Fiat SPIDER 124, page #13

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Google-FCA deal is a coup for both sides

FCA made a savvy play this week to team with internet giant Google. It's not as sexy as partnering with Apple, but it's almost as good. This move positions FCA to expand its capabilities in the autonomous driving field, and connecting with Google could boost the automaker's image. FCA will provide Google with about 100 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans specially developed for autonomous testing. Google will integrate its sensors and computers into the vehicles. They'll work together at a site in Southeast Michigan and test the prototypes on Google's private test track in California. It's looks like an equitable deal and a win for both sides. "This marks a watershed event for the auto industry on two major levels: contract manufacturing for high tech firms and allowing such firms a clear pathway into the brain of the car," Morgan Stanley researchers said in a note. Don't underestimate how big this is for Google. The deal more than doubles the size of the tech firm's fleet, and does so with the Pacifica, a potentially segment-defining entry. Currently, it's using Lexus vehicles and other modified prototypes as testers. Though FCA is the smallest of Detroit's carmakers, it's also viewed as nimble and willing to embrace change. The Jeep and Ram divisions are as strong as any brand in the industry, and the Hellcats and Viper reinforce FCA's enthusiast cred. Google doesn't need those things, but they're pretty cool associations, nonetheless. If Ferrari can try to position itself as a leather goods maker, Google can have a little octane in its system. While experts expect Google to eventually partner with other automakers or to license its technology (FCA chief Sergio Marchionne reportedly said the deal isn't exclusive), FCA is positioned to get a head start. IHS Automotive predicts there will be 10.5 million self-driving or driverless cars used around the world by 2030. General Motors, Mercedes, Tesla, Volvo, Ford, and others have launched or are planning to roll out their own versions of autonomous driving technology. For now, FCA goes from having no apparent autonomous plans to potentially being among the leaders, and Google secures a legitimate automotive partner. Like we said, it looks like a win-win. NEWS & ANALYSIS News: Sergio Marchionne is taking over the CEO job at Ferrari. Analysis: This is a consolidation of Marchionne's power over the famous Italian sports-car maker and racing team.

The Fiat 124 Spider configurator is live

Last week, Fiat released pricing on the new 124 Spider, and now the roadster's configurator is online. If you buy the Elaborazione Abarth version of the 124 ( elaborazione means 'processing,' which makes little sense to us), you'll probably be thinking about the leather/Alcantara Recaro seats. They're a $1,195 option that Mazda has no answer for on the MX-5 Miata, but adding them means making a big sacrifice, because you can't get the $3,995 Luxury Collection. The pricey package adds a range of desirable options, including leather (but not Recaro) sport seats, navigation, LED headlights, and a nine-speaker Bose stereo. So, you can either have all that good stuff, or you can get the Recaros. It's not an easy decision at all. The Abarth's other big package is the Safety and Comfort Collection. Its $1,495 price tag adds blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors, heated exterior mirrors, and an auto-dimming interior mirror. You can only select this item if you go with the Recaros, since most of the stuff it adds comes with the Luxury Collection. Standalone options include a $1,495 set of Brembo brakes. The black hood decal, featured on both the Geneva and New York Auto Show cars, is conspicuous by its absence. The options lists are simpler for lesser 124 Spiders. The base Classica gets by with a $1,295 Technology Collection (seven-inch display audio, rear-view camera, and push-button start with keyless entry). The mid-range Lusso mirrors the Abarth's mutually exclusive packages, with an identical Safety and Comfort Pack. The $3,795 Premium Collection, meanwhile, offers all the same gear as the Luxury Collection for a little less money. Neither the Classica nor the Lusso offer standalone options. We promise the 124 Spider's configurator is better than whatever else you had planned for this Monday afternoon. Related Video: Related Gallery Abarth 124 Spider News Source: Fiat USAImage Credit: Fiat USA Auto News Fiat Car Buying Convertible Performance fiat 124 spider fiat 124 fiat 124 spider abarth

