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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 buying rest of Chrysler in $4.35 billion deal, IPO avoided

Chrysler will now become a wholly owned member of the Fiat family, as it's been announced that the 41.46-percent stake in the Auburn Hills, MI-based manufacturer owned by the United Auto Workers' VEBA trust fund will be sold to the Italian company. Concluding the agreement will mark the closure of a piecemeal purchase process that could have resulted in an initial public offering.
The total cost of the sale will see the VEBA healthcare trust receive $4.35 billion, $3.65 billion of which will come from Fiat. $1.75 billion of that will be cash, while an additional $1.9 billion will be part of a "special distribution." An additional $700 million will be paid over four separate installments according to reports from Automotive News Europe and USA Today, although the shares will belong to Fiat following the first payment. The deal was reportedly initially struck on Sunday (though it is just being announced today), and is being portrayed as particularly good news for Fiat and Chrysler, which have now prevented the remaining shares going to the stock market in a UAW-forced IPO.
"The unified ownership structure will now allow us to fully execute our vision of creating a global automaker that is truly unique in terms of mix of experience, perspective and know-how, a solid and open organization that will ensure all employees a challenging and rewarding environment," Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a statement.

Fiat seeking autonomous partnerships with Uber and Amazon

If Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne can't find another automaker to partner with, he'll have to look elsewhere. Like, outside the traditional automotive industry entirely, if recent reports are to be believed. According to Bloomberg and Business Insider, Fiat is pursuing relationships with Uber and Amazon for self-driving vehicles. This news comes shortly after FCA announced an official tie-up with Google to turn 100 Chrysler Pacifica minivans into autonomobiles. Uber might want to venture into self-driven vehicles for its ride-hailing service, cutting out the expense of human drivers. For its part, Amazon could use autonomous vehicles for deliveries from its online shopping destinations. FCA's interest in these endeavors seems to revolve around their vehicles being used as platforms for software and bespoke hardware setups created by the tech companies. There's no indication of what vehicles FCA would provide to either Uber or Amazon, but something minivan shaped could capably serve both the ride-sharing and package delivery service industries. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Bloomberg, Business InsiderImage Credit: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg via Getty Green Chrysler Fiat Transportation Alternatives Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Uber Sergio Marchionne FCA Amazon