Chrysler CEO: 'Blame me' for missing Fiat 500 sales target

By James R. Healey, USA Today

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says he grossly overestimated the degree to which Americans would embrace a super-small car. But even though the Fiat 500 fell well short of predictions, Marchionne says it won't hurt the automaker's fortunes.

Marchionne admits he was way off when he forecast that 50,000 Fiat 500s could be sold in the U.S. every year. Until the Scion iQ came along, the stylish Fiat 500 reigned as the second-smallest car on the U.S. market after the eight-foot, eight-inch Smart.

The Fiat 500 is important because it fills the gap for a small, fuel-efficient car in the otherwise Hemi and truck-heavy Chrysler Group line-up. But the brand only sold 19,769 of them last year, 2,325 in December alone.

"Blame me. I'm the guy that came up with the 50,000 forecast," he said today in a session with reporters at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The good news? He says the Fiat 500 is made at a plant in Toluca, Mexico, that's flexible enough to make 500s for other markets and didn't cost a lot to tool-up to build the 500 in the first place.

Fiat, Daimler launch plagiarism complaints vs Chinese carmakers - report

BERLIN Thomson Financial - Fiat and Daimler have lodged plagiarism complaints against Chinese carmakers before Chinese and European courts, according to a report in Automotive News Europe magazine.
German carmaker Daimler has launched legal proceedings to block the sale of the Noble (nyse: NE - news - people ), manufactured by the Shuanghuan group, according to the magazine.
The Nobel is very reminiscent of Daimler's Smart Fortwo. The Shuanghuan group decided not to show the car in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the world's biggest car show, because Daimler threatened to lodge a complaint.
Italian manufacturer Fiat (nyse: FIA - news - people ) has has lodged complaints in Italy and China to prevent the sale of Great Wall Motors group's Peri, which could be mistaken for its Panda, reported Automotive News Europe.
'We are waiting for the first announcements in China in December and in Turin for Europe towards the end of January,' Fiat legal advisor Monica Norgi told the magazine.
Great Wall Motor's Italian importer, Eurasia Motors, has delayed the introduction of the Peri until a decision has been made.

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Fiat and Cappellini offer special edition 500 ahead of launch

By Noah Joseph

"Most special editions are offered to help manufacturers clear out the last run of an outgoing model before the replacement arrives. The smallest cars on the market, though, seem to have it backwards. When Smart introduced its new ForTwo city car, the special edition came not on the outgoing model, but on the incoming one. Now Fiat has revealed that, in advance of the introduction of the highly-anticipated 500, it will be offering a limited edition of its own."

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Fiat Panda Hydrogen

Protecting the environment is a key factor for Fiat Auto in the development of future models. In this context, the presentation of the Panda Hydrogen is merely the latest expression of a process of evolution, which in recent years has placed Fiat in a leading role on an international scale.
In particular, Fuel Cell technology for automotive applications is a subject of great interest among major manufacturers, which through research and the development of demonstration prototypes, are confirming the technology's real potential and environmental advantages. In this dynamic context, Fiat Auto introduces the Panda Hydrogen. As part of a larger research programme, Fiat is using this revolutionary model to explore new technology, evaluate how the car behaves in real-world conditions and assess its environmental advantages.
While Fuel Cell based drivetrains will almost certainly not be available on a large scale until at least the end of the next decade, Fiat Auto has already been actively researching this solution for a number of years, as shown in 2001 by the debut of the 'Elettra H2 Fuel Cell' and, more recently, by the Seicento Hydrogen. Both prototypes were produced by the Fiat Research Centre in conjunction with the Ministry for the Environment. The Panda Hydrogen encapsulates what has been learnt so far, and moves on from an experimental research stage in the laboratory to real-world testing of a vehicle in the field.

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An Autobianchi pursues a flock of Fiat 500s on the Micronorth rally.