2013 Fiat 500 Abarth on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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

SEMA-fied Fiat 500Ls are ready for mountains or beaches

Fiat may be struggling with its 500L, but that hasn't stopped the Italian brand from bringing a pair of the larger five-door 500s to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
First up is the Fiat 500L Adventurer (pictured above). Painted bright white with a Vibrance Bright Orange roof and Satin Black body accents, the 500L Adventurer's color scheme does well on the car's body. The 18-inch wheels look sharp, although we aren't enamored with the 500L graphics on the car's doors. The cabin sports black, perforated suede and leather from Katzkin, while the exterior's contrasting orange reappears on some of the interior elements. Underhood, a Mopar cold-air intake has been fitted, while a cat-back exhaust aids breathing even more.
The Fiat 500L Thalassa (right) is the the car that looks like a creamsicle, with its Vibrance Orange body and white roof. Fiat claims it was going for a beach cruiser theme, which explains the surf boards and the Woody Wagon-inspired wheels. It's given a modern twist, though, with a lowered ride height and smoked head and taillights.

FCA compromises with France, moving Renault merger bid forward

FRANKFURT/PARIS – Renault directors were preparing to review Fiat Chrysler's $35 billion merger offer on Tuesday, after the Italian-American carmaker resolved differences with the French government overnight, three sources said. The compromise on French government influence over a combined FCA-Renault may clear the way for Renault's board to approve a framework agreement beginning the long process of a full merger, unless new issues surface at the meeting. France, Renault's biggest shareholder with a 15% stake, had been pressing for its own guaranteed seat on the new board and an effective veto on CEO appointments. But after late-night talks with FCA Chairman John Elkann, the French government has accepted a compromise that would see it occupy one of four board seats allocated to Renault, balanced by four FCA appointees, the sources said. Renault would also cede one of its two seats on a four-member CEO nominations committee to the French state, they said. Renault, FCA and the French government all declined to comment on the discussions. The same evening that the compromise was was negotiated, activist hedge fund CIAM wrote to the board of Renault to say it "strongly opposed" a planned $35 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler. Calling the deal "opportunistic," the fund said the current deal terms strongly favored Fiat Chrysler and offered no control premium. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Laurence Frost; additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Simon Jessop; editing by Jason Neely and Rachel Armstrong) Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat Mitsubishi Nissan Renault merger