2012 Fiat 500c Custom Razzberry Paint Wow on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler exec talks up the future of fuel cells

When it comes to a belief in the viability of electric vehicles, you can put automotive folks like Nissan's Carlos Ghosn and Tesla Motors' Elon Musk on one side of the proverbial wall and Fiat Chrysler Chief Technology Officer Harald Wester on the other. Because while the two former executives are staking much of their companies' respective future on plug-in electric drivetrain technology, Wester sees no such future in it at all, according to an interview in Motor Trend. Oh, sure, the Fiat Chrysler technology chief does give the idea of an electrified powertrain some quarter, saying he sees standard hybrids as a solution for the "intermediate" future in addressing both higher gas prices and need to meet progressively more stringent European greenhouse gas-emissions standards. But Wester, who also oversees Fiat Chrysler's Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, ultimately views hydrogen fuel-cell technology as the way to go for advanced powertrains and minimal emissions. As for battery-electric vehicles? Wester pretty much shoots them, citing everything from a typical EV battery's weight to the challenge of finding electric recharging stations to the fact that much of the electricity needed for those cars is produced via CO2-emitting sources. He forgot to say anything about the CO2 required to bring gasoline or hydrogen to market. Wester's "bah humbug" is actually pretty consistent with the company's party line. Last year, Fiat Chrysler head honcho Sergio Marchionne, in an interview, famously told the general public not to buy the Fiat 500e electric vehicle. That's because he estimated that the company takes a $14,000 loss on each unit sold of Fiat Chrysler's only production EV. News Source: Motor Trend via Green Car Reports Green Chrysler Fiat Electric Hydrogen Cars harald wester

Volkswagen is not cool with a Fiat Chrysler merger

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller shot down Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne's overtures for a merger in blunt fashion this week. Mueller told Reuters at the Geneva Motor Show, "We are not ready for talks about anything ... we have other problems. I haven't seen Marchionne for months." The unusually candid – and icy – response from one chief executive to another comes after Marchionne similarly pursued General Motors (again) this week. The FCA boss suggested GM might be looking for a new European partner as it prepares to unload its troubled Opel and Vauxhall divisions to PSA. A GM spokesman told USA Today that the company is not interested. Marchionne has been openly suggesting a GM merger since at least 2015, despite GM never reciprocating interest. VW's "other problems," as Mueller notes, include legal proceedings, fines, recalls, and other issues related to its long-running diesel scandal. Marchionne has long sought industry consolidation, arguing that automakers don't get a proper return on their investments in technologies, some of which are relatively similar. He's suggested sharing chassis and powertrain components could be a benefit to the collective auto sector. Skeptics argue FCA, which is smaller than GM, VW, Toyota, and others, needs a partner to survive, while its rivals already have the necessary scale to remain competitive. Related Video:

2014 Fiat 500C GQ Edition mans up [w/videos]

Fiat dealers recently welcomed the five-door 500L into their 'studios' as a much-needed second model line, but franchisees are still clamoring for additional new model ranges as most struggle to reach profitability. There's more in the pipeline for the reborn brand, but in the meantime, Fiat continues to rely on special editions of existing products to drum up interest, in this case, the just-introduced 2014 500C GQ Edition. Meant in part to extend appeal of the tiny 500C to more male shoppers, the GQ Edition teams up the rolltop Cinquecento with publishing juggernaut Conde Nast for a (somewhat) more masculine special edition version of the 500 Turbo.
Chief among the exterior changes are 16-inch gloss black alloys with red-trimmed center caps, a more aggressive lower fascia and black-bucket headlamps, along with the requisite GQ badging. There's no additional chutzpah found under the Fiat's tiny hood, but that's okay, the 'Diet Abarth' Turbo model has a plenty adequate 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque from its 1.4-liter Multiair engine to go with its five-speed manual gearbox.
As you'd expect of a GQ-branded product, due attention has been paid to the interior furnishings, including a matte-finish body-color gauge cluster nacelle, and Nero black leather seats lifted by Alcantara inserts incorporating a Steam leatherette center stripe and GQ embossing on the backrest.