Car Blog

Fiat fans attending the annual convention of the Club Fiat-Lancia Unlimited were given a special surprise when the head of Fiat North America arrived at their closing dinner and made them an exclusive offer. These long-time enthusiasts of the Fiat brand and vehicles, some for almost 27 years, were given the first opportunity to place reservations and select their vehicle build number for the unique Fiat Cinquecento ‘Prima Edizione’ (First Edition) model. A total of 500 of these collector-edition Fiat 500 models will be sold in the United States.

“The Fiat Cinquecento Prima Edizione was developed especially with the Fiat fans in mind,” said Laura Soave, Head of Fiat North America, who personally presented the opportunity to the Fiat aficionados. “For over a quarter of a century, the members of this Club have kept the spirit of the Fiat and Lancia brands alive in North America through their unique and passionate support for true Italian design. We really value their loyalty, and the Prima Edizione is our gift of appreciation to these fans on behalf of Fiat North America.”

The Fiat 500 Prima Edizione will be exclusively available in three colors: Bianco (White), Rosso (Red) and Grigio (Gray). These limited-edition Fiat 500 models will be equipped with a manual transmission and will feature an exclusive Prima Edizione badge. Each of the 500 Prima Edizione vehicles will feature a sequential VIN and badge according to production order.

The modern generation of the Fiat 500 will be introduced in North America at the end of 2010 and will offer customers uncompromising safety, fuel efficiency from its 1.4-liter MultiAir(TM) four-cylinder engine, individualization options, quality and advanced technology, all wrapped in iconic Italian style. The Fiat MultiAir technology was recognized as the “single most innovative engine technology” of the year by the International Engine of the Year Awards panel.

Fiat North America will also offer other Fiat fans the opportunity to reserve their Prima Edizione model, up to a limit of 500, via a special website that will be made available at a later date through www.ciaofiat.com.

Fiat Mobile Experience

The Fiat Cinquecento ‘Prima Edizione’ announcement was made during the national annual convention organized by Club Fiat-Lancia Unlimited, North America’s largest enthusiast club for owners of Fiat Group Automobile vehicles. This year, the convention – commonly known as the “Fiat Freakout” – was held in Asheville, NC.

Fiat North America was the title sponsor of the annual convention, which featured displays of more than 100 well-preserved Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo vehicles.

During the event, Fiat North America debuted the ‘Fiat Mobile Experience’ – a unique display that hosts both a cafe station and a Fiat brand merchandise store.

Fiat fans attending the convention were able to enjoy complimentary gelato, espresso and cappuccino served by baristas. Visitors were also able to browse through and purchase various Fiat-branded merchandise items in a unique store area, finished in Fiat red and white colors and staffed by Fiat merchandizing specialists.

The Fiat Mobile Experience display is constructed from a repurposed auto-shipping container and will be seen at other future Fiat shows and exhibitions in North America.

A dedicated British man is attempting to make it into record books by hand painting an entire car with nail varnish.

David Sheath, 28, will painstakingly cover an entire Fiat 500 in pink polish for his gruelling Guinness World Record attempt.

David is living and sleeping in a special studio in south London, while he completes the mammoth task, expected to take at least a week.

His progress is being streamed live and non-stop on the internet at http://www.pinkmyride.tv

It is estimated David will need 200 pots of pink varnish and make 240,000 stokes to transform the white Fiat 500 to a Fiat 500 Pink.

The effort which started yesterday is expected to be a huge internet hit.

David will also communicate to the viewers around the world using social networking site Twitter.

He will stay inside the specially set-up challenge room until the job is finished. To get through his monster effort he’ll have a television, bed, rug and toilet.

The wannabe record breaker, who is recently single, said: “I broke up with my girlfriend and thought this would be a great way to get through it. I hope to nail the job in seven days but I’ve never done anything like this before.”

A spokesperson for Guinness World Records said: “This sounds like a potentially interesting claim.”

Source: Fiat

Prizes Include Enough High-Performance Hardware to Build The Ultimate Street Machine & Treasure Trove of Hot Wheels Collectibles

Performance Therapy, a “social media car show”, launched this week with backing from top automotive aftermarket brands. The site, PerformanceTherapyContest.com asks enthusiasts to show the world how they enjoy their car by submitting a photo. The Grand Prize Winner will receive parts to build an incredible, high-performance supercar. Popular vote determines category winners – whom receive a $250 gift certificate. Sixty runners-up will receive a free t-shirt.

Performance Therapy Defined

Despite tough economic times, auto enthusiasts are packing car shows, races and events. Across seven continents and hundreds of niches, car fans have one thing in common: high-performance vehicles make them happy. Owning, modifying and driving cars is more than a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. It’s the cheapest form of mental therapy and provides quality entertainment for the entire family.

The Contest

The Performance Therapy Contest is a chance for enthusiasts to participate in one of the biggest online car shows of all time, show off other enthusiasts around the world and win a variety of fantastic prizes. The purpose is to help people have fun with their ride. For three months any enthusiast can submit a picture, show it off to friends and get as many votes as possible. With six categories and nine fantastic sponsors, there are dozens of ways to win and nearly 70 prizes will be awarded!

The Prizes

The Grand Prize is enough hardware to build a muscle car dream machine, including a Hotchkis Sport Suspenison system, Baer Brake system, Rushforth Wheels, Yokohama Tires, Flowmaster Exhaust, an MSD Ignition System, Red Line Oil & Lubricants, a Lifeline Fire Safety System and enough Hot Wheel Collectibles to fill a dream garage!

