This morning’s announcement that Chrysler LLC and Fiat S.p.A. have formed a global strategic alliance is exciting news, to say the least. Fiat gets a 35% stake in Chrysler LLC, and the latter gets a life line that should prevent it from entering bankruptcy in the near future. But we’re all about product here at Autoblog, and since we expect Chrysler and Fiat to start sharing theirs at some point, we wanted to check out what’s in the Italian automaker’s line-up. We’ve assembled a gallery below that takes you through each model currently on sale by Fiat, and also includes the other brands that they own and/or operate like Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Don’t expect an Italian-powered Viper anytime soon, but there is a good chance that we’ll see some of these vehicles in Chrysler showrooms in the U.S. once they’re redesigned and meet U.S. safety and emissions standards. So click through the gallery below and let us know in the comments which Fiat you’d most like to see for sale on these shores.

The Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen has been with us for thirty years, and it has gone from military roots to plaything of the image conscious. First offered to the public in 1979, the G-Wagen has been continually refined over its run, and is still mostly hand-built. The details have changed, there have been two rounds of revisions, but the look has remained unmistakeable for the entirety of the model’s run. A G-class has never been cheap, and it remains a pricey and utterly capable go-anywhere vehicle. Unfortunate, then, that many only see use as any old car would, never locking a differential. The GL-class was supposed to replace the Geländewagen, but it just ain’t the same, so luckily, we get both. Carry on.

I had a yellow Chevrolet Corvette Z06 last summer. When I took it by my parents house, my dad warned me not to break the speed limit because sports cars were a big red flag for law enforcement. His logic made complete sense, but it turns out that sports cars aren’t necessarily the the most likely vehicles to get tickets. That honor goes to the Hummer H2 and H3. ISO Quality and Planning, which does studies for insurance companies, found that Hummer drivers are four times more likely to get a ticket than the average driver. Nobody has any concrete reason why this is, but some guesses include a misplaced sense of power or an inability to notice road signs and hazards due to an elevated driving position. Of course, it could also be that due to the brand’s subconscious negative baggage that police officers are more likely to give Hummer drivers a ticket than a warning.

Other vehicles that are more likely to be involved in a road violation include the Scion tC, xA, and xB. Those vehicles often find themselves being driven by younger drivers who typically get more tickets anyway. Surprising, though, is the fact that the Toyota Solara and Subaru Outback also made the list. Not exactly barn burners, there. Interestingly, eight out of the 10 least ticketed vehicles come from General Motors, while six of the 10 most ticketed vehicles come from Toyota. Hit the jump to view the entire list of the most and least ticketed vehicles from the Quality and Planning study. Thanks for the tip, Droids1!

[Source: Newsday]

General Motors is spicing up its non-ZR1 Corvette line with a new Competition Sport package for the 2009 model-year. There’s a bit of substance here, as the kit adds the Z51 Performance Package, performance exhaust system, differential cooler and a set of racing pedals to the standard 1LT package, resulting in a power peak of 436 horsepower. Those planning on actually visiting the track can opt for the race-ready Z06 package and its 505-horsepower 7.0L V8. Visual mods for both versions include Competition Gray stripes, wheels and headlamps along with a splattering of “Jake” and CSR logos inside and out. A set of racing numbers will also be delivered to the buyer based on the particular car’s build sequence. The official announcement from GM is pasted after the break.

[Source: General Motors]

When it rains, it pours. Formula One racing fans spend most of the year watching the same crop of cars running around in circles, until the off season when all the teams unveil their new cars in the same two-week window of time. So after Ferrari, Toyota, McLaren, Williams and Renault have uncovered their 2009 challengers, with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Force India not expected to unveil their new cars until next month, and with Honda’s F1 future still in limbo, the BMW Sauber team have become the latest to join the party.

Called, simply enough, the F1.09, this will be the car in which Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, with the support of perennial test driver Christian Klein, will take on the rest of the field in the coming season. Its form is dictated by the same new aero regulations as its competitors, with BMW’s own battery-based Kinetic Energy Recovery System installed underneath. Several teams have stated that, given the short timeframe they had to develop the hybrid system, they may delay its implementation, and Sauber’s troubled gestation process was well publicized. Notably absent, meanwhile, from the car’s livery this year is longtime sponsor Credit Suisse, the banking giant that cited a change in marketing strategies as its reason for not renewing its sponsorship. BMW Sauber unveiled the F1.

With advertising everywhere, what’s a used car dealer to do to get some attention these days? How about converting a Lexus LS400 into a “truck” and putting the dealership’s name on the side?

