Fiat Qubo 1.3 16v Multijet Dynamic Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Fiat Qubo 1.3 16v Multijet Dynamic
Fiat Qubo 1.3 16v Multijet Dynamic DRIVING around in something that looks like Postman Pat's van might not be everyone's idea of fun.
When its colour is a luminescent metallic green rather than the anticipated Royal Mail red, then one might rightly imagine it would be even less appealing!
Despite my initial prejudices, I have to confess that I actually enjoyed my time at the wheel of the Fiat Qubo.
Yes, it might look rather odd, but it has just the right combination of practicality, and 'quirky' appeal to ensure it's a winner.
The first thing that impressed me was the magnificent visibility offered from the driver's seat, to the point where I felt a little like a coach driver with nothing but glass in front of, and around, me.
Vehicle cabins frequently get described as 'open and airy,' and the Qubo takes this to extremes with a feeling that is positively bus-like.
In essence it is one of the latest crop of budget MPVs that are more van-like than car-like - though it is based on the Fiat Grande Punto platform. Cheap and cheerful, they are designed to appeal to families who might love to have a big swanky SUV, but simply don't have the budget. Either that, or it serves as a second car that is functional first and foremost.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
2010 Fiat Punto Evo Price
Pricing for the forthcoming Fiat Punto Evo has just been announced by Fiat Group Automobiles UK.
With a starting price of £10,995 OTR the new car, which goes on sale in the UK in January, represents outstanding value for money. At the top end of the Punto Evo range, the highly specified Sporting 1.4 MultiAir version costs £15,295 – an OTR price that includes sports seats, cruise control, side skirts, air conditioning, sports suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels as standard.
Available with a choice of five low emissions, Euro 5 engines, all fitted with Start&Stop as standard, the new Punto Evo comes in five different trim levels – Active, Dynamic, GP, Eleganza and Sporting.
Among the advanced engine line-up are two power units featuring Fiat’s new MultiAir technology. The full list includes: 1.4 8-valve petrol, 1.4 16-valve MultiAir petrol (105bhp and 135bhp) and 1.3 16-valve MultiJet diesel (75bhp and 95bhp).
Standard equipment in the entry-level Active model includes ABS anti-lock brakes with EBD, driver, passenger and knee airbags, radio/CD/MP3 player, power steering, electric mirrors and Blue&Me infotainment.
Dynamic trim level adds such equipment as side and window airbags, leather steering wheel and air conditioning, while Eleganza models get alloy wheels, cruise control and rear parking sensors as standard. The GP specification includes rear spoiler, dark tinted headlights and foglights.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Fiat Warns Of Likely Car Plant Conversion
Italian carmaker Fiat SpA (F.MI) Friday said it is sticking to plans to convert a plant in Sicily, despite protests from workers.
Union workers at the Termini Imerese plant have been protesting all week, demanding that Fiat provide more certainty on the future of the plant, which the firm has said is the most costly to operate of all of its plants.
After the workers occupied the town hall, politicians vowed to raise their concerns with Fiat in the coming weeks.
But Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said Fiat is sticking to plans to convert the plant by 2012.
"Keeping all of the plants open and doing all these necessary things are... demands that are no longer feasible in a world that has drastically changed," he told reporters at an event at Fiat's research centre in this town near Turin in the country's northwest. "We can't turn back to a reality that no longer exists."
Marchionne said a single Fiat plant in Brazil made more cars than its six plants in Italy combined over the year. He has yet to say what he wants Termini Imerese to do if not cars.
He and other Fiat officials are to hold meetings with union and government officials in the coming weeks to discuss their plans for Fiat in Italy. Their plans are a likely extension of the one presented in Detroit Nov. 4 to revive Chrysler Group LLC, its U.S. partner.
Marchionne is also expected to discuss the possible extension of Italy's car scrappage scheme when he meets with the government next month.
With several of these schemes expiring across Europe, analysts fear that demand will fall once more, making 2010 a difficult year for carmakers already struggling to survive the industry's worst crisis in decades.
Fiat will keep Alfa Romeo, sees U.S. role
In an interview with Reuters, Montezemolo dismissed a suggestion by analysts with asset management fund Sanford Bernstein that Volkswagen AG could be the right buyer for the money-losing brand. He also said Fiat doesn't need an Asian partnership to match recent tie-ups by European competitors with Japanese automakers.
"We will present the new Alfa that substitutes the 147, and we think there are also very important opportunities for Alfa Romeo in the United States," Montezemolo said.
Alfa's aging 147 hatchback will be replaced early next year by the Giulietta, a car that may be Alfa's last new model. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has ordered a strategic review of the brand to consider whether to freeze substantial investments after the introduction of the Giulietta or to refresh Alfa's lineup using Chrysler Group platforms. Those platforms could be used to replace the aging Alfa 159 sedan and wagon and the discontinued 166 flagship sedan.
Alfa's new-car sales have declined steeply in the past decade as its range became older and new products were delayed.
Last year, Alfa sold 103,000 new cars, down from 203,000 in 2000. The brand has lost between 200 million and 400 million euros a year in the past 10 years, according to industry sources. Fiat does not release separate financial results for any of its brands.
Marchionne is expected to announce the future of Alfa early next year, when the Italian automaker presents its 2010 to 2014
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