Fiat Group Lowers 2012 Sales Estimate by Half a Million Units

A funny t-shirt slogan reads “aim low, achieve your targets, avoid disappointment”. But it would probably be best if you didn’t give it as a Christmas present to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

The reason is that the Italian group has lowered its 2012 sales forecast of 2.7 million units by a substantial amount; the new target for next year is 2.2 million, 500,000 units short of the original estimate presented in the group's 5-year plan.

The good news is that its partner, Chrysler, is expected to hit its 2.4-million sales target. Adding up the numbers brings the Fiat-Chrysler combined sales projection for 2012 to 4.6 million units.

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Fiat Banks on Spicy Abarth 500 Spot, Gives it the Pop-Up Treatment

Why stop when you have a good thing going? And with some 2.2 million views on Fiat's official Youtube channel alone, we'd say the company's 500 Abarth Seduction clip starring Romanian hottie Catrinel Menghia, has been a very successful communication tool for the Italians.

Now, less than a month after the original digital spot made its internet debut, Fiat has released a so-called "pop-up" version by VH1 that incorporates some fun facts about the clip and the two protagonists that will run through the end of December.

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Fiat Abarth 500 Takes on Subaru Impreza WRX STI on Italian Track [Video]

The Abarth 500, especially when fitted with the 'essesse' performance package that lifts the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output to 160-horses, is a capable little beast for its size and price, but is that enough to challenge a previous generation Subaru Impreza WRX STI on the racetrack?

Well, as any driver with some experience on the circuit will tell you, it’s as much about the car as it is about the person sitting behind the wheel. That said, the Abarth 500 shouldn't come close to an STI in the right hands but it's plausible under certain circumstances.

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Fiat USA: Out Goes Laura Soave, in Comes Timothy Kuniskis

After a relatively short stint as the head of the Fiat brand in North America that lasted only 20 months, the Chrysler Group announced today that Laura Soave has left the company without giving a reason for her departure.

The Detroit-based automaker issued a statement saying, "Laura Soave has left the Company and will pursue other interests" adding that she will be replaced by Timothy Kuniskis, who recently served as Director for both the Chrysler Brand and Fiat Brand Product Marketing.

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New Abarth Punto Scorpione Special Edition Limited to 99 Pieces

The Fiat Group's never-ending streak of special edition models continues with the new Abarth Punto Scorpione that will receive its world premiere alongside the 595 specials at the upcoming 2011 Bologna Motor Show in the beginning of December.

The Abarth Punto Scorpione is based on the esseesse model and is powered by the same 180HP 1.4-liter turbocharged MultiAir engine. It accelerates from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 7.5 seconds and its top speed is 216 km/h (134 mph).

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Fiat to Debut New Abarth 595 Specials and 695 Assetto Corse Racer at Bologna Motor Show

There seems to be no end to the release of differently flavored versions of the Fiat 500, the Abarth version of which made its North American debut in L.A. just last week.

Today, the Italian company announced that it would reveal two new production editions and a racing version of the Abarth 500 at the forthcoming 2011 Bologna Motor Show, which takes place in Italy from December 3 to 11.

The new production models are the Abarth 595 Turismo and 595 Competizione, the first of which is said to target buyers that would like a sporty model "without going to an extreme", while the other is designed to appeal to those that would like something a little more aggressive.

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Fiat 500 Abarth Hottie is Not Italian, but Who Cares? And Oh, There’s a New J.Lo Spot Out

Not that we mind one bit, but remember the scorching hot brunette starring in Fiat's 500 Abarth commercial? Whom are we kidding, of course you do.

Well as one of our commentators, Vlad Ewan, pointed out, even though Fiat's ad would like us to believe that she is Italian, the bodacious, long-legged model is in fact Romanian and her name for those of you familiar with "Google Image Search" is Catrinel Menghia.

But then again, isn't that the case with the Fiat 500 in the sense that it's not built in Italy but in Tychy, Poland and Toluca, Mexico?

