Dodge May Sell Rebadged Alfas in the US while Europe Could get Dodge Models as Alfas

In an interview in New York on Wednesday, Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that one of the first priorities of the partnership is to decide how to handle the Dodge and Alfa Romeo brands, which he sees as American and European counterparts. It sounds crazy but one of the scenarios being examined by Marchionne is the possibility to sell Alfa Romeo models under the Dodge brand in the U.S. and Dodge cars as Alfa Romeos in Europe.

According to the CEO, the two brands share a common identity and therefore should work closer in the near future.

"The level of competition between these two brands is tremendous because they are both going after the same customer," said Marchionne. "Dodge is the American muscle car, while Alfa Romeo is the European muscle car. How we dovetail these two brands is very important."

While we're having a hard time trying to find any current Dodge model that could fit in Alfa's European range - especially if you take into consideration the different needs of buyers on the other side of the Atlantic, we could see several Alfa models including the MiTo making it to the States with the Dodge logo.

But wouldn't such a move dilute Alfa's premium image? Unless that is, Fiat is considering to abandon its plans to re-introduce the Italian firm to American buyers.

In any case, Marchionne said that he wants to make a final decision on the future of the two brands by the end of the July, so it won't be long before we learn more details.

Via: Bloomberg

Fiat 500C Convertible Goes on Sale in the UK

The UK is the first market in the world to receive the new convertible or rather, the closest you'll get to a convertible version of the retrotastic Fiat 500 without chopping the rooftop off at custom shop. The 500C went on sale in the UK today, Thursday, 2 July, priced between £11,300 and £14,100. Customers have a choice of two petrol units, the 69HP 1.2-liter and 100HP 1.4-liter four bangers and a 75HP 1.3-liter turbodiesel, in two trim levels, Pop and Lounge.

Both models have an electrically operated hood, air conditioning, remote central locking, radio/CD/MP3 player, seven airbags and electric door mirrors, while the Lounge adds climate control, ESP stability control, foglights and rear parking sensors.

Fiat Sapor Roadster: Concept Study for a RWD Two-Seater Sports Car

Fiat's link with the Chrysler LLC Group has spurred a wave of speculative reports, product plan forecasts and even design proposals like the Fiat Sapor roadster that was conceived by the crew over at Diseno-Art as an entry-level sports. We see two basic problems with this idea: A. the 500 mini is the only Fiat badged-car set to make it to the States (unless it comes with a Chrysler - Dodge logo) and B. the design itself is very rough, meaning that there's something there, but it definitely needs more work to show its full potential.

According to the designers, the Fiat Sapor's exterior styling is influenced by various Fiat models such as the 124 Spider up front and the X1/9 at the rear. The two-seater features a removable canvas rooftop that stows away into a special compartment behind the rear seats.

As for the roadster's mechanical hardware, the Sapor was designed to feature a front-mounted engine that sends power to the rear wheels. The designers claim that one possible option could be Fiat's 1.4-liter turbocharged four that makes 180HP in the Abarth Grande Punto Esseesse hatch.

Via: Diseno-art

Mcchip-ing the Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet Diesel

German tuning firm Mcchip has introduced a new engine kit for the diesel variant of Fiat's retro-style minicar. At a cost of €509 or a little over $700 US at today's rates, Mcchip will fiddle around with the 500's 1.3-liter Multijet turbo diesel engine increasing output from 75HP to 95HP and peak torque from 145Nm to 185Nm. For another €1,099, Mcchip will throw in a set of 17-inch Black Diamond alloy wheels with Hankook S1 Evo tires in size 195/40 R17.

Fiat 500C: New Video with Driving Footage of the Convertible Model

Here's the first driving footage of Fiat's brand-new 500C convertible model that was revealed to the world for the first time at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The new variant of the 500 that features an electric-sliding fabric top enters the European market two years after the launch of the fixed-roof model. Currently, Fiat offers the 500C with 1.2-liter and 1.4-liter petrol and 1.3-liter diesel engines.

Although the Italians have not announced an Abarth model yet, we wouldn't be at all surprised if Fiat adds a sporty variant to the range in the very near future. For more information and a mega gallery of the 500C with 105 high-res photos, click here to check out our previous story.

Fiat 500 Convertible: Giga Gallery with 105 High-Res Photos, Could Make it to the US

Those Fiat folks are a weird bunch. The same people that have done a fabulous job in marketing and promoting all variants of the 500 mini, when it comes to releasing photos, they're slower than a PC with Vista working on 512MB of system memory. More than three months after the public debut of the 500 Convertible (officially called 500C) at the Geneva Show in March, and just as the mini begins to arrive at dealerships, the Italians published a comprehensive photo gallery of their latest creation.

Unlike its closest rival, the MINI Cooper Convertible, the 500C is not a full-blown cabriolet as Fiat opted for a simple rollback soft top retaining the car's roofline and C-pillar. In true 500-style, the ragtop is offered in three different colors - ivory, red and black that can be matched with several body colors, two of which have been conceived specifically for the new car in a brilliant Pearl Red and a special Warm Grey.

The four-seater (provided that the rear passengers aren't regulars at fast food chains such as McDonalds and its like) is offered in Europe with a choice of three powerplants including the 69HP 1.2-litre and 100HP 1.4-litre gasoline engines and a 75HP 1.3-liter MultiJet turbodiesel.

Since the tin-topped 500 has already been confirmed for the U.S. market after the Fiat-Chrysler link with sales expected to start at the end of 2010 - beginning of 2011, the addition of the softop variant to the range is almost certain.