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geneva motor show

FIAT Gives Us A Nuanced Critique On The Auto Show Experience

When one thinks of great Italian directors, artists like Rosselini, de Sica and Fellini immediately come to mind. To this list we must add the cinematic genius behind this subtle yet humorous take on the auto show. It combines the camera work of the neorealists with the carefully constructed mise en scene of the magical realists. At the surface, it's just an unnecessary closeup of someone from Fiat explaining the new Fiat Panda Aria. Delve deeper and you'll see the models unable to stay still, representing the ennui and discomfort of the public, shielded by the talking head. The best moment, though, is reserved for the end. The director chooses to pan away, for no discernible reason, in the middle of this guy talking. Benissimo!

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3:30 PM on Wed Mar 5 2008
By Matt Hardigree
535 views, 13 comments

Latest by Mr_Sives_Remotoc: The southern guy is saying that this "concept car" contains important technology regarding low emissions, especially in terms of CO2, more »

geneva motor show

Fiat Panda Aria Concept Teases Us With Green Possibilities

We're big fans of the Fiat Panda, which manages to combine the most desirable attributes of an MPV and a 4x4 hatchback in a reliable package. It's no wonder then that Fiat has repeatedly used this platform to debut new technologies. The Fiat Panda Aria pictured here sans cover is the second generation of the eco-concept car. The original Panda Aria debuted at Frankfurt last year and featured a small-displacement two-cylinder turbocharged engine that could run on gasoline or a methane-hydrogen mix.

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9:45 AM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Matt Hardigree
649 views, 5 comments

Latest by Matt Hardigree: @lascauxcaveman: It's an exciting day and we're all moving at warp speed. more »

classic ad watch

The Jamaican Bobsled Team Hoons a Fiat Panda

OK, you'll need to suspend some of the ol' disbelief to really enjoy this ad for the '07 Fiat Panda. Don't question why the members of the Jamaican Bobsled Team are howling at some avalanche-prone mountainside in the Italian Alps, or how a Panda manages to negotiate hairpin turns at Maserati-like velocities with four large adults in the car. Just be glad the JBT guys continue to parlay their fame well beyond the 15 minutes we all thought they'd have.

1:30 PM on Tue Dec 25 2007
By Murilee Martin
2,483 views, 9 comments

Latest by Bluegoose: Is this 1988? more »

industry news

Fiat and Daimler In Talks to Swap Bodies

Looks as though Dr. Z has something else up his sleeve, with the announcement from Fiat that the companies are in talks to do a little body swapping. While we think a Monica Belluci for Heidi Klum exchange might provide fruitful for all involved, we're fairly sure they're talking about something else. Though details are a little sketchy, it looks as though Fiat could be sharing their small-car platform (see the Panda Sport above) to help underpin a new A-Class, perhaps. More »

3:30 PM on Mon Dec 10 2007
By Matt Hardigree
470 views, 16 comments

Latest by Euromobile: @Charles_Barrett: No worries. @Matt_Hardigree: It's not the end of the World. more »

concept cars

Geneva Showcase: Bertone Barchetta Concept

< dipshit 1980s prog-rock reference > Whether or not your uncle has country place that no one knows about, or if a gleaming alloy air car is shooting towards you two lanes' wide, what you need is a brilliant Red Barchetta from a better, vanished time < /dipshit 1980s prog-rock reference >. No, what you really need is a Bertone Barchetta, which may be awkwardly over-stylized, but still sets the pick for a small Fiat roadster that employs wide swaths of stainless steel in its body construction. The Barchetta's underpinnings are all Fiat Panda, a tiny, front-drive Italian runabout that tops out at 100 mph. The whole car is a take on the diminutive Fiat Barchetta of the late '40s, a tiny roadster made for bombing around vineyards while buzzed on a nice Amarone. This future-shock version, however, makes us want to drink chilled vodka from the rain gutters of the Centre Pompidou. Two stars. – Mike Spinelli More »

