2012 Fiat 500 2dr Hb Pop on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Strains between France and Italy risk Renault-FCA merger

PARIS/ROME — Fiat Chrysler's proposed $35 billion merger with Renault has cheered investors, won conditional support from Paris and Rome and even earned cautious backing from trade unions. Beneath this veneer, however, the bold attempt to create the world's third-largest carmaker risks becoming rapidly embroiled in the fraught relationship between France's europhile President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's euroskeptic leaders. For while Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini hailed the proposal as a "brilliant operation," Italy's creaking, state-subsidized Fiat factories are likely to bear the brunt of any production-related cost savings. FCA and Renault said this week that more than 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) of annual savings would come mainly from combining platforms, consolidating powertrain and electrification investments and the benefits of increased scale. Salvini and France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who called the deal a "good opportunity" to build a European industrial champion able to compete with China and the United States, have both said they want guarantees on local jobs. "It's not every day that I agree with Salvini," said Le Maire, whose government appears to hold the trump cards. When it comes to where any job cuts fall, France will be helped by its existing 15 percent holding in Renault, whose superior efficiency at its five French plants makes it better placed to handle a supply glut, the demise of the petrol engine and the investments needed for electric and autonomous vehicles. "It will take many, many years to find real savings, and ugly political and operational realities can often swamp the potential of such new entities," Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said of the FCA-Renault plan to rival Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen. Advantage France? As well as Italy's government having to cope with the aftermath of European elections, which coincided with news of the FCA-Renault plans, political leaders in Rome were only informed shortly before the deal was made public, an FCA source said. This contrasted with the way the French government was treated, with Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann, a fluent French speaker, letting it know of his merger proposal to Renault weeks ago, a French government official said.

Fiat reveals updated 500 overseas

See that Fiat 500 up above and in the rather large accompanying gallery? Look closer. It's new, or at least pretty comprehensively refreshed. The biggest updates that Fiat has grafted into its diminutive 500 hatchback are under the skin and inside its interior. Perhaps the most notable update is the inclusion of a proper infotainment system with a five-inch display, in this case, the well-received Uconnect tech borrowed from its corporate siblings under the Chrysler umbrella. In Europe, the refreshed Fiat 500 will launch with a 0.9-liter TwinAir engine with either 85 or 105 horsepower. A 1.2-liter engine with 69 horsepower will also be on offer, and an ultra-low emissions version of that engine will join a 1.3-liter 16v Multijet II turbocharged diesel unit that grunts out 95 horsepower sometime after, in certain markets. On the outside, the most notable updates are redesigned lighting clusters front and rear, but there are detail enhancements elsewhere, including to the hood and a new beltline that appears to sweep upward as it moves forward. We suggest you see for yourself in our high-res image gallery above, and if you want all the details, to read through the press release below. Keep in mind, this is all for Europe, so we'll just have to wait and see how many of these updates we get Stateside. NEW FIAT 500 REVEALED - New FIAT 500 unveiled with new exterior and interior style - Highlights include revised front designed with new headlamps, grills, chrome brightwork and LED daytime running lights - Rear enhancements include innovative new 'empty' light clusters - Interior revisions include new Uconnect™ infotainment systems, enhanced comfort and numerous detail improvements - Engine range enhanced for more efficiency and eco-friendliness - High standard safety specification includes seven airbags and a full suite of active safety systems - On Sale in September priced from GBP10,890 In Brief July 4 has always been a red-letter date for the FIAT 500. A symbol of mass motorisation in Italy, of which almost 3.8 million were sold, the original FIAT 500 was introduced on this day in 1957. Exactly fifty years later, on July 4 2007, FIAT chose to celebrate that heritage by introducing the New FIAT 500, a car which embodied the same spirit and personality as the original and which has also enjoyed phenomenal success all over the world.

Fiat 500 Fiore Rosa is Italian-Japanese cute-overload fusion

If you live in Japan and you want to get something for your special someone for Valentine's Day, then slow dance down to your Fiat dealer and check out the Fiat 500 Fiore Rosa. A holiday special, the pale metallic pink Cinquecento is limited to 150 examples and only on sale from February 14-17. But beware the connotations, because as far as we can glean from Google Translate, the 500 Fiore Rosa is a bargain model, getting halogen lights instead of bi-xenons, manual air-con instead of climate control, 14-inch steel wheels instead of 15-inch alloys, and going without chrome trim, glass roof, parking sensors and alarm.
It's fitted with the TwinAir engine and gets the same price as the regular 500 TwinAir, however - 2,200,000 yen ($23,559 US). Other than the special name, we can't figure out where the 500 Fiore Rosa is hiding its treats, especially because it gets the el-cheapo wheel covers of the 500 Pop fitted with the 1.2-liter engine instead of the 500 TwinAir wheels. But if you want to make a statement, it's there. And we're talking to the women of Japan, because apparently they're the ones who buy the gifts on Valentine's day in Nippon.