Fiat to Launch New Strada Small Pickup Truck in its Home Market

Starting from next week, Fiat will offer its new Strada pickup truck in its home market of Italy. The Strada is Fiat's second best-selling commercial vehicle after the Ducato with 127,800 units sold worldwide in 2011. It is built at the company's FIASA plant in Betim, Brazil.

The revised light commercial model comes in three flavors named Working, Trekking and Adventure plus three body styles, including short cab, long cab and the four-seater crew cab for a total of six different variants.

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You Can't Beat Gravity: VW Gol Rolls Down a Steep Road and Crashes

You may be able to put up a fight, but in the end, gravity will always take you back from where you started – especially if you don't take the necessary safety measures…

Three men were trying to push a three-door Volkswagen Gol, which looks like it's an Alfa Romeo Arna - but we could be completely wrong, so feel free to enlighten us in the comments section below- up on a very steep road, purportedly in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.

We don't know if someone was actually in the car and the brakes failed or if the three men wrongly assumed that they could handle it themselves (probably the latter as in the beginning of the video, the man in the green shirt looks like he's turning the wheel from the outside), but the result is the same as the hatchback escaped and rolled down the road crashing into a parked vehicle.

Roll down the jump to watch the video.

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Shocker: Crash Tests Reveal that Most Cars Sold in Latin America are Deathtraps on Wheels

The FIA Foundation announced the results of the first ever crash tests carried out by the Latin New Car Assessment Program (Latin NCAP), and the news isn’t good for consumers and automakers alike.

Actually, the crash test results reveal a terrifying reality: most of the best selling cars in Latin America’s emerging markets offer minimal or no protection at all to their adult occupants let alone children...

Max Mosley, president of Global NCAP, said: “The latest results of the Latin NCAP reveal that South America’s most popular cars are still about 20 years behind the levels of safety enjoyed in Europe and North America. This cannot be acceptable.”

"We want to see the UN’s global crash test standards applied to all new cars across the world. And we want consumers to be aware of the life and death choices they make when buying a new car," Mosley added.

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Motorcycle Stunt Goes Terribly Wrong at Brazil's Beto Carrero World Theme Park [Video]

In its simplest form, Murphy's Law says that if anything can go wrong, it will. In other words, regardless of how careful you are or how easy the task may seem, there is no such thing as a guarantee of perfect safety.

And one motorcycle stunt rider in Brazil found that out the hard way during a routine show at the Beto Carrero World, which is the largest multi-theme park in Latin America, and is located in the municipality of Penha in Brazil.

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Formula 1: Brazilian GP Qualifying Results

In Abu Dhabi, Sebastian Vettel matched Nigel Mansell’s record of 14 pole positions in a single Formula 1 season, which stood for 19 years. In the final qualifying session of the season at the Brazilian track of Interlagos, he had his last chance to break it - at least for the current season. Read more »

All New 2012 Chevrolet Cobalt Revealed in Production Form, will be Available in 40 Countries

The Chevrolet Cobalt may be dead in the States where it was successfully replaced by the Cruze sedan, but the nameplate lives on in the rest of the world.

After the debut of the concept version at the Buenos Aires motor show this past summer, General Motors today introduced the final production 2012 Cobalt that will eventually go on sale in 40 countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America - but not North America.

In addition to Brazil, which is the first country to receive the new Chevrolet Cobalt, the car will be produced in three more factories around the world, though GM did not disclose any more details on the locations.

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Ballsy Brazilian Cops Ram their Car into Smuggler's Airplane Just Before Liftoff

Like all professions, there are cops and there are cops. The police officers you're about to watch in the following raw footage are the type of cops that even the most hardened of criminals would avoid like the plague.

A video posted online on Thursday shows the two federal police agents from Brazil chasing a single-engine airplane filled with contraband notebooks and electronic surveillance equipment.

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Carlos Ghosn Says 2012 will be a Record Sales Year, Bets Heavily on EVs

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is upbeat about the way the automotive industry is heading, despite the fact that the economic crisis that threatens Europe is far from over.

In fact, during the recent launch of the electric versions of theRenault Fluence and Kangoo in Portugal last Friday, Ghosn predicted that 2012 will be a record year for car sales worldwide surpassing 2011's volumes.

