Mopar is making an appearance at the Chicago Auto Show featuring four cars they’ve decked out with loads of visual goodies including the Mopar Fiat 500 “Stinger,” pictured above.

Photos hit the media last week, along with the equipment list for the Stinger, which plays up the black and yellow paint scheme you might expect given the name. Black stripes run along the sides, and a black-and-yellow checker pattern covers the roof.

Other than the exterior styling changes, the other-other 500 (don’t forget the Abarth) comes with black chrome accents and 17-inch black aluminum wheels borrowed from, well, the Abarth. The interior also gets new color touches that match the Stinger-styled outside.

Performance-wise there isn’t much different here: just a new set of brakes, cold air intake and a cat-back exhaust to help the car’s 1.4-liter engine breathe easier.

Have a look at our pictures from the show, shown below.

GALLERY: Fiat 500 Stinger

Last month, Toyota alluded to the possibility that an Avalon Hybrid was in the works, claiming that a car under development would have “more space than a BMW X5, faster than a Volkswagen TDI and higher MPG than a Fiat 500.”

And now we pretty much have confirmation that the vehicle Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager Bob Carter was speaking about is the upcoming Avalon that will most definitely be employing the use of a hybrid system. Toyota executives at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention promised that the all-new Avalon will “meet or beat” the 33-mpg combined rating of the Fiat 500.

Set to make its debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show, the new Avalon Hybrid would be a huge improvement over the current 20-mpg city, 29-mpg highway offered in this generation Avalon. Chances are, Toyota will reach for their system seen in the Camry Hybrid that has 200-hp and a 41-mpg combined rating.

Toyota also announced at the event that they intend to release 19 new models (including the Avalon) in 2012 alone.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

This Fiat 500 Abarth ad hit the spot with viewers, and showed the biggest increase in internet traffic during the course of the Super Bowl.

Edmunds revealed that the commercial showed the greatest increase of traffic to the models page on their site. Using measurements at 7 different points during Sundays game, Edmunds found that the Fiat section of their site had a 138 percent rise in activity at the end of the game.

The effective commercial follows Abarth’s “Small, but wicked” catch-phrase, and is sure to catch your attention in just 60 seconds.

The Abarth is going to be hitting North America some time this year, featuring track-ready performance and small car fuel efficiency.

Check it out in the video below.

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Mopar introduced us to four new Chrysler tuned vehicles this morning, one of them being the Fiat 500 Stinger.

The Stinger comes with a Giallo (yellow) paint job, playing on the bumblebee reference, with black racing stripe and checkered flag design on the roof. To contrast the bright yellow paint, Mopar has outfitted the Stinger with black chrome accents around the headlights, door handles and mirror caps. The Stinger will ride on 17-inch by 7-inch Abarth hyper black aluminium wheels outfitted with performance tires.

The interior of the Stinger will continue with the Giallo and black theme with Mopar’s Katzkin black leather seats stitched with yellow highlights and accents. A Mopar carbon fiber instrument panel decal gives the Stinger a technical race appearance as does the Mopar shift knob finished in gloss black.

In terms of performance, not a lot has been done to the Stinger. It gets a cold-air intake as well as a free flowing cat back exhaust to squeeze some more juice out of the 1.4 liter 16 valve Mulitair engine. The brakes have also been upgrade to match the performance feel of the Stinger, utilizing cross drilled rotors to dissipate surface heat faster.

The Mopar Fiat 500 Stinger will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

GALLERY: Mopar Fiat 500 Stinger

Not too long ago, reports came in that Fiat is developing a 500 five-door wagon for the US market and now it appears that the Italian automaker will be reviving the 500L model name for the upcoming five-door 500.

The new five-door model gets an L added to its name for being large, and is scheduled to make its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Additional details on the model were also reported, stating that the 500L will sport a front end similar to the standard 500 model, but the vehicle will be wider and about 2.4-inches longer.

America will only be seeing a five-seater variant of the 500L, but it’s believed that the European market will also receive a seven-seater 500L. Fiat believes – and rightfully so – that American buyers wouldn’t have much interest in a seven-seater with such a small footprint.

Chances are the 500L in America will feature a 1.4L, four-cylinder engine with around 105-hp. The 500L badge originally came on Fiats produced from 1968-1972, but back then the L stood for Lusso, which is Italian for luxury. Now it’ll just be large.

[Source: Automotive News]

In 1989, Rick Moranis played a nerdy dad who accidentally downsized his children to an insect scale in Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. He probably wouldn’t have believed it if someone told him that 23 years later automakers would be doing the same thing to their cars.

For those of us living in the North American 2012, there are increasingly large swarms of little cars buzzing around the streets. The din their tiny engines makes isn’t overwhelming yet, but just wait.

