As you may well imagine, Volkswagen did very nicely in the European market for 2009, as did Opel and Ford (and there’s no prizes for guessing for which models). There are a couple of surprises though, with Fiat doing very well, but not with the Fiat 500, which makes a nice change, and Peugeot and Renault put in appearances as well. Check out Europe’s top ten cars for 2009 after the jump.

Continue reading: Europe's top ten cars for 2009

The Fiat 2010 New Year commercial is less about wishing you a Happy New Year and more about showing you the hopes for the Fiat-Chrysler deal for 2010. With a few historic images, very Italian in nature, we’re taken to the Fiat 500 cruising some world famous American sites. It’s a strange video for the local Italian audience, as if they needed convincing about the Fiat-Chrysler deal.

Another European manufacturer focussed on something more ecological for the New Year, with Renault producing a New Year video about its electric cars. With highly recognisable footage from recreation to environmental disasters, the Renault commercial closes with a brief look at the Renault Zoe: one of the family of Renault electrics made up of the Twizy, Fluence and Z.E. See the video after the jump.

Continue reading: Fiat and Renault: New Year commercials on Chrysler deal and electric cars

The Auto Trophy 2009 awards have been given by Auto Zeitung after reader surveys of about 105,000 participants. Obviously the local German cars were very successful, with Audi taking home a total of 40 percent of votes across all categories, but there have been a couple of surprises, too.

A special mention goes to the Opel Astra for its quality-price ratio, while the new BMW 1 Series won the best advertising campaign award. Across the categories, readers voted on 370 different models in total. In the small car category, the Volkswagen Polo won with 32.9 percent, while for imported small cars the Fiat 500 won with 20.6 percent. Among the mid-size range was the Volkswagen Golf 6, and for imported cars in this category, the Skoda Octavia won a divided contest, with 18.5 percent of votes.

The mid-size, top range cars featured some of the larger German models, with the Audi A5 Sportback winning with 27.2 percent of votes, and the Volvo V70 winning in the imported category. The luxury category was dominated by the Mercedes E-Class with 42.7 percent of votes, while the Jaguar XF took the title for imported vehicles. Among the flagship models, the Porsche Panamera won and the Aston Martin Rapide won in the imported category with 33.7 percent.

Continue reading: Auto Zeitung Auto Trophy: SLS AMG top supercar

Fiat could return to the difficult Korean car market after a ten year absence, partnering with Cosmos Automobile as the local import company of choice. Another possibility would be a partnership with Chrysler Korea, which could take priority given the new Fiat-Chrysler deal.

The Korean car market is opening up a little, with the abolition of eight percent of the import tax for foreign vehicles, which is part of the plan of a free trade agreement between Korea and the European Union. While the Fiat Group already makes Ferrari and Maserati models available to the Korean market, it’s difficult to speculate on the possible future success of Fiat models. Could the Fiat 500 once again prove to be the foot-in-the-door to an overseas market?

Source | Quattroruote via Autoblog.it

Continue reading: Fiat Group to return to Korea

The Abarth 500 Assetto Corse is challenging the best in the small car racing segment, up against the Renault Clio. Abarth has tuned version of the 1.4-litre turbocharged engine with 187 hp. The Abarth Trophy model is described as “very good fun”, as you can probably tell by the noise for such a small machine, and it certainly lives up to the “small but wicked” slogan. Damn, we would like to have a spin!

Continue reading: Abarth 500 Assetto Corse track video

In what could bode well for the fortunes of the Fiat 500 in the US, the cute little city car is continuing its sales success in the UK. While still a European market, the 2,989 Fiat 500’s sold in the month of October prove that the retro style model has appeal outside of its local Italian market.

The sales results mean that the Fiat 500 could enter the top ten most sold cars in the UK. Fiat has also had good results with its other models, with a total of 6,570 Fiat models sold in October this year. That’s an increase of 117.5 percent on the same period last year (with 3,020 models sold). While still very small, Fiat’s market share in the UK has increased from 2.58 to 2.9 percent.

Source | Autoblog.it

Continue reading: Fiat 500 sales success in UK

The presentation from Fiat-Chrysler on future plans for the Chrysler brand and models has been comprehensive, if a little confusing, and confirms much of what was already thought. The Fiat 500 will be the first Fiat group model to reach American shores, late next year, with dedicated sales teams and “salons” in Chrysler showroooms.

