2014 Fiat 500l Trekking on 2040-cars

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Fiat 500 Cattiva and Abarth Tenebra concepts showcase design to enhance personality

Fiat brought out two new design concepts at the Detroit Auto Show, both intended to expand the appeal of its 500 Turbo and 500 Abarth models with upgraded and unique appointments inside and out.
First up is the Fiat 500 "Cattiva," based on the 500 Turbo, painted with a vibrant Rame (Copper) exterior with contrasting Nero (Black) accents. The turbocharged 500 features gloss Nero headlamp buckets, parking lamp bezels, tail lamps and a roof-mounted spoiler. Special 16-inch alloys, painted satin dark gray, hint at the sport-tuned suspension inside each fender. The appointments are continued inside its cabin with leather sport seating, Matte Nero instrument panel and other trim upgrades. Lastly, the sound package is the segment-exclusive Beats Audio system.
The Fiat 500 "Tenebra," based on the 500 Abarth, is painted in Matte Grigio (Gray) with Nero accents, just like its sibling. In addition to gloss Nero headlamp buckets, parking and tail lamps, it is fitted with 16-inch alloys with a Nero chrome finish. Setting itself apart, the signature Abarth bodyside stripes (and mirror cap) are Grigio in color and there is a large Abarth "Scorpion" logo on the roof. Inside the cabin, the Tenebra features performance seats with leather upholstery, a flat-bottom steering wheel and other cosmetic upgrades. Like the Cattiva, the Beats Audio system is standard.

China own a Detroit automaker? Would the U.S. let that happen?

The news that several Chinese automakers want to buy Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and that one has even made an offer, elicits some mixed feelings. On one hand, as some have pointed out, it could be a win-win both for China and for FCA's American workers, ensuring the company's survival and opening new markets. On the other hand, this is China, whose trade relationship with the U.S. is the source of considerable scrutiny from the Trump administration — and whose not-a-friend, not-an-enemy status is particularly difficult to gauge right now during heightened tensions with its client state North Korea. So would such a deal pass regulatory muster? One reason that springs to mind for blocking any sale has to do with national security. Chrysler's role as a military supplier dates back to Dodge trucks used by Gen. Blackjack Pershing to chase Pancho Villa in Mexico, and shortly thereafter by American forces in World War I. The Detroit Three automakers were, of course, mainstays of the Arsenal of Democracy of World War II. Even before U.S. entry into the war in December 1941, America's industrial machinery went into overdrive, and Chrysler was one of the biggest cogs. It engineered and built the M3, Sherman and Pershing tanks and trucks for Gen. George Patton's Redball Express. It helped develop a radar-guided antiaircraft gun that knocked German bombers and V1 rockets out of the sky — on one day, shooting down 97 of 101 V1s headed for London. On D-Day, the radar system helped thwart Luftwaffe counterattacks on the beaches of Normandy, and it later helped Allied forces break out at the Battle of the Bulge. Chrysler redesigned the Wright Cyclone engines used by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the plane that firebombed Tokyo and dropped the atomic bombs that ended the war. Chrysler even played a secret role refining uranium in Oak Ridge, Tenn., that was used in the Hiroshima bomb and in the ensuing Cold War arms race. It worked on military missiles and was NASA's prime contractor for the Saturn V rocket that put men on the moon. More recently, Chrysler produced the M1 Abrams tank. And of course Chrysler is the keeper of the flame for Jeep, a 75-plus-years military legacy handed down from Bantam and Willys to Kaiser to AMC to Chrysler. The point of this history lesson is to note that in times of war or national emergency, America's industrial might has been called to serve, and may well be called on again.

Fiat: Ready For Action

Leave it to Fiat to employ a certain little blue pill in its 2015 Super Bowl advertising. The company employed a Viagra-like medication to highlight its all-new 500X soft-roader, a larger, all-wheel-drive variant of the cute-as-a-button 500 hatchback. It's not until the end of the ad that you realize just what the advertisement is for, but once you get to the car, you're sure to get a chuckle.