Fiat's Italian car production hit last week after a wave of strikes by truckers protesting at rising fuel prices blocked key roads and forced it to stop production at its key factories, although by the end of the week the situation was returning to normal

The Fiat Strada is being relaunched in Europe and is now arriving in the Italian dealerships; the long-running Brazilian-built pickup is being made available in all its domestic market specification options but equipped with the 1.3 Multijet

The Maserati sponsored yacht venture will set out next month on its first speed record attempt with the super maxi yacht bidding to break the North Atlantic ocean crossing speed record from Cadiz (Spain) to San Salvador (the Bahamas)

ItaliaspeedTV: Under the Pentastar - This week's edition includes the opening of a World Class Manufacturing Academy, the Dodge Charger and its Uconnect vehicle information system receives an honour, and Ram is expanding its model lineup

In the lead up to next month’s Bathurst 12 Hours, John Bowe has taken to the wheel at Phillip Island of the Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 GT3 he will campaign in the endurance race and has come away impressed by the car’s performance

Coinciding with the launch of the new Fiat Panda in Italy, the outgoing second-generation version will continue in production for the foreseeable future; it will initially continue to be sold on four European markets - Italy, France, Spain and Hungary

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Fiat has released further interior and exterior studio imagery of the 'emergency facelift' just given to the Fiat Punto for the Model Year 2012; the new Punto MY2012 is now in the Italian showrooms and looking to boost fading sales

Alfa Romeo's sales position significantly improved in Europe last year, from 0.8% to 1% year-on-year, thanks to the lifeline it was thrown by the new Giulietta although sales were uneven and were heading back south again by the end of the year

Headlining the top-sellers list at RM’s two-day Arizona auction was a superb roster of Ferraris, led by a 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Scaglietti Coupe, the only example of the 34 410 Superamericas to have been bodied new by Scaglietti

ItaliaspeedTV: Fiat has launched the advertising campaign for the New Fiat Panda in Italy, grittily focusing in on the country's current realities, as it tries once again to reinterpret its only recent creative success, the Chrysler 200 "Born of Fire" advert

Exactly a week after AF Corse missed out in the chase for honours in the season-opening Dubai 24 Hours, the Italian team and its Ferrari 458 GT3 racer came away with a endurance victory in the inaugural Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi

Spy photos of a prototype Fiat Panda 4x4, seen during cold-weather testing in Scandinavia, have emerged this week, as the first derivative of the new Panda model counts down to its debut in Geneva before arriving in the showrooms later this year

ItaliaspeedTV: Under the Pentastar - This week's edition  includes CEO Sergio Marchionne at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and new awards for Dodge's Dart and Charger and Jeep's Grand Cherokee SRT8

A crowd of 20,000 spectators watched as Scuderia Ferrari test driver Marc Gené carried out a high-speed demonstration run behind the wheel of an F2008 on the Doha corniche yesterday afternoon as part of the run up to the Qatar Motor Show

Lamborghini might be under sales pressure in Europe but it is still finding dealers and has just strengthened its position in France with a new outlet in Paris Ouest which has been inaugurated in the presence of CEO Stephan Winkelmann

The efficient 'TwinAir' engine is continuing on its global roll out and from next month Australian car buyers will be able to choose this groundbreaking downsized powerplant that offers strong fuel economy in the Fiat 500 and soft top Fiat 500C

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Just as it prepares to arrive in the Italian showrooms the new, third-generation Fiat Panda has made a new public appearance at Scuderia Ferrari's annual Press Ski Meeting, Wrooom 2012, held at Madonna di Campiglio

2uettottanta, Pininfarina's open-topped concept sport car tribute to Alfa Romeo's centenary and which won of the 2010 Card Design of the Year Award, will be exhibited at the Qatar Motor Show, held next week at the Doha Exhibitions Center

A new joint flagship showroom in Repulse Bay is the latest phase of an expansion plan undertaken by Italian Motors and Auto Italia which, respectively, have represented Ferrari and Maserati in Hong Kong and in Macau for the last 29 years

Carrozzeria Castagna, which is looking to follow Fiat's shift towards the United States and establish its own design studio Stateside, is announcing this ambition in a typical extravagant manner with limousine versions of the Fiat 500

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Castagna has offered a first look at its three new limousine projects, all based on the Fiat 500, the roll-roof 500C spun LimoSun and the 500 coupé derived LimoCity and electric-powered LimoCity President

ItaliaspeedTV: The year's first edition of Scuderia Ferrari Racing News is dedicated to last week's Wrooom 2012 event with an overview of the Madonna di Campiglio meeting and interviews with Luca di Montezemolo, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso

Fiat India is getting a significant boost as it continues to stare at its slowly-moving production lines as a deal has finally been done to supply Maruti Suzuki with 1.3 Multijet 16v engines assembled at its under utilised Ranjangaon plant

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Last Sunday afternoon Iveco claimed an historic 1-2 finish on the Dakar Rally to enter its name into the illustrious roll-call of truck makers that have emerged victorious in the world's toughest test of machine

A dismal 2011 in Europe for the Fiat Group finished on a low note as its December sales plunged 15.3 percent year-on-year and dropped it below BMW Group to leave it as only the seventh best selling carmaking group for the month

GIANPIERO MORETTI 1940-2012: The world of motorsports has been dealt a blow with the death of one of its greatest 'gentlemen' drivers whose passion for racing took him to the front and included an impressive victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona