2019 Fiat 500x Pop Awd on 2040-cars

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2014 Fiat 500L

The saying goes that man cannot live by bread alone, and neither can automakers live by selling one car alone. This holds especially true for automakers with a budding dealer network to support, like the Fiat brand, which returned to US shores in 2011 after a 28-year absence. The company's single car to sell at the time was the Fiat 500, a cute retro rebirth of the original, iconic Cinquecento, which your toddler now calls Luigi thanks to Pixar.
Since then, the new 500 has sold reasonably well here in the US, and the Fiat brand has been following the same playbook that another purveyor of pint-sized autos, Mini, has used: sell as many variants as you can of the one model you've got. So we have the 500, 500C drop top, high-performance 500 Abarth, all-electric 500e and a few additional trim levels and special editions to further fill dealer showrooms. But the axiom that automakers cannot live selling one car alone still stands, and so Fiat has finally introduced its second model, the larger 500L.
Executive Editor Chris Paukert completed our First Drive of the 500L back in June, and was left pleasantly surprised by its combination of utility, offbeat style, fun-to-drive demeanor and value. We've also, however, read some scathing reviews, like this one from The New York Times. I wasn't sure where the truth lay when the keys for this top-trim 2014 Fiat 500L Lounge were handed to me, but finding out would be but a short week of together time away.

In the Fiat 500X, the little things leave big impressions

When it comes to evaluating cars, we at Autoblog strive to tell you about the important things like how well they handle, how fast they are, and how comfortably they ride. These are all key pieces in the good car puzzle. The thing is, some cars also have small, but endearing details that are glossed over because they won't make or break our opinions of the vehicles. But they're features that make us smile anyway, and our long-term 2016 Fiat 500X happens to have a couple of them. The other week I had the Italian crossover for a day, and when I took off for lunch, I found the first surprise between the front seats. Unlike some other automatic transmissions with manual shift gates, this one actually uses the proper, racing-style sequential layout: pull back to shift up, and push forward to shift down. Some car companies flip that pattern, which I can only assume makes more sense to people that don't think about shifting. The 500X's other little surprise came that night as I drove home, but to properly explain why I loved it, I have to first talk about a different car. I own a 1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata, and one of my favorite things about it is that I can cruise around with one hand on the steering wheel and my elbow resting on the window sill. It's the most chill driving position imaginable. Unfortunately, as beltlines have crept higher and higher, and doors have migrated farther from the edges of the seats, the opportunity to drive this way has effectively vanished. To my delight as I drove home in the 500X, I discovered the little crossover bucked the trend. I'm not sure how, but it has window sills that are prime elbow perches. Neither of these features change my overall opinion of the vehicle, but they're worth noting because Fiat didn't have to include either of them. It's just a mass-market crossover, so a racing-style shifter and a comfy window sill would probably go unnoticed by most buyers. Yet, despite those facts, some designers decided the car would be better with these details. For that reason, I'm happy to draw attention to these designers' extra effort, and I will appreciate it every time I'm behind the wheel of our 500X. Related Video:

As it did with Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler spinning off Magneti Marelli

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler said on Thursday its board had tasked management to proceed with spinning off Magneti Marelli and distributing shares in a new holding for the 99-year old parts business to FCA investors. The spinoff is part of a plan by FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne to "purify" the Italian-American carmaker's portfolio and to unlock value at Magneti Marelli, which sits within FCA's components unit alongside robotics specialist Comau and castings firm Teksid, and which analysts say could be worth between 3.6 and 5 billion euros ($4.4-6.1 billion). "The separation will deliver value to FCA shareholders, while providing the operational flexibility necessary for Magneti Marelli's strategic growth in the coming years," Marchionne said in a statement. Magneti Marelli, which employs around 43,000 people and operates in 19 countries, is a diversified components supplier specialized in lighting, powertrain and electronics, and its spinoff is part of a five-year business plan FCA is due to present on June 1. "The spinoff will also allow FCA to further focus on its core portfolio while at the same time improving its capital position," Marchionne added. Marchionne has a long history of such moves. The 65-year-old was behind the spinoff and listing of trucks and tractor maker CNH Industrial and supercar brand Ferrari. The Magneti Marelli separation is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early 2019, with shares in the company expected to be listed on the Milan stock exchange. FCA's advisers initially looked at a possible initial public offering for the business to raise cash to cut FCA's debt, but the Agnelli family - FCA's main shareholder - were put off by low industry valuations and did not want their stake in Magneti Marelli to be diluted, three sources close to the matter told Reuters last month. Magneti Marelli has often been touted as a takeover target and FCA has fielded interest from various rivals and private equity firms over the years. South Korea's Samsung Electronics made a bid approach in 2016 but negotiations fell through as it was only interested in parts of the business, other sources have said. The spinoff is subject to regulatory approvals, tax and legal considerations and a final approval by the FCA board. The carmaker may modify or call off the transaction at any time and for any reason, it added.