Fiat-Chrysler to Spin Off Ferrari Into a Separate Company

Rapid developments are taking place at Ferrari with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announcing on Wednesday plans to spin off the supercar maker into a separate entity.

FCA will list a 10 percent stake of Ferrari on the stock market next year with the remaining 90 percent shares to be distributed among FCA shareholders who include Fiat's founders, the Agneli family.

The automaker said it expects that Ferrari shares to be listed in the United States and possibly a European exchange as well.

"As we move forward to secure the 2014-2018 Business Plan and work toward maximizing the value of our businesses to our shareholders, it is proper that we pursue separate paths for FCA and Ferrari,” said FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne.

FCA Chairman and a scion of the Agnelli family, John Elkann, commented:

"I am delighted to have taken this additional step in the development of FCA. Coupled with the recent listing of FCA shares on the NYSE, the separation of Ferrari will preserve the cherished Italian heritage and unique position of the Ferrari business and allow FCA shareholders to continue to benefit from the substantial value inherent in this business."

The move, which will end Fiat's ownership of Ferrari after 45 years, follows previous chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo's resignation in September after 23 years at the company.

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Supercar Trio Track Battle: Porsche 911 GT3 vs Ferrari 458 Speciale vs McLaren 650S

Not that many of us are faced with the choice of which of the latest supercars they’d like to buy, but still...

Even if it’s an irrelevant decision for most, seeing them get thrashed head to head in comparative videos is still somehow a worthwhile way to pass some time – here’s Steve Sutcliffe driving the Porsche 911 GT3, Ferrari 458 Speciale and McLaren 650S head to head on track.

This is a classic Autocar comparison, and it’s one where the clear underdog, the cheaper and less powerful Porsche, impresses the most, even though the Ferrari ended up being the overall winner.

The McLaren puts down the second fastest lap time, but it’s let down by a slight tendency to undesteer and poorer brakes than those of either test rivals. It is obviously the fastest in a straight line, but it’s still slower than the Ferrari overall.

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Report Says BMW 4-Series-Rivaling Mazda6 Coupe Coming in 2016

The Mazda6, in both sedan and estate guises, has been somewhat of a revelation for the Japanese brand – it’s a much liked model in the class. However, a third variant always felt like it was missing: a coupe, but it seems that that too is coming, in 2016, according to a recent report.

AutoExpress quotes inside sources making the claim that the two-door 6 will “sit alongside the new MX-5 at the sporty end of the range.”

That’s good, because usually big coupes based on sedans are more GT/cruising-oriented than outright sporty (think Renault Laguna or Honda Accord) – we’re intrigued as to what this means and what kind of car will be spawned out of this norm-defying idea (if it proves accurate, of course).

The same report says the 6 coupe would be Mazda’s attempt to push upmarket and give the BMW 4-Series something to worry.

Apparently, hot MPS/MazdaSpeed versions of the 6 sedan (and we assume the coupe too), the 2 and 3 will also be made and added to the lineup around the same time. There’s even talk of a Citroen DS3/MINI-rivaling model too.

Note: older Mazda6 Coupe rendering by Theophilus Chin

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Citroën C3 Aircross Lunar Concept Revealed in Brazil

You may or may not be aware that Citroën sells a crossover version of the C3 Picasso in Brazil called C3 Aircross.

For this year’s Sao Paulo Auto Show, the French carmaker thought about spicing things up and unveiled the C3 Aircross Lunar concept, of which we don’t know much about. Citroën only said the study was developed by the brand’s Brazilian styling team and that it may anticipate the local market’s future trends.

What we can see is that the C3 Aircross Lunar features an even higher ground clearance and off-road accessories such as the tires, beefier bumpers and two big roof luggage boxes. The study also features lightly revised light units, side air bumps, tinted windows and blue accents. At the rear, the spare wheel has been replaced by a mysterious box.

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Sporty VW Street Up Special Edition Released in Germany

Volkswagen has released a new special edition of its Up city car in Germany called Street Up, which features both exterior and interior design upgrades.

