Fiat 500 Pop Door on 2040-cars

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Buy a real Popemobile: the Pontiff's Fiat 500L

Pope Francis has urged people to drive "humble" cars, and he practiced what he preached during last year's US visit by riding in a Fiat 500L rather than a more opulent vehicle. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will offer the chance to feel a little closer to His Holiness on January 29 by auctioning at least one of the Fiats from the Pope's trip at the Philadelphia Auto Show Black Tie Tailgate. All of the auction's proceeds will follow Pope Francis' desire to help the less fortunate. Half of the money will go to the Catholic Charities Appeal, which aids those that struggle with homelessness and poverty. The other half will be split equally among Mercy Hospice, Casa Del Carmen, and the Schools of Special Education of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "The Fiat is such an icon of Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia and the auction of this vehicle serves as an extraordinary final event to close this memorable chapter in the City's history," Donna Crilley Farrell, Executive Director of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, said. FCA US let Pope Francis use two 500Ls while he was in Philadelphia, and the automaker then donated the cars to the Archdiocese, according to its director of communications Kenneth Gavin to Autoblog. The Archdiocese still hasn't decided whether to auction the other one at the Black Tie Tailgate, but the Fiat will be on display at the Philadelphia Auto Show from January 30 through February 7. It's difficult to put a price tag on these special vehicles, Gavin told Autoblog, but the Archdiocese hopes to get as much as possible for them to benefit the charities. FCA US and the US Secret Service have records of the cars' VINs from the trip, and the Archdiocese would show the winning bidder all the documentation to certify the vehicle's authenticity. Related Video: The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 Offer Opportunity for Bidders to Own a FIAT 500L Used by Pope Francis During Historic Philadelphia Visit at the Philadelphia Auto Show Black Tie Tailgate Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday, January 29, the auction will benefit the Catholic Charities Appeal, Catholic Social Services, Mercy Hospice, Casa Del Carmen, and the Archdiocesan Schools of Special Education.

GM cites evidence of offshore accounts, wants FCA racketeering lawsuit revived

General Motors on Monday asked a U.S. federal judge to reinstate a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA), saying it has new information on foreign accounts used in an alleged bribery scheme involving its smaller rival and union leaders. In its filing to U.S. District Judge Paul Borman, GM says the scheme, which it alleges occurred between FCA executives and former United Auto Workers (UAW) leaders, "is much broader and deeper than previously suspected or revealed as it involved FCA Group apparently using various accounts in foreign countries ... to control corrupt individuals by compensating and corrupting those centrally involved in the scheme to harm GM." Last month, Borman threw out the racketeering lawsuit, saying the No. 1 U.S. automaker's alleged injuries were not caused by FCA's alleged violations. GM alleged FCA bribed UAW officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages that cost GM billions of dollars. GM was seeking "substantial damages" that one analyst said could have totaled at least $6 billion. "These new facts warrant amending the court's prior judgment, so we are respectfully asking the court to reinstate the case," GM said in a statement. "FCA will continue to defend itself vigorously and pursue all available remedies in response to GM's attempts to resurrect this groundless lawsuit," FCA said in a statement. In affidavits accompanying GM's filing, attorneys for the automaker said "reliable information concerning the existence of foreign bank accounts" used in the alleged scheme had only come to light recently. "The UAW is unaware of any allegations regarding illicit off-shore accounts as claimed," by GM, the UAW said in a statement. "If GM actually has substantive information supporting its allegations, we ask that they provide it to us so we can take all appropriate actions." Earnings/Financials Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM

Fiat officially introduces seven-seat 500L Living

As Fiat prepares to expand the lineup of the 500 with the roomier 500L, the Italian automaker has just announced a further addition to its enlarged hatchback offering. While the standard 500L has a five-passenger seating configuration, the new 500L Living brings a third row of seats, upping capacity to seven passengers.
Based on the specs Fiat released, the 500L Living has had its overall length stretched by about eight inches to accommodate the extra seats, while width and height stay about the same. We still have no word on the wheelbase of this new model versus the 500L. Fiat also says that the 500L Living will have a luggage capacity of 22.5 cubic feet (we assume that number is with the rear seats folded, which is smaller than that of the five-passenger 500L (12.1 cu-ft with rear seats up and 46.2 cu-ft with rear seats down).
European sales of the 500L Living will commence this summer, but there is no mention as to if or when this seven-passenger Fiat could be offered in the US, to compete against the likes of the Mazda5, Ford Transit Connect Wagon and Nissan NV200. Scroll down for the more information on this new Fiat model.