Fiat 500 coming in 2011, will be the only Fiat badged car in Chrysler dealerships

Stepping away from all the GM related news pouring out this morning, Fiat has confirmed that it sell its 500 minicar at Chrysler dealerships by early 2011. The Fiat 500 will be the only Fiat-derived vehicle that will be sold at Chrysler dealerships badges as a Fiat.

“The Fiat 500 — we see that, like the Mini, as a sort of boutique car that we think we can sell in good numbers on the East and West coasts in the same way that Mini has been successful in the U.S.,” Richard Gadeselli, vice president of Fiat communications in Italy told Automotive News.

Other than that, Chrysler is planning six small and mid-sized sedans based on Fiat platforms. While those models will be based on Fiat platforms, they will be designed and engineered by Chrysler.

“There is a misconception out there that Chrysler is going to build the Fiat Bravo, just stick a different badge on it” and do other rebadging, Gadeselli says. “They will be specific to Chrysler. The vehicle architectures will be based on our stuff, and there will be some powertrains. The vehicles will be U.S. vehicles, designed for U.S. customers by a U.S. company.”

Production Kia Soul’ster could arrive in 2010

Earlier this year, Kia unveiled the Kia Soul’ster Concept at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. At the time Kia said that the response to the show car was very strong and overwhelming. It was said that the executives at Kia are studying the concept for production.

While Kia is remaining very quiet about any series production plans for the Soul’ster, sources have told once Korean magazine that the decision to put the Soul’ster into production will be made very soon. If the concept gets the green light, we can expect to see a production model hit U.S. showrooms in the second-half of 2010.

The Kia Soul’ster is based on the new 2010 Kia Soul. With front-wheel-drive the Soul’ster Concept can accommodate the 2010 Soul’s 120-hp 1.6L 5-cylinder engine and a 140-hp 2.0L 4-cylinder.

PSA to decide on GTbyCitroen production within four weeks

When Citroen collaborated with the people behind Sony Playstation's hit Gran Turismo game franchise on the show-stopping - if clumsily named - GTbyCitroen for last year's Paris Motor Show, few thought it would see the light of day. That includes the French automaker itself, but as we reported back in March, demand has picked up enough to prompt Citroen to consider the GT's creation. The latest reports indicate that the Chevron-labeled automaker will have its answer ready, one way or another, within a month's time.
The indication of Citroen's deliberation reportedly comes straight from the mouth of the company's product guru Vincent Besson (think Bob Lutz with a beret and a dangling Gauloise). Apparently Citroen has received a number of prospective orders from potential buyers who'd like to see the supercar drive off their plasmas and into their garages. If the PSA subsidiary does indeed decide to built the GT, it will be in extremely limited numbers and at a price high enough to cover the costs -- 15 examples at a million euros apiece is where it's tipped to be at. Powertrain is another issue altogether, as the concept's conceptual hydrogen electric drivetrain would likely be replaced by a more conventional V8 sourced from Detroit. French style and American muscle? Sounds like a winning combination. We'll just have to wait four weeks to find out if it will come to fruition.