2013 Fiat 500 Abarth 2 Door Coupe Red 10k Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2024 Fiat 500e First Drive Review: Reborn EV packs style, plays music out its bumper

MIAMI – It's been hard times for Fiat fans. The brand discontinued its 500 model line after 2019, leaving only the four-door crossover-ized 500X on sale, and while it planned to introduce the replacement for its 500e electric city car around that time, a little pandemic threw a wrench in the works. Now, in 2024, the folks from Turin are finally ready to let Americans taste the Dolce Vita offered by that new 500e. Has the wait been worth it? I went to Miami to find out. As you'd expect, the 2024 Fiat 500e is once again a fully electric city car. Unlike its predecessor (2013-2019), this 500e feels like a more complete EV package than a "compliance car" meant to satisfy regulations in states like California. The "New Fiat 500" has been on sale in Europe since 2020, so while this is a new model for the United States, it's by now a well-established platform. Like the old 500e, the 2024 500e features a front-wheel-drive layout, with a permanent magnet motor providing a whopping 117 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. That motor is paired with a 42-kilowatt-hour battery (around 38 of which is usable, per Fiat engineers) for an EPA-estimated range of 141 with all-season tires. That doesn't sound like a lot – and it isn't – but this isn't a vehicle designed for long road trips or super-commuters. Fiat claims a 0-60 time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 94 mph, but I suspect that driving at that speed would be trouser-browningly sketchy. Not that the 500e feels unstable around town (Fiat didn't include any highway driving during my brief stint with the car). It offers the kind of quick, accurate steering and subcompact agility that made the original 500e so much more fun to drive than it needed to be. The steering is light but not overly so and offers a very tight turning circle of just 31.5 feet, making the "Oh wait, there's a parking spot! Get it!" maneuver much easier than it would be in a larger vehicle. While the steering is awesome, the 500e's ride isn't as pleasant. It's not unladen-full-size-truck brutal by any means, but calling it busy over broken city streets feels like a charitable way of putting it. This isn't an expensive car with sophisticated suspension, and, again, given its intended use case, I wouldn't count the ride as a huge point against it. One of the biggest leaps forward from the old 500e to this new version is the addition of DC fast charging capability.

Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

Stellantis to halt production at Melfi, Italy, car plant in April, union says

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis will halt production at its plant in Melfi, southern Italy, April 2-12 because of low demand triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, the UILM union said on Monday. Production at the plant, where the world's fourth largest automaker makes Jeep Renegade and Compass models and the Fiat 500X compact SUV, has been repeatedly disrupted due to weak demand and semiconductor supply shortages. The FIM CISL union said last week the firm was considering permanently closing one of its two production lines at the Melfi plant to address excess capacity in Italy. European car registrations fell 23% year on year in the first two months of this year, according to industry data, as protracted coronavirus lockdowns and consequent uncertainty keep impacting spending decisions among families and businesses. UILM's Gianluca Ficco said on Monday the company told unions the latest Melfi production freeze was specifically due to low demand and not a result of the global chip shortage. A spokesman for Stellantis confirmed the plant would be closed in that April 2-12 period. All of Melfi's more than 7,000 workers would be put on a furlough scheme for the period.