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Lime launches its first car-sharing service in Seattle
It's true: after a long time focusing on scooters, Lime is ready to delve into four-wheeled transportation. The startup is launching a car-sharing service, LimePod, that will be available in Seattle as of this week. As with scooters, it'll cost just $1 to unlock a car that you can park wherever you need it -- the difference is that you'll pay 40 cents per minute (insurance included) instead of 15 cents per minute. Only 50 of the Fiat 500 cars will be available on launch, but there should be 500 by the end of 2018 and 1,500 by early 2019. That would make the largest park-anywhere offering in the US, Bloomberg said.
Fiat Chrysler will launch over 30 EVs and hybrids by 2022
Fiat Chrysler isn't exactly the first name that comes to mind when you think of electric cars. Where Ford, Volkswagen and other brands are basing their long-term roadmaps around EVs, Fiat Chrysler has been hesitant to make more than the occasional hybrid. Now, though, it's ready to make up for lost time... if only just. As part of a five-year plan, the company has announced that it will launch over 30 vehicles with some kind of electrification by 2022, whether it's a full EV, a plug-in hybrid or a conventional hybrid. To that end, it's investing €9 billion ($10.5 billion) into the development of these greener machines.
Amazon will let Italians buy Fiat cars with a click
Amazon has made it easier to research cars online, but actually purchasing a car? That's another story. Even a recent deal with Seat in France limited customers to making a downpayment on the web -- they still had to agree to a phone interview to clinch the sale. However, the dream of one-click vehicle shopping just came a bit closer to reality. Amazon is partnering with Fiat to let Italian motorists buy the 500, 500L and Panda on the web at discounts up to 33 percent greater than seen at retail. They'll still have to visit a dealership to complete the purchase, but this is about as direct as it gets if you're not ordering a Tesla.
Chrysler says all-electric Fiat 500 will carry Americans, American Touristers in 2012
Curvy, sumptuous concept and prototype electric vehicles are definitely easy on the eyes, but if you've been searching for something a touch more "real," fresh-out-of-bankruptcy Chrysler has one car that's not going back to the drawing board. Our compatriots over at Autoblog report that the all-electric Fiat 500 EV -- which saw a limited run of 100 in Europe and made a cameo at this year's Detroit Auto Show -- will actually be produced and sold in the US starting in 2012. Since the automaker's not talking specs, it's hard to say how it'll compare to a Volt or a Leaf, but history (peek the 'More Coverage' link down below) tells us the original electric Fiat 500 got up to 120 miles on a charge. We'd caution you not to get too worked up by that hot hatch action, though -- despite the fact that the Peapod made it briefly to market, this isn't the first time Chrysler's told us to expect a commercial vehicle we can charge. Here's hoping for better results this go 'round.