2017 Fiat 124 Spider priced below most Miatas

The Fiat 124 Spider and Mazda MX-5 Miata might be siblings, but all that means is the rivalry between the two cars will be unusually intense. Pricing for the reborn 124 has been released and is added proof of that fact – aside from the very base trim, the turbocharged Italian is cheaper than its Zoom-Zoomy brother. Fiat's base model, the 124 Spider Classica, starts at $25,990. The MX-5 Sport isn't much cheaper, at $25,735. Both cars get 16-inch alloy wheels, black cloth seats, LED taillights, but the Mazda will throw in LED headlights. It's also interesting to note that the two cars have differing destination charges – $995 for the Fiat and $820 for the Mazda. Move up to the mid-range Fiat, and you'll start to see the "Italian" car eke out a pricing advantage. The Lusso, Italian for luxury, rings up at $28,490 compared to the MX-5 Grand Touring's $30,885. Yes, we're comparing the middle-tier 124 to the range-topping Mazda, because the mid-range, enthusiast-oriented Club is more analogous to the 124's Abarth model. The Lusso matches the MX-5 GT with 17-inch alloys, heated leather seats, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with navigation, and dual-zone automatic climate control. The Mazda does come with a bevy of safety features as standard – blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beam control – which look to be optional on the Fiat, so take that into consideration if you're thinking about buying one of the two. We enthusiasts are most interested in the matchup between the 124 Spider Abarth and the MX-5 Club. The scorpion-badged 124 starts at $29,190 and the Club at $29,420. You'll get more power – 10 additional ponies according to FCA – as well as all the performance goodies from the Club. There are Bilstein-tuned shocks, a mechanical limited-slip diff, and a front strut bar, plus a very imposing exhaust note. Recaro seats will be an optional extra, as will Brembo brakes (the MX-5 bundles them with BBS wheels). Finally, there's the 124 Spider Prima Edizione Lusso. The limited-edition wears Azzurro Italia (translation: pretty blue) paint and rings in at $35,995, which gets you a bunch of swag on top of the normal Lusso stuff. Oh, and if you choose the automatic transmission, you'll be punished with a $1,350 charge, regardless of which Fiata you go for. That's less than the premium Mazda charges for an automatic on an MX-5 Club or GT, but more than the $1,480 extra it charges for a two-pedal Sport.

Fiat diesels might also cheat emissions tests

Et tu, Fiat? Fiat is the latest automaker to come under suspicion for excessive emissions from its diesel vehicles. So far the trouble is only in Germany, as opposed to VW's trouble in multiple countries. And instead of using VW's method of installing software that identifies when the car is undergoing an emissions test and only then turning on emissions control devices, Fiat is running out the clock. Because the German emissions test lasts around 20 minutes, Fiat is accused of having its NOx emissions control systems operate only for the first 22 minutes when the car starts up. This potential new bombshell was first reported by Bild am Sonntag, a German newspaper. Bild says that the Italian automaker is under investigation by German authorities after a test of a 500X revealed this time-based method. Bild also says that Bosch tipped off the German authorities about Fiat's strategy. German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt released a report of new tests of 53 diesel cars and highlighted Fiat's numbers, saying, "We will need to carry out further tests on Fiat models." In February, the environmental lobby group DUH found that a 500X that had been running for a while emitted more NOx than one with a cold engine. Fiat said at the time that it had conducted an internal review and found that its diesel engines comply with the law. Of course, thanks to VW's diesel scandal implosion last fall, questions have been emerging from regulators around the world about diesel emissions from passenger vehicles. Mitsubishi was recently suspected of diesel emission irregularities in Japan. A recent lawsuit in the US accuses Mercedes-Benz of using a cheat device. Greenpeace has raised questions about the testing method that German authorities are using to test diesel vehicles. And on and on and on. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Green Fiat Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal diesel emissions fiat 500x 500x

2016 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix recap: another wild show on and off track

Normally we use this space to provide a lengthy recap of the weekend's Formula 1 race, but we're going to try something different since most folks reading this know what happened at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday. Instead, we'll alight on what we saw as the big issues in and around the race. Let us know what you think in Comments. Proper qualifying is back. Thank goodness. It only took a month of embarrassment to fix it. And so is passing! For the third race in a row, big performance improvements at the ten teams behind Mercedes-AMG Petronas and a wider tire selection at this race graced us with opening stints filled with dicing cars. Seeing the McLarens on screen doesn't make us cringe. Manor doesn't only make the global feed when it's being lapped. We've been complaining about parade races for so long that we forgot excitement was possible without rain or wholesale regulation changes. Yes, Mercedes is still the king of the jungle, but there are some other proper midfield beasts on the hunt, too. Malfunctions up and down the grid did help the show in Shanghai, like Lewis Hamilton suffering perpetual troubles, Nico Hulkenberg's runaway front wheel which red-flagged Q2, and Sebastian Vettel's and Kimi Raikkonen's flubbed hot laps in Q3 that let Daniel Ricciardo slip by into second on the grid. Come race day things went all Grand Theft Auto at Turn 1 on the opening lap, sending some of the best cars to the pits. Then came Ricciardo's puncture while leading, then came the Safety Car – all by Lap 5. Nico Rosberg got 38 seconds of airtime on the way to victory – at the start and the finish, and that happened to be his margin of victory, too – otherwise he was a ghost. Everyone else was struggling and juggling. Rosberg's win at the Bahrain Grand Prix put the German at five consecutive victories going back to last year's Mexican Grand Prix. The history books show that any driver who's won five straight contests has gone on to win the championship. With his triumph in China, the German has won the season's first three races, the history books again show that the other nine drivers who've pulled that off have gone on to win the championship. Rosberg, 36 points ahead of his teammate in the standings, is having none of it. He said of the other victors, "But they didn't have Lewis Hamilton as their team-mate." Perhaps Mercedes was right not to make an engine deal with Red Bull last season.

