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Fiat 500 Fiore Rosa is Italian-Japanese cute-overload fusion

If you live in Japan and you want to get something for your special someone for Valentine's Day, then slow dance down to your Fiat dealer and check out the Fiat 500 Fiore Rosa. A holiday special, the pale metallic pink Cinquecento is limited to 150 examples and only on sale from February 14-17. But beware the connotations, because as far as we can glean from Google Translate, the 500 Fiore Rosa is a bargain model, getting halogen lights instead of bi-xenons, manual air-con instead of climate control, 14-inch steel wheels instead of 15-inch alloys, and going without chrome trim, glass roof, parking sensors and alarm.
It's fitted with the TwinAir engine and gets the same price as the regular 500 TwinAir, however - 2,200,000 yen ($23,559 US). Other than the special name, we can't figure out where the 500 Fiore Rosa is hiding its treats, especially because it gets the el-cheapo wheel covers of the 500 Pop fitted with the 1.2-liter engine instead of the 500 TwinAir wheels. But if you want to make a statement, it's there. And we're talking to the women of Japan, because apparently they're the ones who buy the gifts on Valentine's day in Nippon.

Record for tightest parallel parking job provisionally broken again

When you're the best at something, well, you want to keep being the best at something, even if that something is setting world records in parallel parking. Or, based on how often and quickly this record changes hands, perhaps that's especially when it's setting world records in parallel parking. Alastair Moffatt has held the record twice, his reign broken twice by Han Yue, who did it last time in November 2014. That effort reduced the distance between cars to a eight centimeters (3.15 inches). Moffatt was double-dog dared to take his crown back in front of a crowd at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England, and he accepted the challenge. Then he beat the challenge, using a 2015 Fiat 500C to shrink the record-setting gap to 7.5 centimeters (2.95 inches). The folks at Guinness are waiting on a few more scraps of documentation from Moffatt's team to make it official, but we figure he knows what he's doing by this point. Once it's been given the stamp, we have a feeling we'll be getting a call from China. Until then, there's video of the new record being set above, and a behind-the-scenes video below. We guarantee you have no idea how much goes into this. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Stunt Drive UK via YouTube, Road & Track Fiat Convertible Hatchback Videos fiat 500c Guinness World Records parallel parking

Sergio rethinks FCA-GM merger idea, dismisses critics

After many public overtures, Fiat Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio Marchionne has claimed his company won't be making a hostile takeover bid for General Motors. This is despite widespread speculation that FCA's desire to merge was motivated by its allegedly dire situation. As one unnamed GM exec who spoke to Automotive News earlier this year put it, "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?" "We are not choking. We are in relatively decent shape," Marchionne told journalists attending an FCA shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, AN reports. "We have been publicly rebuffed, we have been rejected and you cannot force these things. I don't want to. At the moment, we have no intention to do anything hostile." Instead of focusing on merging with GM, or any other partners for that matter, FCA will refocus on implementing its ambitious five-year investment plan, which would see it dump $52 billion into its various brands, with a particular focus on Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. So far the attempt has largely been unsuccessful, especially as it relates to the Italian brands. Earlier this week, additional reports emerged that claimed Alfa was pushing back the Giulia and an unnamed CUV while reassigning resources to updated versions of the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks. This is not the first time we've heard about trouble for the Giulia, of course. For Masearti, though, it was the first we'd heard of delays for Alfieri sports car, which allegedly won't appear in 2016, as promised. We can expect a proper breakdown of FCA's adjusted plans when Marchionne and Company reveal an updated product slate next month. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Alfa Romeo Chrysler Fiat GM Jeep Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA