Take somebody browsing the internet for some unbelievable Fiat 500 deals, for example. One of the advantages of being an online car broker is that the site won’t have any affiliation with Fiat, meaning they can go above and beyond the call of duty to find and compare the prices of new Fiat 500s that are in line with the searcher’s budget and expectations. Their experts will also be able to offer advice, suggesting finance and lease packages that can help people afford the kind of car they’ve always dreamed about owning.

Incredible Car Leasing Solutions

Car leasing is a simple way for people to pay for their car on a monthly basis, without breaking the bank. Imagine somebody searching for Vauxhall Corsa deals, for instance, but aren’t able to afford an outright purchase. The right online car broker will be able to offer affordable, structured lease plans such as Hire Purchase (HP), a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or more, to ensure peace of mind and get the searcher the best possible deal when they want to invest in a brand new car.

Expert Assistance From The Best

A good online car broker will have built up fantastic relationships with dealerships across the nation, able to provide amazing new car deals for anybody and everybody. Their team of automotive experts will be able to work in tandem with people on a transparent basis, offering the depths of their experience to provide specialist financial advice to people that want to invest in a long-term lease plan.

An online car broker will be personable, yet professional. They’ll do everything they can to make sure that people get an amazing car for their needs, well within budget. The independent nature of an online car broker is the best way possible to get a phenomenal new car for a fraction of the price.

Fiat unveiled its new commercial vehicle, called Punto Van. It is a Punto hatchback, stripped down and fitted with body panels where the windows usually go. Capable of carrying 35 cubic feet and 1,150 pounds of cargo, the Punto Van is powered by a 1.3-liter MultiJet II diesel in three states of tune (75, 85 or 95 horsepower), two trim levels and three colors.

Taking the place in its line-up where the previous versions of the Grande Punto and Punto Evo sat, Fiat Professional just took the wraps off the new Punto Van at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England, with order books opening later this month.

Press Release

Fiat Professional’s New Punto Van 2012 will make its UK debut at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham’s NEC (24 -26 April, 2012).

The New Punto Van replaces the Grande Punto Van in the Fiat Professional line-up and brings a wealth of improvements over its predecessor, providing customers with a strong proposition in the car-derived van market, with a load capacity of 1.0 m3 and a payload of 520 kg.

New Punto Van 2012 features external styling changes with fully colour-coded front and rear bumpers for a more sophisticated look. The new model combines the successful style of both the Grande Punto and Punto Evo passenger cars, so the interior features new sportier seat fabrics and on the SX version there is a new dashboard with soft touch materials and an elegant design.

Standard equipment on all versions includes ESP (Electronic Stability Programme), BAS (Brake Assistance System), remote central locking, electric front windows, electrically adjustable and heated body coloured mirrors, trip computer, driver and passenger airbags, radio/CD/MP3 player, electric power steering, height and reach-adjustable steering wheel and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.

New Punto Van will be available with one diesel engine, the award-winning and best-selling 1.3 MultiJet II diesel, in three levels of power:

75hp (55 kW) / 190 Nm max torque (at 1500 rpm)
67.2 MPG (4.2 l/100km) combined fuel consumption and 112 g/km CO2 emissions
85hp (62 kW) / 200 Nm max torque (at 1500 rpm) with Start&Stop
80.7 MPG (3.5 l/100km) combined fuel consumption and 90 g/km CO2 emissions
95hp (70 kW) / 200 Nm max torque (at 1500 rpm) with Start&Stop
67.2 MPG (4.2 l/100km) combined fuel consumption and 110 g/km CO2 emissions
Start&Stop is standard equipment on the 1.3 MultiJet II 85hp and 95hp versions.

The new range starts with the entry level 1.3 MultiJet II 75hp version at £10,990.00 (exc. VAT and OTR), providing great value for those customers searching for an affordable price but with all the safety and comfort features included (ESP, airbags, electric windows and mirrors, radio/CD/MP3 player).

For an additional £500, the 1.3 MultiJet II 85hp version is available, with 10hp more and Start&Stop, having a combined fuel consumption of 80.7 MPG and CO2 emissions of 90 g/km.

The SX trim level is available in combination with the 1.3 MultiJet II 95hp, adding a further £500 to the 85hp version but providing 10hp more, manual air conditioning and a driver’s knee airbag.

It will be available in three pastel colours White, Dark Blue and Red.

The New Punto Van balances head-turning style, fuel economy, and elegance with load-bearing practicality, and will become available to order from the end of April.

Fiat inaugurated its new €1 billion car production facility in Kragujevac, Serbia. More than 150 guests attended the ceremony. Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne highlighted the modernization program, which he said has created “a dynamic environment that is attractive to foreign investors. It is a great privilege for Fiat to be able to participate in the country’s future growth”.

The first model to roll out of the Serbian plant is Fiat’s new 500L small MPV. The five-seater model will be exported to Europe and around the world with launch planned for the last quarter of 2012. Sales in North America are expected to start next year.

According to the FIAT top managers, the Serbian plant will have an annual production capacity of up to 200,000 cars.
Apart from the five-seater variant, Fiat is planning to expand the 500L’s range with a longer 7-seater model and an all-wheel drive crossover, possibly named 500X.

