Archive for the ‘Italy’ Category

Cristiano Ronaldo has changed the face of soccer -- not to mention that of a few fine cars. You might recall that in January, Ronaldo had a confrontation with a brick wall in his Ferrari 599 GTB, which was okay for Ronaldo, but not so much for the supercar. Last we heard, Chrissy was looking seriously at a Lamborghini Gallardo, but like many his age, the guy has Wandering Eye Syndrome: new reports say that he'll be testing the Ferrari 458 Italia in Maranello, Italy very soon. As much as we like sports, we'd be inclined to lock the windows and bolt the doors for the duration. [LeBlogAuto, iffy Google translation here]

The rest of the auto industry may be flatlining, but Fiat is going horizontal in a very different way: horizontal integration.

Yesterday the Italian automaker confirmed that in addition to the merger it's arranging with Chrysler, Fiat is also hoping to acquire GM Europe, including the Saab and Opel brands. There's no deal to discuss just yet, but there's talk of creating a new company, which would absorb Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, plus the Chrysler and GM brands. Such a company could sell up to seven million vehicles each year, with annual revenues in the €80 billion range (over $106 billion). Speaking of the potential merger, Fiat CEO...

Germany and France are reporting impressive increases in new vehicle registrations for March. Registrations for March increased a whopping 40 percent in Germany and the French automobile association (CCFA) is reporting an 8.1 rise in that country's vehicle registrations. Though a scant 0.24 percent, Italy is making noise about its first vehicle registration increase in a year.

It is believed that so-called European governmental "scrapping" programs, a proposal we call Cash for Clunkers in the U.S., is a big driving force behind the registration and sales boosts.

Automotive News says these European developments are "raising eyebrows" in the...