2012 Fiat 500 Lounge Hatchback 2-door 1.4l 5-spped 38-40 Mpg 3998 Miles on 2040-cars

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Fiat Titano revealed as rugged, body-on-frame pickup for global markets

Fiat has never sold a truck in the United States, but its name has appeared on a diverse selection of pickups in global markets. The brand's latest entry into the segment is named like a Nissan, shaped like a Peugeot, and due out on at least two continents in the coming months. Product planners opened a book about Greek mythology when the time came to name the truck. Nissan has already claimed the "Titan" nameplate, so Fiat picked the Italian spelling: Titano. The pickup's ties to Greece and Italy end there. It's a badge-engineered version of the Peugeot Landtrek, which was developed jointly with China-based Chang'an and has been on sale in a handful of countries since 2020. Like the Landtrek, the Titano stretches 212.2 inches long in double-cab configuration, 75.6 inches wide, and 71.6 inches tall. These figures make it about an inch longer, almost exactly as wide, and around three inches lower than the latest version of the Ford Ranger. Buyers in some markets, like Algeria, will also have a 209.8-inch long single-cab version to choose from. The line-up also includes several trim levels ranging from basic variants with black bumpers and steel wheels to more upmarket-looking versions with alloy wheels and a touchscreen. On the Algerian market, power for the Titano comes from a 1.9-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine rated at 147 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Rear-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual transmission come standard, and four-wheel-drive is optional. The truck offers a 2,500-pound payload, though its towing capacity hasn't been published, and it features old-school rear leaf springs in the name of simplicity. Fiat singled out Algeria and Brazil as the Titano's main markets, though the model could later land in other countries. On the Brazilian market, it will join a pair of unibody models called Strada and Toro, respectively. Don't expect to see it in the United States, however.

Argentinians find stash of never-registered, brand-new 30-year-old Italian cars

While much of the world is sheltering in place, several new, never-registered Italian and French cars exited a 27-year confinement in Argentina. They were left for dead in an abandoned dealership that sold Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Peugeot models in a city named Avellaneda near Buenos Aires, the country's capital. Details surrounding the dealership are murky. Argentina's Autoblog (no relation to us) reported it closed at some point during the 1990s after the owner and his son died in violent circumstances. Automotive archaeology tells your author it likely shut its doors in 1993, because that's the only year in which the first-generation Fiat Ducato launched in 1981 and the post-facelift Fiat Tipo, axed in 1995, overlapped. Both are clearly visible in the photos. What's certain is that someone finally inherited the property in 2020 and wanted the cars gone as quickly as possible in order to sell it. The anonymous owner asked Kaskote Calcos, a local body shop that also runs a used-car lot, to haul them away via Instagram. We're guessing the firm didn't need to be asked twice.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Axel By Kaskote (@kaskotecalcos) on Mar 24, 2020 at 1:57pm PDT Many of the cars hidden in the dealership were made by Fiat; the photos show several examples of the Tipo, an Uno, a Tempra, and the aforementioned Ducato. An Alfa Romeo 33 wagon and a Peugeot 405 were also stashed in the trove. Most were stored indoors so they weren't damaged by sunlight or humidity, and images of the cars taken after they were pressure-washed confirm they're in like-new condition inside and out. We're told some even started, though for the love of valves and pistons we hope they got a new timing belt before being fired up.  Kaskote Calcos hasn't revealed what it will do with the cars. None are particularly sought-after, they're economy cars that were mass-produced and mass-destroyed, and their current values reflect that. You can get a post-facelift Uno for the price of a few Peroni pints in Italy. The fact that they're new, never-registered examples will undoubtedly increase their appeal, even if registering them could require slashing through jungles of red tape. As a side note, finding a 405 beached in a Fiat dealership isn't as random as it might sound.

Fiat previews a new Panda, and a whole Panda-based range of global cars

Fiat isn't attending the Geneva Motor Show, but that hasn't stopped it from going to Geneva ... Italy. That's right, there's a dainty patch of ground in Brescia called Ginevra, which is Italian for Geneva. Fiat CEO and Stellantis' chief marketing officer Olivier Francois has pulled another sly one, hosting his own miniature auto show at a bar in Ginevra to showcase Fiat's coming range of global models. The presentation is all about the Panda, old and new, with Fiat reworking the spirit and ethos of the 44-year-old nameplate into four concepts that start with an all-new Panda on Stellantis' global platform, then branch into two updates on popular current products and two all-new products. After winning the Stellantis family sales title with 1.3 million units moved last year, Francois said of the brand, "[Our] next step will be to transition from local products to a global offer that can benefit all of our customers everywhere in the world," embodying the philosophy that "functionality should never exist without fun." A plan for sharing up to 80% of parts between models, on top of that shared platform, is the key enabler. And just as we mentioned yesterday with Jeep, Fiat's talking big about the range of available powertrains, with ICE, EV, hybrid and PHEV in the mix.   Here's the heart of the new range, your all-new Panda just like it says on the door, called "City Car" in the video. Fiat will present this one to itself and the world in July this year during the company's 125th anniversary. In it can be seen the basic idea of the concept Fiat presented to itself as a 120th birthday present, the Centoventi Concept revealed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show (the one in Switzerland). We heard nothing about the Centoventi after that, its fundamentals showing up first in the Citroen C3, and from there back to Fiat with this all-new Panda. Francois called this a sort-of "Mega Panda," a phrase we want on a T-shirt, boasting a crossover-like upright design, higher driving position, and increased roominess. The entire range will emphasize sustainability, ease-of-use, and modularity. The Panda demonstrates ease with the retractable charging cable emerging from the hood. Inside, the oval motif in places like the dashboard and seats recalls Fiat's original factory in Turin, the Lingotto building with the oval test track called the La Pista 500 on its roof. If you're looking for competition to the dashing little Renault 5 that did make the trek to Switzerland, this is it.