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2014 Fiat 500L [w/video]

Practicality From The Italian Ministry of Cute
As seen in the correct Italian/European light, Fiat is rightly dubbed a small car kingdom. This is not the marque's whole story, though, and it's certainly not a way Fiat appreciates being pigeonholed. But even the brand itself sort of has to admit that, in the end, without clever and right-priced smaller cars in its lineup, it might not even exist today.
Between the early 1980s and the dawn of the 21st century, however, the Fiat brand seemingly did everything it could to wreck itself and its core compact-car reputation by producing a series of certifiably unamazing cars that mostly looked drab and behaved below average. Just go have a gander at the Ritmo, the Uno, the Duna, the 1992-98 Cinquecento, 2004-07 Seicento/600, and the most recent European mega-flop, the Stilo, discontinued in 2008. Thankfully, almost right out of the gates since the mid-aughts, however, that has no longer been the case.

Fiat brings raft of special-edition hatchbacks to Geneva

The annual Geneva Motor Show presents a prime opportunity for any automaker – European ones especially – to show off new metal. You'd figure that would include the sprawling Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, but instead, one of Europe's largest automakers will be presenting a series of special-edition hatchbacks for the European market. Yeah, we're as disappointed as you are. First up is the Fiat division itself, which will be showcasing the Vintage '57 edition of the 500 and the Panda K-Way. The former puts an even more retro spin on the already-retro hatchback, with a two-tone pastel blue-and-white exterior, 16-inch white-and-chrome wheels and a tobacco-leather interior. The latter was designed in collaboration with the famous rainwear label, K-Way, and features mix-and-match exterior color combinations, titanium-finish trim and a specially crafted interior. Alfa Romeo will be celebrating the European debut of the 4C Spider we already saw in Detroit. In terms of new debuts, Alfa also has the elegant Collezione edition of the Giuletta and the MiTo Racer edition with gray and brown trim that looks, at first blush at least, much more subtle than the name would convey. Though no longer a major player in the Fiat portfolio, Lancia is showcasing the 30th Anniversary and Elle editions of the Ypsilon – the car that in its own words, "Italian women love more than any other." Jeep is showing the Renegade with new powertrain options, and Abarth has updated its range of 500-based hot hatches, but for something new and exciting, it looks like we'll be passing right by the Fiat section at the Geneva Palexpo this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Fiat Group special editions for Geneva 2015 News Source: Fiat Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo Fiat Lancia Hatchback 2015 Geneva Motor Show alfa romeo mito fiat panda alfa romeo giulietta lancia ypsilon

Fiat 500e recalled over possible half shaft separation

The recently launched, all-electric Fiat 500e is already facing its first recall. According to The Detroit News, more than 270 of the EVs are being recalled to replace bolts that secure the vehicles' half shafts. The official number of affected vehicles has not been announced as of this writing, as Chrysler will not inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of this issue until it accounts for all problematic 500e models that are currently sitting on dealer lots.
Chrysler confirmed to the News that the problem is in no way related to the 500e's electric powertrain, simply the half shafts. The automaker launched an investigation into this problem after learning that a customer's vehicle experienced power loss. Engineers reportedly found that two assembly steps had not been completed, and that this could lead to half shaft separation.
No injuries or accidents related to this problem have been reported. Chrysler will contact owners of the affected 500e models, who will receive rental vehicles while their Fiats are being fixed. Of course, all repair work will be completed free of charge.