And since we're on the topic of Fiat 500 ads, the Italian company just released nother commercial with Jeniffer Lopez, this time for the limited production 500 by Gucci Edition, which you can watch with or without your palm facing your head in the video after the jump.

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That's More Like it: Naughty 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Ad [Video]

After seeing the lukewarm response to its U.S. market commercials on the 500C starring Jennifer Lopez (…or was that the other way around?), Fiat's marketing division put its act together and presented a more appropriate ad for its 2012 500 Abarth, which was unveiled today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The new advertisement conveys the message that the 160-horsepower 500 Abarth is a naughty little Italian city car in a cheeky but tasteful way. The 1-minute long commercial concludes with the female voiceover, "The Fiat 500 Abarth. You'll never forget the first time you see one".

You can take a look at the clip for yourself in the video after break.

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New 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Hits U.S. Shores with 160HP 1.4L Turbo Engine [36 Photos]

After the U.S. launch of the regular Fiat 500 and the canvas-top 500C, it's time for the Italian automaker to introduce the sportier version of its retro-styled mini, the new 2012 500 Abarth that makes its debut today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The good news is that Fiat opted to offer the 500 Abarth with a more powerful engine than the standard 135-horsepower four-banger that's available on the basic European model.

In the States, the hot 500 gets a turbocharged, twin intercooled and MultiAir-equipped 1.4-liter engine that produces a more robust 160-horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 170 lb-ft (230Nm) of peak torque between 2,500 and 4,000 rpm.

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Camal’s Retro Sexy Fiat 500 Marcia Corta

What happens when two people who share their passion for sports cars and motorbikes meet under the right circumstances? It depends, but if we ‘re talking about two Italians, Alessio Minchella (designer) and Alessandro Camorali (surface and product development) who met in 2010 while working at Pininfarina, the result is a new company, Camal, and a new product. Read more »

Top Gear Spotted in Italy with Three Hot Hatches

If there is one television crew that is almost impossible to go by unnoticed (at least by the male population) anywhere they go in the world, it is the hosts of BBC’s widely popular Top Gear program. This time, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were spotted in the medieval town of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. Read more »

Fiat UK Prices New Abarth 500C 140HP and Punto Evo 165HP

The new Abarth 500C will cost from £17,500 OTR and the Abarth Punto Evo from £16,500 OTR, Fiat's UK arm announced. Both models will make their UK public debuts at this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed, before going on sale in Britain from Saturday 17 July.

The semi-convertible Abarth 500C is motivated by a 140HP 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which provides a top speed of 127mph and a 0-62mph (100km/h) time of 8.1 seconds, while returning 43mpg UK on the combined cycle.

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Pogea Racing Tunes Fiat 500 Abarth Ferrari Dealers Edition to 264HP

German tuning firm Pogea Racing believes that there's something fundamentally wrong about a hot hatch carrying the Ferrari nameplate that's powered by an engine producing only 165-ponies . So the tuner decided to do something about it.

The car in question is the extremely rare Fiat 500 Abarth Ferrari Dealers Edition (there's also a non-Abarth model). Starting with the stock engine, Pogea Racing upgraded the 1.4-liter turbocharged unit with a larger turbocharger and intercoolers, new exhaust system, modified downpipe, new catalytic converter and recalibrated ECU.

The result? Output has been inflated from 165HP to 268HP, with torque climbing from 230Nm to 330Nm / 243.4 lb-ft.

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Fiat Unleashes Huge Photo Gallery of Abarth 500C Convertible

In the next few days, the new Abarth 500C will go on sale first in Italy and shortly after in the rest of Europe, so Fiat decided to drop a huge photo gallery of its newest model that had its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show this past March.

Aside from the male population looking for a relatively affordable cabrio with some punch, Fiat claims that the new open-topped car was also made to appeal to women customers "who seek design and elegance but also appreciate the performance of a true sports car."

That's one of the reasons why the Abarth 500C is offered with a choice of two colors for the electrically operated rollover canvas top (black or titanium gray) ,and for the first time on the 500 series, optional two-tone paintworks for the body (racing black and white or two tones of gray).

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