brand, Abarth, Maserati and Ferrari, also announced a donation for relief efforts in Japan, albeit a much smaller amount at €100,000 (about $US140,000).

While we’re not saying that this is a competition as all donations are welcome, we can’t but think that Fiat’s contribution, which equates to roughly half the price of a new Ferrari model or around 0.8% of the total compensation Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne received in 2010, is somewhat embarrassing for the size of the Italian company.

Read more »

9:02 AM | 0 comments | Read More

New Punto 150° is Fiat’s Tribute to the 150th Anniversary of Italy's Unification

To mark the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification, Fiat has unveiled a special edition version of its Punto Evo supermini called the ‘Punto 150’. Set to go on sale this April, the commemorative edition is distinguished by a bespoke honeycomb grille, the two-tone unique lightweight alloy wheels, “Azzurro Italia” special metallic paintwork and the “Italia 150” round commemorative badges on the B-pillars.

Read more »

8:14 AM | 0 comments | Read More

VIDEO: Le Casse, A Mad Cap Car Chase through the Streets Of 1970’s Athens

Ah, the ‘70s. We had the Oil Crisis and Watergate, microwave ovens and VCRs, Maggie Thatcher and Jimmy Carter. As for cars, well: there were the greats like the Lamborghini Countach, Datsun 240Z and the Dodge Charger. Then there were the not-so-greats like the AMC Pacer, Chevy Chevette and the Ford Mustang Cobra II.

It was the decade that brought us The French Connection, Gone in 60 Seconds and Smokey and the Bandit. It also brought us a relatively unknown (well, to my –ahem- clearly sophisticated tastes) French film called Le Casse (The Burglars).

Oh sure, Bullitt had Steve McQueen in a Mustang and Goldfinger had Sean Connery in a DB5, but you ain’t ever seen a film so brazen to put Omar Sharif behind the wheel of...an Opel Rekord. Well, he is the villain. Surely our hero, Jean-Paul Belmondo, will get to drive something a bit smarter.

Read more »

5:34 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Ford CEO Alan Mulally Believes Fiat 500 Won’t Succeed in the USA

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the U.S. launch of the Fiat 500, with many predicting a commercial success for the Italian mini even before it landed on this side of the Atlantic. However, there’s one industry executive that doesn’t believe in Fiat’s retro-penned hatchback. We’re talking about Ford CEO Alan Mulally. When asked about the market prospects of the Fiat 500 in the United States in an interview with Italian-language news magazine Panorama, Mulally said: "I do not see large market in the U.S.A. for a smaller car than the Fiesta. Those that tried failed.”

Read more »

9:39 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Chrysler Group to Boost Ad Budget by 70% to $2.9 Billion in 2011

As the Chrysler Group continues its product renaissance with new or facelifted models, the Auburn Hills automaker is now looking to boost its marketing presence in the United States by increasing its advertising budget nearly 70 percent this year, from $1.72 billion in 2010 to around $2.9 billion in 2011.

The increase is even greater when compared to 2009, when Chrysler had just come out of bankruptcy and joined forces with the Fiat Group. According to the SEC filing, the Detroit firm spent just $677 million on advertising in the second half of 2009.

Read more »

8:14 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Chrysler Group Celebrates Production Launch of 2012 Fiat 500 at Toluca Plant, May Also Produce Second Fiat Model in Mexico

Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon celebrated the start of the 2012 Fiat 500 production today at the Detroit firm’s Toluca plant in Mexico. The company invested $550 million USD, with the assistance of loans from the Mexican government, to build the subcompact model at the Toluca site.

Chrysler said the plant will build more than 120,000 examples of the Fiat 500 for export to the United States, Canada, and South America, as well as to China by the third quarter of 2011. The same factory also produces the Dodge Journey, which is shipped to the U.S. as well as its Fiat twin, the newly revealed Freemont that will be sold in Europe.

Read more »

12:47 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Would You Pay $29,875 for One of 500 US-Spec 2012 Fiat 500 Prima Ediziones?

In September of 2010, Fiat's U.S. arm announced that the special allotment of five hundred Fiat 500s to come to America, called the "Prima Edizione", were all sold out to the Italian firm's fans. Well, it seems that at least one of the buyers was more of a fan of the almighty dollar than anything else as the owner listed the collector-edition Fiat 500 Prima Edizione for sale on eBay as soon as it landed on the lot.

Read more »

1:59 PM | 0 comments | Read More

VW CEO Piech Says Germans Could Quadruple Alfa Romeos Sales

In yet another episode of the ongoing verbal battle between the Fiat and VW Groups over Alfa Romeo, the German automaker's CEO Ferdinand Piech said that Volkswagen could nearly quadruple the annual sales of the Milanese brand if the Italians would agree to sell the company.

Speaking to journalists at the Geneva Motor Show, the CEO went on to say that within five years Volkswagen could increase the sales of the money-losing Italian brand to 400,000 cars every year. Alfa Romeo ended 2010 with 112,000 units sold.

Read more »

9:39 AM | 0 comments | Read More

2011 Fiat 500 Coupé Zagato Concept

This year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show is buzzing with concept models of all sorts of sizes and shapes. The one you see pictured above is based on the popular Fiat 500 mini and is the result of the collaboration between the Fiat Group Automobiles' Centro Stile and the Zagato design house.

