Ferrari Is On Fire

Ferrari is on fire and not in a good way having recently announced a recall of the new 458 Italia super car.  It appears that the new prancing horse has been literally catching fire due to a faulty adhesive igniting when the engine runs hot.  There have been several reports of this happening and Ferrari is doing everything they can to fix the problem as rapidly as possible.  Ferrari has stated that they will replace the adhesive and if your 458 Italia has caught fire you will get a new one. 

Source:  Youtube, Ferrari

Fiat Returns To The US

Italian automaker Fiat is coming back to the States with its recent purchase of Chrysler last year. Fiat is bringing its current star the Fiat 500 (Fiat Cinquecento) over in December of this year with more to follow soon after. Fiat is looking to open 165 dealerships this year starting with existing Chrysler dealers. In order for a Chrysler dealer to get the rights for a Fiat dealership they must provide a separate showroom with enough room for three to four cars. If the Italians are triumphant in their return we may even see the Alpha Romeo nameplate as well.

The Fiat 500 has several variations that will be coming stateside next year including convertible, electric, and Abrath versions. Abrath is Fiat's in house tuner, think AMG at Mercedes-Benz, with a long history in racing and rallying. In Europe the 500 Abrath is one of the hottest hatches in a long time even beating out its rival the Mini Copper S.

The 500 Abrath is the sport option and you can opt for even more power with the esseesse (SS) package. The European Abrath SS puts out 25 hp more than the standard Abrath giving it 160 hp and 206 ft lbs of torque. The 500 Abrath SS goes from 0 to 60 in 7.4 seconds and a top speed of 131 mph this is one quick little racer. I am truly looking forward to the return of this great brand and hope to get an up close look in the near future.

Source: Fiat