2012 Fiat 500 Prima Edizione... Manual Transmission... One Owner... 357 Of 500 on 2040-cars

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Say hi to our new long-term 2016 Fiat 500X

We always get pretty excited when a new long-term car shows up. This Fiat 500X was a very welcome addition, as it was immediately put into the summer road-trip rotation. Since it arrived a few weeks back, it has already been to "Up North" Michigan (what we call the northern part of the lower peninsula – don't ask) three times. There's an unboxing video above with the highlights, and below we'll explain in a little more detail which options we chose and why. What we got The collective brain trust here chose the top trim level, Trekking Plus. While we tend to try and avoid the fanciest model, it was cheaper to go with a Trekking Plus rather than option up a Lounge model to get everything we were really interested in. (It's confusing – check out the "Compare Packages" link on the 500X configurator to see what we mean.) The color is called Verde Toscana – that's Tuscan Green for us Americans, and we chose the brown leather instead of black. The Trekking Plus has the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder and a nine-speed automatic transmission. (More on that soon.) It also has nearly everything you can put in one of these small crossovers, including Uconnect infotainment with navigation, a separate color screen between the gauges, blind-spot monitoring, rear parking sensors with cross-traffic detection, a rearview camera, selectable driving modes, remote start, and 18-inch wheels. We also happen to think the Trekking Plus has the most attractive exterior package among the 500X lineup. The trim names (Pop, Easy, Trekking, Lounge, Trekking Plus) could use some work, though – but hey, it's Italian. What we skipped We bucked the Michigan trend and went with front-wheel drive instead of all-wheel, saving us a theoretical $1,900. We'll put winter tires on it when the snow comes, which should be all we need to get through that six-month season of bleakness. There are some extra-cost paint options, all of which add $1,000, but we decided green looked best and had a price of $0. There are two packages available on the Trekking Plus – the imaginatively named Collection 1 and Collection 2 – but neither really appealed to us, so we skipped them. So you know what we're missing out on, Collection 1 is a big dual-pane sunroof and Beats audio, while Collection 2 is the same dual-pane sunroof packaged with auto high-beams, automatic wipers, lane departure with lane-keeping, and forward-collision braking.

Fiat takes Tipo name out of mothballs for new sedan

Fiat has announced that it is bringing the Tipo name back. The nameplate, which was last used two decades ago, is set to be applied this time to a new four-door sedan. It will be available across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East – but looks unlikely to be offered alongside the 500 family here in America. Unlike many European sedans in its class, the Tipo has been designed from the get-go with a three-box shape, rather than as a hatchback adapted to carry a trunk. The result, Fiat says, is a more harmonious form than some of its targeted competitors. It will be offered with a choice of four engines – two burning gasoline and two diesel – producing between 95 and 120 horsepower, driving through either an automatic or manual transmission. The design was previewed in concept form as the Aegea Project at the Istanbul Motor Show this past May. We knew at the time that it would likely adopt a different name for production, and now that name has been confirmed. It will not only be assembled in Turkey – where Fiat carries out much of its manufacturing – but also had the bulk of its development work carried out there as well. The last time the Tipo name was used was between 1988 and 1995 for a small, boxy hatchback designed by Ercole Spada. That Tipo was eventually succeeded by the Bravo and Brava, which were ultimately replaced by the Stilo – only to be replaced by another Bravo hatchback in 2007. And now, of course, it's a Tipo again – progress. Related Video: Great anticipation for Fiat's new Compact Sedan: TIPO is its name Expectation for the name of Fiat's new Compact Sedan was high and the wait is now over. A name steeped in history for the new three-box sedan which was revealed in May at the Istanbul Motor Show as the first chapter of the 'Fiat AEgea' Project. Sales of the car will start in Italy in December and be gradually extended to the other EMEA region countries. TIPO: this will be the name sported on the livery of the new Compact Sedan in all EMEA region countries except for Turkey, where the project name turned out to be so successful that it was decided to keep it for the car as well. The symbolic name has been used by Fiat since its earliest days and is now making a comeback on a global model designed to tackle the challenges of the future.

Porsche tops J.D. Power quality index as Korean brands soar

While complaints about infotainment systems remain a thorn in the side of automakers for J.D. Power's annual Initial Quality Study, there's a lot to celebrate this year. The average number of problems reported per 100 vehicles fell to 112 in 2015 – a three-percent improvement compared to 116 in 2014. The results of this year's survey are based on the responses of over 84,000 people about problems within the first 90 days of buying or leasing a 2015 model-year vehicle. For the third consecutive year, Porsche tops the rankings with an average of 80 problems per 100 vehicles. Although, that's slightly more than the 74 the German sportscar maker scored in 2014. "While the Japanese automakers continue to make improvements, we're seeing other brands, most notably Korean makes, really accelerating the rate of improvement," Renee Stephens, vice president of US automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in the study's release. In fact, Kia ranks as one of the biggest movers in this year's list. The Korean brand jumped to second place from seventh last year. The company had an average of 86 problems per 100 vehicles, a 20-point improvement. Third place went to Jaguar with an average of 93 problems reported, versus last year's second-place finish with 87 of them. Fourth place was Hyundai, and fifth-place Infiniti also earned a gold star for improvement with 97 issues per 100 vehicles – 31-points better than last year. Fiat still anchored the bottom of the list. However, its 161 problems this year is a lot better than the 206 in 2014. Ranked by nationality, Korean brands (Hyundai and Kia) are now leading the industry in initial quality with an average of 90 problems reported per 100 vehicles. According to J.D. Power, this is the first time Europe's figure beat Japan with 113 and 114 issues, respectively. The American brands also averaged 114. Whereas General Motors dominated last year, the segment awards are spread out in 2015. GM, Hyundai, Nissan, and Volkswagen Group are all tied with four models each earning prizes. For more information, you can also see all of the graphs, here. J.D.