This year’s Geneva Motor Show promises to be even more exciting than the North American version if the list of debutants is anything to go by.

The latest name on the list is the new Fiat Freemont, which will go on sale in the second half of 2011 and is based on the Dodge Journey. It will be the first Fiat vehicle to emerge from the partnership with Chrysler and will be produced in the Toluca plant in Mexico.

The new Fiat Freemont.

So what does the vehicle have to offer?

The Fiat Freemont will feature seven seats and have front wheel drive with turbo-diesel power units – a 140hp or 170hp 2.0 MultiJet combined with a manual gearbox. There will also be 4×4 versions available with 170hp 2.0 Multijet and 276hp 3.6litre petrol V6 engines. According to Fiat, the performance of the car has been improved thanks to a special suspension and steering configuration for greater accuracy and directness.

The third row of seats can be folded down to disappear completely below the floor and create a wider load platform.

In addition, the Freemont will include seven airbags, an electronic stability programme, brake assist, electronic roll mitigation and hill holder as standard.

Fiat’s influence over the Chrysler Group is expected to expand after it increased its ownership interest from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

The increase is based on Chrysler achieving the first of three performance-related milestones. It was outlined in the operating agreement established on June 10, 2009, that Chrysler had issued an irrevocable commitment letter to the US Treasury stating it had received the appropriate governmental approvals and would begin commercial production of its Fully Integrated Robotized Engine (FIRE) at its Dundee, Michigan, facility.

The first application of the FIRE Engine will be in the new Fiat 500.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat’s ownership interest has increased. UAW VEBA still holds the largest share at 63.5 per cent; with Fiat at 25 per cent; the US Treasury at 9.2 per cent; and the Canadian Governments at 2.3 per cent.

Fiat could further increase its share to 35 per cent in five per cent increments with two additional milestones – the first relating to revenue and sales outside the NAFTA region, and the second to commercial production in the US of a 40mpg petrol vehicle based on Fiat platform technology.

A report by Bloomberg suggests that Fiat executives are considering introducing natural gas vehicles in the USA.

Chief executive officer of Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC Sergio Marchionne has reportedly stated that natural gas engines are a better way to cut emissions because they are cheaper than competing technologies. He also believes that electric cars present too many obstacles such as the recharge time for batteries.

Guiliano Noci, a professor at the MIP management school of Milan’s Polytechnic University, commented that Fiat will use its leadership in natural gas in a region with huge reserves and that it is a “mandatory strategy” as Fiat is a leader in the natural gas market but is far behind in the electric vehicle sector.

From December next year, the Fiat Group will supply a replacement to Opel/Vauxhall for the Combo light commercial vehicle.

The new vehicles are based on the same platform as the Fiat Doblo models and will be produced at the Tofas plant in Bursa, Turkey. They will then be sold by Vauxhall/Opel throughout Europe from January 2012 onwards.

The Combo name is expected to be retained for the vehicle range and will include a number of derivatives such as cargo vans, chassis cabs and passenger vehicles.

Initially, 6,000 vehicles will be supplied in 2011 and the programme is planned to cover the supply of at least 250,000 units. It will extend the lifetime production of the vehicle platform at the Tofas plant to 1.3million units.

European readers may already be aware of the Fiat 500 – but it was certainly a head turner on its arrival in the US at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The four-passenger vehicle includes a 1.4litre MultiAir engine with a six-speed automatic transmission and interactive driving technology. It is the first mass production engine for the North American market to feature Fiat’s Fully Variable Valve Actuation which has cylinder-by-cylinder, stroke-by-stroke direct air intake control without a throttle valve. It manages to slash carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 10 per cent while also achieving an additional 10 per cent in power as it delivers 101hp at 6,500rpm and 98lb-ft of torque.

In addition, the 2012 model comes with two transmissions – a six-speed automatic transmission that is exclusively available in the North American market; and an upgraded five-speed manual transmission with new gear ratios, improved fuel efficiency and acceleration.

