A New Fiat....

Very Nice! Looks like a concept car only though. I know that chopped greenhouse will never make it into production, but it would be great if they did, or at least not dilute the style too kmuch during the concept to reality transition.

I like how its unmistakenly Fiat, with cues to the 500 grille mustache and light arrangement, but done is a very modern way. That beltline/c pillar styling is damn sexy!
 
Looks kinda like...

rally_fighter_wallpaper1b.jpg


From Local Motors. They are local to me now, really cool cars.
 
The FCC4 is just a styling concept for the Sao Paulo show in Brazil at the end of this month. I seriously doubt it will see its way to any production line. I can see some design language on the lines of the Cherokee but this one is 'out there' for sure. All serious car makers exercise their design muscles and it a healthy sign for Fiat/ Chrysler that they have the confidence to have a go at styling a concept in segment where it makes no sense to build that in North America.

It is great from some angles but for me doesn't 'work', IMHO that beltline/c pillar styling might look damn sexy but it is a PITA in the real world. Having been behind the wheel of an Evoque where the rear vision is a disaster and without the reversing camera you have to be awful careful. The market is crowded with SUV's and this one is tiny by your local standards, sized like a Range Rover Evoque / BMW X6, I would have thought that they had enough product in their own FCA model lines. Perhaps we will see a styling change on their Freemont (Dodge Journey) which IMO is quite boring. Also of interest at the Show in Brazil will be that the new 167 Bhp Multiair Turbo 500 Abarth, Bravo, 500e and 2015 Uno will be unwraped. Whilst the Ferrari 458 will get a showing the real news is that Sergio Marchionne at Fiat has announced it is time for Fiat to let Ferrari go as it was time for them to do it on their own.

Older news but none the less interesting is that the 2012 Fiat collaboration with Mazda is still going ahead. The development of the MX5 ( Miata ) platform, rumor mill had placed as an Alfa Romeo is now looking likely to result in a Fiat or Abarth Roadster rather than an Alfa Romeo Spyder/roadster. For you guys in North America it seems counter intuitive, the sporty 500 models are making some good inroads (profit ) so putting a car reminiscent of the Barchetta on the showroom floor that eats into those sales is odd. But then again Sergio said he was committed to expanding the product lines in the US.

Like your market the MX5 ( Miata ) has a loyal following Downunder and as many will be jumping into the 2015 Miata in the U.S. roadster fans here are just going to rush into the MX-5... Leaving the probably more expensive similarly engineered Fiat behind? An Alfa however... is an Alfa. It's just different, the ones I have had did have a soul. The Mazda has quite a cult following and its really a great car, but there will always be the folks that want something different and the Thurston Howell the 3rd crowd that can't be seen in just a plain old Mazda will flock to an Alfa.


Fiats Abarth cache would help, and considering the proposed Alfa version was rumored to use the 1.4-litre MultiAir engine from the 500 Abarth, it seems obvious. At a motor show interview Sergio Marchionne had stated that the project was now dropped from the Alfa Romeo brand, as the plan is for that brand to only have models built in Italy. So perhaps a rear wheel drive to take the place of the Mk1 Punto FWD based Barchetta that died in 2005 ( the successor to Fiat's '60s and '70s Spiders ). I kind of like that as "Barchetta" in Italian means 'little boat'. So the Autobianchi Runabout designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone and shown at the 1969 Turin Motor that became the prototype code X1/9 project carries on that nautical theme, albeit without the 'sail'.


It will be interesting to see what tack they go down, Marchionne is such a cunning guy and anything he says is often subject to change.


http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/alfa-romeo-mx-5-future-2014-03-20

http://www.caradvice.com.au/273776/...-likely-to-result-in-fiat-or-abarth-roadster/
 
Older news but none the less interesting is that the 2012 Fiat collaboration with Mazda is still going ahead. The development of the MX5 ( Miata ) platform, rumor mill had placed as an Alfa Romeo is now looking likely to result in a Fiat or Abarth Roadster rather than an Alfa Romeo Spyder/roadster. For you guys in North America it seems counter intuitive, the sporty 500 models are making some good inroads (profit ) so putting a car reminiscent of the Barchetta on the showroom floor that eats into those sales is odd. But then again Sergio said he was committed to expanding the product lines in the US.

