Loaded Fiat 500 Lounge 2012 Red Leather Interior- Rare, Low Miles, Extd Warranty on 2040-cars

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Automakers want to stop the EPA's fuel economy rules change, and why that's a shortsighted move

With a Trump Administration looming, the EPA moved quickly after the election to propose finalizing future fuel economy rules last week. The auto industry doesn't like that (surprise), and has started making moves to stop the EPA. Ford CEO Mark Fields said he wanted to lobby Trump to lower the standards, and now the Auto Alliance, a manufacturer group, is saying it will join the fight against cleaner cars. The Alliance represents 12 automakers: BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, VW, and Volvo. Gloria Bergquist, a spokesperson for the Alliance, told Automotive News that the "EPA's sudden and controversial move to propose auto regulations eight months early - even after Congress warned agencies about taking such steps while political appointees were packing their bags - calls out for congressional action to pause this rulemaking until a thoughtful policy review can occur." The EPA was going to consider public comments through April 2017, but then said it would move the deadline to the end of December. That means that it can finalize the rules before President Obama leaves office. The director of public affairs for the Consumer Federation of America, Jack Gillis, said on a conference call with reporters last week when the EPA originally announced its decision that it is unlikely that President Trump will be able to roll back these changes. Gillis also said on the same call that any attempt by the automakers to prevent these changes would be history repeating itself. "These are the same companies that fought airbags, and now promoting the fact that every car has multiple airbags," he said. "These are the same companies that fought the crash-test program, and now are promoting the crash-test ratings published by the government. So, it's clear that they're misperceiving the needs of the American consumer." There are more reasons the Allliance's pushback is flawed. Carol Lee Rawn, the transportation program director for Ceres, said on that call that the automotive industry is a global one, and many automakers are moving to global platforms to help them meet strict fuel economy rules around the world.

Junkyard Gem: 1979 Fiat Brava Sedan

Ever since I started spending too much time crawling around in junkyards, about 40 years ago, one thing has been constant: a steady supply of Fiat 124 Sport Spiders and X1/9s scattered among the dullsville econoboxes. These cars were shinier in the early 1980s, but they remain just about as easy to find today in your local Ewe Pullet. Of course, the current generation of Fiat 500 has been with us for a decade and so the days of shiny junkyard Fiats have returned for us. But what about the other Fiat models sold here prior to the company's departure from our shores in 1982? I've found the occasional discarded 128 and even a couple of 850s, but the rear-wheel-drive Fiat sedans of the 1970s and 1980s have become all but extinct. I'm not expecting to find a junkyard 130, ever, but this year I have managed to spot a pair of 131s (which were badged as Bravas during their last couple of years in North America). Here's one of those cars, now residing in a Denver yard. Unusually in the case of a Junkyard Gem, I know something about this Brava's history. Back in 2019, the owner of a beloved Fiat repair shop passed away and all 75 Fiats (plus some Alfa Romeos and Lancias) in the shop's storage yard went up for auction, cheap. I did my best to spread the word about these cars, and some got rescued. You can see our subject in this photo above, awaiting its new home. It had a lot of surface rust from sitting outside for decades, but not a lot of genuinely alarming corrosion. Along with a white '79 Brava sedan nearby, it was purchased for a couple of hundred bucks— at most— and towed out of there. Perhaps the buyer or buyers of those two Bravas planned to flip them for a profit, or maybe the intent was to fix them up and drive them. Two years later, both are parked in the same boneyard just north of downtown Denver. I'm guessing that everybody in Front Range Colorado who wanted an old Fiat sedan already has a half-dozen, and the 20-hour tow to places like Chicago or San Francisco is just too daunting for Fiat fanatics in those places to come here and buy a car. The 131/Brava could be bought new in the United States from the 1976 through 1981 model years. In 1979, the list price of a carbureted Brava sedan was $7,583 (about $30,860 in 2021 dollars). That was a lot cheaper than its similarly-sized BMW 320i rival, which cost $11,810, though the plusher and more powerful $8,129 Datsun 810 sedan must have stolen some sales from both types that year.

GM cites evidence of offshore accounts, wants FCA racketeering lawsuit revived

General Motors on Monday asked a U.S. federal judge to reinstate a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA), saying it has new information on foreign accounts used in an alleged bribery scheme involving its smaller rival and union leaders. In its filing to U.S. District Judge Paul Borman, GM says the scheme, which it alleges occurred between FCA executives and former United Auto Workers (UAW) leaders, "is much broader and deeper than previously suspected or revealed as it involved FCA Group apparently using various accounts in foreign countries ... to control corrupt individuals by compensating and corrupting those centrally involved in the scheme to harm GM." Last month, Borman threw out the racketeering lawsuit, saying the No. 1 U.S. automaker's alleged injuries were not caused by FCA's alleged violations. GM alleged FCA bribed UAW officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages that cost GM billions of dollars. GM was seeking "substantial damages" that one analyst said could have totaled at least $6 billion. "These new facts warrant amending the court's prior judgment, so we are respectfully asking the court to reinstate the case," GM said in a statement. "FCA will continue to defend itself vigorously and pursue all available remedies in response to GM's attempts to resurrect this groundless lawsuit," FCA said in a statement. In affidavits accompanying GM's filing, attorneys for the automaker said "reliable information concerning the existence of foreign bank accounts" used in the alleged scheme had only come to light recently. "The UAW is unaware of any allegations regarding illicit off-shore accounts as claimed," by GM, the UAW said in a statement. "If GM actually has substantive information supporting its allegations, we ask that they provide it to us so we can take all appropriate actions." Earnings/Financials Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM