2012 Fiat 500 C Pop Convertible, Low Miles, No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Stellantis — seriously? Exploring the pros and cons of Chrysler’s new name

I took Wednesday off. I came in Thursday and Chrysler was renamed Stellantis. Aside from lighting Twitter on fire and drawing a lot of snarky responses from car journalists, the name is actually decent. Let’s look at it from a few angles. For starters, Chrysler, the 95-year-old automaker founded in Detroit by Walter P. Chrysler (his name still adorns everything from a major freeway in Michigan to an iconic art deco skyscraper in New York), isnÂ’t actually Chrysler. ItÂ’s FCA, which stands for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The name change actually happened in 2014, which you might have easily missed. The American unit, formerly Chrysler, is known as FCA US in some legal matters, but does not operate independently.   The Stellantis name takes effect in 2021. HereÂ’s why itÂ’s needed: Fiat Chrysler is merging with Group PSA. (Peugeot and Citroen) to form a transatlantic alliance that will be larger than even Ford. Stellantis sounds a lot better than FCA-PSA. Or PSA-FCA. You might poke fun at it, but it beats the alternatives. Or at least it could be worse. Stellantis is the name for the corporate entity that will house Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen, and oh by the way, Opel and Vauxhall, which PSA bought in 2017 when GM unloaded its European arm.  Your Jeep will not say Stellantis on the fender. Your Hemi Hellcat wonÂ’t say “powered by Stellantis” under the hood. Your Fiat 500 or Alfa Romeo Giulia will not have a script “Stellantis" crest. Speaking of that, roll call: HereÂ’s all of the brands that will be housed under the Stellantis umbrella: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Mopar, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Abarth, Ram, Lancia, Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall. ThereÂ’s also a couple of lesser-known subsidiaries, Comau and Teksid, that sell parts. ThatÂ’s 18 brands. They have origins in Detroit, Paris, Turin, Chalton (England), Russelsheim (Germany) and several other places. All of these carmakers have deep histories. No one was going to agree on using someone elseÂ’s name. You might notice Chrysler is still in there. Chrysler as the brandname for the 300 sedan and Pacifica minivan lives on. Stellantis replaces FCA, which replaced Chrysler, as the name of the parent company. Yes, it's a little confusing. HereÂ’s more perspective. Chrysler was once owned by Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell, according to mythology.

Fiat/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot

2020 Fiat 500X Sport Design Driveway Test

The Fiat 500X received a big update for 2019 with a new 1.3-liter turbocharged engine. As such, it's no surprise the 2020 Fiat 500X only sees minor updates, but one of them is rather striking, the introduction of the Sport trim level. However, it's only an appearance change, so it doesn't drive any better than the base model. The changes are impressively effective at evoking sportiness, though. All of the fender flares and side skirts are changed to body color, giving the car a lower, wider look. This is aided by the revised front and rear bumpers. At the front, the bumper gets larger grilles, and at the rear is a faux diffuser and vent design instead of a faux skid plate finish. Adding a bit of contrast are satin grey metallic accents on the front bumper, door handles and mirrors. The same color is applied to the large 19-inch alloy wheels. The look is smart and sporty all around, and really helps distinguish the 500X in a sea of tiny crossovers cosplaying as more rugged SUVs. Our particular example also came with the optional contrasting black roof. It's $445 and seems worth it, particularly with one of the bright gloss colors such as our Rovente Red — Italia Blue or Bianco Gelato are also acceptable alternatives. It highlights those bright colors effectively and adds some visual interest to the package. Fiat also added some interior touches to complement the sporty character. The Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel and Alcantara wrappings on the instrument cluster are both immediately noticeable. And, with how common Alcantara has become in high-end sports cars, these are effective at conveying a sporty feeling, as do the paddle shifters that the package also adds. The dashboard's satin gray paint is another highlight that matches the exterior accents. While body color panels would be brighter and more cheerful, this satin paint feels more premium than gloss paint when running your hands across it. The embroidered 500 logo in the seats is another premium-feeling accent. These are appreciated in a cabin where there are less prominent plastics that feel especially low rent. Now, the Sport trim is easily our favorite looking version of the 500X, but there's an added cost for the improved looks. It's $2,305 above the base trim, not including the two-tone paint, and it really only nets you the appearance items and the shift paddles.