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Man Sinks Porsche Boxster into a Lake [with Video]

Now here is something you don't hear about every day. A local businessman's new Porsche Boxster was discovered paritally submerged in a lake at the Parque Ecológico (Ecological Park) in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, July 29.

Brazilian news site TV Sol found the owner of the car who told reporters under the condition of anonymity that he was driving through the park when lost control of the Porsche ending up into the lake.

And here's where the story gets slightly twisted as TV Sol also reported that eye witnesses placed the owner of the Boxster at a local restaurant the same night calling a cousin on the phone and telling him to "Throw the Porsche into the lake of the park".

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Half-Naked Man Crashes New Chevy Camaro in Brazil, gets Locked inside… [Video]

In one of the weirdest car accidents of the year so far, a young man wearing only a t-shirt crashed his new Chevrolet Camaro in a park located at Sao Bernardo do Campo in São Paulo, Brazil.

According to the local media, the unnamed man who happens to be the son of an influential businessman, was found locked inside the Camaro coupe intoxicated with a bottle of whiskey on his side but luckily, unhurt.

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Toyota to Launch New Small Cars for China, Brazil and Indonesia

Toyota is planning to launch a new small car designed specifically for China in 2013, according to a report from Reuters citing the Nikkei business daily newspaper.

The new small car will be a little larger than the low-cost Etios that is sold in India. A 1.5-liter gasoline engine will power it and prices are expected to begin from under 1 million yen (approximately US$12,853).

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European Automakers Demand a Fair Deal in Emerging Auto Markets

At a recent meeting of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), industry leaders voiced their concerns over government assistance, high import tariffs and other trade barriers in newly minted auto markets such as China, India and South Korea. It’s a situation that’s made it very difficult, if not impossible, for the Euros to compete.

Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler and the President of ACEA puts it well: “We are asking for a level playing field.”

Paul Everitt, CEO of the UK’S SMMT motor industry group echoes those remarks: “Our vision is for us to design, develop and manufacture high-value vehicles to export around the world. That is difficult if we don't get access.”

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Mazda and Sumitomo to Open New Plant in Mexico, Sales Company in Brazil

Mazda Motor Corporation announced today that it is opening a new production facility in Mexico, and a sales company in Brazil, both in collaboration with Sumitomo. The Japanese manufacture proceeded with these moves in order to strengthen its presence in the rapidly growing Central and South American markets. Read more »

New Chevrolet Colorado Roughens Up with Double-Cab Rally Concept

The Buenos Aires Motorshow is proving to be an important event for GM as after the debut of the Chevrolet Cobalt Concept, the Detroit automaker released the first details on its second design study, the Colorado Rally Concept.

We first saw the Colorado as single-cab concept truck at the Bangkok International Auto Show earlier this year.

The Argentine study is a double-cab racing version of that concept fitted with a bevy of off-road accessories and components such as the front and rear bumper hooks and tow winches, an adjustable suspension that allows the driver to increase the ride height by 5 inches and special acrylic windows.

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GM Unveils New Chevrolet Cobalt Sedan Concept at Buenos Aires

Here in the good ‘ol US of A, General Motors replaced the Chevrolet Cobalt compact car with the new Cruze sedan. In South America, however, it’s another story as the Detroit brand has given birth to a new Chevy Cobalt that is being revealed in pre-production form at this week’s Buenos Aires Motor Show (June 17 to 26) in Argentina.

Developed by General Motors Technical Center in South America, the four-door sedan Cobalt Concept is slated to enter production within the next year. GM’s press blurb doesn’t mention anything about the Cobalt’s underpinnings, but judging from the size of the car, it appears to be based on the Chevy Sonic (Aveo in Europe) saloon.

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New Renault Duster for South America Debuts at Buenos Aires Motor Show

The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s low-cost Dacia Duster SUV has lost its Romanian badges to cater to the needs of the South American market where it will be sold under the Renault brand.

Redesigned for the local market, the Renault Duster SUV makes its regional debut at this week’s Buenos Aires Motor Show. It will first launch in Argentina and Brazil during the last quarter of the year, with more countries to follow after. Production will take place at Renault’s Curitiba plant in Brazil.

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