To be frank, the Chicago auto show has limited importance as a venue for introducing new cars to the world through its press days. However, for regular folks visiting the show, it's probably the best in North America. For one, almost everything introduced at Los Angeles and Detroit is shown here in Chicago (not the NSX Concept, though). Then there's the sheer enormity of McCormick Place's two exhibit halls. This allows for a huge number of cars on the floor, with manufacturers capable of showcasing different trims of the same car.
There's also enough space inside for indoor ride-along events. Jeep usually puts one outside and Detroit is home to an environmentally friendly car ride-and-drive in the basement, but there are at least four opportunities for folks to experience what certain cars are like when actually moving. Toyota had a large area dubbed Toyota Monopoly Hybrid Ride Experience (I'm not sure why), while Chrysler alone had three different exhibits. The Jeep and Ram ones included a number of off-road impediments, while Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat had a stretch of road used to showcase an initial burst of acceleration, then braking. The latter actually looks as if you're going to be part of a crash test.
It all seems like good fun and adds something to the auto show experience. Journalists may be cold on Chicago, but car fans shouldn't be.
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Categories: Chicago Auto Show,Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat,Jeep,Ram,Toyota
The Fiat 500 was, in bluntest terms, a sales flop in the US. They estimated that 50,000 of them would fly off of dealer lots when in reality only something like 20,000 did.
To solve the problem of America they've taken the easy route and simply made the car BIGGER. Despite more doors, the 500L is less than 3-inches longer than the normal 500 at 13.6 feet. Width is 5.8 feet and the 500L stands 5.4 feet tall. The 500L (guess what L stands for) is a B-segment car with the "feel of a small SUV." Just what we've always wanted? Let's hope Fiat gets some more power out of the 1.4-liter Multiair; 101 hp barely cuts it in the 500.
The 500L makes its debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and will go on sale in the US in 2013. It will be built in Kragujevac, Serbia.
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Categories: Fiat,Geneva Motor Show,Hatchbacks
If you're a classic car nut, you've probably heard of Hagerty; the company is a leader in classic-car insurance and hosts the world's largest database of classic cars. Each year, the company publishes its Hagerty Hot List, a list that spotlights 10 new vehicles that its valuations experts see as having the best future collectability.
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Categories: Audi,Buick,Chevrolet,Dodge,Fiat,Ford,Jeep,Nissan,Porsche,Volkswagen
If we're to believe Fiat head Olivier Francois, the Fiat 500 looks to be following in the footsteps of the Mini Cooper and adding a larger version for the U.S. market.
Sales of the 500 have been disappointing in part due to a limited roll-out and in part due to what Olivier Francois says was the misrepresentation of the 500 as a "click car." "There is now no excuse, the brand's brief was wrong, and all the responsibility lies here...Soon we will have the sporty masculine version that we missed because we tucked into the feminine DNA of the 500."
Also helping to bolster US sales will be a five-door model "related" to the 500 that will debut at the Geneva Motor Show this March. The new model will go on sale in the U.S. next year.
Fiat sold fewer than 20,000 500s in 2011. Marchionne previously had predicted that it would sell 50,000 units. "We thought we were going to show up and just because of the fact people like gelato and pasta, people will buy it. This is nonsense." said Marchionne told reporters on Jan 11th.
Simply making it bigger seems like the same way of thinking, doesn't it?
Categories: Fiat,Geneva Motor Show,Hatchbacks
Even if you're not a J-Lo superfan, if you're like me, the cloying soundtrack of the "My World" Fiat 500 commercial is cemented in your short-term memory anyway. In the commercial, actress Jennifer Lopez (who I actually really liked in Soderbergh's Out of Sight) appears to drive a 500 Cabrio through storybook scenes from the Bronx, observing in a voiceover that "this place inspires me."
Now it seems there's not so much inspiration in the New York borough as she originally let on. This week, the website, The Smoking Gun, reported that the close-up, in-car footage of Lopez was shot in L.A., while a stunt double was used for the on-location stuff in the Bronx. And then it was woven altogether with some nifty CG work.
Jalopnik sought an official comment from Fiat USA, and reported that a spokesperson basically conceded the veracity of TSG's report, citing Lopez's busy schedule.
We're crushed by the news and might just have to kick our long-term Fiat 500 to the curb. Well, except Donna has it this week and she's on vacation... OK, but next week... that's it!
(The Smoking Gun, Jalopnik)
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Categories: Celebrities,Fiat
Chrysler announced today that it's replacing its head of Fiat in North America, Laura Soave, effective immediately. Timothy Kuniskis will take over amid slow sales of the Fiat 500 hatchback.
Soave was given the reins at Fiat in the spring of 2010 and charged with reintroducing the brand to the U.S. It was a tough assignment given that Fiat would have only one model to sell and it expected to do it through a brand new network of stand-alone dealers. The rollout of those dealers didn't go as quickly as planned, so it's no surprise that sales suffered.
