2014 Fiat 500 Pop on 2040-cars

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How Renault, Fiat Chrysler, and yes, Nissan, could save through sharing

If French automaker Renault green-lights a proposed merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the companies almost immediately could begin saving money by consolidating components and basic structures on many of their most popular vehicles, an industry analyst said on Tuesday. The synergies could multiply if they invite Japanese automaker Nissan, currently Renault's alliance partner, to join the merger, according to a former Renault and Nissan executive. Renault and Italian-American rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are in talks to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world's third-biggest automaker. A Renault-Fiat Chrysler combination "would mean a greater sharing of parts (which) could really boost the profitability of Fiat Chrysler's smaller vehicles," said Sam Fiorani, vice president, AutoForecast Solutions. Building similar models on a common vehicle architecture, Fiorani said, "would give both companies a lot more freedom in manufacturing. They could mix brands and vehicle sizes on the same assembly line, switch vehicles between plants to balance production, and even shift production from one country to another, depending on changes in demand, tariffs or other considerations." Fiorani said Fiat Chrysler could benefit from sharing the French automaker's expertise in electric vehicles and powertrains, where Renault and Nissan have jointly invested more than $5 billion. These are areas in which Fiat Chrysler has little in the way of components or intellectual property. Another sector that is ripe for consolidation is light commercial vehicles, where Renault and Fiat Chrysler could build a variety of vans in several sizes on common platforms that could be assembled and sold in global markets. Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG began their alliance discussions a year ago by focusing on potential collaboration in light commercial vehicles. Getting Nissan's blessing Fiorani said Renault's CMF architecture, which was jointly developed with Nissan and underpins many of Renault's passenger cars and crossovers, could be used by Fiat Chrysler on a wide variety of vehicles. As an example, he said the CMF could provide a new single foundation for at least five Jeep models, including the Renegade, Compass and Cherokee, which now are based on four different platforms.

Federal judge throws out GM's racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler

  DETROIT — A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a racketeering lawsuit General Motors had filed against smaller rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, saying the No. 1 U.S. automaker's alleged injuries were not caused by FCA's alleged violations. GM officials said in statement they "strongly disagree" with the order by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman, whom the automaker had sought to have removed from the case, and would appeal. "There is more than enough evidence from the guilty pleas of former FCA executives to conclude that the company engaged in racketeering, our complaint was timely and showed in detail how their multi-million dollar bribes caused direct harm to GM," GM said in a statement. The Detroit company added that Borman's decision "would let wrongdoers off the hook." GM filed the racketeering lawsuit against FCA last November, alleging its rival bribed United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages, costing GM billions of dollars. GM was seeking "substantial damages" that one analyst said could have totaled at least $6 billion. FCA had called the case meritless and asked Borman to dismiss it. On Wednesday, Borman dismissed the lawsuit "with prejudice," meaning GM cannot refile the complaint. "The direct victims of defendants' alleged bribery scheme are FCA's workers," Borman wrote of FCA. "GM's high labor costs were not an injury proximately caused by FCA's bribes, and any competitive injury that GM suffered as a result of FCA's advantage in labor costs is an indirect injury." "The dismissal of GM's complaint with prejudice earlier today vindicates our position," FCA said in a statement. On Monday, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied GM's petition to remove Borman from the case, but said the two automakers' chief executives didn't have to meet to try to settle the case as Borman had ordered. In calling for that, Borman had called the lawsuit "a waste of time and resources."   Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM

Fiat 500X Pop gets Sport Appearance Package

At last November's L.A. Auto Show, Fiat debuted a new trim for the 500X compact crossover, the 500X Sport. Attempting to add a "youthful, sporty appearance" to the 500X lineup, the Sport model included the new Rovente Red color, shed the dark molding and cladding on other trims, and adopted new exterior elements like fog lights and dual chrome-finished tailpipes. The model hasn't made it to the Fiat USA site yet, but Mopar Insiders says there is more sportiness on the way for the 500X. The base Pop trim will get a Sport Appearance Package to inject some exterior pizzazz at for thousands less than the price of the Sport model. The package add the front and rear fascias from the Sport model, front fog lights, body-colored wheel arch moldings and side sills, 18-inch aluminum sport wheels, dark gray accents throughout, and "dual bright exhaust tips." As far as we can tell, the Pop with the Sport Appearance Package differs outside from the proper Sport trim by retaining the halogen projector headlights, fitting darker fog light housings, and being limited to 18-inch wheels. The standard Pop only comes with 17-inch wheels, the standard Sport trim with an 18-inch wheel but it offers an optional 19-inch wheel wrapped in Michelin rubber. Also, major options on the Pop don't change, meaning it won't offer the choice of a black roof as on the Sport trim. The Sport trim makes a host of changes to the inside, too, which the Sport Appearance Package doesn't. Buyers can order the jaunty overhaul for the Pop in four colors: Bianco White, Grigio Moda, Italia Blue, and Rovente Red. The Sport Appearance Package will cost $795, meaning one could get out for $27,030 after destination but before taxes and fees. The Sport trim was announced with an MSRP of $29,390, making it the second-most-expensive 500X in the range, above the $27,740 Trekking, below the $30,990 Trekking Plus. The Sport Appearance Package has not appeared on the Fiat USA configurator yet, but it shouldn't be far off.  Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the Sport trim was not on the Fiat USA configurator. Only the Sport Appearance Package hasn't appeared yet. The mistake has been corrected. Related Video: