2014 Fiat 500 Sport on 2040-cars

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Stormtrooper-painted Fiat 500 brings Star Wars to LA Auto Show

Some of you might have heard that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is opening on Dec. 8. FCA US is one of the brand sponsors paired up with Lucasfilm on the cinematic Third Coming, so it's been rolling out themed products to get ready. At this week's LA Auto Show it showed off a Fiat 500e draped in the same lack-of-colors as customized by Garage Italia, the artistic tuner headed by Fiat scion Lapo Elkann that recently brought us the Alfa 4C La Furiosa. The 500e is ready for the First Order Legion - it might save them all that marching - with a black-and-white wrap that mimics the helmet across the windshield and hood, and puts Stormtrooper graphics on the wheel centers. The theme continues inside with custom leather and Alcantara seating, graphics painted in lacquer, and a Stormtrooper looking back at you from the steering wheel. Previously, FCA dressed up Dodge Chargers up like Stormtroopers and put them into Uber service in New York. The FIAT Brand Displays Custom Painted Fiat 500e "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Stormtrooper and Diane Von Furstenberg Custom-wrapped Fiat 500X at 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show November 19, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The FIAT brand will have two special custom-designed vehicles on display at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show. As part of the FCA US LLC support of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," opening December 18, the FIAT brand will display a custom-painted Fiat 500e stormtrooper. Lucasfilm recently announced that it is collaborating with FCA US, in addition to six other global brands, for the launch of an expansive, historic promotional campaign in support of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." The exterior livery of the Fiat 500e stormtrooper is inspired by the armor of the First Order Legion, with a two-tone black and white custom painting of the car body. The windshield and the side windows are wrapped to bring out the immediately recognizable visor and helmet of the First Order stormtrooper. Inside, everything is in black and white, too, with total custom front and rear seats upholstered in leather and Alcantara®. The dashboard is painted in white and it is enriched by the "Star Wars" logo on it. All the details are painted in white/black lacquer, and a First Order insignia can be found on the two-tone leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Fiat to replace Punto with five-door 500

While American drivers may know Fiat principally (if not exclusively) for the 500, overseas the Italian marque offers a much broader range of products. But the Cinquecento has developed into a vastly more successful product than the rest of its lineup, so the Italian automaker has been rapidly replacing its slow-selling models by expanding the 500 family.
The original 500 hatchback has since been joined by the 500C convertible and larger 500L - not to mention the 500L Living seven-seater, 500e electric hatchback and numerous Abarth models. And soon, the Sedici is expected to be replaced by a new 500X. But that's not the end of it.
A new report from Auto Express indicates that Fiat is preparing to replace the slow-selling and rapidly aging Punto with a new five-door version of the 500. The model could adapt the current Punto's platform rather than stretching the 500's, but would carry the same retro styling as the rest of the Cinquecento range, slotting in between the three-door hatch and the larger 500L. Of course, the Punto was never offered Stateside, but as part of the 500 family, it figures to stand a better chance.

Macron and Le Pen decry 'shocking' Stellantis CEO pay

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger in the French presidential vote, Marine Le Pen, on Friday both decried as “shocking” the multimillion euro payout to the CEO of carmaker Stellantis. Stellantis CEO Carlos TavaresÂ’ remuneration package of 19.15 million euros just a year after the company was formed became an issue as Macron and Le Pen campaigned ahead of the April 24 runoff vote. Polls show purchasing power and inflation are a top voter concern. Stellantis was formed last year through the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, perceived by many voters as being too pro-business, called the pay package “astronomical” and pushed for a Europe-wide effort to set ceilings on “abusive” executive pay. “ItÂ’s shocking, itÂ’s excessive,” he said Friday on broadcaster France-Info. “People canÂ’t have problems with purchasing power, difficulties, the anguish theyÂ’re living with, and see these sums. Otherwise, society will explode.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who enjoys support from many working-class voters, called for bringing in more workers as shareholders. “Of course itÂ’s shocking, and itÂ’s even more shocking when it is the CEOs who have pushed their society into difficulty,” she said Friday on BFM television. “One of the ways to diminish this pay, which is often out of proportion with economic life, is perhaps to allow workers in as shareholders.” Stellantis continued to back the package despite a 52.1% to 47.9% vote rejecting it at an annual shareholders' meeting chaired from the Netherlands, where the company is legally based, on Wednesday. The company, citing Dutch civil code, noted that the vote is advisory and not binding. The company later said in a statement that it took note of the vote, and will explain in an upcoming 2022 remuneration report “how this vote has been taken into account.” In the 2021 report, the company identified peer group companies that it used as a salary benchmark, including U.S. companies like Boeing, Exxon Mobile, General Electric as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors. Stellantis, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Maserati, reported net profits last year had tripled to 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The French government is the third-largest shareholder in Stellantis, with a 6.15% stake through the Bpifrance Participations S.A. French public investment bank.