Kuniskis has worked for Chrysler since 1992 mostly in marketing.
Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat
Hard times can be a bummer, but in the best of circumstances, they can be a catalyst for growth and improvement.
It's certainly worked out that way for some manufacturers in the automotive industry, and many of the cars that graced the floor at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show are proof.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Fiat,Honda,Hyundai,Porsche
It doesn't look much different from the car that debuted three and a half years ago in Europe, but the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth finally makes its first stateside appearance at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Give the video a look after the jump and hear Alistair Weaver's British-y colloquialisms.
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Categories: Fiat,LA Auto Show,Videos
Fiat released the 500 Abarth at this year's L.A. Auto Show. They brought out Olivier Francois, global head of Fiat, for the event. He was bright and charming as always and then made a Viagra joke which was hilarious. He said that the 500 Abarth "arouses withOUT a need for a prescription." It's not as funny when we type it, but with the accent and the power of a show floor, it worked.
He should've just shown this ad for the Fiat 500 Abarth starring Romanian model Catrinel Menghia and then walked off stage.
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Categories: Fiat,LA Auto Show,Tuners and Modifications
It might be the only erectile dysfunction joke we've heard from an auto executive. Well, at least from the show stand. But when Olivier Francois, the global head of Fiat, quipped that the Fiat 500 Abarth "arouses without a need for a prescription," he got a deserved laugh from the audience.
And the car? Well, it's interesting.
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Categories: Fiat,LA Auto Show
In late July of this year, Fiat confirmed to Inside Line that the Fiat 500 Abarth would be shown at the 2011 LA Auto Show.
In late October of this year, Fiat confirmed that the Fiat 500 Abarth would be shown at the 2011 LA Auto Show.
So what changed? Nothing. But we're getting closer to the LA Auto Show and now, with official pictures, Fiat wants to get a little more steam behind the new, hotter 500. Fiat is marketing this to "track-day enthusiasts and driving purists who want the ultimate high-performance small car with the pedigree of an exclusive Italian exotic."
That seems like a lot of weight on the shoulders of a front drive micro-compact with a turbocharged 1.4. In Europe, the 500 Abarth cranks out 135 horsepower and weighs in at just over 2,100 pounds. When we tested a Fiat 500 Sport it lugged around 2,438 pounds with only 101 horsepower.
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Categories: Fiat,LA Auto Show
Confirming both the statement and timing made back in March of this year, Fiat is hard at work on the fully electric Fiat 500 EV that is set to hit the road sometime in 2012.
At first glance it would be easy to think that this is simply a Fiat 500 with a slightly tweaked front end, but in a lucky twist of fate, someone at Fiat forgot to close the filler door that now clearly contains a U.S. spec 240-volt charging plug port. And then there's the issue of the "EV" sticker on the rear window. Almost like they wanted people to see this.
No real information has slipped out on the 500 EV beyond the initial statements. Pricing is, of course, the big question after Marchionne's comments that the 500 EV could be three times the cost of a base 500 and that Fiat was willing to take a $10,000 hit on each 500 EV sold. Three times the price of a base 500 minus $10,000 would put the 500 EV right around $35,000 -- the same price as the Leaf and about $5,000 more than the Mitsubishi i-MiEV.
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Categories: Electric Vehicles,Fiat,Future Vehicles,Spy Photos
We all know that Mazda and Honda are into this B-Spec racing thing and earlier this week we got word that Kia would be playing along, too with the Rio 5. And now, thanks to Mazda's Facebook page, we know that Fiat and Ford will be joining the action, too.
The gallery posted on the Mazdaspeed Motorsports page, shows a welcome amount of gamesmanship between teams with pro-level touring car drivers playing multiple cars with everyone testing and talking in a very open area. The test day is most likely to set ballast and ECU calibrations for a more level racing series. A dyno on hand would confirm the ECU part of this guess.
The presence of the BFG trailer isn't surprising either, the spec tire for the series is the BFGoodrich g-Force R1 Comp in P205/50R15.
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Categories: Fiat,Ford,Honda,Mazda,Motorsports
That short video you've been seeing of J. Lo and the Fiat 500-- you know, the one with the terrible dancing-- was, it turns out, simply a trailer for the real Fiat 500 / J. Lo ad that has finally dropped.
The real ad (full vid after the jump) has the same feel as so many other ads out of Chrysler now with J. Lo exploring her roots (the Bronx) and trying to explain how the Fiat makes the experience unique, special or otherwise different than if she'd rolled up in whatever car she really drives. Chrysler's done well with this tactic before and if the YouTube comments are to be believed, this one's another hit.
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Categories: Celebrities,Fiat
Marketing types know the power of a great logo. The best ones present an evocative invitation, one that perfectly reflects the brand's image.
Logos can be especially compelling in the automotive industry.