5:50 PM on Tue Mar 6 2007
By Mike Spinelli
1,959 views, 10 comments

Latest by Frogmarch: "Dipshit", as Spinelli said, for the blatantly-obvious reference rather than for the (distinctly non-dipshit) nature of the band. Those late-90s more »

news: racing

Fiat Panda Off to Dakar

We dig minicars. We also dig Italian cars. And we dig the Dakar Rally very much. Fiat, knowing this, has decided to enter two 4x4 Pandas in the Dakar Rally. They turned the diminutive hatch into a panel van, filled it full of goodies helpful for survival in the desert, and left the 105-horse 1.3L turbodiesel alone. We're interested to see how it fares. The understressed motor should be reliable in the desert, but raw speed won't exactly be the car's forte. An interesting entry in a race chock full of interesting entries. – Davey G. Johnson More »

4:15 PM on Wed Jan 3 2007
By Davey G. Johnson
566 views, 5 comments

Latest by Seth L: Butterstick? more »

commentary

James May Buys Panda, Saves Blighty

Captain Slow has cashed in his Range Rover and picked himself up 1.2L petrol- powered Fiat Panda in the interest of saving England from what he feels is the biodiesel scourge. You see, the estimable Mr. May doesn't like the look of British biodiesel's prime ingredient: oilseed rape.
"From 2,500 feet I can see quite vividly just how much of the sceptred isle is being given over to this unutterably crap crop, and believe me it's quite a lot. The only possible benefit I can conceive of is that soon I'll finally be able to find my way back to the airfield, because it will be the only bit of the whole country that's still green."
And as Clarkson's the Little Englander and Hammond's the Modern Englander, it only makes sense that May's Olde Englander would come up with this particular rationale for buying an econobox. – Davey G. Johnson More »

10:00 PM on Wed Dec 27 2006
By Davey G. Johnson
388 views, 3 comments

Latest by lascauxcaveman: With the Hamster driving, yes, endangered. Not so much in the hands of Captain Slow. more »

news

Bond-a Bear: Fiat's Panda Sport

Up to now, Fiat’s miniscule Panda has never cracked triple digits in horsepower. But considering the car will have a supporting role in the upcoming Bond flick, "Don't You Never Say Never Anymore Ever Again" aka, "Novopussy" (or whatever), it could use a little sprucing up. Now, Fiat's introducing the Panda Sport, which just about cracks 100 hp. The relatively sporty little bugger will get a 1.4-liter, 16-valve four cylinder that propels it from zero to 60 in 9.5 seconds, compared with "yeah, right" for the base model, and allows it an altogether respectable top speed of 115 mph. It'll also come with a body kit, 15" alloys and luxury appointments such as leather upholstery and higher-end stereo. Some manner of two-faced chanteuse: optional. More »

9:48 AM on Tue Sep 12 2006
By Mike Spinelli
357 views, Comment

news

Fiat Afloat: Panda 4X4 Attempts English Channel Crossing

Want to see a Panda swim? (No, LingLing, get down from that diving board.) Earlier today, a modded Fiat Panda 4X4 left Folkestone, Kent in the UK bound for the French coast — in an attempt to cross the English Channel. The car, wrapped in a set of water wings fit for a car, isn't an ordinary Panda, it's the Terramare 4, a model that's been fitted with a waterjet propulsion system and other marine-ready tweaks by a former engineer of the iconic, Chevrolet-powered Iso Rivolta of the 1960s. After arriving in France, the engineer, Maurizio Zanisi, plans to drive the rest of the way home to Milan, though may want to leave the pontoons on in traffic, at least until he gets his land wheels. More »

9:09 AM on Fri Jul 21 2006
By Mike Spinelli
734 views, 2 comments

Latest by camp6ell: so, did it make it? more »

news

The Littlest Monster: Fiat's Special-Edition Panda

What's the difference between a Ducati Monster 695 motorcycle and a Fiat Panda? Let's see: they've both got around 70 hp and they're both Italian (Ducati's ownership being back in old-country hands). Other than that, not so much, especially since the Ducati measures its zero-to-60 times in single digits and the Panda in double. The connection is this: Fiat's ready to release a limited number of tricked-out four-wheeled Pandas that are an homage to the two-wheeled Monster. Shown as a concept at last year's Bologna motor show, the Panda Monster will get the same, 70 bhp 1.3 16v Multijet engine as its brethren, but will be tricked out with four-wheel-drive, a black-on-black paint scheme, tinted windows and gold brake calipers. Only 695 of the Pandas will be built, and they'll be sold via an undefined approval process that we hope has nothing to do with the Black Hand (or a sacrifice to the Chimaera). More »

9:54 AM on Wed Apr 19 2006
By Mike Spinelli
430 views, Comment