2014 Fiat 500 Abarth on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2017 Fiat 124 Spider First Drive

If you've been following the protracted birth of this car, you probably know the basics: The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider is a Mazda MX-5 in an Italian-designed suit. It's built in Japan, and it was engineered by Mazda but sports a Fiat engine – shared bones, different philosophies. A quick Miata aside: When we found out the latest MX-5 had less power than the NC-generation car that came before it, what got shouted down was the fact that it's significantly lighter, and it's also a damn riot to drive. It doesn't need more power, and we reaffirm this belief every time we get in one. I did just that, driving one to the airport to catch a flight to San Diego this week. With the MX-5's charms freshly in mind, I drove the 124 Spider in both basic Classica and posh Lusso trims on-road, ­and briefly sampled the sportier Abarth version at a long autocross-style cone course. What I really wanted to know is how much Fiat character found its way into the latest evolution of the Japanese interpretation of the classic European roadster. Whereas the MX-5 is stretched drum-tight over its hardpoints, the 124 Spider has an extended nose and tail; since the wheelbase is unchanged, this manifests in larger overhangs. To be generous, this body stretch increases the trunk space slightly and improves cooling to the turbocharged engine, which faces more significant heat-management challenges than Mazda's 2.0-liter. It also gave Fiat's designers some room to incorporate scallops for the LED-equipped headlights that recall the sealed beams on the original Fiat 124 Spider from 1966, those iconic twin power bulges on the hood, and an angular grille. Whether you consider the 124 to be attractive on its own, in comparison to the MX-5, or an appropriate homage to the original car is entirely subjective, but I'll weigh in with mixed feelings. Sharing a platform has its challenges, and recall that Fiat came into this development process late. This was supposed to be an Alfa Romeo, remember? How that affected the design process isn't clear, and no one would cop to it, but it seems that the Fiat-ization of the MX-5 didn't happen at a leisurely pace, nor on Fiat's terms. I think it's less handsome than the MX-5 in general, but in certain colors (and in the Abarth trim) it's a looker. The front end is especially handsome, and the character line that kicks up at the door handle adds some real interest to the profile.

Stellantis announces ‘Circular Economy’ business to drive revenue, decarbonization

Stellantis has already announced its plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2038. Today, the automaker has announced a new business unit to help it reach that goal while generating 2 billion euros per year in revenue by 2030. The “Circular Economy” business will help make revenue less dependent on finite, rare and ecologically problematic materials. The Circular Economy model features what Stellantis calls a “4R” strategy, comprising remanufacturing, repair, reuse and recycling. The goal is to make materials last as long as they can, reducing reliance on the acquisition of those precious new materials in the future by returning them to the business loop when theyÂ’ve reached the end of their first life. Through these processes, Stellantis says it can save up to 80% raw material and 50% energy compared to manufacturing a new part. Remanufacturing, or “reman” in Stellantis shorthand, means dismantling, cleaning and rebuilding parts to OEM spec. Nearly 12,000 remanufactured parts are available for customers to purchase. Some remanufacturing is done in-house, and some with partners and through joint ventures. Repair is pretty obvious — fixing parts to put back into vehicles. This also consists of reconditioning, to make a vehicle feel like new. Stellantis boasts 21 “e-repair” centers for repairing electric vehicle batteries.  Reuse refers to parts still in good condition from end-of-life vehicles sold as-is. Stellantis says it has 4.5 million multi-brand parts in inventory. These are sold in 155 countries through the B-Parts e-commerce platform. Reuse also refers second-life options, such as using batteries outside of automotive purposes. Recycling involves dismantling parts and scraps back into raw material form that is then looped back into the manufacturing process. Stellantis says it has collected 1 million parts for recycling in the past six months. Recycling doesnÂ’t get counted in that aforementioned 2 billion euros of revenue, but it does save the company money on acquisition of raw materials. As for batteries, specifically, Stellantis expects this recycling business to ramp up after 2030, when the packs currently in service begin to reach the end of their lifecycle. Stellantis will use its new “SUSTAINera” label to denote parts that are offered as part of its Circular Economy business.

Zombie cars roundup: Dodge has sold 3 new Vipers this year

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.