General Motors’ German subsidiary, Opel, is planning to release a micro car they’re calling the Allegra (or, tentatively, Junior). No, not the allergy medication, though the thing is small enough to be mistaken for a bee in ragweed season, at least compared to the standard American palate. When the Allegra hits Europe in 2013 it will probably stand to compete against cars like the Volkswagen Up, MINI Cooper and Fiat 500.

In fact, it’s a solid 3.3 feet longer than the Mercedes-Benz spawned Smart ForTwo, which looks like a cross between a golf cart and an alien space pod. Our spies caught the Opel Allegra on camera during winter testing, but what’s the big deal? Opel cars aren’t sold in North America, right?

Well, not necessarily. Rumors are floating around that the not-so-smallish micro car might make it overseas rebadged as a Buick. (Why not? It’s not the first Buick to come from Opel). And with the recent launch of the Fiat 500 and the Scion iQ on our shores, the market for mini-cars is growing.

Of course, the name will likely change to keep big pharma happy.

GALLERY: Opel Allegra/Junion Spy Photos

Look, we get it. Everyone wants to be a little optimistic when a new model hits the streets, especially when it’s one of Italy’s most iconic compact cars.

When Chrysler first introduced the Fiat 500 (read out review here) to the American market, they might have been a little too optimistic by estimating that they’d sell 50,000 of them in 2011. Turns out, even CEO Sergio Marchionne has no problems admitting that their initial sales target was “incredibly naive.”

Fiat’s original goal was to best the MINI Cooper 2010 sales figure of 45,644 but the 500 fell way short with just 19,769 being sold in 2011. Despite not even coming close to their original sales goal, Marchionne is adamant that Fiat will still do well in the US and admits that “we set ourselves up for a fall.”

A more realistic sales figure of 25,000 – 30,000 is anticipated for 2012 and that number could be aided by the introduction of the Fiat 500 Abarth.

[Source: CNN]

Fiat has finally announced the pricing on their 500 Abarth model for the American market, starting at $22,000 and will include a segment-exclusive, full-day Abarth driving experience.

The 500 model that’s been “designed for track-day enthusiasts and driving purists who want the ultimate high-performance small car at an attainable price,” the 500 Abarth is powered by a 1.4L MultiAir Turbo engine with 160-hp and 170 lb-ft of torque. The rest of the vehicle has also been tweaked for a truly sporty driving experience, including Abarth-tuned suspension, brake systems, dual exhaust, turbo-boost gauge with integrated LED shift light and 16-inch wheels.

Fiat will throw in an Abarth Driving Experience for new owners, offering them the opportunity to attend a segment-exclusive driving experience at no additional charge. The Abarth Driving Experience features a full day of driving training with instructors from the Richard Petty Driving Experience in a safe and structured setting.

GALLERY: Fiat 500 Abarth

Italian coachbuilder Castagna Milano has their eyes set on the American market, and to lead their entrance is a stretched Fiat 500 limo in three different variants: LimoSun, LimoCity and LimoCity Presidential.

To be frank, we’re a little skeptical that the American market would even have a demand for a Fiat 500 limousine, considering that Fiat 500 sales as a whole are lacking, but hey, at least the option is there. In the conversion, the length of the vehicle goes from 11.5-feet to 17.45-feet while the wheelbase jumps from 7.55-feet to 13.45-feet. Height also goes from 4.89-feet to 5.18-feet in the CityLimo.

The LimoSun is based on the Fiat 500 convertible  and features four seats facing one another in the passenger area. The large openings on the side and the roof can be closed with transparent panels.

The LimoCity on the other hand is a closed version packed with a circular sofa couch, mini-bar and electric sliding doors. Lastly, the LimoCity Presidential begins with a US-spec Fiat 500 and features a pair of electric motors that are capable of reaching 100-mph and a range of 155-miles.

GALLERY: Castagna Milano Stretched Fiat 500 Limo

[Source: WorldCarFans]

It appears that the Japanese have also embraced Italy’s compact Fiat 500, but this was hardly what we expected from a Japanese tuner. Office-K out in Japan got their hands on a limited edition Fiat Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari and figured it’d look a whole lot better in chrome.

The Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari comes in its own Scuderia Red finish, but Office-K didn’t really care for that shade. They wrapped the entire compact in chrome vinyl while applying racing stripes in Italy’s infamous colors. Surprisingly nothing else was done to the vehicle, leaving the upgraded 1.4L turbocharged four-cylinder with 180-hp.

Abarth’s 695 Tributo Ferrari features its own aero package, 17-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, carbon mirrors, “Record Monza” dual exhaust and suspension upgrades as well. On the inside, Abarth outfits the Tributo Ferrari with a pair of carbon fiber bucket seats, flat-bottomed leather steering wheel with red inserts, and carbon fiber trim.

Check out a video showing off the shiny, chrome Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari after the break.

[Source: Carscoop]

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