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Categories: BMW,Ferrari,Fiat,Lamborghini,MINI,Maserati,Mercedes-Benz,Porsche
Vinyl graphics on cars are nothing new, but in the last 5 years or so have seriously taken off to the point where they're even available from the dealership on a Chevy Volt. Trouble is, most of them are kind of boring at best and flat-out crazy at worst. Understanding this, Fiat has taken to the internet to let you create a new wrap for the Fiat 500 which will be applied at the show.
Potential winners have until October 5th to submit the design to Fiat and the top 10 -- as chosen by Fiat -- will be up for the vote of their Facebook page. The top three vote getters will be announced on October 19th and will get to see their work at SEMA soon after that.
A denim exterior would certainly catch Lapo's eye, but is it enough to sway Facebook voters? We'll try it anyway.
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Categories: Fiat
Motor Village was set to be the ultimate Chrysler Brand dealership. Part of this dominance would be, in part, because the dealership was under direct control of the parent company. Franchiseses, after all, can get sloppy and tend to want to make their own decisions like they own the place or something.
Everything worked out great for Motor Village for a while. They built a nice, clean, stylish dealership and it was staffed pretty well. (We've bought two cars there and had others serviced by them.) The dealership was also going to be a testbed for new ideas and new practices to help make the dealership experience more tolerable. Chrysler was hoping this store would help California sales which are currently at 4.38 percent (3.89 percent in LA) compared with 10.2 percent nationwide.
Unfortunately for them (and any customer who may have benefited from a new approach to the dealership scenario) the California New Car Dealers Association dug up some annoying rule about factory-owned stores being illegal within 10 miles of a non-factory owned store and filed charges with the DMV.
And now Chrysler is being forced to sell the dealership. The New Century dealer group (Century West BMW, New Century BMW, Puente Hills VW and more) is the lucky buyer who gets the fully functioning, 189,000 square-foot dealership.
(Autonews)
Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat
Edmunds.com's fourth annual Fuel-Sipper Smackdown is in the books. This time around it was all about the Chevy Volt, but taking it on were the Kia Optima Hybrid, Hyundai Elantra, Volkswagen Jetta TDI and the Fiat 500. Unlike past Fuel-Sippers, all the cars essentially had the same EPA highway number -- 40 -- so it was an interesting test to see the real-world differences.
But there's a lot that goes on in a test like this beyond the numbers, especially in regards to the Volt. So follow the jump for video and behind-the-scenes photos.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Fiat,Hyundai,Kia,Volkswagen
Good news? Chrysler has just announced that the 2011 International Van of the Year -- yes, that's right, the Fiat Doblo -- will enter the North American market in 2013 as a Ram.
The Doblo is built at Fiat's Turkish join-venture partner TOFAS facility and then exported here (what's the deal with European cargo van-ish things being made in Turkey? The Transit Connect hails from there as well). Homologation and customer requirements will require a $160 million investment. Currently the Doblo has 1.3, 1.6 and 2.0-liter diesel engines and a 1.4-liter gasoline engine. As it's a European cargo van-ish thing, it is available with six- or five-speed manuals, or a five-speed automatic. We don't expect that variety here. (Though we'd certainly be happy to eat our words and be proven wrong, Fiat.) Fiat is also developing an electric version that would certainly appeal to some businesses.
As exciting as this is, we sort of wish they'd bring over the Qubo. As proven by the Fiat-supplied picture after the jump, that thing can haul gear AND babes.
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Categories: Fiat,Future Vehicles
Skipping the traditional auto-show scene for its highbrow collaboration, Fiat will be showing the limited edition 500 by Gucci special edition at New York's Fashion Week.
The Fiat 500 by Gucci is the brainchild of everyone's favorite auto-show-model-picker / denim-Ferrari-driving fashionista, Lapo Elkann. "I am honored that I was able to connect Fiat and Gucci, especially in such an important anniversary year for Italy. Being Italian, it makes me proud to have contributed to thei Fiat 500 by Gucci, which brings together the spirit of two brands that so perfectly symbolize our country's savior faire in the world." said Elkann of the project.
The anniversary of which he speaks is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, though it also happens to be the 90th anniversary of Gucci.
Differentiating the Gucci edition is the signature Gucci green/red/green strape across the side of the Fiat or along the top of the convertible. It also gets Gucci signatures, satin-chrome exterior accents, new fenders, unique wheels with interlocking GG hubcaps and "brake pads, which have been lacquered in signature Gucci green." Not that I don't understand a typo here and there, I have to assume they mean "caliper" not "pad."
On the inside, the Gucci 500 gets new materials, two-tones seats in Frau leather (which the internet tells me is an option on Alfas and Maseratis), premium leather on the door panels and a hand-stitched leather-wrapped steering wheel in two-tone ivory / white.
Of course, beyond the car, there's also a full line of matching goods in the 500 by Gucci collection. Expect these to sell quickly -- and with a billion Gucci options -- when they go on sale here in the fall.
Video up next...
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Categories: Fiat,Tuners and Modifications
