fiat
Camal’s Marcia Corta Gives Fiat’s 500 a Rally Inspired Look
Former Pininfarina employees, Alessio Minchella and Alessandro Camorali have decided to team up and form a new company, Camal, in order to offer stylish new products for vehicles at prices affordable to the general population. There was no better way to launch the brand than to target the new Fiat 500 owners, giving the car…
Fiat Bets Big On Texas, Opens 10 Dealers In The Lone Star State
Everything’s big in Texas, so the saying goes. Unless Fiat has something to say about it: out of 70 existing Fiat dealers, 10 of them are opening up in Texas—the second-highest amount of dealerships, behind California, and tied with New York and Florida. Texas may seem like a strange state to sell small cars, considering…
Fiat North America Launches National Ad Campaign On July 4
Fiat North America is ready to launch its first national ad campaign. The new campaign will kick off with a special event on July 4, the 54th anniversary of the original Fiat 500, said Laura Soave, head of Fiat North America. “We’re confident we can do a national launch and have the network in place…
Sales Climb For Fiat 500 In US
y Sales for the Fiat 500 are picking up after a slow start in the US market. The Mexican built US version was off to a slow start after only selling 3,141 units through the end of May, but the cute Italian car is gaining momentum. Chrysler has just 70 Fiat dealerships nationwide however there…
Dodge Caliber Replacement To Debut At 2012 Detroit Auto Show
Remember when your parents told you that if you didn’t do well the first time, try, try again? Fiat and Dodge have heeded that advice. So when you’re at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, expect to see Caliber: Round Two. A small hatchback in the vein of the Caliber will debut for the 2013 model…
Fiat Gives Japan Limited Edition 500 Pop-Bi
Avid collectors of special edition Fiat 500’s may have to travel all the way to Japan to get their hands on one of 50 limited Pop-Bi 500s, for around $26,000. The exterior features a bumble bee-themed black and yellow finish and comes with either a fixed roof or retracting canvas panel. The black and yellow…
Fiat Offers $125M To Canadian Government For Its Share Of Chrysler
Fiat, has offered Canadian government $125 million for its 1.7 percent stake in Chrysler. Last week, Fiat made a $500 million offer to the U.S Treasury to buy out the remaining 6 percent stake held in Chrysler, according to Reuters. With the involvement of the U.S Treasury, Fiat hopes to increase its ownership of Chrysler…
Fiat Takes Majority Stake In Chrysler
They made the threat before, but now it’s official: Fiat controls 52% of Chrysler, and just like in 1998 The House That Walter Built resides mostly in Europe. Late Thursday night the US Treasury Department agreed to sell its remaining 6% stake in Chrysler to Fiat, with a price tag of $500 million. And with…
Fiat’s U.S Expansion Plans Revealed
Fiat is hoping to build a strong U.S-market demand for the 500 by expanding its line-up with a successor to the Bravo compact hatchback. Concerns have be raised about relaunching Fiat in the United States, however early sales figures of the 500 have exceeded expectations. A cabriolet version of the hatchback is now appearing in…
Fiat Planning To Acquire Last Government Stake In Chrysler
It’s been a dramatic week at Chrysler‘s financial department. Now that Chrysler’s paid off its bailout loan from the government, Fiat is looking to step in and take the government’s remaining share off its hands. Fiat already holds a not-insubstantial 46 percent share in Chrysler. But even though Chrysler and the U.S. and Canadian governments…
Alfa Romeo 4C Rumored to Spawn Abarth, Maserati Versions?
Alfa Romeo is banking on the 4C’s ability to seduce us like those posters of Audrey Hepburn from Roman Holiday in every sorority girl’s dorm room. And as an attention-grabbing prelude to a glorious U.S. return, it’s working. Consider us seduced. But that’s not all, folks: the 4C could pave the way for a host…
Ferrari And Fiat Clean Out 2011 International Engine of the Year Awards
At this year’s International Engine of the Year awards, Italian powerplants claimed half of the awards handed out. Fiat managed to win four of twelve awards with the company’s 875-cc TwinAir mill. The Fiat engine achieved: Best New Engine of 2011, Green Engine of the Year, 1.0-liter Engine of the Year and International Engine of…
Chrysler To Pay Back U.S Government Loans
The Chrysler Group LLC is expected to announce today that it has reached a deal to refinance its debt. The Auburn Hills based company plans to repay $7.5 billion in government loans to both the U.S and Canadian governments by May 24th. Chrysler owes $5.9 billion to the U.S and $1.6 billion to Canada….
