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2017 Fiat 124 Spider Elaborazione Abarth is lacking its sting

After seeing the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Elaborazione Abarth at the New York Auto Show, we're starting to understand the convertible is essentially Fiat's take on the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club trim. Thing is, the Abarth name is synonymous with big performance out of tiny engines, and that's exactly what the latest Fiat 124 Abarth gets in Europe. We want it here, too. Despite the scorpion badge on the fender, this model makes the same 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet as the standard 124 Spider. By way of comparison, the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 170 horsepower in Europe. Customers here can choose between a six-speed manual or automatic to route power to the rear wheels through a limited slip differential. The Elaborazione Abarth isn't completely without improvements, though. The droptop gets a stiffer suspension with Bilstein shocks, and a Sport Mode button adds an extra edge when drivers want it. Brembo four-piston calipers are optional, and the US model keeps the European Abarth's retro touches like the black hood. Unfortunately, Abarth's performance legacy holds the Elaborazione Abarth back, rather than helping it. The Mazda MX-5 Miata Club gets most of the same upgrades, including a limited-slip differential, Bilstein shocks, and optional Brembo brakes. However, the Miata's sporty trim is easy to accept because it's just part of the regular lineup; Mazda doesn't attach a brand name with racing history to the sharper model. In contrast, the scorpion badge on this 124 Spider makes the convertible hard to accept as a real Abarth. Related Video:

Supplier says Jeep Cherokee hack only affects FCA cars

Harman doesn't think that drivers need to worry about any further hacks of its products. The company supplies FCA's Uconnect infotainment system where a software vulnerability is responsible for a 1.4-million vehicle recall. "This experimental hack is unique to Chrysler," Harman CEO Dinesh Paliwal said to Automotive News. "This does not exist, to our assessment, in any other vehicle." The reason that the company wouldn't be involved is that automakers aren't simply plugging in the existing infotainment systems into new vehicles. According to Paliwal, Harman supplies the unit, but FCA and other automakers are able to make additional modifications for their vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also recently taken up the question of broader software vulnerabilities in Harman's products. On July 29, the agency began investigating the company to check for similarities between Uconnect and the infotainment systems supplied to other automakers. The Jeep hack became national news when two researchers were remotely able to take control of a Cherokee. The vulnerability in the cellular connection even gave control over the brakes. "Once people get in the car and get into the CAN bus, then you can start to mimic and mess up many, many things in the car," Paliwal said to Automotive News. Politicians immediately responded with legislation to create federal standards in hopes of protecting drivers better. NHTSA also opened an investigation to make sure the automaker's software update actually solved the problem. Related Video:

VW, Fiat, Mercedes could be CNG winners in Europe

Fiat ads in the US try to play up the exotic, sexy side of Italian culture. On the home front in Italy, however, passenger-vehicle sales are marked by something less edgy and quite a bit more practical: the growth of compressed-natural-gas (CNG) powered car sales. In fact, Italy is leading a group of European countries where CNG sales are on the upswing and may be benefiting automakers like VW, Fiat and Mercedes-Benz, according to Automotive News. VW started sales of its Golf TGI natural-gas vehicle this year – the company's fourth in Europe – while Mercedes-Benz added a natural-gas B-class model. Fiat accounts for about 50 percent of CNG vehicles sold on the continent. In all, Europe's CNG sales through September totaled about 67,000, up seven percent from a year earlier, Automotive News Europe says, citing research firm JATO Dynamics. And the number of CNG vehicles on Europe's roads could jump tenfold within the next decade. The draw is a combination of lower refueling prices and a CNG drivetrain that typically emits less CO2 than diesel vehicles. As for Italy, about five percent of new-vehicle sales are CNG. To put that into perspective, hybrids, battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and diesels combined to account for about 4.2 percent of US vehicle sales last year. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Volkswagen Green Fiat Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Natural Gas Vehicles CNG