To enter or vote for your favorite car, go to www.PerformanceTherapyContest.com. For more information, email info@performancetherapycontest.com or click for more information on the rules, prizes and sponsors.

The Performance Therapy Contest is brought to you by Hotchkis Sport Suspension, Baer Brakes, Flowmaster, Hot Wheels Red Line Club, Lifeline USA, MSD Ignition, Red Line Oil, Rushforth Wheels and Yokohama Tire Corp.

Source: Performance Therapy Contest

The countdown continues in preparation for the 2009 World Car Awards winners’ press conference at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 9, 2009. Announcing the annual World Car of the Year awards at the New York show is a fitting finale to the international auto show season that begins each fall with either the Paris or Frankfurt motor shows.

From an initial entry list of fifty-one (51) new vehicles from all over the world, then a short list of ten finalists, the top three contenders for the overall 2009 World Car title were announced today by the international accounting firm KPMG. They are, in alphabetical order:

• Ford Fiesta
• Toyota iQ
• Volkswagen Golf VI

To be eligible for the overall World Car award, the contender had to be in production, and sold, on at least two continents during 2008.

Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of fifty-nine (59) top-level automotive journalists from twenty-five (25) countries around the world. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. Each juror typically drives and evaluates new vehicles on a regular basis as part of their professional work.

Three additional winners for the World Performance Car, World Green Car award, and the World Car Design of the Year will also be announced at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 9, 2009.

In preparation, KPMG announced today that the Top Three finalists for the 2009 World Performance Car award, presented by Mobil 1, are, in alphabetical order:

• Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
• Nissan GT-R
• Porsche 911 Carrera

While the winner of the overall World Car award must excel in a broad range of attributes, the World Performance Car award must demonstrate a specific and overt sports/performance orientation while satisfying the same availability criteria as for the overall World Car of the Year award.

Entrants may be chosen from that list of eligible vehicles, or they may be newly introduced variants that satisfy the same criteria, but are derived from existing rather than brand-new models. In all cases, they must have a minimum annual production rate of five-hundred (500) vehicles.

To be eligible for the 2009 World Green Car award, a vehicle had to be available in at least one major market during 2008. The vehicle or the green technology could be in production or an experimental prototype with potential near-future application, provided that it was released for individual or press fleet evaluations in quantities of ten or more during 2008. Tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and use of a major advanced power plant technology (beyond engine componentry), aimed specifically at increasing the vehicle’s environmental responsibility, were all taken into consideration.

Due to the complexity of some of the ‘green’ technologies, three (3) green experts were appointed by the World Car Steering Committee to extensively review all documentation and specs associated with each candidate. They were asked to create a short-list of five finalists for review by the fifty-nine (59) jurors in their second round of voting in February.

The fifty-nine (59) member jury chose the following top three finalists for the 2009 World Green Car award:

• Honda FCX Clarity
• Mitsubishi iMiEV
• Toyota iQ

Cars eligible for the 2009 World Car Design of the Year award are taken from the list of World Car candidates. Jurors then voted on the experts’ recommendations. The top three design finalists are, in alphabetical order:

• Citroen C5 Sedan / C5 Tourer
• Fiat 500
• Jaguar XF

Now in their sixth year, the annual World Car awards have become one of the most prestigious, significant, and credible programs of their type in the world.

The awards were inaugurated in 2003, and officially launched in January 2004, to reflect the reality of the global marketplace, as well as to recognize and reward automotive excellence on a global scale. The awards are intended to complement, not compete, with existing national and regional Car of the Year programs.

The awards are administered by a non-profit association, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of pre-eminent automotive journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America. There is no affiliation with, nor are the awards in any way influenced by any publication, auto show, automaker, or other commercial enterprise. For more information, please visit www.wcoty.com.

Source: New York International Auto Show

Florida motoring enthusiasts will bypass the chocolates and roses this year as they treat their special someone to a ‘red hot’ classic.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, South Florida’s most prestigious classic car event — RM Auctions Collector Cars of Fort Lauderdale — will roll into town next week, February 5th – 8th, 2009.

There will be over 400 cars to fall in love with, including classic cars of every kind and color.

Here are five ‘red hot’ picks for the romantic in all of us from RM Auctions, the world’s leading auction house for collector cars…

1. 1956 Jaguar XK 140 MC Roadster
A freshly restored example of one of Britain’s most iconic, high-performance sports cars. Perfect for those long romantic drives with the wind through your hair.

2. 1959 Fiat Jolly Convertible
Originally designed for Mediterranean yacht owners, this Fiat Jolly is pure fun! With wicker seats and a new surrey top, it’s the ultimate vehicle for those lazy summer days by the beach. That’s Amore!

3. 1939 Lincoln Zephyr “Z Custom” Coupe
If lady luck is on your side, look no further than this customized Lincoln Zephyr Coupe. Built for casino developer Steve Wynn, its eye-catching red paint, rolling dice motif and gold leaf stripes make it a sure fire winner! (Sorry, no backseat).

4. 1969 Fire Bug George Barris Kustom
For those hot, romantic nights this unusual George Barris Kustom will ‘kool’ you down! This VW-based Fire Bug was originally built as a promotional vehicle for the LA Fire Department and starred in the television show, The Banana Splits.

5. 1964 Amphicar 770 Convertible
An unusual dual purpose collector car, perfect for a love that knows no boundaries. This handsome convertible comes with wheels, propellers and the all important life jackets!

RM Auctions Collector Cars of Fort Lauderdale event, presented by AutoNation, will be held at the Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 5th – 8th. Admission is $20 for a day pass and $50 for the weekend.

Complete car list and event details are available at www.rmauctions.com.