2014 Fiat 500l Trekking on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fiat's 'Environmentally Sexy' online matchmaking site amuses

Oh, Fiat. You're so witty and attractive and... environmentally sexy? That's the idea put forward by the automaker's latest 500e marketing campaign, which is centered around the company's "dating" site, EnvironmentallySexy.com.
Visitors answer a series of questions to be matched with their perfect Fiat 500e. Questions such as:
"Honestly, I'm here because I..."

Officine Abarth Classiche dedicated to Scorpion heritage

It was only nine years ago that Fiat launched the Abarth brand as its dedicated performance division. But it didn't pull the name and logo out of thin air. Though it was essentially dormant for years, the Scorpion marque has a long history of tuning Italian pocket rockets for both road and race. And now it's launched a dedicated heritage division to manage its considerable history. Opening this week, the new Officine Abarth Classiche program will be responsible, among other things, for the restoration of vintage Abarth vehicles and the certification of their mechanical authenticity. Similar to the Ferrari Classiche department, private owners of classic Abarths will be able to send their pride and joy to the factory for service, maintenance, and restoration at the hands of factory technicians and with the benefit of the company's own archives. Work will be undertaken in a dedicated, thousand-square-foot workshop at the Mirafiori Abarth factory in Turin, and will of course include Abarth-tuned Fiats. But the program is also open to all the various Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Autobianchis, and Cisitalias fettled over the years by the Italian performance studio - to say nothing of the Zagato and Ghia prototypes. Beyond restoration, Officine Abarth Classiche will also organize special events for owners of vintage Abarth machinery, and undertake a comprehensive Abarth registry. It has also commissioned a book on the history of the marque, recreated company founder Carlo Abarth's office at the Mirafiori workshop, and even signed on Carlo's widow Anneliese Abarth to serve as a brand ambassador. It's an ambitious undertaking, and you can read about it in full – along with some history of the name – in the full press release below. Related Video: 18 November 2015 The Great Abarth Classiche Project - The great story of the performances and sporting grandeur of the Scorpion and the records it has broken is celebrated through the ambitious Abarth Classiche initiative.

Wish you had a world-famous auto exec give your commencement speech? Watch this

We've seen some pretty great commencement speeches over the years. There was Steve Jobs' incredibly inspiring Stanford address in 2005, John Stewart's insightful speech to the graduating class of William and Mary in 2004 and Steven Colbert's hilarious 2011 address at Northwestern, but automotive executives aren't strangers to honorary degrees. Former General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner spoke at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011, and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne recently gave the keynote at Walsh College's 100th Commencement Ceremony. The executive knows a thing or two about success and following one's beliefs to fulfillment.
"I constantly encourage my co-workers at Fiat and Chrysler to go beyond the cliche and the conventional to try new approaches and change perspective each and every day," Marchionne said. "I exhort them not to repeat the same things, the same approaches, and I remind them they are indeed free. The freedom I am talking about is something inside you. It is determined by how open minded you remain, how receptive you are to the new and to the different, to the infinite possibilities that present themselves even if you don't go looking for them or could never have imagined. Being free means that you have the strength not to be conditioned by what others want you to do or by what may seem to be the easiest choice."
Amen to that. You can check out the brief press release on the address below as well as a video of a few highlights from the speech.