If Tesla Model 3 is successful, Sergio Marchionne will copy it

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne hasn't hidden his disdain for electric vehicles, but he would copy the Tesla Model 3 if it is successful, according to Automotive News Europe. If Elon Musk "can show me that the car will be profitable at that price, I will copy the formula, add the Italian design flair and get it to the market within 12 months," Marchionne told Automotive News Europe during FCA's annual meeting in Amsterdam. In terms of pre-orders, the Model 3 is a success. Musk tweeted on April 7 that the company had over 325,000 reservations for the sedan, which he estimated were worth around $14 billion. The car will start at $35,000 before incentives. Marchionne, however, isn't optimistic Tesla can actually make the electric sedan work financially. "I'm am not surprised by the high number of reservations but you have then to build and deliver them and also be profitable," he told ANE. The FCA boss is a noted skeptic of EVs. In 2012, he said that the company only built the 500e because of California's zero-emissions vehicle mandate and to give engineers experience with the technology. He doubled-down in 2014 when he claimed FCA lost $14,000 on each 500e and said he would rather people didn't buy them. More recently, he infamously said "you'd have to shoot me first," before he'd allow a fully electric Ferrari. Related Video:

Ex-Fiat exec: VW diesel scandal will hurt plug-in hybrids

It doesn't sound right at first blush, but former Fiat executive and noted diesel-powertrain expert Rinaldo Rinolfi thinks that plug-in hybrid sales may be more impacted by the VW diesel-emissions scandal than diesel sales. Rinolfi, who worked for Fiat for 40 years, told Automotive News Europe, said that the Euro 6 emissions rules that went into effect in 2015 have already increased diesel-engine production costs enough to raise prices and ultimately flatten demand. By the end of the decade, diesel-vehicle sales will settle in at a 40-percent market share of new European vehicles, and that was going to happen with or without the scandal. "Every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions." - Rinaldo Rinolfi Makers of plug-in hybrids have more to lose, though, because every PHEV maker has figured out a way to keep emissions figures artificially low, Rinolfi said. Under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standards, PHEVs can be tested part of the time with the electric motor in action, meaning emissions get driven down to 30 percent to 40 percent less than real-world figures. With the VW scandal pushing regulators to use real-world figures, those PHEV emissions numbers are expected to rise substantially. To a lesser extent, hybrid emissions figures are also tested as artificially low. "Over the years, even without defeat devices, every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions the customer experiences," Rinolfi said in the Automotive News Europe interview. Rinolfi is a little sunnier about compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, estimating that CNG emissions are as much as 25 percent lower compared to conventional vehicles. As for battery-electrics, he's not so optimistic, estimating that there needs to be at least a tenfold improvement in energy efficiency for EVs to be truly competitive with conventional vehicles. "I've been waiting for a true breakthrough for the past 25 years, but I've not seen it yet," Rinolfi said about EVs in the Automotive News Europe interview. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters Green Fiat Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles Electric Hybrid diesel emissions scandal nedc

We need the sound of the Abarth 124 Spider in our lives

We've come to expect a certain sound to come from an Italian roadster, whether it's a Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Pagani. But where those all boast eight, 10, or even 12 cylinders – naturally aspirated or otherwise – the comparatively humble little Fiat 124 Spider packs a turbo four. And that type of engine seldom offers the kind of sonorous exhaust note that the big boys can make. Fortunately the chianti-swilling grease monkeys at Officine Abarth are on the case. Fiat's performance brand revealed its take on the new Mazda-based roadster at the Geneva Motor Show a month ago, incorporating all manner of enhancements over the standard model. That includes a modest 10-horsepower boost over stock and a Record Monza exhaust. And as you can hear from this video, captured at a Ferrari event somewhere in Europe, it gives the new Scorpion roadster a real audible sting in its tail. Unfortunately the version we get Stateside – revealed as the Fiat 124 Spider Elaborazione Abarth at the New York Auto Show – lacks some its European counterpart's enhancements, including those extra 10 cavalli. The car in this video is Euro-spec, and Road & Track reports the US model will be "more refined" though still capture the Abarth spirit. Related Video:

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.

2017 Fiat 124 Spider Elaborazione Abarth is lacking its sting

After seeing the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Elaborazione Abarth at the New York Auto Show, we're starting to understand the convertible is essentially Fiat's take on the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club trim. Thing is, the Abarth name is synonymous with big performance out of tiny engines, and that's exactly what the latest Fiat 124 Abarth gets in Europe. We want it here, too. Despite the scorpion badge on the fender, this model makes the same 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet as the standard 124 Spider. By way of comparison, the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 170 horsepower in Europe. Customers here can choose between a six-speed manual or automatic to route power to the rear wheels through a limited slip differential. The Elaborazione Abarth isn't completely without improvements, though. The droptop gets a stiffer suspension with Bilstein shocks, and a Sport Mode button adds an extra edge when drivers want it. Brembo four-piston calipers are optional, and the US model keeps the European Abarth's retro touches like the black hood. Unfortunately, Abarth's performance legacy holds the Elaborazione Abarth back, rather than helping it. The Mazda MX-5 Miata Club gets most of the same upgrades, including a limited-slip differential, Bilstein shocks, and optional Brembo brakes. However, the Miata's sporty trim is easy to accept because it's just part of the regular lineup; Mazda doesn't attach a brand name with racing history to the sharper model. In contrast, the scorpion badge on this 124 Spider makes the convertible hard to accept as a real Abarth. Related Video: