The 500 won't be the only Fiat headed to our shores: New Fiat architecture is slated for several new and redesigned U.S. vehicles, though a couple of models may be disguised as Chryslers.

Europe will see the underlying architecture, called Compact Wide, on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, set to debut at the Geneva auto show next month. The Compact Wide platform, which boasts a modular design making it suitable for vehicles of different lengths and wheelbases, will underpin at least seven different Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models. The first two vehicles will be upcoming replacements for the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Dodge Caliber. 

Bloomberg is citing confidential sources who say Toyota is discussing how best to woo back customers after the past few disastrous, recall-laden months. The answer may be good news for those willing to take a chance on the tarnished Japanese manufacturer.

While nothing has been confirmed, the early reports say that the company is mulling over extended warranties -- up to 10 years -- as well as thousands of dollars' worth of rebates on new models, starting in March, as incentives aimed at moving boosting sales and getting the car maker back on track. 

Ford Motor Co. executives confirmed that Mercury will get a new car on the same platform as the Ford Focus.

Ford executives told dealers Sunday at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando, Fla., that the small Mercury is coming in 2011, the same year the Focus arrives. Two dealers who attended the meeting say the car will be called the Mercury Tracer.

"Here in the United States, the trend toward fuel-efficient vehicles is very important, and the trend toward small cars is coming back," Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said after the meeting. "Our strategy is pretty simple: have a broad-based lineup."

 

About 8,000 Toyota Tacoma pickups will soon be recalled due to loss-of-control issues, according to Reuters.

The news agency got hold of a document sent to U.S. dealers on Thursday outlining the problem, which, unlike the most recent Toyota recalls, has nothing to do with floor mats, stuck accelerator pedals or faulty brakes. 

With a foot of soggy snow on the ground in New York, it’s time again to marvel at what a difference tires and traction can make in winter. First, an example of how not to do it, brought to us by the new Kia Sorento crossover. I assumed this solid, if somewhat retiring, companion was an all-wheel-drive version -- until I tried to escape my snowbound parking lot in Brooklyn. While the Sorento has plenty of family space and all the features you'd expect in its class, including a well-designed touch-screen audio system, it was sorely lacking in the grip department: The Kia moved about 6 feet before its front tires started freewheeling in the snow, proving itself a front-driver fit for Florida beaches, not nor’easters. I was hopelessly stuck, and the Kia’s budget set of Kumho all-season tires sure wasn’t helping. Nor did the Kia feature a limited-slip differential that might have allowed one front wheel to gain purchase when the other started to spin. I ended up recruiting some Good Samaritans to shove the machine back into its space until the lot was dug out.

 

Next up was Hyundai Elantra Touring, the practical and surprisingly fun-to-drive wagon version of the compact Elantra sedan. The Hyundai was parked around the corner, buried behind a waist-high wall of packed snow, courtesy of the snowplows that make digging out in New York such a special treat. (It’s not really their fault -- there’s so little space to move snow here that trucks also collect it and dump it into the rivers.)

 

Audi plans to use the e-tron designation for its electric vehicles.

Audi cars will carry the e-tron logo on their rear, similar to the way models now bear the "quattro" designation.

Audi plans to produce an initial run of 100 units of its e-tron electric sports car at its factory in Ingolstadt, Germany, in 2012. The car was unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

An expansion of this small production volume to 1,000 units is planned. No decision has yet been made on where the vehicle will be built long term.

 

Toyota's been so battered over the past several weeks that, in an attempt to repair its napalmed image, the company will make public car problems not affected by its current recalls -- in other words, problems that it is not under any obligation to disclose.

That decision was made even as pressure mounts for company President Akio Toyoda to appear before Congress later this month at a hearing scheduled to investigate the myriad automotive safety lapses. While Japanese media are speculating that Toyoda will, in fact, attend, there has been no official word from the Toyota camp. Toyoda has a trip to the U.S. scheduled for early March, but that would come after the Feb. 24 hearings. 

Mazda Motor Corp. said Thursday that it is installing upgraded features for the North American launch of the 2011 Mazda2 this fall. The automaker unveiled the interior of the five-door hatchback at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.