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Fiat 500e EV starts rolling off the line for the American market

Unveiled in 2020, and announced for the American market in 2023, the electric Fiat 500e is headed to our shores. The first American-spec examples of the pocket-sized, retro-styled hatchback have rolled off the Mirafiori Assembly Plant located near the heart of Turin, Italy. At launch, the 500e range will include a single trim called (RED) Edition. It stands out with red-painted door mirror caps, LED headlights, 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, and a red dashboard. While it's available in red, of course, buyers can also choose Tuxedo Black and Glacier White. It's reasonable to assume other trim levels will join the range later in the production run, but Fiat hasn't revealed its future plans yet. Although we haven't driven the American-market 500e yet, we took a spin in a European-spec model in 2023 and walked away impressed with the interior. It feels much nicer overall than the last-generation 500 (which retired from the American market in 2019 but remains available new in Europe), and it's packed with fun little design details such as the Turin skyline etched into the wireless charging pad's mat. Power for the 500e comes from a front-mounted electric motor linked to a 42-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The motor sends 118 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels, and the battery holds enough electricity to deliver up to 149 miles of driving range. That's not much, but Fiat notes the 500e was developed for urban buyers and says the model can charge to 80% in 35 minutes. Alternatively, a full charge takes 4 hours and 15 minutes when using a Level 2 charger; that's an advantage of using a small battery. The first examples of the 2024 Fiat 500e are scheduled to reach our shores by the end of the first quarter of 2024, and the first batch of dealer-allocated cars sold out in less than a week, though a specific number hasn't been revealed. Pricing starts at $34,095 including a $1,595 destination charge and excluding incentives. Every 500e will come with a Level 2 charger or charging credits at public stations.

FCA fibbed on sales according to internal report

Following last week's news that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is under investigation by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly fudging sales figures, a new report in Automotive News says an internal investigation at FCA uncovered misreported sales. According to the AN story, 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles from various FCA brands were reported sold by dealers, but no customers existed for those cars. FCA sales chief Reid Bigland has already put a stop to the practice. One potential reason for the practice was to maintain the company's month-to-month sales increase streak, currently at 75 months. In April, FCA added a lengthy disclaimer to its sales announcements: "FCA US reported vehicle sales represent sales of its vehicles to retail and fleet customers, as well as limited deliveries of vehicles to its officers, directors, employees and retirees. Sales from dealers to customers are reported to FCA US by dealers as sales are made on an ongoing basis through a new vehicle delivery reporting system that then compiles the reported data as of the end of each month. "Sales through dealers do not necessarily correspond to reported revenues, which are based on the sale and delivery of vehicles to the dealers. In certain limited circumstances where sales are made directly by FCA US, such sales are reported through its management reporting system." FCA did not provide comment to Automotive News. Click through for the full story and more details. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM sales Sergio Marchionne FCA USDOJ reid bigland

We like the Fiat 500X despite the faults | Long-term Update

"Personality goes a long way," according to Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. And while Samuel L. Jackson's character was talking about the merits of dogs over pigs, the same maxim applies to cars. Such is the case with our long-term 500X. It continues to charm us, despite the faults. Yes, this car has faults. One being the nine-speed transmission, which is a lot like a Where's Waldo book: it's sometimes fun, usually confusing, and ultimately takes too much time. And the center infotainment screen is slow to boot up. We also noticed some excessive noise from our winter tires, which isn't necessarily the fault of the 500X but, hey, this is the paragraph about gripes. But 500X related stories in the Autoblog office follows a consistent pattern: "This one thing, man it's bad, but I still like the car. Take X, for instance." And X has a lot of possible options: quick-warming heated front seats and steering wheel, the upright driving position, the general layout of the interior, and the bright saddle-leather seats in our tester. View 34 Photos And therein lies why we still like out Fiat. It's just kind of a happy car. It cover the basics well enough - spacious interior, versatile cargo interior, comfortable seats, and makes up for the rest with general good cheer. There are better cars than the 500X, but there are also better, more boring cars than the 500X. Picking between the two, we'd prefer the flawed Fiat to a boring alternative.