Fiat 500

When Tesla Motors reports its first-ever profit Wednesday, much of the money will come courtesy of the state of California. In its zeal to push electric cars into the market, the state has created a system in which Tesla can make as much as $35,000 extra on each sale of its luxury Model S electric sports sedans. That's because the Palo Alto company qualifies for coveted state environmental credits that it can turn into cash. These Zero Emission Vehicle credits could put as much as $250 million in Tesla's coffers this year, according to one Wall Street analyst, and they are a key reason the 10-year-old automaker has survived this long.

There's nothing like competition to bring down the price of a product, even expensive electric cars. Chrysler Group said it will be offering a special deal on its first electric car, the Fiat 500e, when it goes on sale this summer. While the sticker price will be $32,500 before various government incentives, California residents can lease the car for $199 a month, plus tax, and a $999 down payment. It is a 36-month lease. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg “It is a pretty attractive deal to test the waters and see what kind of a take rate they can get,” said Mike Wall, an analyst with IHS Automotive.

There's nothing like competition to bring down the price of a product, even expensive electric cars. Chrysler Group said it will be offering a special deal on its first electric car, the Fiat 500e, when it goes on sale this summer. While the sticker price will be $32,500 before various government incentives, California residents can lease the car for $199 a month, plus tax, and a $999 down payment. It is a 36-month lease. Photos: Top 10 cars with lowest cost per mpg “It is a pretty attractive deal to test the waters and see what kind of a take rate they can get,” said Mike Wall, an analyst with IHS Automotive.

"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno will auction off his 2012 Fiat 500 Prima Edizione at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance next month. Leno, an avid automobile collector, has asked Santa Monica auction house Gooding & Co. to sell the car at the Concours, a celebrity-studded collector car showcase.  Leno is using the auction to raise money and awareness for the Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides services and support to...

2012 Fiat 500 Base price: $16,000 (including destination charge) Price as tested: $19,050 Powertrain: 1.4-liter, SOHC, inline four-cylinder, 16 valves per cylinder, liquid cooled, sequential multiport electronic fuel injection, five-speed manual transmission Horsepower: 101 at 6,500 rpm Torque: 98 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm Curb weight: 2,363 pounds Wheelbase: 90.6 inches Overall...

The car: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth The power: 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque from a 1.4-liter, inline, turbocharged four-cylinder engine routing power to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. The photos: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth The speed: Zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, according to Road & Track. The bragging rights: Peppiest little squirt on the road. The price: $22,700 is the base entry fee; $26,050 as tested.

"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno will auction off his 2012 Fiat 500 Prima Edizione at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance next month. Leno, an avid automobile collector, has asked Santa Monica auction house Gooding & Co. to sell the car at the Concours, a celebrity-studded collector car showcase.  Leno is using the auction to raise money and awareness for the Fisher House Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides services and support to...

They jangle over bumps. Hills make them whine. They cry out from an earlier time with a gargle of mashing pistons and slapping clutch plates. The distinctive pleadings of the little Fiat 500 no longer dominate Italian roadways, where a muscle-bound whoosh or muffled purr now set the tone. But listen closely: The putter is faint but still there.

The last Fiat 500 -- the tiny car with the big personality -- rolled off assembly lines nearly 30 years ago. But it's still fighting retirement. With more than 600,000 Fiat 500s out on the roads, two Italian senators are pushing a bill to make sure the beloved mini-car that thrust Italy into the motor age isn't done in by modern antipollution laws. Sens.

Many actors are finding easy money in doing voice-over work for radio and television commercials. But it is very unlikely that anyone landed an easier gig than Al Pacino, who didn't lift a finger to get a plum voice-over spot with Chrysler Jeep. The unmistakable voice of Pacino can be heard in the new television commercial touting the Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the spot, Pacino is giving an inspired speech about how life is a "game of inches. " If it sounds familiar, it is. The speech comes from a pivotal scene from the 1999 Oliver Stone movie "Any Given Sunday," which stars Pacino as an aging football coach.

The car: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth The power: 160 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque from a 1.4-liter, inline, turbocharged four-cylinder engine routing power to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. The photos: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth The speed: Zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, according to Road & Track. The bragging rights: Peppiest little squirt on the road. The price: $22,700 is the base entry fee; $26,050 as tested.

2012 Fiat 500 Base price: $16,000 (including destination charge) Price as tested: $19,050 Powertrain: 1.4-liter, SOHC, inline four-cylinder, 16 valves per cylinder, liquid cooled, sequential multiport electronic fuel injection, five-speed manual transmission Horsepower: 101 at 6,500 rpm Torque: 98 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm Curb weight: 2,363 pounds Wheelbase: 90.6 inches Overall...

The last Fiat 500 -- the tiny car with the big personality -- rolled off assembly lines nearly 30 years ago. But it's still fighting retirement. With more than 600,000 Fiat 500s out on the roads, two Italian senators are pushing a bill to make sure the beloved mini-car that thrust Italy into the motor age isn't done in by modern antipollution laws. Sens.

They jangle over bumps. Hills make them whine. They cry out from an earlier time with a gargle of mashing pistons and slapping clutch plates. The distinctive pleadings of the little Fiat 500 no longer dominate Italian roadways, where a muscle-bound whoosh or muffled purr now set the tone. But listen closely: The putter is faint but still there.

$22,195. That's all you'll need to get into the seat of Ford's newest -- and smallest -- hot hatch, the Fiesta ST. The automaker added the ST to its online configurator for the 2014 version of the four-door hatchback Tuesday. While the base Fiesta starts at $15,395, the extra cash for the ST gets you a turbocharged EcoBoost engine making 197 horsepower and 214 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Ford says the Fiesta ST, which was introduced at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show, will also come with electronic torque vectoring, three-mode stability control, dual exhaust tips, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a 6.5-inch touchscreen housing SYNC and MyFordTouch.

A prized 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, one of a handful of such cars by the German automaker left from prewar Nazi Germany, was sold Sunday for $11.77 million at an auction in Pebble Beach, Calif. However, vintage car history was made Friday when a 1968 Ford GT40 was sold for $11 million, making it the most expensive American car ever sold at auction. The Ford was sold by RM Auctions on Friday night, but the real star of the weekend's 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auto show and auction failed to meet expectations.