500l on 2040-cars

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Reid Bigland appointed CEO of Alfa Romeo, Maserati

There's been a big shakeup in Fiat Chrysler's leadership team, as head of US sales and FCA Canada CEO Reid Bigland will replace Harald Wester as the chief exec for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Wester will retain his position as chief technical officer of FCA. Both men will hang onto their positions on FCA's Group Executive Council. The move is an interesting one considering the widely publicized issues at both Alfa and Maserati. Alfa Romeo's problems are almost too many to list. The brand has promised a full-scale return to the US market for more than a decade, but faced repeated delays. Its latest volume model, the Giulia, is being savaged by reviewers over quality issues, and the company has frequently pushed its upcoming CUV back. If that were the only problem, it'd be annoying, but according to Automotive News, Alfa's relaunch is also considerably over budget. Maserati is an entirely different can of worms. Alongside Alfa, it's been stung by a slow Chinese market. Profits are down, according to Automotive News, and it's been widely rumored that the company will delay its next sports car, the Alfieri, until 2018 – it was previously promised for this year. Meanwhile, two of its three other models, the Quattroporte and GranTurismo, are dangerously long in the tooth, and the Levante is still months away from US sales. Can Bigland sort these issues out? Maybe. As Sergio Marchionne said in his official statement, "[Bigland] has an extraordinary record of growing sales and market share in the US and Canada over the last 7 years at FCA, including leading the growth and positioning of the Ram and Dodge brands for part of that time."

All Fiat 500 production moving to Poland by 2015?

With the next-generation Fiat 500 expected to debut in 2015 with more of a global presence, there is a growing possibility that production of the cute little hatchback will be consolidated to a single plant in Poland. According to Automotive News Europe, Fiat plans to end production of the 500 in Toluca, Mexico, which is expected to better fill Fiat's European production capacity, free up more North American capacity and create a single Fiat 500 design for all markets.
Currently, Fiat builds two similar but structurally different 500 models for Europe and North America, and assembling just one version at the Tychy, Poland would allow it to cut costs for development of the new car. This would also help fill some of the capacity void that Tychy has suffered in recent years, building just 300,000 units last year compared to more than double that in 2009. The report says that while Chrysler's North American production capacity is near its limit, Fiat's European plants will be used to meet increased demand before a new plant is built in North America. As for Toluca, there is no indication as to what vehicle Chrysler would replace the 500 with at this facility, which also builds the Dodge Journey.

Lamborghini-powered Fiat 500 blows our minds

We suppose that it was fate that eventually someone would take a vintage Fiat 500 and wrap it around a 6.2-liter V12 plucked from a Lamborghini Murcielago. Seeing as how both the 500 and the Murcielago hail from Italy, it was only a matter of time before the two got drunk and made either the best or worst decision of their lives depending on who you ask.
Built by Oemmedi Mechanics, the car first bowed at the 2012 Bologna Motor Show, and while the ultra-widebody finished product is barely recognizable as an adorable Cinquecento, there's no mistaking the sound of that wicked V12.
How quick is the thing? Oemmedi isn't saying, but we imagine plopping an engine that dishes out 580 horsepower in a car that tipped the scales at just 1,100 pounds from the factory results in all sorts of abuses on the laws of physics. You can check out a few videos of the creation below.