The 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show is upon us, and as usual, TTAC will have photographers in the field, complete with live shots of all the new debuts, while we provide anger-tinged appraisals of all the new debuts. Press days don’t start for another couple of days, but we’ve got a rundown of what to expect after the jump.

(Read More…)

It’s an open secret that the Fiat 500L will debut in North American trim at next week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, but the 500L will bow in somewhat different form than what we may have been expecting.

(Read More…)

With the TWATs under way and awards season about to gear up, I would like to take a moment to highlight the one car I’ve found that ticks all the boxes for me personally. It’s the Fiat 500 Abarth.

(Read More…)

Japan, everyone’s favorite closed market, is about to get a couple new products from Chrysler, which will return to the market after a nearly four year absence.

(Read More…)

All you J.Lo fans hankering for the chance to get behind the wheel of an emissions-free Fiat 500, the wait is (almost) over.

(Read More…)

The long awaited replacements for the Chrysler minivan twins are still at least 21 months away, according to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

(Read More…)

Last year, our esteemed Ed in Chief Niedermeyer did intensive research into what was left of then Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s share holdings in Fiat. Fiat denied that the Colonel had any financial interest in Fiat, but he did. The holdings were seized by the Italian government. (Read More…)

Sergio Marchionne can’t wait to get his hands  on the 41.5 percent of Chrysler, which are in the hands of the UAW’s VEBA trust. Once Fiat is in total control, Fiat and Chrysler could be merged, and the cash could be used to … but you know the drill from years back. Currently at stake are 3.3 percent. Fiat has a call option, but the UAW trust doesn’t want to fork the shares over. (Read More…)

“Whenever Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of carmakers Fiat and Chrysler, appears in public, television crews jostle to beam his words around the globe. Amid the push and shove it’s easy to miss the tall, curly-headed young man who often looks on from the sidelines.

He’s John Elkann.  And he’s Marchionne’s boss.” (Read More…)

Quattroporte literally means “four door” in Italian. A rather uninspiring name for an exotic car like this Maserati. The new QP will be unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show. No technical specs were revealed but bet on this; 8 cylinders and two pedals.

Fans of HBO’s hit show The Wire will remember The New Day Co-Op, a coalition of Baltimore heroin dealers who band together in part to get better deals on their drug supply and remain strong against law enforcement and rival gangsters. Half a world a way, a similar proposal was floated by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, but never came to pass.

(Read More…)

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne repeated its pleas that European governments should do something about the overcapacity in  the region. Being in Shanghai when he said that, he recommended that the Chinese government does the same. The governments likely won’t be enthusiastic about Sergio’s advice.

Said Sergio while the Wall Street Journal took notes: (Read More…)

The first American automobile built as a joint venture in China could soon be built at a China joint venture again.  Fiat plans to bring Jeep production back to the Middle Kingdom, Bloomberg says. (Read More…)

It looks like Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne does not want to be head of the European automakers association ACEA much longer.  Today, he called for a massive EU rescue package for the ailing European car industry, with coordinated capacity cuts as the centerpiece.  He also called for a stop of free trade agreements. “Let the European car industry make its adjustments… This is not the time to embrace free trade,” Marchionne said while Reuters was taking notes.
(Read More…)

Carmakers do get hurt when someone calls their cars junk. When Moody’s calls your credit rating junk, then this hurts a lot: It makes financing more expensive, or possibly impossible. Moody’s lowered the credit rating of Fiat and PSA Citroen Peugeot  to Ba3 with negative outlook. Translation: This is serious junk, and it might get worse. (Read More…)