2015 Fiat 500e Battery Electric Hatchback on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ram confirms Fiat Ducato vans to form new Promaster series for US

Chrysler has officially confirmed that Ram will develop an all-new large van for the US market based on the Fiat Ducato. The commercial rig will go on sale in the third quarter of next year, joining the Ram C/V on the company's professional van line. Expect to see the Promaster face off against the Ford Transit and revised Chevrolet Express.
Chrysler is pretty skimpy on details when it comes to the Promaster, but it has said the vehicle will make use of "familiar Ram Truck styling cues." The van will reportedly also bow with powertrains targeted specifically at the North American market.
Chrysler and Ram made the announcement ahead of the LA Auto Show alongside news that the company will launch a new Ram commercial truck division.

Stellantis and Ferrari boss is pitted against his own mother in Agnelli inheritance drama

  MILAN, Italy — A court in Turin is set to rule in the coming weeks on an inheritance dispute dividing the Agnelli family, the founders of the Fiat car company and arguably the best known of Italy's business dynasties. The case stems from the estate of Gianni Agnelli, the celebrated Fiat boss who was a symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom and who died two decades ago. It pits Agnelli's daughter Margherita, who inherited 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), against three of her eight children including her eldest, John Elkann, the chairman of Ferrari and carmaker Stellantis. In the dispute that has riven one of Italy's elite families, Margherita is fighting to overturn agreements she signed after her father's death in order to eventually benefit her five children from a second marriage, sources close to her say. Should the Turin court decide in her favor, Margherita, who is 67 and Gianni Agnelli's only surviving child, could stake a claim to half of her late mother's estate and a share in the Elkann family business. The center of the dispute The dispute has its origins in an inheritance deal known as the "Geneva pacts" that Margherita, an artist and philanthropist, signed in 2004 after the death of her father the previous year and agreed to when Fiat was on the brink of bankruptcy. Under the first pact, Margherita received property, works of art and other liquid assets from Gianni's estate and renounced any future influence in the Dicembre (December) company, a key part of the ownership structure of Exor, the Agnelli-family holding. The pacts cemented John Elkann's position as Gianni Agnelli's chosen successor and effectively took his mother Margherita out of the equation. John Elkann, 47, now leads Exor, which owns slices of prestigious businesses and brands including national newspapers and the soccer club Juventus. The second pact covered what would happen to the estate of Margherita's mother Marella, who died in 2019 aged 91. Marella passed her Dicembre stake to three of her grandchildren, John, his brother Lapo and sister Ginevra, from Margherita's first marriage to journalist Alain Elkann. Margherita wants the pacts to be rescinded to be able to give her children with second husband Serge De Pahlen, a Franco-Russian former Fiat executive, a share of their grandmother's estate, sources close to her say.

2016 April Fools' Day: Morgan digs at Tesla, Mini's scissor doors, more

Every year automakers go out of their way to come up with gags for April Fools' Day. Sometimes the jokes fall flat, but occasionally a company really nails it with an idea that we'd actually love to see. Rather than scouring the Web for all of these stunts, you can find some of our favorites right here. Morgan MOGrod The Morgan Motor Company's MOGrod is one of our favorite April Fools' jokes so far this year because it's a car we wish could be real. The company says on Twitter that the retro hot rod uses a 3.7-liter Ford V6, and there are already 250,000 preorders, which is a play on the huge number of reservations for the Tesla Model 3. Morgan took the joke even further by sketching a landspeed record version for the Bonneville Salt Flats. Mini Scissor Doors The people at Mini apparently have a lot of free time because the company has two gags this year. The first is the scissor door option. The idea cleverly plays on the myriad ways customers can customize their Mini, but this solution doesn't look like anyone could easily enter the car due to the way these doors open. Mini Hipster Hatch There's also the Hipster Mini, which is a much funnier idea. This fictional hatchback would be perfect for fashionable Millennials thanks to features like Instagram-filter windows and a fixed-gear drivetrain, which limits the top speed to 25 miles per hour. The interior uses stonewash denim upholstery and packs a twin-deck cassette player. Skoda Dog Umbrella People love dogs, and owners know that a wet canine can be a mess. Skoda is ready to tackle this problem with an umbrella for your mutt. Made from unobtainium, the gadget hides in the door when not in use, but when raindrops start falling, people can keep their pup dry. Skoda Snowman Skoda's Facebook page also teases us with a very cool vehicle. The Snowman is a 396-horsepower plug-in hybrid snow machine. With its tracks, the company's newest model would never have to worry about getting stuck in the winter. Opel Adam C Sure, electricity and hydrogen are cleaner forms of fuel than gasoline or diesel, but Opel has a way to make your car even more environmentally friendly – muscle power. Wind up the crank at the rear for 15 minutes, and the Opel Adam C is good for 125 miles. GM's European division also claims that owners get a great workout because a full winding session burns 400 calories. You wouldn't feel guilty about picking up that pizza after cranking up this hatchback.