Maserati Expanding Model Lineup to Five Thanks to Strong Demand in China
The movers and shakers of China are buying up luxury cars, and cars in general, at a dizzying pace. And Maserati is nothing if not on fire intuitive, so the skyrocketing sales in China are motivating the Italian company to expand even faster. There have been past murmurs of a “baby” Quattroporte, but the current…
Fiat Has Option To Increase Chrysler Stake 70 Percent
Chrysler filed documents with the Security and Exchange Commission that revealed that parent company Fiat has a one year option to increase its stake in the American automaker to as much as 70 percent. The increase is contingent on Chrysler repaying its government loans, and the automaker will be issuing new debt in a bid to allow…
Alfa Romeo Targets U.S. Sales of 50,000 for New SUV
Before Alfa Romeo enters the US market, it will need to position itself as a volume manufacturer and do battle against the Germans from Audi and BMW. And what better way to build volume than to join the lucrative luxury SUV/Crossover market? Alfa Romeo, Fiat has admitted to a cadre of cranky investors, “needs significant…
Aznom Builds Mid-Engine, Rear-Wheel-Drive Abarth 500
Aznom’s Abarth 500 seems unsuspecting from the outside, with a fancy set of wheels and upgraded brakes being most noticeable. But closer inspection reveals this Abarth 500 packs 230-hp thanks to a powerplant no longer housed under the hood, but rather a transparent box in the middle of the vehicle. Yes, Aznom’s Abarth 500 is…
Alfa Romeo To Enter US Market in 2012 With 4C, Giulia Sedan
Alfa Romeo’s been threatening to invade American shores for as long as, well, we’ve been trying to find Bin Laden. But now with Terrorist Numero Uno sweeping up plankton in the ocean, it looks like there’s no choice but for Fiat to finally follow through with what they’ve announced over 10 years ago. Of course,…
Maserati Sedan To Be Built In Italy After Marchionne Extracts Concessions From Union
Maserati‘s newest sedan, rumored to be a smaller model comparable to a BMW 5-Series in size, will be built in Italy, after a deal was struck between an Italian labor union and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. Workers at the factory, formerly managed by Bertone, agreed to longer shifts and shorter breaks in exchange for the…
Dodge Charger Super Bee, Fiat 500 Gucci Edition Confirmed
According to a tweet from Ward’s Auto, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionee has confirmed the existence of two new models in the pipeline, the Dodge Charger Super Bee and a Gucci-branded edition of the Fiat 500. The last generation Super Bee was mechanically identical to the Charger SRT-8, although it came in unique pastel colors and…
Chrysler Posts First Profit Since Bankruptcy
Proving that you might actually be able to stop a train wreck that’s already in progress, under the stewardship of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler has posted a profit. Blaming high interest rates on its government loans for not climbing into the black earlier, Marchionne today reported a net income of $116 million, compared to…
The Stig’s Top 5 Worst Cars List; a Clarkson Favorite Included
We don’t know if he read Forbes’ list of worst cars for 2011. All we do know is that he’s made his own list, and that he is called the Stig. That’s right, Top Gear’s ‘the Stig’ has released his list of the worst five cars he’s ever driven, with some shocking surprises and some…
Chrysler To Repay Government Loans This Summer Thanks to Creative Debt Refinancing
Chrysler Group LLC has just announced that it plans to fully repay the loans it took from the U.S. and Canadian governments by the middle of this year. In a statement from the auto maker, it says “Chrysler Group intends to complete the repayment during the second quarter of 2011 from proceeds of a new…
Chrysler To Re-Finance Debt, Pay Loans
Chrysler is preparing to pay back $6.6 billion on government loans, but the company will do so not from its own cash but by re-financing existing debt. Current terms of the government loans have Chrysler paying 12 percent interest per year. While Chrysler would not be out of debt, they would theoretically free themselves from…
