1968 Fiat 500 (cinquecento) on 2040-cars

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James Bond to drive Fiat 500 in next film

After the return of James Bond's classic Aston Martin DB5 for some scenes in SkyFall, the spy with a license to kill is reportedly hopping into something much more mainstream for his next film. The upcoming Bond movie allegedly features a car chase through Rome in a Fiat 500, according to Sky News from info obtained by Italian news agency ANSA. The Italian capital is also rumored to play host to other action scenes in the film, and shooting for these portions allegedly runs through February and March of 2015. There's no word yet whether a modern or vintage 500 would be the star, but using a current 500 Abarth could keep things exciting, although we hope James gets behind the wheel of something a bit more exciting along the way, too. Regardless of which Fiat Bond drives, it still wouldn't match the Citroen 2CV chase in For Your Eyes Only as the spy's most plebeian automotive choice. The name for the next Bond movie isn't revealed yet, but filming is supposed to start in the coming weeks, according to Sky News. Daniel Craig returns for his fourth outing as the world's most famous fictitious spy, and Sam Mendes is reportedly in the director's chair again after helming SkyFall, as well.

FCA reportedly joins the crowd skipping this year's Paris Motor Show

It's likely FCA vehicles will not be seen at the Paris Motor Show this year. Automotive News is reporting that Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Jeeps and Abarths will not be a part at the show, based on information circulating in the French media. There's a possibility that Maseratis will be displayed at a special section dedicated to upscale cars, but Maserati too will not have a show stand of its own. Ferrari will have a stand, but as it happens, the supercar maker has been a standalone brand since 2015. Skipping the Paris show follows FCA's decision not to take part in the Frankfurt show last year, and the two shows alternate as the biggest autumnal automotive show in Europe. Volkswagen will also not attend the event, and neither will Ford, Nissan or Infiniti. This has become a problem for car shows worldwide, including Detroit's North American International Auto Show. FCA has not released a formal statement about the matter, but a FCA spokesman, quoted by the French magazine L'Argus, reportedly said that the sales and publicity brought in by the show stand would not justify the costs of attending. The news mirrors Volvo's newly announced plan to not take part at the next Geneva Motor Show, but to arrange "bespoke activities" to introduce its cars instead. Related Video:

Fiat pondering swallowing rest of Chrysler, US IPO

At the moment, Fiat is in court with the United Auto Workers, waiting for the justice system to provide some guidance on a fair price for 41.5-percent of Chrysler it doesn't own. Fiat owns 58.5 percent of the company and wishes to buy the remainder, which is owned by the union's VEBA retiree trust, but the Italian company and the UAW are on different sides of the galaxy when it comes to assigning a fair price to that outstanding stake.
Naturally, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is considering his options. A new report in the The Wall Street Journal says one of the scenarios being considered now is - depending on the outcome of the court case - to purchase the 41.5-percent stake and then issue an IPO to recoup some of the cost. About two months ago, Marchionne put the odds of an IPO for a wholly combined Fiat/Chrysler at 50 percent. Even with the WSJ report, it's not clear if those odds have changed.
The current company structure leaves a lot of options as to how a potential IPO could be issued, but it's said that Marchionne is against it, preferring "to be one company," under Fiat, indivisible. If Fiat is finally able to purchase all of the Pentastar, it would get access to Chrysler's war chest, pegged at $11.9 billion at the end of Q3 in 2012, and that money can't come soon enough for a brand taking a beating in Europe and delaying product over cash concerns.