Autoblog

With the rampant acquisition streak Fiat's embarked on, the Italian automaker has clearly emerged as a power-broker in the global automotive industry. The auto group has always been strongest in its home market, but with the ink on the Chrysler deal still wet and more mergers and acquisitions looming on the horizon, Fiat has reached a new milestone: for the first time in the company's history, it's sold more of one model outside of Italy than within.

The model in question, it should come as no great surprise, is the 500, with 54% of sales currently take place outside its home market. The retro hatchback has been selling like hotcakes in every locale it's been introduced, and is slated to come Stateside within a couple of years.

The announcement of the 500's international sales success came at the market introduction of its convertible version, the 500 C, which goes on sale next month in Italy, France and the UK, with more markets to follow. We've loaded a whole new crop of high-resolution images into the gallery below, and posted a video after the jump to satiate all your quaint Italian cabrio fantasies, so enjoy.

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Here's a fantastic challenge that the Top Gear team didn't think up: if you walked around London dressed as the Stig, how many strangers would let you drive their cars? Aussie comedy show The Chaser's War on Everything went to London to find out, in an attempt to find a cheaper way to travel. What ensued was a guy in a bad Stig getup poaching transport from a few Brits -- and it only got better from there. Follow the jump to see the vid. Hat tip: Scott

[Source: YouTube]

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	Review: 2010 Ford Fiesta Euro-Spec almost ready for U.S. arrival For the first time in years, a domestic automaker will begin offering a competitive compact car in the U.S. But does the Ford Fiesta have what it takes to make small sexy? We find out in our review.		Shelby unveils six new models including 2010 GT500 Super Snake Coinciding with the 35th Annual Ford and Team Shelby Nationals in Tulsa, OK, Shelby Automobiles has released a barrage of new models including a 2010 version of the GT500 Super Snake.
	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Better action, worse storyline We hit the theater to see if Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen lived up to the considerable hype, and basically got exactly what we expected.	Other news of import GM to build B-segment cars in Lake Orion, MI China to block HUMMER sale to Tengzhong? Comcast pulls ad criticizing GM, Chrysler to review claims GM says Camaro supply outstripped by demand, cars selling for over sticker Artist creates full scale F1 car from recycled styrofoam

After attending the second event of the 2008 Lotus Challenge Series last May, we were convinced the up-start had potential. Lotus Cars USA seems to agree and has become the title sponsor for the 2009 season.

In its inaugural year, the series stuck to California for six of its events, along with two races at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada. For 2009, the campaign is expanding to ten events in the western US, including stints at Laguna Seca and Infineon, with four more events planned in Texas.

The series – part track day and part time-attack – brings together Lotus enthusiasts of all stripes, divides the field according to experience level and vehicle model/modifications, and sets them loose for a weekend of down-and-dirty track action. You can get all the details, along with the 2009 schedule, in the press release after the break, and check out the Lotus Challenge website to sign up for any of the 2009 events.

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With Max Mosley due to end his tenure as president of the FIA in October, the recent rift between the current Formula One championship and the Formula One Teams Association has apparently been healed. Now the big question on everyone's minds in the motorsport world is: Who will replace Mosley?

Speculation has already grown its legs, with several rumored candidates already being vetted in the motorsport press. The most obvious candidate is Michel Boeri, who currently presides over both the Monaco automobile club as well as the FIA senate and who, according to some earlier reports, is already stepping in to take over some of Mosley's responsibilities. Mosley, however, refuted such reports, and doesn't think Boeri would be interested in his job. Current FIA Vice-President Hermann Tomczyk, who was touted as a potential Mosley replacement amidst the latter's recent scandal, told members of the German press he's not interested in the job, either.

Meanwhile, many are looking to Jean Todt, the former Ferrari team principal who recently retired (save for his liaison role between the Scuderia and the FIA) and who has long been touted as a potential FIA president. Toyota team principal and FOTA veep John Howett says the association would prefer someone with no ties to any of the teams, but he also noted that it'll be the FIA's own constituents who will have the final say and not the teams association.

For his part, Mosley says he'll endorse a specific candidate if there is more than one in the running. As reported earlier, the always controversial and embattled figure says he's owed an apology from FOTA for what he claims were blatant misrepresentations to the media about the nature of the agreement between the two motorsport groups. If he doesn't get his apology, Mosley says he could call the whole thing off and stand for re-election in October, which would make this whole discussion rather academic, to say nothing of the future of the sport and its regulatory body.

[Sources: Autosport and F1-Live | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

Autoblog went to the premiere of Raptor - Born in Baja, and while the film is on the long side, it's an enjoyable flick. We wrote before that the truck "only" came in third (out of four total trucks in Class 8), but to finish the Baja 1000 at all is an achievement -- especially when the overall attrition rate is close to 50%. Throw in a truck that had been built in three months and hadn't been tested in any other race before and you've got a little adventure on your hands.

