Autoblog Green just made an interesting observation from the sidelines of a general meeting at Fiat S.p.A. Ceo of Chrysler and Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, made some comments that indicated that not only is the electric Fiat 500 a huge loss leader at $10,000 per car, but that Fiat does not sound like they have any interest in trying to make it a profitable car or sell it on a large scale.

This $10,000 loss per vehicle is despite the fact that the Fiat 500 EV will be sold for approximately three times the amount of the same car with an internal combustion engine which is targeted at $15,500. Yeah, let those numbers sink in for a second. This is a fairly expensive car which will still see the manufacturer lose about 20% of its retail price with each sale.

Fiat chairman, John Elkmann has stated that electric cars get too much attention as it is stating that there is “900 million vehicles with internal combustion engine vehicles in the world and less than 100,000 EVs.” This all leaves us asking the question, why is Fiat even bothering to make the Fiat 500 EV in the first place?

Automotive News is reporting that Fiat / Chrysler is looking to introduce natural gas powered vehicles in upcoming Fiat and Chrysler models.

As the world’s biggest producer of natural gas, the United States market might well make for the perfect place to expand their natural gas vehicle options. Fiat has the European market cornered for natural gas car sales with an 80% market share.

Fiat points to the reduced cost of running a natural gas vehicle as well as the sheer amount of it as being the main reasons for the push with a natural gas power version of car costing less than a diesel, electric or hybrid car.

The 2011 Fiat 500 is coming to America and it’s landing with a base model (Fiat 500 Pop) price of $15,500. The mid-range model, the 500 Sport is coming in at $17,500 and the high-end fancy pants Fiat 500 Lounge is going for $19,500 without any options.

Oh la la! Wait, that’s French. Anyway, the Fiat 500 configurator will let you setup and price the 2011 Fiat 500 of your choice. It looks like the most pimped out of pimped out models with all the bling will set you back $25,236.

You’ll be able to find the Fiat for the first time in 25 years on US soil at around 130 Chrysler dealerships sometime in January 2011.

According to Motor Trend, Fiat is considering a potential sale date in 2010 for its 500 model. Before that happens, the 500′s front end needs a slight redesign in order to meet with the approval of the U.S government.

Sad news for Canadian Fiat lovers, they’re likely going to miss out since the cost of modifying the 500 to meet Canadian crash test requirements is enormous. Industry rumors suggest that the Fiat 500 would hang out in American Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep showrooms. Fiat’s 100-horsepower 1.4 16-valve four cylinder powerplant is reportedly the engine that’s being considered for the US market.

Back in January Fiat and Chrysler struck a deal that saw Fiat get a 35 percent stake in Chrysler for which they’d get to use some of Fiat’s engine designs. Now, according to Quattroroute Magazine, it looks like Fiat is designing a hybrid system specifically for small cars which Chrysler will get to make use of.

The new hybrid vehicles would see Fiat’s new 900cc 2-cylinder turbocharged engine working with an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery. Interestingly this hybrid system will also be able to be plugged in.

While plug-in hybrids aren’t breaking any new ground, Fiat is looking to put the system into their little 500 series as well as the soon to be released Topolino. This would be a landmark for hybrid vehicles in that a 500 would be the smallest hybrid out there.

This type of vehicle might see some decent sales in the US which would be great for a struggling Chrysler assuming that they really do get some Fiat models with this hybrid system.