What I Drove in 2011: The Year in Cars

We’ve compiled our year in driving in a singular blog post. We drove cars in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Le Mans, France. We drove big cars, we drove small cars. We drove gasoline engines, electric cars and hybrids. We drove 53 cars. We drove 2011 models. We drove 2012 models. And still so many cars left to drive. Gotryke’s Year in Cars: 1. Honda... Read More

Simon Starling’s Fiat Flaga

A few weeks ago, I covered Simon Starling’s work “Flaga” as part of the exhibit Ostalgia. While the exhibit is now closed, the image has stuck in my head — which is the result of effective conceptualism. Here’s what I wrote about his interpretation of the Polski Fiat for Forbes: Simon Starling’s process for the work “Flaga” began in Turin, Italy in 2002, where... Read More

Fiat 500: The Autobiography

The story of the Fiat 500 dates back to the Nuova 500 introduced in 1957 by the Italian motor company. Just as baby Fiats make its way deeper into the American landscape, Rizzoli presents the Fiat 500: The Autobiography. Here’s all things Fiat from Paparazzi campaigns to the technical good that highlights the finer point of this legacy with models including the Nuova, the D... Read More

Fiat 500c: First Drive

The Italians are known for their excellent treatment of bambinos. I experienced the national fascination with babies when I traveled with my then 6 month old to Italy two years ago. I also drove a Fiat on that trip, and gained an appreciation for it’s city-slicker attributes in mama mia land– the ability to squeeze and weave anywhere. Then presto — Fiat invests... Read More

Chrysler and Battery Electric Fiat 500: Made for America in 2012

The Fiat 500 form will be used to outfit a battery-electric powered for Chrysler scheduled to debut later this year and to hit the U.S. market in 2012. The technology relies on a high power electric powertrain module, advance lithium ion battery, and an EV control unit to manage power flows, according to company reports. While the Italian-based manufacturer Fiat provides the platform,... Read More

Abarth’s Tales of the Scorpion, Episode 3

Italian-Austrian Karl (Carlo) Abarth founded his car company in Turin in 1949. Abarth was known for it’s prowess in hill climbing, racing and for it’s exhaust pipes. It was the racing arm for Fiat in the ’70s and ’80s and then withered for a time. Fiat resurrected the brand with its relaunch in 2007 of the Fiat 500 Abarth, to the delight of it’s dedicated... Read More

Abarth on film

Fantastic archival footage on this Abarth backgrounder and the introduction of the Fiat 750, from Italy with love. Tweet This Post Read More

Abarth: Small, But Bad

Suddenly little cars have found some swagger. Is the Abarth headed for U.S. soil? Fiat revived the brand best known for ’60s style racing to create the latest funky tuner. We’ve seen some slick looking Abarth footage lately and the European press has good things to say about the Fiat Abarth. Perhaps Fiat will out-Smart the competitors with extra bad abilities particular... Read More

Chrysler: The little small block engine that could

If I had a penny forever supposed automotive expert that told me Chrysler would be dead by spring, I’d have a full tank of gas. I couldn’t help it — I bet for Mopar every time. While the dangling Pentastar has taken a few nicks, it’s still glimmering with hope for Michigan people who lean tough on some aspect of the domestic automotive industry. Here it... Read More