The movie provides plenty more. There's never a good time for things to break, but the Raptor R chose a couple of the most abysmal moments to get sick: it was compelling irony to watch the whole race team wearing "Built Ford Tough" t-shirts gathered around a truck that wouldn't start 90 minutes before the race began.

And if it wasn't the Raptor, it was other trucks in the road holding things up. Still, not only did they get it started, but the Raptor R got to the end with all of its panels and, as far as we could see, no dents -- and it came within minutes of taking second place.

But you'll have to watch the movie to truly glimpse the eye of the tiger... and the thrill of the fight. You can view it on Speed TV on Sunday, July 12 at 4 p.m. EST -- and when you do, look for Pickuptrucks.com's Mike Levine, Jalopnik's Ray Wert, and our own Drew Phillips who make cameos during the SEMA coverage. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer after the jump.

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When it came to buying Opel, Fiat's Sergio Marchionne told GM and the German government: "If you have a better offer, take it." They both took Magna, along with its Russian partners Sberbank and GAZ, because that consortium offered a better competitive arrangement and fewer job cuts in Germany. The deal wasn't slated to be finished until September, but it's encountered a few pockets of serious turbulence.

Magna's plans for engineering changes to Opels is worrying to GM because that alters the economics of the General's parts sharing. Magna also wants access to future GM technology, such as fuel cells, that GM doesn't want to hand over. GM is additionally worried about Sberbank, which has already stated its intention to sell its 35% stake once Opel is restructured; GM wants to have a hand in selecting the buyer, and it doesn't want its tech buoying the Russian car industry, nor does it want to compete with what could essentially be Russian versions of Opels.

Magna has its own problems as well, with at least one manufacturer telling the Canadian company that it could be a parts supplier or a competitor, not both. With all those fires to be doused, GM has entered into non-binding agreements with China's Beijing Automotive, and Belgium's RHJ International investment bank -- which looks like another Cerberus scenario -- as backup plans. As for the Germans, it was claimed today that no decision on Opel will come before the country's national elections on September 27.

The only problem with that is GM has stopped all payments to Opel, and the German firm is said to be losing €5 million a day. At that rate, the German government's €1.5 billion bridge loan to Magna that was part of the potential deal will run out before the elections. That means, as we've seen so many times before in this saga, something's got to break.

[Source: Bloomberg via TTAC]

Ford Transit Connect: Case Study in Overregulation

The Ford Transit Connect is a cool little van unlike anything else on the American market. In fact, I think it has the capability of becoming something of a cult car. But it's also a shining example of why the auto industry faces too much regulation.

Even though the Transit Connect is already sold in 55 countries around the world it had to undergo numerous modifications before it could be sold in the American market. And while it's not at all unusual to modifiy imported vehicles up to our standards, it's hard to see how some of these changes will help the health or safety of American citizens.

Some of these changes are so ridiculous and inconsequential that it's actually funny to see what they are. Funny, that is, until you realize all they're doing is driving up the price of the product.

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John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit" and daily web video "Autoline Daily". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers.
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It's the stuff that dreams are made of. Gearhead dreams, anyway: Who would be the fastest between a racing icon of yesteryear and a champion of today? That's the question which Swiss watchmaker and longtime F1 sponsor TAG Heuer posed with its latest contest, The Duel.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the timeless Monaco wristwatch, TAG pitted two of its most famous brand ambassadors – the late great Steve McQueen and reigning Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton – against each other with trick video editing. Online contestants registered their bets on who would win the virtual race, and three winners received a Monaco wristwatch, Hamilton helmet or a test drive in an F1 car. Follow the jump to watch the video and see which of the two TAG Heuer crowned as all-time champion of our imaginations. Thanks for the tip, James!

[Source: TAG Heuer]

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India's Tata Motors has reported a net loss of $520 million (25.05 billion rupees) for the fiscal year ending in March of 2009. Over the same period one year earlier, Tata managed to earn 21.68 billion rupees in profit. What gives? Naturally, the global economic meltdown didn't do the automaker any favors, but the main problem can be sourced back to the poor performance of Jaguar and Land Rover, which the Indian automaker purchased from Ford last year with the help of a $3 billion bridge loan.

The fact that Jaguar Land Rover accounted for $504 million of that $520 million total loss means that more job cuts and plant shutdowns are in store for the ailing British duo. Says Tata Vice Chairman Ravi Kant:

We have sent people on sabbatical, gone for cheaper low-cost country sourcing and tight control in cash flows, and are assisting JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) for a major belt tightening.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Tata was in search of some £1 billion ($1.5B) in cash and underwriting help to pump into the JLR operations.



[Source: Reuters]