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Pope Francis' Fiat 500L just sold for $82,000

A brand-new Fiat 500L will run you anywhere from about $20,000 to $25,000, depending on trim. But the one you see here just sold for $82,000 – more than four times the car's base MSRP. This isn't just any old 500L, though. This one carried Pope Francis through Philadelphia on his recent visit to the United States. The 500L sold at an auction during the Philadelphia Auto Show, where bidders could participate remotely, or in person. Nineteen bidders competed over the course of 11 minutes, and the winning bid of $82,000 was made by Michael and Kate Chapman of Chapman Auto Stores. Reuters (via Automotive News) says the money will go to benefit the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This 500L was one of six the Pope used during his visit to the US. Automotive News says the Pope originally selected the Fiat because it's frugal and efficient, and that Francis wanted to move away from some of the lavish appointments long associated with his office.

Fiat stock rockets up after word of Chrysler deal

Now that Fiat has finalized a deal to purchase the outstanding shares of Chrysler owned by the United Auto Workers' VEBA retiree heathcare fund without having to file for an IPO, you can count the Italian automaker's stockholders among the happy. The Detroit News reports that Fiat stock closed Thursday with a 12-percent gain for the day on the Borsa Italiana, having been up by as much as 15.8 percent during the day's trading, at prices not seen since mid-2011. One trader reasoned the run was because Fiat "paid less than the market had expected and there will be no capital increase to fund this."
But there are some who worry, including bank analysts and unions. The final price of the stake will be $4.35 billion - $1.9 billion in cash from Chrysler, $1.75 billion from Fiat and extraordinary dividends in the amount of $700 million paid over three years. Adding that sum to its ledger will raise Fiat's debt level to roughly 10 billion euros ($13.8 billion), which Citibank says will make it the most indebted OEM in Europe.
Italian unions are also concerned about what the deal means for the future. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has had an at-times contentious relationship with both unions and the Italian government over the future of Italian manufacturing, a fact that makes headlines because Fiat is Italy's largest private employer. At least two left-leaning unions have publicly called on Fiat to give guarantees and to explain what the deal means for its Italian operations, while a centrist union argues this is "good news for Fiat workers, for the auto industry and for our country."

Fiat 500e Inspired by Los Angeles gets beach-inspired paint

Fiat is gradually rolling out more variants of the electric 500e. The latest addition to the range is a California-themed model called Inspired by Los Angeles that stands out with a handful of trim-specific styling cues, including an exclusive paint color, and a lofty price tag. The blue-ish gray (or gray-ish blue?) color is called Marine Layer Mist, and it was chosen for a very specific reason. Fiat explains that this shade is named after "the coastal marine layer that results from air masses of different temperatures and densities interacting, a natural phenomenon from May through June that gives the City of Angels a magical and complex feel." Gray mirror caps add a touch of contrast. Inside, there's beige upholstery, a soft-touch steering wheel, and a Marine Layer Mist dashboard insert. Fiat also threw in a seven-speaker sound system with an amplifier and a subwoofer; it includes four Virtual Venues, or sound modes, picked by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli. Fiat hasn't made any drivetrain changes. Power for the 500e comes from a single electric motor that draws electricity from a 42-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack to zap the front wheels with 117 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. Range checks in at up to 149 miles. Level 2 driving technology comes standard. It relies on the adaptive cruise control and the lane-keeping system to assist the driver on select roads. It does not make the 500e fully autonomous, or even hands-free, but Fiat notes the hatchback is the only EV in its segment to offer Level 2 capabilities. Pricing starts at $37,595 including a $1,595 destination charge, so the 500e has shifted light-years away from its roots as an affordable people's car. For context, the 500e RED announced in December 2023 starts at $34,095 and the last-generation model released in 2007 and still sold new in some European markets (at least until later in 2024) costs ˆ17,700 (about $19,200 at the current conversion rate) in Italy. Built in Turin, Italy, the 500e Inspired by Los Angeles is on-sale now and deliveries are scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2024. Every 500e regardless of trim comes with a Level 2 home charger or charging credits valid in the Free2move charging network. Looking ahead, the 500 range will grow with the addition of a hybrid model, though there's no word on whether this model will be sold in the United States.