The hope is that the cute little Fiat 500 will hold much of the same fascination for the Americans as the Mini, with its retro style winning hearts. It will be followed by the Fiat 500 cabrio in 2011 and the Abarth 500 in 2012, in a logical progression which will be the first introduction to the US market and distribution channels for Fiat.

As for Chrysler models, there will be a number of “special editions” launched to get the last few models off the production line. The 300, Town and Country, Sebring and PT Cruiser will transform into a sports edition, fashion edition, ocean edition and final edition respectively, to tie the models over before new production, style and models kick off later next year and into 2011.

Continue reading: Fiat-Chrysler plan: Fiat 500 confirmed to US

As the car world waits for the plan of the Fiat-Chrysler deal to be revealed, it looks as though a new Chrysler logo could be revealed. You might wonder why, if the brand is going to disappear from Europe, but it could be a show of faith from Fiat that Chrysler will get a revival in its own market of North America.

The new logo is quite sexy, definitely modern and hopefully marks the dawn of a new era for America’s beloved Chrysler. So far the Fiat-Chrysler plans have been sketchy and mostly include the arrival of the Fiat 500 or Abarth 500 on the US market, the appearance of the Alfa Giulia in the US, but perhaps not the Milano or MiTo, and the retaining of the Jeep brand on the European market. It looks as though Dodge will go niche, including an electric car in its line-up, and that we will see Lancia-badged Chryslers, particularly the new 300c already spied, in Europe. All will soon be revealed. Stay tuned.

Source | Autoblog

Continue reading: New Chrysler logo: Fiat to save Chrysler or not?

We already knew that the Fiat 500 would be the first Fiat to hit the US market, and had reckoned that the retro chic model would meet likely success in North America. It seems that Fiat is not quite convinced that the 500 has what it takes, in its current form, and so has decided to pull out the big guns on this model, and take the Abarth 500 instead.

It’s unclear though, whether the Abarth 500 will be a kind of teaser, limited edition model to raise interest for the following standard Fiat 500 version, which could turn up in showrooms next year as a 2011 model.

According to reports, Fiat expects to sell about 25,000 models of the Abarth 500, with pricing at between 18,000 and 19,000 US dollars. Whether this will actually kill off any chance the standard 500 has is anyone’s guess, but the Abarth model should certainly prove successful in itself. Fiat should be releasing more details in the coming week as to its US plans, which should hopefully put an end to the speculation.

Source | LeftLaneNews

Continue reading: Abarth 500 first Fiat to US

With talk of Fiat-Chrysler plans and the return of Alfa Romeo to the US with the new models Alfa MiTo, Alfa Milano and Alfa Giulia, here’s another rendering to keep our interest going. This design of a hypothetical Alfa Giulia shows a sporty, agressive front, while keeping the smooth lines of the sedan intact.

The Fiat group will first make its appearance on US shores with the Fiat 500, and it is expected to be every bit as successful as in Europe, having become an icon of Italian style. It will appear in 2011 and will be followed by the Alfa models later, with the Milano debuting next year in Europe, and the Giulia not until 2012.

Source | Alvolante.it

Continue reading: Alfa Romeo Giulia rendering

More from our friend Theophilus Chin with this rendering of the Fiat 500 roadster. The Fiat 500 is successfully continuing its evolution, after the standard model was developed into the Abarth 500 and the Fiat 500C. Coming in the future will also be the Abarth 500C, and the much-expected US debut of the Fiat 500 in 2011.

The Fiat 500 in the US will be assembled at Fiat-Chrysler facilities in Mexico, which will also produce the 500 Giardineria, or 500 station wagon version. The Fiat 500 is aiming for further competition with the Mini and the broadening of the range will go blow-for-blow with the new Mini Coupe and Mini Roadster concepts presented at Frankfurt.

Source | Autoblog.it

Continue reading: Fiat 500 Roadster rendering

We had reported that the Alfa Giulia was to appear in 2012, and now it looks positively destined for the US market. While the Fiat 500 is getting a Chrysler distribution and should be the flag bearer of Italian trendy style in that market, it seems the larger models from the Fiat portfolio are the ones considered for an American debut.

According to reports, the successful Alfa MiTo and yet-to-be-released Milano will not be going to the US due to their smaller size. It seems the MiTo and Milano will appear on the European market only at this stage. The MiTo has already been enjoying solid sales since its debut, though the fortunes of the Milano and Giulia are still unknown.

Source | Motorionline

Continue reading: Alfa Giulia in US in 2012, no MiTo or Milano for America