Like your market the MX5 ( Miata ) has a loyal following Downunder and as many will be jumping into the 2015 Miata in the U.S. roadster fans here are just going to rush into the MX-5... Leaving the probably more expensive similarly engineered Fiat behind? An Alfa however... is an Alfa. It's just different, the ones I have had did have a soul. The Mazda has quite a cult following and its really a great car, but there will always be the folks that want something different and the Thurston Howell the 3rd crowd that can't be seen in just a plain old Mazda will flock to an Alfa.


Fiats Abarth cache would help, and considering the proposed Alfa version was rumored to use the 1.4-litre MultiAir engine from the 500 Abarth, it seems obvious. At a motor show interview Sergio Marchionne had stated that the project was now dropped from the Alfa Romeo brand, as the plan is for that brand to only have models built in Italy. So perhaps a rear wheel drive to take the place of the Mk1 Punto FWD based Barchetta that died in 2005 ( the successor to Fiat's '60s and '70s Spiders ). I kind of like that as "Barchetta" in Italian means 'little boat'. So the Autobianchi Runabout designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone and shown at the 1969 Turin Motor that became the prototype code X1/9 project carries on that nautical theme, albeit without the 'sail'.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/alfa-romeo-mx-5-future-2014-03-20

I see the Fiata as a great way for Fiat to rediscover and integrate the "old" Fiat owner crowd. Many of the owners of vintage Fiats want a new Fiat but what they don't tend to want are: an econobox, (500); a somewhat bizarre family hatchback (500L); a boy toy econobox (Abarth) are generally not what is desired. I think they may have something for this group in the 500X which will be introduced at the Los Angeles Autoshow later this month, though its size may be off-putting. They want something of what they have or had but modern and reliable which can go on the vacation (or FFO) with no worry of a failure along the way.

I think the Fiata Miata is just what the US market will respond to as a halo car, be it marketed as a Fiat or Abarth. We bought a 1992 Miata last year which I have used quite a bit over the summer and could easily see commuting in a similar new car in the future, but one from my favorite marque. Hopefully we will see, and it would be nice if it was soon as we are hankering to get a new car to either replace my 15 year old Golf and or our 12 year old Sienna minivan which could be replaced by the 500X as my wife has a hankering for a CUV with a manual transmission.
 
Fiata

Thanks Karl

Nice to hear your perspective and I like the Fiata tag. I don't know the sentiments of the general US car buyer well enough that might conciser a Fiat over a Mazda as a choice. Perhaps you are right that a Fiata would be welcomed on the showroom floor next to a sporty 500 and not erode that cars sales base. My comment that it looks 'odd' to eat into the profit of the sporty 500's is from a management perspective. Sergio is a numbers man, I was unaware that Fiat had a wide user base when they were in the market all those years ago. The Fiata seems to have come from a need to keep the contract with Japan alive ( it would cost FCA big $$$ if they pulled out ) now that Sergio announced the 'Made in Italy' ethos for Alfa Romeo. So really just a fall back position and not a primary deal, given my understanding that the 500 generally attracted the same customer that was interested in the German Mini I doubted the commitment of the board to see this through.

Mazda have locked their project in and details are plentiful, FCA not so. Given the release date Fiat needs too make a decision pretty darn soon if the development cycle is to keep up with Japans release to market.I haven't read credible info the Miata will get access to the 1750TB engine so their own Skyactive engines look likely. John Goreham wrote that they spied a Mazda mule on the track with what sounded exactly like the Alfa 4C engine but it's really just a rumor. If they used the project designated 237bhp 1750TB engine from the Alfa 4C in the Fiata it would knock the Miata out of the park. Even the 1.4-litre TB MultiAir 168bhp would be a performance increase over the proposed Miata plants.

That amount of FCA power goes against the Japanese design philosophy for their car, they would see the Miata as a widow-maker if it packed so much power. The 1750TB engine in the Fiat would be a car that would rival the 4C for power so Alfa has good reason not to allow the creation of either a MX-5/Miata or a Fiata that will run with its own current halo car in the US. Those in the know I read are talking a new Mazda 130bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine or wait for it - a diesel engine for the Miata. What the !!??

But if the Fiata did get even say the detuned 200Bhp 1750TB, WOW! Then I would have to get one so I could spend every spare daylight moment till I die driving up and down the windy country roads. The 4C 1750TB engine sounds absolutely beautiful.
 
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