The vehicle features several adaptations for the North American market including a redesigned body; an exclusively tailored suspension; more than 20 hardware modifications/additions for improved noise, vibration and harshness; a new four-wheel anti-lock disc brake system; a larger 10.5gallon fuel tank; new steering wheel controls and revised steering effort calibration; and an upgraded heating and cooling system. Also included is an all-new air bag system with seven standard air bags. Reactive head restraints are also included – they activate during a rear impact.

The Chrysler Group plans to introduce a battery electric vehicle using the Fiat 500 platform in 2012 – this vehicle was previewed earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show.

Fiat’s new super-fuel efficient petrol 500 TwinAir model has found a new fan in the form of actor and former Strictly Come Dancing champion Tom Chambers. 

The actor is celebrating the opening of his new stage spectacular White Christmas The Musical, with the delivery of his very own Fiat 500 TwinAir. The newly released and already award winning 500 TwinAir features a technologically advanced low consumption 875cc two-cylinder engine, the cleanest quantity production petrol engine in the world.

Weighing just 85kg, and with emissions from 95g/km of CO₂, this ground-breaking engine builds on its Italian car makers successful MultiAir technology. With 85bhp, the TwinAir is not just clean, it is among the most powerful mainstream A segment vehicles on sale. And with its 145Nm of torque at a relatively low 1900rpm, it remains responsive and fun-to-drive engine yet delivers up to 70.6 mpg (on a combined cycle).

It is this performance and fuel efficiency that appealed to the ex-Holby City star as he begins a six-week run in the festive musical at the Sunderland Empire. 

“My job as an actor takes me all over the country, just as White Christmas has, so it’s important I have a car that can get me where I need to be safely, reliably and economically,” says Tom. “It’s well-known that I love the Fiat 500, and I’m particularly excited about having this latest model with the new TwinAir engine.

Tom has been driving Fiat 500s since Christmas 2008, and also owns an original 1965 model. He should find his new TwinAir’s 85bhp, 875cc engine, with lively acceleration and superb fuel economy, useful on his journey to the busy city’s theatre each day.

Road tax and London congestion charge exempt, the new 500 TwinAir range starts at £10,665 (OTR) for the TwinAir Pop and rises to £16,065 (OTR) for the convertible 500C TwinAir byDIESEL.

Fuel-conscious UK drivers are being offered the chance to win a new Fiat 500 TwinAir in a new exciting Europe-wide competition from Fiat’s award-winning eco:Drive.

Feather-footed motorists are being asked to demonstrate their environmental prowess behind the wheel – eco:Drive-style – for an opportunity to go to Italy to compete in an eco:Drive GP grand final with one of Fiat’s new two-cylinder city cars as top prize.

To qualify, entrants must first register for their Fiat car fitted with eco:drive system onto the eco:Drive website: www.fiat.co.uk/ecodrive to enable them to collect at least five days’ worth of their driving data on their driving habits, and enter onto the leaderboard of drivers in the competition. Then they must attempt to achieve the highest eco:Index, with the best male and female participant being declared the UK winners. The competition closes on November 22 .

UK victors will be invited to December’s Bologna Motor Show in Italy where they’ll compete against winners from other European countries in the grand final, a pre-determined driving course, in a bid to win the Fiat 500 TwinAir which can achieve 68.9mpg and emits just 95g/km CO₂.  Runners-up will receive a Blue&Me TomTom satnav.

“This is a wonderful competition for all Fiat users whose cars are fitted with eco:Drive,” says Elena Bernardelli, marketing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK and Ireland. “Not only will it encourage people to think about how they are driving, but it also provides the opportunity for an exciting trip to Italy and the chance to win a great car which is already creating a buzz with both customers and the media.”

Fiat’s new super-fuel efficient 500 TwinAir range starts at £10,665 (OTR) for the TwinAir Pop and rises to £16,065 (OTR) for the convertible 500C TwinAir byDIESEL.

Fiat has won the prestigious international Technobest prize for the second year running for its innovation TwinAir system after winning last year for its MultiAir technology.

