2014 Fiat 500c Abarth on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler open to mergers, and PSA is looking for one

GENEVA — Fiat Chrysler (FCA) is open to pursuing alliances and merger opportunities if they make sense, but a sale of its luxury brand Maserati is not an option, Chief Executive Mike Manley said on Tuesday. "We have a strong independent future, but if there is a partnership, a relationship or a merger which strengthens that future, I will look at that," Manley told reporters at the Geneva Motor Show. Asked whether he would consider selling Maserati to China's Geely Automobile Holdings, as suggested by recent media reports, Manley said: "Maserati is one of our really beautiful brands and it has an incredibly bright future. ... No." FCA is often cited as a possible merger candidate. Bloomberg said this week that the Italian-American carmaker was attractive to France's PSA Group given its exposure to the U.S. market and its popular Jeep brand. The Detroit News' headline on the situation Friday read, "Fiat Chrysler CEO open to a deal as PSA circles" and stated that Manley's open-to-just-about-anything comments were aimed directly at PSA. Bloomberg said talks between the two were preliminary and said PSA chief Carlos Tavares has also contemplated mergers with General Motors or Jaguar Land Rover, which is losing money for Indian owner Tata. PSA has enjoyed a decade of turnaround and has $10.2 billion in net cash available. The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS, acquired Opel and Vauxhall in 2017 and made them almost instantly profitable. Manley, who took over after the death of Sergio Marchionne, said he currently had no news on possible deals. Manley also said the world's seventh-largest carmaker, which is lagging rivals in developing hybrid and electric vehicles, would take the least costly approach to comply with increasingly more stringent European emissions regulations. "There are three options. You can sell enough electrified vehicles to balance your fleet. Two: You can be part of a pooling scheme. Three is to pay the fines," he said. "I don't see a scenario when (carmakers) continue to subsidize technologies ... indefinitely." The carmaker had said last June it would invest 9 billion euros ($10.19 billion) over the next five years to introduce hybrid and electric cars across all regions to be fully compliant with emissions regulations. Asked about a 5-billion-euro investment plan for Italy FCA announced in November but then put under review, Manley said the plan had been confirmed as originally presented.

2015 Fiat 500C Abarth Automatic

"I would not, could not in a tree. Not in a car, you let me be. I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am." Why am I quoting Dr. Seuss' classic children's tale in the review of a small Fiat? Well, much like oddly colored eggs and ham, for the 500C Abarth, Fiat has taken something formerly palatable and added a rather bizarre quality – a six-speed automatic transmission. "I do not like an auto trans," I said. "I'd only drive it in a van." What would happen to the 500 Abarth's hilariously charming and flawed character? Isn't an automatic gearbox diametrically opposed to the cheap and cheerful driving pleasure inherent in the scorpion-badged Cinquecento? After a week behind the wheel, I was shocked to find that the auto Abarth is nearly as entertaining as its clutch-equipped counterpart. Driving Notes The Aisin six-speed automatic is beefed up for the higher torque of the hot 500 Abarth, and the final drive ratio is shorter. Despite the Abarth's spicier character, the shifter retains the same PRNDL pattern and piano-black surround as the standard 500. While I laud Fiat for offering a correct shifter layout to the manual-shifting scheme – pull to upshift and push to downshift – that smart move is overshadowed by the lack of wheel-mounted paddle shifters. There's not much else to complain about with the new automatic, because on the road it delivers similar performance to the five-speed manual. Upshifts are smooth and quick in the standard setting, and only get sharper if you push the Sport button on the dash. On top of that, wide-open-throttle upshifts show off the sonorous voice of the Abarth-tuned exhaust. It pops and cracks and belches in a horribly, hilariously anti-social way. I love it. The twin pipes are just as vocal on the rev-matched downshifts. The gearbox isn't as quick to drop ratios as some of its two-pedal competitors, like the dual-clutch-equipped Volkswagen GTI or even the traditional automatic offered in the Mini Cooper S (coincidentally also an Aisin unit). That said, the difference isn't significant enough to count as a major demerit. One minor change with the transmission is the power output. While the manual model has 160 horsepower, the auto drops to 157. Torque, though, is up from 170 pound-feet to 183 lb-ft.

Abarth 595 50th Anniversary Edition is a birthday present worth waiting for [w/video]

Props must be paid to the people at Abarth, who could've celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 595 - the model that put this performance brand on the map back in the 1960s - with a special edition appearance package and called it a day. But no, that's not how Abarth does things. Instead, it is producing 299 units of this 595 50th Anniversary Edition model that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week, and it's received much more than a new suit for its big 5-0 celebration.
In addition to the matte white finish and historical livery that reinterprets the original car's look, this progeny of the original 595 also receives a substantial bump in power - an increase of 20 horsepower over the standard 500 Abarth for a new total of 180. The upgraded engine is paired with an "Abarth Competizione" transmission, and the sizzling hatchback rides on 17-inch alloy wheels that hide larger Brembo brakes sized 12 inches in diameter. Not that the standard 500 Abarth sounds wimpy (quite the contrary, actually), but the 595 receives a new "Record Monza" variable back-pressure dual-mode exhaust for an even more stirring soundtrack above 3,000 rpm. The interior, meanwhile, is adorned with red leather seats featuring white inserts and red stitching, and a black leather steering wheel with red inserts, as well as its own assortment of historical logos.
The 595 50th Anniversary Edition will be available to order on September 15th, though we expect the entire lot to go quickly and haven't been told yet if any are earmarked for sale in the US. Our fingers are crossed.