That’s exactly what a Birmingham, Ala. car dealer has done. Not content with ALL CAPS newspaper ads or expensive billboards, the owner of Midfield Motor Co. chopped the back off a previously-loved Lexus to form the Lexamino. Unfortunately, anytime the vehicle is referred to as a “truck,” quotations must be used. Despite having only two seats and what resembles a bed, there’s nothing beneath that long fiberglass cover in back. It’s totally sealed and totally worthless as far as hauling things goes.

You gotta admit, though, that’s some pretty well-done custom body work there. The gas cap is nicely integrated with the new fender and the transplanted back glass looks like it was put there by Toyota. The whole shape is even a bit reminiscent of our favorite automotive toys from Automoblox.

The Audi R10 TDI is among the most successful cars in all of racing history. After dominating Le Mans racing in 2006 and 2007, Audi faced a new challenger in the LMP1 class from Peugeot. The closed cockpit French car was faster than the Audi, consistently completing quicker laps at the 24 hours of Le Mans race and elsewhere. And although the R10 won last year’s 2008 24 hours of Le Mans due to a great team strategy and the car’s superior reliability, the new challenge from Peugeot meant Audi had to field a new car in 2009. The new R15 is bound to be better in almost every way, but that doesn’t mean the R10 is ready for the scrap heap.

Great performance and reliability means that the R10 is still a viable race car, and Dr. Colin Kolles is buying two cars from Audi and racing them in the European Le Mans series. Dr. Kolles has been working with Audi since 2006 leading a team of A4 LMS racers. Now the good doctor is on his own for 2009, and he’ll have what is bound to still be a very competitive car. The R10 won’t even have to go head to head with its future successor often, as the R15 will only race in the 12 hours and 24 hours of Le Mans in 2009. Hit the jump to view the official press release from Audi.

When the conversation turns to classic V8 engines from a bygone era, the discussion often starts and ends with the small block Chevy that was introduced way back in 1955 and continues to terrorize the overhead-cam masses from Ford all the way to Ferrari. Bentley would like to remind you that it, too, has an iconic engine born back in the ’50s that still deserves to be feted, and it still has pushrods. And celebrated it shall be at the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation lecture on January 22nd. This year will mark the 6¾-liter Bentley V8 engine’s 50th anniversary, with the motor having seen its first installation in the 1959 Bentley S2. The mill was enlarged back in 1968 to its current displacement and has seen the addition of turbochargers and intercoolers on the way to its current position under the hoods of the 530-horsepower Bentley Brooklands coupe, Arnage and Azure convertible models for 2009. Congrats on the achievement, Bentley Boys.

[Source: Bentley]

New technologies are set to dramatically change the way that future cars are designed, at least according to German design firm EDAG, which is set to debut its latest concept vehicle – called the “Light Car - Open Source” – at the Geneva Motor Show in March. EDAG claims this is the first car to be made from basalt fiber, which is sort of like carbon fiber but much cheaper and fully recyclable. That’s not the most interesting bit, though, as sitting just below the concept car’s glass-like surface are strings of organic light-emitting diodes that are user-configurable and can change the look of the car’s headlamps and interior cockpit, as well as use the tail-gate as a projection screen to “communicate” with other cars around it.

Hub-mounted electric motors draw power from an on-board lithum-ion battery pack that’s said to be capable of providing a range of 93 miles (150 kilometers). The lack of an engine or transmission enables “luxury class” levels of space inside with compact class outer dimensions. So, what’s the open source part of the project? EDAG claims that it’s actively approaching other companies to work on the development of this concept car with the goal of defining what the car of the future will be. Stay tuned for our reactions after seeing the concept live in Geneva for ourselves.

[Source: EDAG]

In addition to making its own sportscars that are renowned for their sublime handling, Lotus has helped a wide variety of other automakers – Dodge, Ford, Isuzu, Talbot, Tesla, Toyota, and Vauxhall to name a few – adjust the suspensions on their cars to Lotus standards. Kia is slated to become the next to benefit from the combined experience of Lotus’ chassis experts, as the Korean automaker recently contracted the services of the British engineering firm.

The first car to benefit from Lotus’ input will be the new Kia Soul, but the partnership is slated to extend to all of the Korean brand’s future models. Although reports suggest that the collaboration is earmarked specifically towards setting up Kia products for British roads, we certainly hope that Lotus can help Kia’s ride and handling dynamics across the board. This isn’t the first time Lotus and Kia have collaborated, either, as Kia sold rebadged versions of the Elan for a couple of years after Lotus discontinued the model in 1995.