The Technobest 2010 prize was awarded by the international, independent Autobest jury made up of 15 specialist journalists from a number of countries including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

The award jury acknowledged the absolute technological innovation of the new TwinAir, which takes the concept of downsizing to an extreme and thanks to electro-hydraulic control of the engine inlet valves as seen in the MultiAir engines, makes it possible to achieve outstanding efficiency and minimal consumption.

The new TwinAir engine as previewed on the new 500 supermini model, is ideally suited to being coupled with an electric engine, to produce a hybrid propulsion unit. It new system maximises the advantages of hybrid propulsion by making it possible to store and recover the energy normally dissipated during frequent deceleration and braking.

The 85bhp TwinAir engine now becoming available in the new Fiat 500, produces CO₂ emissions of just 92 g/km with the version with MTA Dualogic gearbox, the lowest offered today in the petrol engine market.

The 2010 Technobest Prize is further confirmation of Fiat’s achievements in the field of reducing CO2 emissions and increasing fuel efficiency. The Italian car maker also registering the lowest average CO₂ emissions for cars sold in Europe in the first half of 2010, at just 123.5 g/km.

Mini and Fiat have been found to be the cleanest car manufacturers in a league table which provides the first comprehensive analysis of overall emission performance rather than just focusing on CO2 emissions.

Producing by website, Clean Green Cars, the league table analyses the carmakers’ performances across three environmental factors; CO2 emissions, NOx emissions and particulate emissions to produce a more rounded conclusion of environmental performance.

Explains Richard Bremner, editor of Clean Green Cars: “CO₂ is hugely important, but it is not the whole story. A car that is good for CO₂ can be bad for other pollutants and vice versa.”

The website analysed the performance of every car sold in the UK so far this year to complete its findings, correlating sales and pollution data to produce a sales-weighted performance for all manufacturers.

Fiat and Mini came joint first in overall performance across the three pollution sectors, while Toyota lead in producing the least CO2 emissions and Suzuki came top in minimising NOX emissions. For particulates (small sooty particles, responsible for causing respiratory problems and long term lung disease), Mini and Fiat once again lead the way, proving two of the least harmful manufacturers.

Thanks to the car industry’s focus on CO2 emissions, the website found that while CO₂ performance varied by a factor of less than three from best to worst, NOx varies by a factor of seven and particulates by a factor of more than 50. In the hall of shame, Jeep and Land Rover were found to have the worst environmental performances overall.

Overall ranking was calculated by adding the positions for all three criteria and then dividing by three to obtain an average. The reason there is a ranking for pollution rather than a single overall figure is that there is no generally accepted way of comparing damage from CO₂ to damage from NOx or particulates. They cause different problems in different circumstances. By creating a ranking, Clean Green Cars combined manufacturers performance into a meaningful league table, but leave it open to people to concentrate on whichever measure they regard as the most important.

Fiat has added to its environmental accolades with a new award announced for its eco:Drive fuel-saving technology.

The drive system – this time in eco:Drive Fleet form scooped the Green Development prize in the BusinessCar Techies 2010, announced yesterday by BusinessCar magazine.

The judging panel’s attention was particularly drawn to eco:Drive Fleet’s potential fuel savings of up to 15 per cent, its CO₂ emissions reductions, and the fact that mileage data can be measured for all fleet vehicles and displayed by vehicle or driver, either individually or collectively.

Launched in March this year, eco:Drive Fleet works through the Blue&Me information system, developed by Fiat and Microsoft, and found in all new Fiat vehicles. Plugging a USB stick into the Blue&Me port lets the system record information about the fleet vehicle user’s driving style, offering suggestions on how to improve efficiency further by reappraising methods.

“Fiat’s eco:Drive Fleet system really impressed the judges, with the system’s ability to make a real difference to fuel use, and therefore a business’s running costs, key to its victory,” says Paul Barker, BusinessCar Editor.

“The clever use of technology – with drivers or companies able to download the data direct from the car – is exactly the sort of application that the BusinessCar Techies seeks to reward, ” he added.