2011 Maserati Quattroporte S, Black On Black, Navigation, Parking Sensors on 2040-cars

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Share price falls on skepticism of Chrysler-Fiat five-year plan

Following this week's Fiat Chrysler extravaganza, where the Italian-American manufacturer announced its plans for the next five years, the Autoblog staff was cautiously optimistic of the company's future. Investors? Not so much.
Fiat saw its shares tumble 12 percent in Wednesday's trading, falling from 8.67 euros ($12.06 at today's rates) to 7.44 euros ($10.35) as of this writing, with blame partly going to the Italian half of the FCA marriage, which recorded a pretty significant drop in profits during the first quarter of this year.
The plan, which will cost around $77 billion over the next several years, is facing criticism from investors thanks in part to a 1.4-percent drop in Fiat's first-quarter profits, to 622 million euros ($862 million). That figure is also short of Bloomberg analysts' projections, which predicted $1.18 billion in profits before taxes, interest and one-time items.

Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.

All of the Bond cars of 'No Time To Die' (caution for spoilers)

Note: The following overview of the cars in No Time To Die contains spoilers. Read at your own risk, or come back after seeing the film to make sure you caught everything.   No Time To Die picks up right around where Spectre leaves us. James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) are driving along in Bond’s restored and iconic DB5 in Matera, Italy. Things donÂ’t stay all that cheery for long in picturesque Matera, though. As is tradition in Bond films, the first car chase hits us with an explosion of action in what's a super-long opening scene. Fourth-gen Maserati Quattroporte: The baddies in the beginning are driving a Maserati and chasing after Bond in the DB5. Specifically, theyÂ’re in a fourth-gen Quattroporte, which feels right for a chase scene in Italy. Its squared-off looks are mean enough, and its Italian growl is a good background soundtrack to the DB5Â’s inline-six. In addition to the Quattroporte, the chase scene in Matera is home to a couple of the best stunts of the entire movie, including the arch jump done with a Triumph motorcycle seen in trailers — Matera is extremely hilly. Eventually, Bond and Swann find themselves in the DB5 again together, which is where the famous gatling gun scene from the trailer commences, but not before the bulletproof windows and body of the DB5 are thoroughly tested. RIP to the first-gen Range Rover Classics and Jaguar XFs that joined the Maserati in pursuit of Bond (here's a list of other Bond cars over the years). As the DB5 escape scene concludes, we catch a glimpse of what appears to be a Ferrari from the 1970s. However, the view was far enough away that weÂ’ll need a second look to be sure of the exact model. Land Rover Series III: Next time we see Bond, heÂ’s fishing in Jamaica and driving around a blue Land Rover Series III. ItÂ’s yet another of the many Land Rover products featured throughout the film, and unlike most of BondÂ’s Aston Martins, this one doesnÂ’t seem to have any unique features. The other intriguing vehicle out of Jamaica? An old Chevrolet Bel-Air expertly and effectively piloted by Bond newcomer, Ana de Armas. Next up, we get a few shots of the new and still-not-for-sale Aston Martin Valhalla mid-engine supercar (also seen in trailers). BondÂ’s old boss M is in the scene which appears to have been shot in some secret wind tunnel of sorts. Much to our dismay, nobody ends up driving the Valhalla in the film. Could it be a teaser for what the next 007Â’s car is?