Donations for Japan Continue, Fiat Offers €100,000, Mercedes-Benz gives €2 Million

The donations for Japan keep coming in, with Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler announcing today that it will provide €2 million (about US$2.8 million at today’s exchange rates) as immediate aid for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in the Asian country. Daimler said it has approximately 13,000 employees in Japan through its subsidiaries Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Mercedes-Benz Japan, as well as Daimler Financial Services.

The Fiat Group, which includes Alfa Romeo, Lancia, the Fiat brand, Abarth, Maserati and Ferrari, also announced a donation for relief efforts in Japan, albeit a much smaller amount at €100,000 (about $US140,000).

While we’re not saying that this is a competition as all donations are welcome, we can’t but think that Fiat’s contribution, which equates to roughly half the price of a new Ferrari model or around 0.8% of the total compensation Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne received in 2010, is somewhat embarrassing for the size of the Italian company.

New Punto 150° is Fiat’s Tribute to the 150th Anniversary of Italy's Unification

To mark the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification, Fiat has unveiled a special edition version of its Punto Evo supermini called the ‘Punto 150’. Set to go on sale this April, the commemorative edition is distinguished by a bespoke honeycomb grille, the two-tone unique lightweight alloy wheels, “Azzurro Italia” special metallic paintwork and the “Italia 150” round commemorative badges on the B-pillars.

All Punto 150°s (reads 150th) will be offered with standard air conditioning, a radio-CD audio system with MP3 compatibility and fog lights.

Power comes from a choice of three Euro 5-compliant engines, two running on petrol (1.2-liter 69HP and 1.4-liter 77HP) and one on diesel (1.3-liter Multijet II 75HP). All engines are fitted with a start/stop system as standard.Fiat also offers a 70HP 1.4-liter engine that can run either on petrol either or LPG.

The starting price in Italy for the 1.2-liter version of the Punto 150° will be €9,900 ($14,000). Besides this special anniversary model, Fiat will put the “Italia 150” logo on all the cars it will build between April and the end of June for the Italian market.

Fiat didn't say if the Punto 150° is reserved only for Italy or if it will be sold in other European countries as well.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO: Le Casse, A Mad Cap Car Chase through the Streets Of 1970’s Athens

Ah, the ‘70s. We had the Oil Crisis and Watergate, microwave ovens and VCRs, Maggie Thatcher and Jimmy Carter. As for cars, well: there were the greats like the Lamborghini Countach, Datsun 240Z and the Dodge Charger. Then there were the not-so-greats like the AMC Pacer, Chevy Chevette and the Ford Mustang Cobra II.

It was the decade that brought us The French Connection, Gone in 60 Seconds and Smokey and the Bandit. It also brought us a relatively unknown (well, to my –ahem- clearly sophisticated tastes) French film called Le Casse (The Burglars).

Oh sure, Bullitt had Steve McQueen in a Mustang and Goldfinger had Sean Connery in a DB5, but you ain’t ever seen a film so brazen to put Omar Sharif behind the wheel of...an Opel Rekord. Well, he is the villain. Surely our hero, Jean-Paul Belmondo, will get to drive something a bit smarter.

“Like a Fiat 124 Special?”

Actually, that wasn’t what I was thinking but that is what Belmondo is driving. Don’t despair though, as this video clip of the infamous car chase from the movie more than makes up for the poor choice of vehicles. Think of it as Ronin, that Robert De Niro movie from a few years back, if it were filmed in French and in Athens circa 1970. It really has to be seen to be believed. Check it out below.

By Tristan Hankins

Hat tip goes to Chris!

VIDEO