Fiat Other Roadster on 2040-cars

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Fiat contemplating sub-brand to compete with Dacia, Datsun

You can add Fiat to the admittedly short list of automakers considering a low-cost brand to rival Dacia. The inexpensive Eastern European brand from Renault-Nissan has performed on the balance sheet like a premium model line, and the money the alliance is taking off the table is encouraging other players to deal themselves in. Pretty soon Nissan's Datsun sub-brand will join the Dacia party, going on sale in Russia, Indonesia and India and will claim even more rubles, rupiahs and rupees for the parent company. Volkswagen recently said it will make a decision this year on a budget line for the Chinese market. With the euthanasia of Lancia and plans to move the Fiat brand upmarket, company CEO Sergio Marchionne wonders aloud to Automotive News Europe whether there could be room for a new budget brand underneath Fiat.
We're told that the initiative has been in the idea box for five years and even moved to the stage of name considerations, like Innocenti, but worries about profit kept it from realization. If such a range were to be developed, Marchionne says it couldn't be built in Italy and stay within budget, and the company is "analyzing its manufacturing capacity outside of Europe to see if a low-cost brand is viable."

2013 Fiat 500e looks loud, runs quietly

Somebody wanted it, so we all got it - the Fiat 500e, the electric city car packed with enough Earth-saving tech that CEO Sergio Marchionne quipped (admittedly, early last year) that each one built will cost Fiat $10,000. The good news is that it not only comes with tons of EV-only gadgets and features, it does a good job, to our eye, of flaunting its electric looks and it offers the kinds of personalization one would expect of a hatch in the 500 family.
The multi-contrast exterior is grouped into three color packages, including an e-Sport Package that pairs mean with green. The Interior can be had in either Nero or Steam, both coming with Electric Orange accents, and a seven-inch TFT screen with all kinds of electric-car-status details.
Juice comes courtesy of a 111-horsepower electric-drive motor with 147 pound-feet of torque, using a battery rated at 24 kWh. Range is estimated at "more than 80 miles" on the 15-inch Firehawk GT low-rolling resistance tires, but Fiat says stories of "greater than 100 miles" aren't uncommon. With our high-res gallery above, you don't have to go that far to check it out from every angle.

The Fiat 500 GQ Edition is not all that it appears to be

With Fiat's business model effectively previewed by rival Mini's moves toward success throughout the years, it's certainly no surprise to see the Italianate 500 start to cough up some limited edition models. The 500C has already, and famously teamed with Gucci (via a small J.Lo kerfuffle) and now Fiat has brought a 500 GQ Edition to Geneva, presumably for gentlemen drivers with style.
The co-branding with Gentleman's Quarterly includes orange GQ badges that match 500 logos of the same color. The show car seen here is presented in a matte grey and carbon black paint scheme that will not be offered for the public when the car goes on sale in Europe (500 Bait and Switch Edition is more like it). Instead, European customers will get a two-tone metallic grey/black 500S, with chromed mirror caps, unique 16-inch wheels, orange brake calipers. Inside we're told the car will offer unique leather seats and a leather-covered gear knob.
See the show car in our gallery above, and scroll down below for the press release.