Showcased at the Fiat stand, the "500 Coupé Zagato" is said to have been inspired by the namesake predecessor built in the 1950 by the famous Italian bodyworker on the chassis of the original 500.

From the window line and below, the 500 concept is identical to the standard three-door hatchback model. However, the concept gets a completely new top with a sloping coupe-like roof featuring Zagato's trademark double-bubble design.

Other features include the burnished chrome exterior elements, 17-inch chrome shadow alloy wheelss with a brand new double spoked shape and synthetic inserts wrapped in 205/40 R17 tires and 4 perforated brake discs.

The concept is 3,550 mm long, 1,630 mm wide and 1,490 mm high, with a 2,300 mm wheelbase. Inside, Fiat says the 500 Coupe gets a 2+2 seating layout and a bespoke interior with sporty "diamond" seats trimmed in black and yellow two-tone leathers and other unique features.

Power for the 500 Coupé Zagato is provided by Fiat's turbocharged two-cylinder gasoline unit with 105 HP at 5,500 rpm and 155 Nm (114 lb-ft) of peak torque at 2,500 rpm, which promises reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of just 95 g/km.

8:56 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Geneva Show: Fiat 500 Coupé Zagato Concept [Updated]

This year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show is buzzing with concept models of all sorts of sizes and shapes. The one you see pictured above is based on the popular Fiat 500 mini and is the result of the collaboration between the Fiat Group Automobiles' Centro Stile and the Zagato design house.

Showcased at the Fiat stand, the "500 Coupé Zagato" is said to have been inspired by the namesake predecessor built in the 1950 by the famous Italian bodyworker on the chassis of the original 500.

From the window line and below, the 500 concept is identical to the standard three-door hatchback model. However, the concept gets a completely new top with a sloping coupe-like roof featuring Zagato's trademark double-bubble design.

Read more »

3:43 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Ferrari CEO Made €8.7 Million in 2010 or Twice as Much as Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne

It's no secret that top car executives make big money, but the situation at the Fiat Group is particularly interesting. How else could one describe the fact that in 2010, Ferrari's chairman, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, was paid more than twice the amount of money than the CEO of the entire Fiat Group, Sergio Marchionne? Read more »

10:45 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Très Chic: New Special Edition of the Fiat 500 by Gucci Heads to Geneva

As they say, good marketing always finds a reason to celebrate. This time, Fiat's marketing team is feeling festive about the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy and Gucci's 90th anniversary. As a result, the automaker has joined forces with Gucci for the creation of a new special edition version of the 500 mini that will be showcased at next week's Geneva Salon in a dedicated Gucci pop-up store within the Fiat stand.

Read more »

6:10 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Abarth Scorp-Ion Sports Coupe Concept

Even though Fiat executives have been coy on a stand-alone sports car for the Abarth brand, the Italian firm went ahead and collaborated with the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) for the creation of design study that will receive its grand premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in about a week's time.

The sports coupe is named Abarth Scorp-Ion and it was designed by seven IED students who worked under the supervision of designers Luca Borgogno from Pininfarina, and Luigi Giampaolo from Maserati.

The goal was to design a bespoke compact-sized sports car with lines that evoke the scorpion (the official symbol of Abarth) without any references to the Fiat brand, with which Abarth is often identified.

The result is a futuristic looking two-seater coupe that measures 4,010 mm in length, 1,905 mm in width, 1,192 mm in height, and rides on a 2,350 mm long wheelbase.

The Scorp-Ion is motivated by four electric motors, one on each wheel, but that's about all Abarth had to share with us for now. Further details are to be released at the Geneva Motor Show.

4:01 AM | 0 comments | Read More

New Jeep 3.0-liter V6 Turbo

Given that over forty per cent of all cars sold in Europe are diesel-powered, any brand that wants to be successful in the market must have diesel options in its range. Following the presentation of its new 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel on the Chrysler 300's European clone, the Lancia Thema the Fiat Group is now introducing the oil-burner to Jeep Grand Cherokee the range for Europe and other diesel markets around the world.

The new V6 diesel engine is built by VM Motori and has been developed together with Fiat Powertrain, which is a subsidiary of the Fiat Group. The 3.0-liter unit features Fiat's MultiJet II system which enables up to eight injections per cycle, with the possibility of managing the two main injections in a single modular profile (IRS – Injection Rate Shaping). It is also fitted with a single Garrett VGT 2056 turbocharger with variable turbine geometry.

In the Grand Cherokee, the 3.0-liter V6 diesel is offered in two guises, the most powerful of which produces 241HP at 4,000 rpm and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of peak torque at 1,800-2,800 rpm, with the company claiming a 10 percent gain in power and eight percent more torque than the engine it replaces.

Despite the improved performance, Jeep said fuel economy for the 241HP version returns 8.3 lt/100km (equal to 28.4 mpg US) on the combined European cycle, an improvement of 17 percent over the prior diesel engine. CO2 emissions (are also reduced by 17 percent, now at 218 g/km.

Jeep will also offer a lower-output version of the 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel rated at 190HP at 4,000 rpm and 440 Nm (324 lb-ft) of peak torque available from 1,600 to 2,800 rpm. The low-output version of the turbo diesel engine will be standard on Laredo models and optional on the Limited

The new 3.0-liter turbo diesel variants of the Grand Cherokee will receive their world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show next week and be available in Europe by the end of the first half of 2011.

3:44 AM | 0 comments | Read More