2017 Fiat 124 Spider Lusso on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2017 Fiat Model Year Preview and Updates

With the 'new' having worn off of Fiat's 500, it's left to the FIAT 124 SPIDER to heat up the Fiat showroom. 124 Spider: The Fiat two-seater is all-new, and from a branding perspective a return to a designation popular with Fiat fans throughout the '70s. This, however, is more Hiroshima than Turin. Its platform is shared with Mazda's Miata, while Fiat supplies its own brand-specific sheetmetal and drivetrain. 500: Despite its relative freshness here in the States, the 500 is in its tenth year of global production. Changes in '17 are both minor and substantive. For the convenience of buyers (and sanity of dealers) trim levels are reduced to Pop, Lounge and Abarth; window stickers are lowered across the lineup; and options that were once available only in packages are now offered separately. The end result is some surprisingly good price points, from top (Abarth) to bottom. 500L: Fewer trim levels and lower prices, while still failing to answer the question: Why is this sold in the US? 500X: An Italianate take on the Jeep Renegade, which itself is a Jeep-oriented take on the 500X. Like the other models in the Fiat lineup, trim levels on the 500X are reduced to three – Pop, Trekking and Lounge – while the window stickers are lowered and options are now available separately.

Fiat taps Mitsubishi for European pickup

Mitsubishi is often derided in the US for its relatively boring lineup, Lancer Evolution aside, but the company is on the upswing worldwide, recently posting record global operating profits. The Japanese automaker may get a further boost in the near future from a rumored pickup truck deal with Fiat.
According to insider sources speaking to Automotive News Europe, Mitsubishi would reportedly build a variant of its widely respected L200 pickup truck for the Fiat Professional brand in Europe and Latin America starting in 2016. The L200 is larger than the Fiat Strada front-wheel-drive pickup already available in those markets, and it's available in rear- and four-wheel-drive configurations. The idea of adding a midsize truck to the commercial lineup was in the Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles five-year plan, but it didn't include any mention of a partnership to build it.
At first blush, the Mitsubishi agreement seems like an odd move, given that Fiat already owns pickup truck specialists Ram. However, according to ANE, the company had at one time planned to use a version of a new Dodge Dakota pickup for duty in Europe and Latin America, but the model never came to fruition.

Stellantis expects to hit emissions target without Tesla's help

Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis expects to achieve its European carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets this year without environmental credits bought from Tesla, its CEO said in an interview published on Tuesday. Stellantis was formed through the merger of France's PSA and Italy's FCA, which spent about 2 billion euros ($2.40 billion) to buy European and U.S. CO2 credits from electric vehicle maker Tesla over the 2019-2021 period. "With the electrical technology that PSA brought to Stellantis, we will autonomously meet carbon dioxide emission regulations as early as this year," Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares said in the interview with French weekly Le Point. "Thus, we will not need to call on European CO2 credits and FCA will no longer have to pool with Tesla or anyone." California-based Tesla earns credits for exceeding emissions and fuel economy standards and sells them to other automakers that fall short. European regulations require all car manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions for private vehicles to an average of 95 grams per kilometer this year. A Stellantis spokesman said the company is in discussions with Tesla about the financial implications of the decision to stop the pooling agreement. "As a result of the combination of Groupe PSA and FCA, Stellantis will be in a position to achieve CO2 targets in Europe for 2021 without open passenger car pooling arrangements with other automakers," he added. Tesla's sales of environmental credits to rival automakers helped it to announce slightly better than expected first-quarter revenue this week. The next tightening of European regulations will soon be the subject of proposals from the European Commission. The 2030 target could be lowered to less than 43 grams/km. Related Video: Government/Legal Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Tesla Citroen Peugeot Emissions Stellantis