2014 Fiat 500 Pop on 2040-cars

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Fiat gives outgoing Ferrari chairman $35M severance package

Luca di Montezemolo may not have wanted to leave Ferrari this way, but don't feel too bad for the departing chairman, because he'll be hitting the ground with a golden parachute so big that he'll never have to work again.
According to the latest reports, Fiat will pay Montezemolo 26.95 million euros (nearly $35 million) in severance pay. A little more than half of that will be paid in a lump sum of 13.71 million euros ($17.7M, equivalent to five times his annual salary) on January 31, 2015, with the rest to be paid within the next 20 years.
The payment is contingent on Montezemolo not going to work for a competitor, so don't expect to see him replacing Stephan Winkelmann at Lamborghini or Wolfgang Dürheimer at Bugatti any time soon. At least not until March 2017. Of course with that much cash on hand, the 67-year-old marquis need never work again, but considering how busy he's used to keeping himself, we'd be surprised if he didn't pop up again somewhere.

Fiat 500 commercial expanded into 'Sexy People' music video

The last time we wrote about the Fiat USA commercial Immigrants, it was to question whether the ad provided our first glimpse of the 500T. That was a year ago, but Fiat isn't finished utilizing that commercial theme. The song in the one-minute commercial was Sexy People (All Around the World) by Italian songstress Arianna, and the Immigrant commercial has been lengthened and turned into a music video for the song as Arianna prepares that track and more for her first studio album.
The tune features Pit Bull and the clip is like a hip-hop video meets The Little Mermaid. Well, until Charlie Sheen shows up. That's when it starts Winning, and you can enjoy it all in the video below, along with the original ad from Fiat.

Marchionne impressed by 'that kid' Elon Musk

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne has a reputation as an incredibly canny businessman. Some examples of his acumen include finishing Fiat's takeover of Chrysler from a beachside home and winning a challenge with Luca di Montezemolo for the reins of Ferrari. The Italian exec recently took a trip to California and lavished praise on Elon Musk after a meeting with the Tesla CEO. Although, the compliment did come off as a little patronizing. "I'm incredibly impressed with what that kid has done," Marchionne said to Reuters about his conversation with Musk. Unfortunately, the FCA exec didn't go into detail about what he and Tesla boss discussed. Although, calling the 43-year-old billionaire a "kid" does seem a little rude, especially given Musk's success with Paypal, in the auto industry and at SpaceX. While in the Golden State, Marchionne also had a talk with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Although, he was similarly cagey about what the men discussed. "He's interested in Apple's intervention in the car, that's his role," Marchionne said to Reuters about the conversation without divulging more. The two companies already have some small links thanks to Ferrari's use of the tech giant's products. As one additional highlight for Marchionne's California trip, he took a ride in the Google autonomous car. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Photo Green Chrysler Fiat Tesla Green Culture Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric Sergio Marchionne FCA