The exterior features sporty white and yellow stripes on the hood, roof, doors and side panels, as well as “Street” lettering on the doors. Based on the five-door version of the Up, the model rides on 16-inch “Upsilon” alloy wheels, with other design tweaks including the chrome mirror caps and fog lights frames. The Street Up’s street credibility is enhanced by a sports suspension which improves handling.

Inside, the Street Up gains colored stitching on the seats, floor mats, gear shift and handbrake lever, as well as a “Black Style” design package featuring a black headliner and darkened side windows. “Up!” lettering on the seats and door sills complete the interior design changes. Standard equipment includes the RCD 215 radio and air conditioning.

The VW Street Up can be ordered with any of the engines available in the Up lineup, including the 60PS and 75PS 1.0-liter petrol units and the 68PS natural gas (CNG) variant. Prices for the Street Up start from €13,575 ($17,281).

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Survey Says Get A Lexus If You Want Reliability, Not A Fiat Or Nissan

A Lexus runs like a clock and a Fiats still have to visit Tony, according to Consumer Reports' annual reliability survey. Oh, and car infotainment still sucks.

The 2014 Consumer Reports reliability survey was announced Tuesday, the bible for buyers interested in sensible purchases. And like many years since its 1989 launch, Lexus takes the top spot for new car reliability. And the old joke for what the letters in "Fiat" stand for is becoming applicable to a new generation.

Some takeaways from this year's survey:

The Scion xB was CR readers' most reliable car in 2014, unsurprising, since it's one of the oldest new cars you can buy today.

General Motors makes the most reliable domestic-branded cars. In fact, Buick is ranked sixth overall among brands for reliability, higher than Subaru and Acura this year. Even the redesigned Cadillac CTS and Chevy Corvette are reliable.

GM also outscores Nissan as an automaker. Problems with the Altima, Sentra, Pathfinder and Infiniti QX60 were singled out. Also dragging Nissan down is the new Infiniti Q50, sinking the brand 14 places to 20th on the rankings. CR said 1 in 5 of their respondents with a Q50 had problems with the touchscreen/navigation setup, calling it "worse than MyFord Touch in its first year." Ouch.

Mercedes is apparently back to its early 2000s ways with reliability, at both ends of its lineup. The CLA and the 2014 S-Class were big problem areas, according to the survey.

Still, it sucks to be Fiat-Chrysler. Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat occupy the bottom for places on the brand rankings, the aforementioned Fiat 500L takes the bottom spot. The 2014 Jeep Cherokee was singled out for its 9-speed automatic problems, and the UConnect system was also cited as a sore reliability point. And not that Fiat's quality has typically been laudable in these kinds of surveys, but could the rapid rollout of Fiat-engineered Chrysler products over the last couple years exacerbated this issue? It'll be interesting to see how 9-speed-auto-equipped cars like the 2015 Chrysler 200 do next year.

If you've been following this survey for the last few years, these results aren't too surprising. For the most part, Toyota brands are back to their old ways for dependability, but under-engineered in-car tech can drag anyone down – ask the Japanese brands.

And you still don't buy a car affiliated with an Italian brand if you want trouble-free ownership.

The whole video discussion on the rankings is below.

By Zac Estrada

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Does BMW M3 Individual Make You Green with Envy or Sickness?

Green can be a tricky color to work with on automobiles – anything lighter than the classic dark British Green and opinions start to differ greatly.

That's why BMW offers divisive shades like the Java Green exclusively on its Individual list of custom-order paints.

It's no surprise then that this 2013 Java Green M3 is (purportedly) only one of 11 E92 M3s from the 2008-2013 years ever ordered in America and, allegedly, the only one up for sale right now, always according to the eBay seller.

"This is a Competition Package M3, so it has the upgraded wheels which have been finished in a satin black. The Grills and side badges were also replaced with black pieces, the windows are tastefully tinted, and the carbon fiber roof finishes off the look of the car perfectly," reads the ad.

Being a year old only, it has a mere 11,164 miles on the odometer with the seller stating that it's a "9.9 out of 10".

It's listed with a 'Buy it now price' of $68,978, but bidding currently stands at $39,100

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