Comedian Jerry Seinfeld escaped unhurt when he rolled his 1967 Fiat BTM sedan while taking it for a spin while in East Hampton, LI, NY. Apparently he lost the brakes as he was approaching an intersection. He tried the emergency brake with no success, and then swerved to keep the car from going into the intersection, and ended up flipping it.

Always the comedic pro, Seinfeld quipped:

"Because I know there are kids out there, I want to make sure they all know that driving without braking is not something I recommend, unless you have professional clown training or a comedy background, as I do. It is not something I plan to make a habit of."

Full story here.

Here's Inside Line's take: What's the Deal With Brakes? Jerry Seinfeld's '67 Fiat Rolls Over After Brakes Fail

The Coolest Display Award goes to Fiat. The Italian automakers booth at this year's Geneva Motor Show is dominated by this giant Fiat 500. And by giant, we mean giant. As in, "Yo Luigi, look I can't even reach the door handle."

The idea is to hype the 500's win in this year's European Car of the Year competition. We can't wait to see what Fiat does to promote its winning the Inside Line Coolest Display Award.--Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief

Finally there are images of the long awaited Fiat 500 Abarth up on the Net. The little buzz-bomb will debut at the Geneva Auto Show. No word yet on the mechanicals, but rest assured, they will full-bore spicy and very Italian. The hot rumor is to look for a 1.4L turbo, with possibly up to 150 hp.

Full story here.

Microsoft Auto showed up at CES with a tent full of cars including this sweet looking Alfa Spider. Microsoft Auto is the software responsible for Ford's Sync system. Right now, Ford has the exclusive use of that product in the US. It won't always be that way - other automakers will surely want in when Ford's exclusive agreement expires. Alfa already has such a system, only their system is branded Blue and Me. Alfa Romeos, like this Spider use the Microsoft platform to power a navigation system in addition to Bluetooth and other features.

With the Microsoft system, the navigation info does not live on a hard drive or DVD, instead it lives "in the cloud" as they're fond of saying. The car will simply communicate with a server or series of servers to provide you with destination information. Updates would be automatic.

Microsoft Auto's current platform has another use too - emissions monitoring. FIAT calls it Eco Drive. Soon many FIATs, like this 500, will have  software that allows the owner to check on the car's impact on the environment - driving habits and maintenance play a part.  The information can be loaded onto a memory stick then checked on your PC. Can you imagine how popular this kind of thing would be with the Prius set here in America?

Also, I wanted an excuse to post pictures of cool looking cars we can't get in the US - Brian Moody, Road Test Editor.

The cute-as-a-bug new Fiat 500 has been voted European Car of the Year. Fiat is no stranger to this award, as they've won it 12 times before. Coming in second was the equally-charming Mazda2. To date Fiat has sold 105,000 examples of the 500, so it's clearly a hit with the European car buyers as well.

Full story here.

Fortunately Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne, nor the driver of the Renault that caused the accident, were not hurt. Regardless, it's always painful to see such a gorgeous vehicle wrecked.

Full story here.

Maybe you saw our news story on the Fiat Panda Aria, a wonder version of Fiat's minicar with a 900cc two-cylinder engine that runs on a gasoline-methane-hydrogen mix.

Surprise, surprise, Fiat had no further details on how such a car would work in real life, but it's not every day you see a Panda in a field of daisies -- under the glass panels. 

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It's smaller than a Mini. The Fiat 500 is the newest cult car in Europe, a throwback to the Cinquecento made famous in Italy some 50 years ago.

What do you think -- is it adorable or way too tiny for the U.S.?

Read the Fiat 5000 First Drive on Inside Line.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Fiat is working on Abarth versions of the just announced 500 and the already in production Grande Punto. For those not familiar with the name "Abarth," it's a name long associated with pocket-rocket Fiats. Fiat Abarths have been around from the 1960s, and maybe even earlier.

Not sure what the power or displacement of these cars will be, but the 500 is rumored for 150 hp or so, and the larger Grande Punto could be putting out around 200 hp.

Full story here at WorldCarFans.

I think this new interpretation of the 60s-era Fiat 500 could be as big a hit as is the new Mini. I think it has just the right flavor—and is ever so "cute and Italian." As with the Mini, Fiat is selling it at premium price, which is ironic as the original 500 was the bottom-feeder in the Fiat range.

“Fiat’s new 500 is an interesting concept,” Max Warburton, head of European automotive research at UBS in London, told Automotive News. “The success of the Mini suggests there is a market for deliberately retro, nostalgic small cars and customers will pay a premium price.”

Also unlike the original 500, it doesn't have a 500cc engine. Instead it will be offered with a 1.2L 69 hp gas engine, a 1.2L 75 hp diesel, and a 1.5 gas engine with 100 hp.

Full story here.

Here's Inside Line's take: Mamma Mia: Fiat Steals the Show at Galleria Ferrari

More images after the jump.

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