If you had twelve children every year, would you love them all the same? It might be hard to keep track, but as is true with any parent, seeing one of your babies hurt would be tragic.

While it’s a bit much to think of cars as children, and some people do, the Pagani Zonda is a rarity in the luxury supercar market because the company only produced one every month starting in 1999 and stopped production last year. That is enough to tug on enthusiast heart strings and evoke a passionate response when one of these rare birds gets its wings clipped.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what seems to have happened in Hong Kong. Pictures started floating around a forum, showcasing a wrecked Zonda in the middle of an intersection. There aren’t many other details to report on the wreck, but it’s clear from the picture that the car was on a tight city street. You can see that the driver hit a pole, but beyond that it’s tough to speculate on the incident. Click here to see the forum for yourself.

GALLERY: Pagani Zonda F Roadster

Fiat‘s iconic assembly plant on the Island of Sicily closed on November 24th and has been taken over by an investor.

The plant, which opened in 1970 and manufactured primarily Fiat 500s was sold for a token single euro. Massimo Di Risio, one of Italy’s largest car dealers, is that investor. He plans to re-open the plant as early as late next year to assemble four Chery models.

Thus far, his efforts to rebadge the Chinese vehicles under his DR brand have been unsuccessful, but he hopes that taking the plant over will help change that.

His goal, despite financial problems caused by the initial failure of his rebadged Chery project, is to produce 65,000 cars per year. Di Risio currently owns an assembly plant north of Naples where he manufactures the DR5 (Chery Tiggos), the DR1 (Chery M1) and the DR2 (Chery A1) that will now come from his new plant.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Suzuki is working closely with Fiat to increase their supply of diesel-powered cars in India.

The two have been working together since 2003 when Suzuki started offering a Fiat-sourced 2.0-liter diesel in their Sedici/SX4 duo. That partnership flew in the face of another deal between Suzuki and Volkswagen that has since imploded.

Recently rising gas prices in India, where Maruti-Suzuki  has a commanding grasp of the auto market, have meant that demand for diesels is outstripping supply. Consequently, a new deal between Suzuki and Fiat will ramp up production from the previous 280,000 Swifts per year to 380,000.

The Swift is the best-selling car in India, and will likely take an even bigger share in January when the increased production will take effect. The diesel version is so popular that Maruti-Suzuki actually raised the price to encourage consumers to opt for the less popular gasoline powered version.

[Source: Left Lane News]

Italy is one of the most beautiful and scenic countries in the world and when paired up with one of the most exotic creations from the country, you’re guaranteed to have a breathtaking video. Highlighting Ferrari‘s new 458 Spider, the red drop-top beauty races through the Amalfi Coast, at Reggia di Caserta and other picturesque locations throughout the Basilicata region.

While for most of us having the opportunity to drive a 458 Spider is good enough, being able to pilot its 562-hp, 4.5L V8 along the Mediterranean Sea is probably towards the top of our bucket list. So sit back, hit play and listen to the sonorous note of the Spider’s exhaust that has been tuned to sound even better with the roof open. No arguments from us.

Check out the video after the break.

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In 2010, the world’s vehicle population hit one billion which works out to be roughly one car for every seven people. Reports conclude that China fueled half of the global growth, as it passed Japan for the world’s second largest vehicle population, with 28 million cars on the road.

India’s vehicle population has increased by nearly nine percent, pushing its total to 21 million cars on the road. The United States is still the country of cars, despite a lingering downturn in vehicle sales. The total vehicle population of 240 million cars, works out to be one car for every 1.2 persons.

[Source: Inside Line]

Ferrari will offer a special winter driving course in Aspen, Colorado, with the goal of elevating driver skill and enhancing appreciation for the all-season FF GT, which hits dealerships this fall.

The program stems from the “Pilota on Ice” program recently offered in Italy, and the all-new and all-wheel drive FF will be the star of the program. Sessions will begin in January, and will run for 6-7 weeks, exclusively for Ferrari owners. The program will allow owners to experience the FF’s AWD system in snow and icey conditions. The 4RM all-wheel drive system was designed to retain the sporty dynamic driving characteristics of a traditional Ferrari, in low grip situations. Aspen offers a beautiful setting to test out the vehicle on a custom-made snow and ice course, where the FF truly comes to life.

More information on the winter driving program will become available in late summer.

[Source: Team Speed]

American consumers buying the Fiat 500 are choosing pricier packages and customized options. The mid level Sport ($17,500) model accounts for almost half of the model’s sales in the first five months of the Italian brand in the U.S.

The top level Lounge ($19,500) model represents 20 percent of sales which features bigger wheels, leather seats, satellite radio and a glass roof. ”A lot of what we’re seeing is customers really want to build their car,” said Laura Soave, head of the Fiat brand in North America. ”Customers are willing to wait the six to eight weeks to get the one they want.”

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of both Fiat and Chrysler, aims to merge both automakers to reduce costs and generate over $142 billion by 2014. Chrysler predicts selling more than 50,000 500′s annually in the US. Fiat has delivered 7,982 500′s in the US since March and has sold 3,038 units in July.  Fiat will open 130 initial dealerships and hopes to attain its sales target by 2011. The 500 is built in Chrysler’s factory near Mexico City.

[Source: Automotive News]

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 Fiat 500 Review and discuss this story at Fait500Owners.com

Fiat has asked Chrysler to boost Freemont output after European demand soars for the rebadged Dodge Journey. Last June, with the Freemonts introduction, Fiat hoped to sell 13,000 of the minivans this year, however the automaker has already collected 15,700 orders. Fiat planned to sell 33,000 Freemonts in 2012 and as a result, Fiat was promised 3,000 Freemonts a month from Chryslers plant in Toluca, Mexico. With the high demand for the minivan, Chrysler boosted production to 4,067 units in June.

The European version of the minivan differs from its American counterpart with different front and rear styling, suspension tweaks and a Fiat’s MultiJet 2 diesel engine, not offered by Dodge.

[Source: Automotive News]

This very special 1957 four-cylinder Ferrari 500 is one of the latest additions to the RM Auctions docket at the upcoming Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este where the car is expected to fetch between $3.5 to $4.5 million.

This Ferrari 500 TRC (Testa Rossa Type-C) Spider was the first Ferrari to bear the Testa Rossa name for its red valve covers. Only 19 TRC’s were built and this particular example – chassis number 0670 MDTR – was the sixth vehicle made. These TRC Ferraris, are more rare than the more powerful 12-cylinder 250 TR as well as the infamous 250 GTO which are notorious for selling into the multi millions.

An Italian bus driver has been fired from his job for being too popular. In the video you can see that he is using two cell phones while steering with his elbows. Talk about being a serious multitasker.

While battling the traffic in downtown Rome, the driver attempts to set up his email on a smartphone while speaking to customer service on his second phone. Not only that, but he was driving a busload of passengers.

The company that owns the bus service has suspended the driver pending a full investigation. You’d think all people would know by now that you are being taped wherever you are.

Check out the video after the jump!

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