2012 Fiat 500 Lounge on 2040-cars

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Jay Leno gifts wounded warrior a Fiat 124 Spider Abarth

Comedian and car guy Jay Leno is making the talk show rounds ahead of the debut of the new season of Jay Leno's Garage. After revisiting his old digs at The Tonight Show on Monday, Leno arrived on the set of The Today Show Tuesday morning, and much as he did in 2014, one of America's wounded veterans was the big beneficiary. Stephanie Morris, a US Army specialist was stationed at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan when two rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the base's perimeter, shattering her left femur and fracturing her right foot. What followed was three years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Spc. Morris worked to keep her right leg, undergoing intensive physical therapy and three dozen failed surgeries before ultimately deciding on amputation following her participation in the Warrior Games last June. The amputation was on the Fourth of July. Leno, who's long been a supporter of American troops and an active USO participant, met with Spc. Morris, and took her for a spin in the new Fiat 124 Abarth Spider. And like Leno did in 2014 when he gave Corporal Ethan Laberge a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Morris's visit with the comedian ended with the Abarth's keys in her hand. Watch the video above. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2019 Fiat 500X refresh revealed for Europe

Jeep revealed the lightly refreshed Renegade subcompact crossover earlier this summer for the European market, so it's only natural that its fraternal twin, the 2019 Fiat 500X, would get a very similar type of makeover. Currently the refresh is only confirmed for Europe, but expect similar changes to arrive in the U.S. Visually, it's only subtly different. The headlights now feature LEDs for both accents and forward illumination, and they're slightly reshaped. The taillights are now rings that have body-color inserts in the middle, similar to those of the regular Fiat 500. The rest of the body is pretty similar to the current one, but a number of character lines have been given sharper creases. The interior is also pretty much the same except for a revamped instrument cluster. The big changes, as with the Renegade, are under the hood. Three gasoline engine options will be available, two of which are turbocharged. The smaller of the turbo engines is a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine making 120 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque. The larger turbo engine is a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine making 150 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque. Interestingly, there's no 180-horsepower version of the 1.3-liter engine listed, as there is with the Renegade. There's also a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter four-cylinder making 110 horsepower that's a carryover from the old model. Diesel engines will continue to be available on the 500X as well. They're all four-cylinder engines in 1.3-, 1.6-, and 2.0-liter displacements, from 95 horsepower up to 150 horsepower. Four transmissions are available to connect to these engines. They include a five-speed manual, a six-speed manual, a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and a nine-speed automatic. Front- or all-wheel drive is also available. Of the powertrains available for the European market, the turbocharged gas engines are probably the only ones coming to the U.S. Pricing hasn't been listed for any markets, but expect that and U.S.-market specific details to come later this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Fiat 500X Euro-spec View 17 Photos Image Credit: Fiat Fiat Crossover SUV fiat 500x

Fiat builds 1 millionth 500, still a ways to go before passing original

There are now 1.1 million examples of the new Fiat 500 cruising the roads of 83 countries, one million of them made at the Fiat's Tychy plant in Poland, the rest in the Fiat plant in Toluca, Mexico. It's taken 69 months since the car's 2007 launch to reach the milestone, the capstone hatchback being an Abarth 500.
Where does that fit into the historical context? We'll never know, since you can't really compare. But if we played with the numbers, according to Automania, Fiat built 3,893,294 of the original 500 (and variants) from its inception in 1957 to the last model being sent off in 1975. If we average the output over time, and assume an even 18-year production run, the total production divided by 216 months is about 18,025 cars per month, which would make for 1,243,725 cars in 69 months.
On the other hand, the first two generations of the early 500 didn't equate to a million units in eight years, so congratulations Fiat. There's a brief press release below with a few more details on the achievement.