2012 Fiat 500 Sport Automatic Sun Roof Power Windows Black Leatherette 1.4l on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler to get $105M fine from NHTSA for recall woes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is about to send a powerful message to automakers doing business in the United States, assuming reports of an upcoming $105 million fine against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles comes to fruition. In addition to the record-setting monetary fine, according to The Wall Street Journal, FCA will have to accept an independent auditor that will monitor the company's recall and safety processes and will be forced to buy back certain recalled vehicles. In other cases, such as with Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty models with gas tanks that could potentially catch fire in certain types of accidents, FCA will offer financial encouragement for owners to get their recall work done or to trade those older vehicles in on new cars, according to the report. FCA could reportedly reduce its fines if it meets certain conditions, though those remain unclear at this time. These actions against FCA are being taken after NHTSA began a probe into the automaker over almost two dozen separate instances where the government claims FCA failed to follow proper procedures for recalls and safety defects. Included in those safety lapses are more than 11 million vehicles currently in customer hands. These penalties and fines are separate from the investigation over security problems with Chrysler's Uconnect system that allowed hackers to obtain remote access into key vehicle systems in 1.4 million vehicles. Related Video: Image Credit: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Recalls Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Safety fiat chrysler automobiles fine

2013 Fiat 500e looks loud, runs quietly

Somebody wanted it, so we all got it - the Fiat 500e, the electric city car packed with enough Earth-saving tech that CEO Sergio Marchionne quipped (admittedly, early last year) that each one built will cost Fiat $10,000. The good news is that it not only comes with tons of EV-only gadgets and features, it does a good job, to our eye, of flaunting its electric looks and it offers the kinds of personalization one would expect of a hatch in the 500 family.
The multi-contrast exterior is grouped into three color packages, including an e-Sport Package that pairs mean with green. The Interior can be had in either Nero or Steam, both coming with Electric Orange accents, and a seven-inch TFT screen with all kinds of electric-car-status details.
Juice comes courtesy of a 111-horsepower electric-drive motor with 147 pound-feet of torque, using a battery rated at 24 kWh. Range is estimated at "more than 80 miles" on the 15-inch Firehawk GT low-rolling resistance tires, but Fiat says stories of "greater than 100 miles" aren't uncommon. With our high-res gallery above, you don't have to go that far to check it out from every angle.

2015 Fiat 500C Abarth Automatic

"I would not, could not in a tree. Not in a car, you let me be. I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am." Why am I quoting Dr. Seuss' classic children's tale in the review of a small Fiat? Well, much like oddly colored eggs and ham, for the 500C Abarth, Fiat has taken something formerly palatable and added a rather bizarre quality – a six-speed automatic transmission. "I do not like an auto trans," I said. "I'd only drive it in a van." What would happen to the 500 Abarth's hilariously charming and flawed character? Isn't an automatic gearbox diametrically opposed to the cheap and cheerful driving pleasure inherent in the scorpion-badged Cinquecento? After a week behind the wheel, I was shocked to find that the auto Abarth is nearly as entertaining as its clutch-equipped counterpart. Driving Notes The Aisin six-speed automatic is beefed up for the higher torque of the hot 500 Abarth, and the final drive ratio is shorter. Despite the Abarth's spicier character, the shifter retains the same PRNDL pattern and piano-black surround as the standard 500. While I laud Fiat for offering a correct shifter layout to the manual-shifting scheme – pull to upshift and push to downshift – that smart move is overshadowed by the lack of wheel-mounted paddle shifters. There's not much else to complain about with the new automatic, because on the road it delivers similar performance to the five-speed manual. Upshifts are smooth and quick in the standard setting, and only get sharper if you push the Sport button on the dash. On top of that, wide-open-throttle upshifts show off the sonorous voice of the Abarth-tuned exhaust. It pops and cracks and belches in a horribly, hilariously anti-social way. I love it. The twin pipes are just as vocal on the rev-matched downshifts. The gearbox isn't as quick to drop ratios as some of its two-pedal competitors, like the dual-clutch-equipped Volkswagen GTI or even the traditional automatic offered in the Mini Cooper S (coincidentally also an Aisin unit). That said, the difference isn't significant enough to count as a major demerit. One minor change with the transmission is the power output. While the manual model has 160 horsepower, the auto drops to 157. Torque, though, is up from 170 pound-feet to 183 lb-ft.