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Junkyard Gem: 1980 Fiat 124 Spider with slushbox

The original Fiat 124 Sport Spider sold like crazy in the United States, with its cheap price tag, raucous-sounding Fiat Twin Cam engine, cool Pininfarina lines, and happy convertible top. They were finicky and fragile, and they broke frequently, so most of them ended up under tarps in driveways and back yards. I have been crawling around in wrecking yards for 34 years now, and the numbers of discarded, never-going-to-get-around-to-this-project 124 Spiders in those yards have remained pretty constant; I see a half-dozen or so junked examples every year, year after year. What I had never seen before now, however, is a Fiat 124 Sport Spider with an automatic transmission. Sure, this car had an optional GM-sourced slushbox available, just as the MGB had a Borg-Warner automatic option, but a car buyer during the Malaise Era generally understood that the only reason to get a flaky, impractical European sports car was for the joy of driving something so lightweight and nimble. Bolting an automatic to one was like chaining a urine-soaked phone book to a jackrabbit. I never believed that anyone actually got the automatic, but here's proof that at least one buyer did. Actually, 80 horsepower in a Fiat with an automatic would be slightly less miserable than 62.5 horsepower in an MGB with an automatic. So there's that. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1980 Fiat 124 Sport Spider in Denver junkyard View 15 Photos Auto News Fiat fiat 124 spider

UAW may be key to forced FCA merger with GM

Sergio Marchionne doesn't give up on a business deal easily. While outwardly not much has recently been said about FCA's attempted merger with General Motors, Marchionne might be hoping to garner a powerful, new ally that could help break things wide open. The United Auto Workers retiree health care trust is the single largest shareholder of GM with 8.7 percent of the stock, and having its support would certainly improve FCA's position in getting a deal done. "Whatever happens in terms of consolidation, it would never be done without the consent and support of the UAW," Marchionne said when FCA recently began contract talks with the UAW, The Detroit News reports. The boss is also allegedly on good terms with the union president Dennis Williams. Still, using the organization for a hostile takeover could be very difficult because of the way its votes are structured. Other activist investors might already be on board, though. Marchionne believes that consolidation in the industry is vital because automakers are investing to create the same technologies. A GM/FCA merger still has many roadblocks, though, including the fact that Marchionne's company is smaller than GM. From a regulatory perspective, the size of the merged company could raise serious anti-trust concerns among regulators, according to The Detroit News. There's also the concern for lost jobs from redundant work with the two combined businesses. Even if the UAW angle doesn't work out, there are contingency plans afoot for other merger targets. According to The Detroit News speaking to anonymous insiders, FCA bigwigs have a meeting in London on Thursday to take a close look at other options. In addition to GM, they are investigating possible deals with Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. In the past, PSA Peugeot Citroen and multiple Asian automakers have also been brought up as partners, and UBS has reportedly been providing financial advice on what to do.

Marchionne uses racial epithet to describe what must power future Alfa Romeo models

Sergio Marchionne and his Fiat empire have a lot riding on the US return of the Alfa Romeo brand. The endeavor has been in progress for what feels like a lifetime - certainly for as long as Fiat has had the Chrysler brand under its Italian wing.
It's not surprising that Fiat CEO Marchionne needs a perfect first Alfa to mark a return to America. And here's where things get dicey. Nobody would argue with Marchionne's insistence that Alfa Romeo's be powered by Italian engines - as Marchionne himself is quoted to have said at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, "There are some things that are well done in Italy."
If not what he said, then, it's how he said it that has eyebrows raised. "I cannot come up with a schlock product, I just won't. I won't put an American engine into that car. With all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine." Wait, what's that?