2014 Fiat 500l Trekking on 2040-cars

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New Fiat Panda Cross looks adorable

We have never gotten the Fiat Panda in North America, but the little city car has represented the entry level into the Fiat range in Europe since 1980. Unlike many of these foreign subcompacts, it was also offered in the 4X4 trim level with a higher ride height and all-wheel drive. The Italian brand will take that idea even further at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show on March 4, with the new Panda Cross.
The Panda Cross is meant to be a city car that drivers can also take off-road if need arises. Its all-wheel drive system comes with a standard electronic-locking differential to manage torque delivery, and drivers can lock the diff, at speeds under 30 miles per hour, to improve traction further. The mini off-roader comes with either a 1.3-liter diesel four-cylinder with 80 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque or the 900cc turbocharged two-cylinder with 90 hp and 107 lb-ft. Both engines have standard stop/start and are mated to a six-speed manual.
Fiat has put most effort into the Cross' exterior to make it look ready to get muddy. It has a redesigned front bumper with integrated fog lights and a titanium-painted air dam, meant to look like a front skid plate. The rear is also reworked with chrome tailpipes and another titanium-painted faux-skid plate. It promises the modifications aren't entirely aesthetic, but improve approach and departure angles while off road. While Fiat has not released any images of the interior, it promises a mix of fabric and fake leather seats, and copper-color trim on the dash.

Ram to go on a Rampage with new small pickup?

When people look back at today's automotive industry, what do you think they'll remember us for? The emergence of hybrids? Ever more expensive and exotic supercars? The dawn of the self-driving car? All likely scenarios, but so is the blurring of lines between one bodystyle and another, giving rise to hardtop convertible coupes and crossovers of every shape and size. But one bodystyle the North American auto industry has stayed largely away from in the past couple of decades is a car nose and chassis with a pickup bed.
It's a bodystyle immortalized by the Chevrolet El Camino, but with few exceptions, we haven't seen too many of these automotive platypuses in recent years on our turf. Subaru tried with the Baja and the low-volume Honda Ridgeline soldiers along largely unchanged, but the genre's biggest adherents are still Down Under, where ute versions of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon live. With a few other examples scattered to the four corners of the earth, that's really about it. But if these spy shots are anything to go by, it looks like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could be working to bring it back.
Spied undergoing testing in Michigan, what we appear to be looking at is a heavily disguised Fiat Strada being prepared - like the Fiat Ducato-based Ram ProMaster and the smaller Doblo-based ProMaster City - for Stateside duty as a Ram product. The Strada, for those unfamiliar, is a product of Fiat Automóveis in Brazil and is based on the Palio economy car. The nameplate has been around South America since 1996 and was originally designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (long before Volkswagen monopolized his talents), and takes a more rugged approach in the form of the Strada Adventure.

Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.