2013 Fiat 500 Pop on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New Fiat Chrysler CEO picks management team to tackle industry in flux

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler's new boss unveiled his management team on Monday, seeking to revive the automaker in Europe, forge ahead in North America and keep the group in contention in the industry's race to develop self-driving and electric cars. Mike Manley took over in July after long-time chief Sergio Marchionne fell ill and later died after succumbing to complications from surgery. British-born Manley has since pledged to carry through a strategy Marchionne outlined in June to keep FCA "strong and independent." "The next five years will continue to be extremely challenging for our industry, with tougher regulations, intense competition and probably slower industry growth around the world," Manley said in a letter to employees on Monday. "Nevertheless, with a laser focus on execution and a continued flexibility that allows us to adjust as circumstances change ... we have a clear line of sight to achieving our five-year ambitions." Manley appointed Pietro Gorlier, thus far chief operating officer of FCA's components business, as FCA's next European chief to tackle a region where profitability is below that of peers, many workers are stuck in furloughs and various plants run at below capacity. The carmaker's previous European chief Alfredo Altavilla left after FCA appointed Manley as Marchionne's successor. As head of the components unit, Gorlier has also led Magneti Marelli, the parts unit that FCA may either spin off or sell. He will be succeeded at Magneti Marelli by the parts maker's lighting division head Ermanno Ferrari. Japan's Calsonic Kansei has been in talks with FCA about buying the unit, sources familiar with the matter have said, but no binding agreement has been reached and the deal could still fall apart. Choosing an Italian as head of Europe might soothe some fears in Italy that FCA could weaken its link to Fiat's roots. In his last strategy unveiled in June, Marchionne vowed to convert Italian plants to churn out Alfa Romeos, Jeeps and Maseratis instead of less profitable mass market vehicles to preserve jobs and boost margins. Europe will also become a big part of the company's electrification drive. FCA will copy in Europe what worked in the United States, where it retooled plants to build pricier SUVs and trucks in a move since emulated by bigger rivals Ford and GM. Manley also named new managers to succeed him at Jeep and RAM, the two brands which have been driving profits in recent years and remain at the core of growth plans.

2018 Fiat 500 minicar gets more expensive with the extra ponies

Fiat Chrysler is giving a big price increase to the 2018 Fiat 500 minicar, with its newly enhanced powertrain and other upgrades adding up to as much as a $1,500 premium over the outgoing versions. Taken together with a $250 boost to destination fees for most cars, SUVs and trucks in the FCA family, and it's going to cost quite a bit more to drive the Italian subcompact. CarsDirect reports that FCA bumped the starting price for the 2018 Fiat 500 Pop by $1,500 to $17,490 for the 5-speed manual and $18,485 for the six-speed automatic. The Fiat 500 Lounge will start at $20,990, which is also $1,500 more than last year, while the top-of-the-line 500 Abarth starts at $21,740, up $750. Those figures include the $250 higher destination fee, which FCA reportedly announced to dealers in March for most 2018 cars and trucks — for example, the destination fee on a Jeep Wrangler is now an eye-popping $1,445. The destination fee is what automakers charge to ship vehicles from the factory to dealers and isn't normally included in a vehicle's advertised price. The Fiat 500 destination fee is now $1,245, CarsDirect reports ( Autoblog sought confirmation and comment from FCA but hasn't received a response). Fiat, of course, is adding oomph to the 2018 version of the 500 via a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that pushes horsepower up 33 percent to 135 ponies and 150 pound-feet of torque. It's also adding sportier suspension, brakes and exterior design, a sport-tuned exhaust and rearview camera, plus 16-inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps and a "Turbo" badge on the rear fascia. "It's important to note that we've added even more standard content in order to further enhance the fun-to-drive factor that our customers expect," spokesman Bryan Zvibleman tells Autoblog. The new price makes it more expensive than the 2019 Honda Fit, which starts at $17.085 including the $895 destination charge for a six-speed manual. It also follows a $2,000 cut in the base price of the 500 Pop for 2017. It will be interesting to see whether Fiat can hold steady on the new higher pricing without having to resort to discounts for the slow-selling minicar. FCA says overall U.S. sales of the Fiat brand fell 45 percent in April to 1,404 vehicles. According to CarSalesBase.com, the company has sold only 1,644 Fiat 500 coupes year to date, compared to 5,221 for the first four months of 2017, though the figures reflect the outdated 2017 model and don't include the five-door 500L.

Recharge Wrap-up: Fiat 500e on sale in Oregon, Germany to offer EVs free parking

The 2015 Fiat 500e is now available in Oregon. The new 500e features an updated center console, as well as two new exterior colors: Luce Blu (which Fiat describes as light blue with a pearl finish) and Celeste (light blue). The 2015 500e is available for lease in California and Oregon for $199 a month for 36 months, plus $999 down. Fiat offers 500e owners and lessees 12 days of free rental per year through Enterprise in the first three years of ownership for days when the driver needs something with greater range or capacity than their small EV. Read more in the press release below. Germany moves to offer free parking to EVs in an attempt to encourage their adoption. The German cabinet has backed the bill, set to begin in spring 2015, which would also include certain hybrids in the free parking scheme. The eligible cars will get some sort of special label to make them more recognizable. Germany has a target of 1 million EVs on its roads by 2020. Read more at Bloomberg. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have determined that the best automotive use of natural gas is to provide electricity for EVs. In a well-to-wheels analysis, using the natural gas to power efficient turbines to produce electricity uses less energy and produces fewer emissions than other fuels, including on-board CNG. The research also concludes that CNG cars are a viable option, particularly if the fuel could be integrated into hybrid vehicles. The study digs into other future technologies, and what they might mean for overall energy use compared to using natural gas as a stationary power source for EVs. Read more over at Green Car Congress. Scientists have created a new device to generate electricity from wind. Wind passing through the device causes gold-plated "tongues" to rub against PTFE tape, generating electricity using the triboelectric effect. Researchers created a triboelectric generator prototype that fit on top of a car in order to test it out. While mounting it on a vehicle may not necessarily be an ideal way to generate electricity for practical purposes, the test showed that the device works to produce a certain amount of energy at a specific windspeed, It could certainly be useful in stationary applications at the least, and might have further-reaching implications for generating electricity through wind or friction. Read more at Gizmodo.