2014 Fiat 500l Trekking on 2040-cars

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Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Marchionne uses racial epithet to describe what must power future Alfa Romeo models

Sergio Marchionne and his Fiat empire have a lot riding on the US return of the Alfa Romeo brand. The endeavor has been in progress for what feels like a lifetime - certainly for as long as Fiat has had the Chrysler brand under its Italian wing.
It's not surprising that Fiat CEO Marchionne needs a perfect first Alfa to mark a return to America. And here's where things get dicey. Nobody would argue with Marchionne's insistence that Alfa Romeo's be powered by Italian engines - as Marchionne himself is quoted to have said at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, "There are some things that are well done in Italy."
If not what he said, then, it's how he said it that has eyebrows raised. "I cannot come up with a schlock product, I just won't. I won't put an American engine into that car. With all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine." Wait, what's that?

Fiat takes the 500 into Mercedes territory with La Prima limited-edition

Fiat is celebrating the launch of the third-generation 500 by releasing an array of limited-edition models that move the electric city car upmarket. The latest installment in the series is a variant named La Prima (which means "the first" in Italian) based on the hatchback version and priced well into Mercedes-Benz territory. The first limited-edition 500 introduced in March 2020, when the car made its debut, is sold out. The second chapter in the story is similar to the first but it's offered exclusively as a hardtop. Hard doesn't mean metal, though, and it comes equipped with a panoramic sunroof. The list of standard equipment also includes 17-inch alloy wheels, full LED headlights, and edition-specific emblems below the rear windows. Buyers can choose one of three paint colors named Ocean Green, Mineral Grey, and Celestial Blue, respectively. Inside, Fiat added a seven-inch digital instrument cluster, a horizontal 10.25-inch touchscreen that displays its fifth-generation Uconnect software, plus cow-less upholstery on the seats and on the dashboard. The stitching on the middle section of the seats spells out Fiat, which is a nifty touch that adds a bit of flair to the cabin.  There are no powertrain modifications, meaning the La Prima gets a 42-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that spins a 118-horsepower electric motor. Its maximum driving range checks in at 199 miles, though Fiat obtained that figure by putting the 500 through the optimistic WLTP testing cycle. Hitting 60 mph from a stop takes nine seconds, a respectable time for its segment, and it stops accelerating when it reaches 93 mph. It can fast-charge at up to 85 kilowatts, which is more Abarth 500-quick than Porsche 911 GT2 RS-fast. However, because the battery pack is small, it takes five minutes to zap it with up to 31 miles of driving range. Achieving early adopter status by being one of the first motorists to be seen behind the wheel of the new 500 is costly. Fiat priced the La Prima hatchback at ˆ34,900, which represents nearly $40,000 at the current conversion rate. That figure generously includes a home charger and it excludes available incentives that vary from market to market, but it catapults this once-humble city car into Mercedes-Benz's domain.