2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio Convertible Like New Rare Copper Color on 2040-cars

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Argentinians find stash of never-registered, brand-new 30-year-old Italian cars

While much of the world is sheltering in place, several new, never-registered Italian and French cars exited a 27-year confinement in Argentina. They were left for dead in an abandoned dealership that sold Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Peugeot models in a city named Avellaneda near Buenos Aires, the country's capital. Details surrounding the dealership are murky. Argentina's Autoblog (no relation to us) reported it closed at some point during the 1990s after the owner and his son died in violent circumstances. Automotive archaeology tells your author it likely shut its doors in 1993, because that's the only year in which the first-generation Fiat Ducato launched in 1981 and the post-facelift Fiat Tipo, axed in 1995, overlapped. Both are clearly visible in the photos. What's certain is that someone finally inherited the property in 2020 and wanted the cars gone as quickly as possible in order to sell it. The anonymous owner asked Kaskote Calcos, a local body shop that also runs a used-car lot, to haul them away via Instagram. We're guessing the firm didn't need to be asked twice.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Axel By Kaskote (@kaskotecalcos) on Mar 24, 2020 at 1:57pm PDT Many of the cars hidden in the dealership were made by Fiat; the photos show several examples of the Tipo, an Uno, a Tempra, and the aforementioned Ducato. An Alfa Romeo 33 wagon and a Peugeot 405 were also stashed in the trove. Most were stored indoors so they weren't damaged by sunlight or humidity, and images of the cars taken after they were pressure-washed confirm they're in like-new condition inside and out. We're told some even started, though for the love of valves and pistons we hope they got a new timing belt before being fired up.  Kaskote Calcos hasn't revealed what it will do with the cars. None are particularly sought-after, they're economy cars that were mass-produced and mass-destroyed, and their current values reflect that. You can get a post-facelift Uno for the price of a few Peroni pints in Italy. The fact that they're new, never-registered examples will undoubtedly increase their appeal, even if registering them could require slashing through jungles of red tape. As a side note, finding a 405 beached in a Fiat dealership isn't as random as it might sound.

FCA's Pentastar V6 gets more power, efficiency for 2016

Already a vital member of FCA's powertrain lineup, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 is receiving major efficiency improvements for 2016. Thanks to a massive amount of new tech attached to the mill, fuel economy is up six percent, and torque below 3,000 rpm jumps nearly 15 percent. The updates arrive first in the 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee, but they should proliferate to other models eventually. At least in the Grand Cherokee, the tweaks push power up five horsepower to 295 ponies. FCA's engineers went through the Pentastar from top to bottom to eke out as much efficiency as possible. For example, there's now a two-speed variable-valve lift system that can run in low- or high-lift modes. This upgrade is responsible for 2.7-percent better economy, the company claims. A new intake manifold with longer runners and updated variable-valve times also helps boost the torque output. Further improvements come from pushing the compression ratio to 11.3:1, from 10.2:1 before. Perhaps most impressive is that despite all of the innovations, the latest Pentastar actually weighs four pounds less than the current version. Beyond the Pentastar improvements, all of the FCA US gasoline engines, except for the Viper's 8.4-liter V10, will be E15-compatible for 2016. The company says that it wants to be ready for the higher ethanol content fuel's greater use in the near future.

2024 Fiat 500e U.S. specs and pricing revealed

After announcing it would bring the electric 500e to the U.S., Fiat has finally revealed pricing and specifications for the American version. It's not quite the value proposition as it is in Europe, but it will still deliver superb styling with some advantages in range and weight over current competitors. As far as design and performance, the American 500e is effectively identical to the European version. It has the same single front motor making 118 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque paired with a 42-kWh battery pack. Range is lower than for Europe, but this is certainly a result of the EPA testing procedure. As such it returns 149 miles on a charge, which is identical to the base Leaf S. It's also better by 35 miles than the current Mini Cooper SE. The Fiat also boasts faster 85-kW DC charging than the Nissan and Mini, and unlike the Nissan, the Fiat has liquid-cooled batteries (which helps keep range and charging more consistent and is good for battery longevity). Fiat claims the 500e will charge to 80% in 35 minutes. Suspension uses MacPherson struts up front and a torsion-beam setup for the rear. Braking duty is split between front discs and rear drums. At just 2,952 pounds, close to 200 pounds less than the Mini and more than 500 pounds less than the Nissan. Only one version of the Fiat will be available at launch, the 500e RED, which is a special edition collaboration with the RED charity that raises money to combat AIDS. So a portion of the purchase goes to that program, like all RED products. It's also, naturally, only available in a bright red paint scheme with matching interior accents. It comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch infotainment screen, wireless charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, manually adjustable seats, automatic climate control, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. A level 2 home charger or public charger credits are included, too, all at the 500e RED's base price of $34,095 (including $1,595 destination charge). That makes it a little more than $2,000 more expensive than the base Mini Cooper SE and more than $4,000 more expensive than the Nissan Leaf S. It goes on sale in the first quarter of next year. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.