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Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.

Alfa Romeo will gain a Jeep Compass-based SUV

It was reported earlier this week that FCA would invest into its Italian factories to ramp up production at currently underutilized locations. Those plans have now been clarified with official information from FCA, as reported by Automotive News. The entire investment is worth $5.7 billion. First of all, Alfa Romeo will gain a new compact SUV based on the Jeep Compass architecture. The still-unnamed model will be available as a plug-in hybrid, and it will be built in Pomigliano, Italy. No U.S. availability has yet been announced, but it would not be odd to see the Compass-based model sold below the Stelvio in the States. The last time Alfa Romeo had anything similar in its model portfolio was when it offered Crosswagon-badged four-wheel-drive versions of the 156 and 159 wagons. As for the Jeep Compass itself, it will begin to be built at the Melfi plant in Italy. The rumored small "baby" Jeep slotting under the Renegade has not yet been officially mentioned. Fiat will introduce a battery electric 500, built in Turin, and the Pomigliano plant that will make the compact Alfa Romeo SUV will also be used to build a mild hybrid version of the Panda city car. The 500X will gain a PHEV variant. The Stelvio platform will also spawn a corresponding SUV for Maserati, and FCA also mentioned Maserati will introduce a new, unnamed model it will make in Modena. Automotive News quotes Italian press as saying this will be the Alfieri coupe and convertible, also offered as battery electric versions. Related Video:

Abarth marks 50 years of 595 with special edition Fiat 500

Abarth presented its original 595 at the Turin Motor Show in 1963. It was the car that put the Scorpion marque on the map and propelled the original Fiat 500 into hot hatch territory. And to mark that occasion, Fiat's performance brand is launching the special edition you see here.
Revealed here ahead of its public debut at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Abarth 595 50th Anniversary Edition packs a 1.4-liter turbo four with 180 horsepower (20 more than the standard 500 Abarth) channeled through the Abarth Competizione gearbox to the front wheels. The Scorpion brand has also retuned the suspension, fitted 305-millimeter Brembo discs, 17-inch wheels and installed a variable back-pressure exhaust.
Billed as the most powerful 595 to date, the special edition is identifiable by its matte white paint, red racing stripes and retro logos. Step inside and you'll find red leather buckets with white trim. Only 299 examples will be made, but don't go looking for this in US showrooms, as the Abarth range and the Fiat 500 upon which it's based is different in the two markets. Read more in the official press release below.