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Fiat 500X scampers across the Alps

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. It's the new Fiat 500X: the rounder, somehow even more retro version of the Jeep Renegade. Joining an ever-expanding Cinquecento lineup alongside the 500, 500C and 500L, the new 500X is - to our eyes at least - the most handsome yet... better looking, at any rate, than the somewhat ungainly Mini Countryman. But despite its more fluid lines, the new 500X is barely any longer than the Renegade and only slightly less tall.
Taking the place of the previous Suzuki-based Sedici, Fiat will offer the new 500X in two versions (one more cosmopolitan, the other more rugged), with three transmissions, three traction systems and a whole mess of different engines. The list starts with a 1.4-liter turbo four with 140 horsepower and a 1.6-liter diesel with 120 hp, later to be joined by a 1.6-liter with 110 hp, a more powerful 1.4-liter turbo with 170 hp and finally the 2.4-liter Tigershark engine with 184 hp. Gearboxes will include 5- and 6-speed manuals and - in a Fiat first - a nine-speed automatic, driving the front wheels (with our without traction control) or all four.
Buyers will also be able to choose between 12 exterior colors, seven interior combinations and eight wheel designs ranging from 16 inches to 18, adding up to a long list of configurations to give the 500X the same kind of mass-customization options that have made its stablemate so successful. The 500X will be manufactured in Melfi, Italy, alongside its Jeep counterpart and will eventually reach over 100 markets around the world - including North America.

Here's why GM is giving Marchionne the cold shoulder

What's funny about an Automotive News story titled Why Won't GM Play Ball with Marchionne? is that few people outside of the Fiat CEO and his confidants understands why General Motors would play ball with the Italian company. Marchionne has said the combined entity could increase its annual earnings by $5 billion, but even an outside analyst that agreed with the number only conditionally agreed, saying, "If you assume some synergies and peak US cycle market conditions then, yes, they could get to 30 billion." However, that same analyst described Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as "probably the most challenged within the global industry." Not US industry – global. And before that revenue goal could be reached, the merged companies would need to wade through a bureaucratic swamp. Plus the executive, manufacturing, financial, platform, procurement, and international labor swamps, among a few others. This AN piece can be viewed as GM's response to Marchionne's assertions and offers of various "hugs." It lays out numerous reasons why a more focused and disciplined GM - one almost done with a major crisis and able to focus on its priorities - believes Fiat would be the desperate housewife in such a scenario. On the other hand, while AN doesn't have Marchionne's numbers, to get a better sense of where the Italian is coming from you should read more of the "Industry on Trial" special report. Not that it justifies the creation of a GM-FCA, but it shows that the capital expenditures considering the amount of automaker development overlap are, to the outside eye, staggering. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Earnings/Financials Fiat GM Sergio Marchionne

Fiat 124 spied with top down

With fall officially here, the days are rapidly running out for much of the country to put the top down and enjoy a convertible. Fiat apparently wants to take advantage of the good weather while it lasts, given these fresh spy shots of the 124 Spider testing with the roof down. In terms of styling, these photos show the droptop with an extremely similar look to the ones from July. The roadster still appears to have rounded headlights and a wide grille up front, which the kidney-shaped cladding does nothing to hide. The hood bulge continues to be there, too, and so is the spiderweb-pattern camouflage. However, these new shots let us check out the roll hoops that are visible with the top out of the way, and we even get to see the manual roof in operation. Also, note there are now dual exhausts at the rear, rather than the quad tips from before. Underneath all this camo and cladding, we know that the 124 Spider shares underpinnings with the new Mazda MX-5 Miata. The engine remains a mystery, but competing rumors suggest the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the current 500 Abarth or the 1.7-liter turbo four from the Alfa Romeo 4C. Thankfully, an answer might not be too far away because the roadster is mooted to debut this year, possibly at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. With the latest Miata receiving high praise from critics, the motoring world soon gets to find out whether Fiat can find any room for improvement. Related Video: