Alfa Romeo to Stay and Rebuild Under Fiat, Hopes to Move 500,000 Units by 2014

Fiat CEO Segio Marchionne has put the VW-Alfa Romeo rumors to rest...for now. Alfa will officially stay under its Italian parent's wing for at least a little while longer as Marchionne attempts to revive the ever-struggling Italian luxury automaker.

Alfa Romeo, as you may know, is not exactly pulling its weight; it is estimated that Fiat loses over $400 Million a year because of the upscale brand, which Marchionne says will have to move 300,000 units annually to earn money. For the record, Alfa is on pace for ~105,000 units this year, and Marchionne wants to hit 500,000 units by 2014 with the help of new models and the US market (possibly in 2012).

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SEMA Preshow: 2010 Fiat 500 Tuned by the American Way

The Chrysler Group is bumping up the interest on the upcoming U.S. market Fiat 500 with a tuned concept version readied by none other than the Mopar Underground team, which will make its world premiere at next month's SEMA Show.

In what could be seen as a preview of things to come for U.S. buyers of the retro-styled city car, Mopar's team has created a raft of unique styling and performance parts for the 500.

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VIDEO: Top Gear Shooting in Israel with BMW Z3, Mazda MX-5 and Fiat Barchetta

Thanks to one of Carscoop's commentators, we can now show you a video of Top Gear's trio of power obsessed presenters -that would be Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond- filming an episode in the Holy Land. As noted in our previous article with the scoop pictures, the cars of choice for Top Gear's latest escapade, are a trio of older generation roadster models - the BMW Z3, Mazda MX-5 and Fiat Barchetta.

There's also a guy with a white racing helmet driving what looks like an old Suzuki Alto, but we're not sure if he's part of the Top Gear crew or if some fans of the show decided to make fun of The Stig. As always, any help with the translation, would be welcome. Watch the video after the jump.

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Fiat Uno Roadster Study and Uno Sporting to Break Cover at São Paulo Auto Show

Fiat is planning to debut a conceptual roadster version and a sported-up production variant of its newly revealed Uno city car at next week's 2010 São Paulo Auto Show in Brazil, which will be open to the public from 27 October 7 November.

Although designed as a pure concept study, the two-seater Uno Roadster shows the potential for a limited series production model in the near future. The car is powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine producing 152-horsepower and features a stiffened chassis, 17-inch alloy wheels and an aggressive bodykit.

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Top Gear Caught Filming Battered Up BMW Z3, Fiat Barchetta and MX-5 at Israel-Jordan Borders

The crew from Top Gear [the original, not the US clone that some are persistently trying to shove down our throat - we get it, it's coming...], was snagged chilling at the border between Israel and Jordan.

According to one of our tipsters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond drove their specially modified BMW Z3, Fiat Barchetta and Mazda MX-5 roadsters from Jordan to Israel and their next stop will be at the Golan Heights and at Nazareth. Maybe we'll get some new photos from the shoot, but for now, enjoy some high-res pics after the jump.

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Chrysler Auctions First Fiat 500 in Canada for $85,000

The "Numero Uno" (not the pizza, the car), which is the first in a series of 500 limited edition Fiat 500s to reach Canadian shores, was auctioned off on Saturday evening by Chrysler at Toronto's 17th annual Venetian Ball. The car fetched an impressive $85,000 (no word if that's CAD or USD), with all proceeds benefiting Villa Charities, which is said to provide "culturally sensitive care" for the elderly Italian-Canadian population.

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New Chrysler 200 May be Rebadged as a Lancia in Europe

Chrysler's redesigned / facelifted Sebring, which will go on sale in the U.S. later this year as the new 200 sedan, was only just released on Tuesday, yet we already have news that it may be sold in mainland Europe as a Lancia and as a Chrysler in the UK and Ireland (the Italian firm has withdrawn from these markets). The Fiat Group is considering the move not so much for retail sales as to help boost fleet sales in key markets such as Germany and the UK.

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Fiat Panda and Lancia Ypsilon Replacements Pushed Back for 2012

Following CEO Sergio Marchionne's comments at the 2010 Paris Motor Show (see here), Autonews Europe has uncovered new information regarding the Fiat Group's future product launches.

One of Fiat's most important models in Europe, the third generation Panda, was originally due in summer 2010 but its launch had already been pushed back to September 2011. Now, sources inside the company told the news site that the introduction of the small five-door hatchback will be further delayed until January 2012.

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Fenice Milano Blings-Out the Fiat 500C to create "La Dolce Vita"

After seeing Fenice Milano's Rolls-Royce Diva, would you expect them to do any less to a car like the Fiat 500? No, of course not, which is why you see all the gold trim covering the Italian company's 500C-based "La Dolce Vita".

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Fiat Explains Under-The-Radar Paris Appearance, will Debut New Models in Late 2011

Fiat has addressed a question at least a few people were asking this year in Paris, explaining its lack of significant presence at this year's Paris Motor Show. According to CEO Sergio Marchionne, Fiat has been building up steam, waiting to release new product until late next year in order to better balance the brand's many companies' funds.

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Fiat 500 Prima Edizione Special Sells Out in the States

As expected, it didn't take long for Fiat fans to buy out the first batch of 500 city cars that will come to the States in the form a limited edition model called the "500 Prima Edizione". Today, Chrysler announced that all 500 examples of the special edition, which was offered in three colors - Bianco (White), Rosso (Red), and Grigio (Gray)- and only with a manual gearbox, have been spoken for.

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Here's the US Version of the Fiat 500, Available for Order Soon

Today, the Chrysler Group lifted the wraps off the North American version of the retrotastic Fiat 500, which will be available for order in the States later this year in Sport, Pop and Lounge trims, followed by a targa-top convertible model (500C) in spring of 2011.

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Chrysler to Show Dealers New Models, Discuss Future at Florida Meeting on Tuesday

Chrysler dealers will meet in Orlando, Florida tomorrow to discuss the Pentastar's future and their role in it. Some 1,735 (out of 2,314) dealers will be getting up close and personal with new models, as well as getting sneak peeks (call us!) at some of the upcoming model facelifts and updates including the refreshed Dodge Challenger and minivans, and the new Fiat 500.

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Ferrari F1 Drivers Alonso and Massa get their own Abarth 695 Tributo

One of the perks of being an F1 driver for an automaker is that you get a lot of free stuff, including cars - not because white collar execs love you, but because they want to milk every single ounce of fame out of you. In the case of human billboards Ferrari team drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, aside from those lovely gas station employee-like hats and polos, they also get their pick of cars from the Fiat Group.

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Fiat Launches Japan-Only 500 Arancia Special Edition

Even dedicated fans of Fiat's 500 mini will have a hard time tracking down all the special edition models released by the Italian company over the years, but for those that continue to care, here's one more limited production version of the car, this time made exclusively for Japan.

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Chrysler Group officials talk Fiat with 400 potential dealers

The Chrysler Group today hosted a special event in Detroit for around 400 of its car dealers from targeted markets across the country to tell them what it will take to become a Fiat dealer in the United States. Fiat, which controls 20 percent of Chrysler, plans to unveil the U.S.-spec version of its 500 mini at the Los Angeles auto show in November and begin selling the car by the end of the year.

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¿Qué? Abarth's 695 Tributo Ferrari Priced from €46,339 / $58,900 in Spain!

While we're all for special / limited edition models, we can't help but scratch our heads after learning that the Fiat Group's Abarth 695 Ridicolo Tributo Ferrari has been launched in Spain with a price tag that starts at -hold on to something- €46,339, or about US$58,900 at the current exchange rates! Talk about paying tribute to Maranello...

And before you say "oh, Spain might have high taxes on cars", or something along those lines, we checked out some local prices on various sports models, and let's just say that you can buy a brand-new Nissan 370Z and still be left with a LOT of pocket change. Tell us what you think in the comments section after the jump

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Chrysler Moving Forward with Fiat 500 Dealership Planning, Announces 119 Potential Markets in the U.S.

The Chrysler Group has released a tentative list of where it will be selling Fiat's cutey-patooty Fiat 500. Approximately 600 dealers nationwide have been informed that they are currently in a market suitable for the 500. With applications ending in September, Chrysler says it will have its final decisions ready by "early October".

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New Fiat 500CbyDIESEL Convertible Hits UK Showrooms

Fiat has a special edition version of its 500 for just about everybody. Only days after the arrival of the £30k Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari, the Italian automaker announced the launch of the fashion-inspired, 500CbyDIESEL which goes on sale in the UK today.

The convertible version of the 500byDIESEL gets the same distinct features as the tin top model including the unique 16-inch alloy wheels and the denim fabric interior, plus a new Midnight Indigo Blue exterior color, which Fiat claims is reminiscent of stone-washed denim jeans.

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Fiat's Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari Special Available in the UK, Priced at £29,600

The Fiat 500-based, Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari, is possibly the closest we'll ever get to a baby model from the company with the Prancing Horse logo. And now, almost a year after its world premiere at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show in Germany, Fiat has confirmed UK availability.

Only 152 examples of the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari will be available in right hand drive form in Britain, each carrying a steep price tag of £29,600, which comes to around €35,500 or US$46,900 at today's exchange rates. That's roughly what you'd pay for a BMW 135i Coupe M Sport (£30,675) in the UK.

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