The Fiat brand is slowly abandoning the new commercial for the 500 named “Baby”. The new 30-second ad shows two young men in the front seats and a baby boy in the back pulling by a 1967 Imperial, at which point the toddler joins his fingers in the traditional Italian way and says something to the stunned driver.

Fiat revealed its all-new 500L sub-compact model. The “L” in the name stands for “Large”, with the 500L being the latest addition to the 500 range after the three-door hatch, the Cabrio and the Abarth models. The five-door 500L is based on the platform of the B-segment Punto measuring 4,140mm long, 1,780mm wide and 1,660mm tall. It is 594mm longer, 153mm wider and 175mm taller than the three-door 500.

Fiat says the 500L offers “MPV passenger space combined with the feel of a small SUV on the road and the restrained dimensions and efficiency of a B segment car” and that it’s an alternative to the traditional B and C segments. The 500L is a five-seater model, and Fiat will present a biggest version with seating for seven later this year. Probably, only the 5-seat model will be offered in the States.

The 2013 Fiat 500L will be produced in Kragujevac, Serbia in the last quarter of 2012 with two petrol engines, the two-cylinder TwinAir anda 1.4-liter inline-four, plus a 1.3-liter turbodiesel. U.S. sales of the 500L are expected to start in 2013.

In 2000, General Motors and Fiat formed an alliance in which the GM gained 20 percent of the Fiat’s shares in exchange for 5.1 percent of its own stock. The two companies jointly developed the Gamma platform for B-segment cars that underpinned the 2005 Fiat Punto and the 2007 Opel Corsa.

Sergio Marchionne commented during the Detroit Motor Show that Fiat and Chrysler would be “willing participants” if General Motors wanted to discuss Opel tying up with another manufacturer.

On Monday, Marchionne said that European carmakers should be ready for “another round of consolidation”, fuelling rumors about a possible merger with PSA Peugeot Citroen. Marchionne dismissed the rumors the following day: “I saw (Peugeot CEO) Phillipe Varin last night for dinner, and the topic was not on the table”. He did not, however, completely rule out any tie up, since he added that “We continue to be open to suggestions and opportunities.”

GM vice chairman Steve Girsky who also had dinner with Marchionne said that the Fiat-Chrysler CEO did not discuss the possibility of an Opel tie-up. In any case, Girsky stated that “Opel is not for sale”, adding that GM is “committed to returning our European business to sustained profitability. There’s a lot of work to do.”

A report on the seven worst product flops in the U.S. from 24/7 Wall Street two vehicle introductions, the Chevrolet Volt and the Fiat 500.

The Fiat expected to sell some 50,000 cars during its first year in the States, but he sold fewer than 12,000 from January through July, and that the company ousted its chief Laura Soave this past November. For the record, Fiat sold 15,826 examples of the coupe and the 500C through October.

The other products mentioned in the list include Abercrombie & Fitch’s “Ashley” Push-Up Triangle, a bikini top with padding for kids; Netflix’s DVD-by-mail only Qwikster service; the HTC Status smartphone; Blackberry’s PlayBook Tablet, and the Mars Needs Moms 3D film from Disney.

The Fiat 500 collected just three stars safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The side-impact test was particularly cruel to the Italian compact, with NHTSA awarding the vehicle two stars in that category – a somewhat surprising result considering that Fiat went to the trouble of redesigning the 500 for U.S. crash test compatibility. The 500 finds itself in the company of the Dodge Caliber and outgoing Ford Escape as the only models tested so far to receive the three-star designation.

Fiat 500 Abarth today arrive in North American showrooms. Today Chrysler Group finally unveiled the American version of the Fiat 500 Abarth. The Fiat 500 Abarth which arriving in Chrysler dealerships will pack an all-new 1.4-liter MultiAir turbocharged four, kept in check by upgraded brakes, handled by a sportier suspension, controlled by a higher level of technology and conveyed by a more aggressive appearance.

The Euro-model Abarth 500 offers up either 130 hp or 160, the latter with the Esse-Esse kit.

The Fiat Group CEO, Sergio Marchionne, admits that his company is facing huge troubles in Europe as in the first nine months of 2011, the company’s sales decreased by 12% compared to the same period last year, with its share in the European market dropping from 8.2% to 7.3%.

Even in its home market of Italy Fiat sales for the first nine months of the year have hit their lowest mark in the past 20 years.

Marchionne does not have any delusions that next year the situation will improve: “2012 will not be a great year for the European market”, he told reporters. “Since 2008, Italy has lost 700,000 cars, which for Fiat means a loss of 210,000 cars. There is no point in looking for new models”, he added.

Today Fiat-Chrysler alliance’s biggest profit contributors are the U.S. and Brazilian markets, and that’s where it will focus its efforts. Marchionne denied, however, reports that Fiat will leave Italy, despite losing money – and fast.

At this point, all of Fiat’s five Italian plants are loss making. The management wants more flexible labor deals and increased productivity, something the worker unions react to, with the FIOM metalworkers’ union organizing a strike on Friday.

“It’s a very bad idea”, commented Marchionne on the strike. “It’s certainly no way to encourage investments in Italy.”