Chrysler Town& Country Limited Handicap Wheelchair Accessible Mini Van Side Ramp on 2040-cars

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Fiat GIF-based ads make our heads spin

Take a good, long look at the image above. Don't worry, it's completely real; you're not hallucinating. Would you believe that's an actual screencap from an actual ad commissioned by Fiat that's airing on actual television? Believe it.
The commercials started as a series of animated GIFs from The Richards Group for Fiat's Tumblr page, according to Adweek. Chrysler's Chief Marketing Officer reportedly liked them enough that he had them cut into ads for TV. The result is a combination of Internet meme heaven that includes the above horse mask and "Deal with it," animation, experimental filmmaking, cats, a person in a bunny suit twerking on a Fiat 500 and more general bizarreness.
Whatever your opinion on them, you have to admit that the advertising is certainly attention grabbing. Imagine looking up at the TV form your tablet to catch a glimpse of this weirdness. If you don't like them, Fiat is even giving people the chance to do a better job. Its Tumblr is open to submissions of new GIFs, which could lead to some very inappropriate and potentially hilarious results given the way that the Internet often works.

Recharge Wrap-up: Renault-Nissan at COP22, BMW launches Cruise e-Bike

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has been chosen to provide a fleet of electric cars for the UN's COP22 Climate Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. The group will provide 50 passenger EVs – the Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf, and Nissan e-NV200 – to shuttle delegates to and from conference venues. The Alliance will also provide more than 20 charging stations to support the shuttle fleet. The group provided electric shuttles for the historic COP21 summit in Paris last year. Read more from Renault-Nissan. FCA, Iveco, and gas grid company Snam have signed an agreement to boost natural gas as a cleaner alternative fuel for Italy. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, FCA and Iveco will work together to develop CNG vehicles, while Snam will invest in CNG supply facilities like filling stations to support a growing fleet. Italy leads Europe in the amount of natural gas consumed for transport, with 1 million vehicles currently on the road. Read more at Green Car Congress. LG Chem has officially announced it will build a battery plant in Poland to the tune of about $340 million. Located near Wroclaw in southwestern Poland, the plant is expected to produce 100,000 batteries a year for 200-mile EVs beginning in 2019. The plant could help Poland in its goal to reduce pollution by introducing a million EVs on its roads by 2025. "We will turn the Poland EV battery plant into a mecca of battery production for electric vehicles around the world," says UB Lee, President of LG Chem's Energy Solution Company. Construction begins in the second half of 2017. Read more from Automotive News Europe. BMW has introduced the Cruise e-Bike. Its Bosch Performance Line electric motor provides electric assistance at speeds of up to 15 mph. The battery can be either be removed or remain on the bike for charging, which takes 3.5 hours for a full charge. "BMW aims to be the leading provider of premium mobility services, and our bicycle collection furthers that mission," says BMW Accessory and Lifestyle Manager Eric Riehle. "As we enter the holiday season, these bikes make the perfect present for those wishing for their first BMW." The BMW Cruise e-Bike costs $3,430. Read more from BMW.

Jay Leno parades around in '52 Chrysler Imperial

Jay Leno is not known as a quiet man. He's a comic, after all. So how do you think it'll go when he's given an enormous, Chrysler Imperial parade car, complete with two meaty public-address speakers on the front bumper? Exactly. In an amusing start to the latest episode of Jay Leno's Garage, we see the eponymous star of the web series addressing the citizens of Burbank, CA from the big, comfy seat of a 1952 Chrysler Imperial Dual-Cowl Phaeton. One of just three produced by Chrysler at a price of about $33,000 a pop – a whopping $296,000 in today's dollars – this particular example is owned and still used by the city of Los Angeles. Its most famous passengers include President Dwight D. Eisenhower and then-Vice President Richard Nixon. Underhood, there's a 331-cubic-inch Hemi V8 that's been mated to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic. As for the exterior, while it may look like a 1956 Imperial, it did originally roll out of the factory in 1952. According to the LA city officials that accompanied the car, Chrysler called the three sedans back in 1955 and refitted them to fit in with the latest Imperial models. At 21.5 feet long, even in today's world of big pickups and SUVs, this particular example occupies a big space on the road. Surprisingly, it's still driven regularly, taking part in parades and celebrations across the City of Angels. You can check it out both in Jay's garage and on the streets of Los Angeles in the video above.