Fiat?

[Leadfoot281]

I don't even know where to begin on all this. What's your opinions on an retro styled-Italian sub-compact car being sold here after the Chrysler bailouts?

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/09/17/seen-on-the-road-fiats-anticipated-500-subcompact/

[Krytin]

A Mexican Fiat?!

Fix
It
Again
Tony

No thanks - I'll pass on this one.

[LIGHTNIN1]

As Ralph Nader said, Unsafe at any Speed.I'll keep my large cars with V8's.

[RR|Suki]

This is pretty old news. The Fiat 500 has been on sale overseas for a while, and is a pretty good car. The performance version 500 Abarth is a very good car.

[Mr. Man]

Rather have a real Mini.

[CRUZTAKER]

I had a Pininfarina spider and although it was a screamer and an eye catcher...it went through head gaskets as quickly as the Marauder goes through tires.

I finally sold it as a result.

[Vortex]

I think for one of those micro-cars the Fiat 500 seems a pretty good option. Hopefully Fiat's got their act cleaned up from a few decades back. Good luck to them because as the new owners of Chrysler a lot is riding on the small Fiat sales.

[Ladyhawke]

Another car company Chrysler will drag down into the dirt.

[FordNut]

Another car company Chrysler will drag down into the dirt.

Nah... Looks to me like Fiat is using Obama's gift (Chrysler) and forcing them to build up Fiat's US sales & service network as a separate entity. Then they can/will dump Chrysler along with the American workers who build them. Voila! Fiat will have an American footprint and one less competitor, thanks to Barry.

[Leadfoot281]

Nah... Looks to me like Fiat is using Obama's gift (Chrysler) and forcing them to build up Fiat's US sales & service network as a separate entity. Then they can/will dump Chrysler along with the American workers who build them. Voila! Fiat will have an American footprint and one less competitor, thanks to Barry.

Good point. I can't think of anything Chrysler sells that would actually compete against the 500 though. While Chrysler could be (and was) bossed around by Fedzilla, Fiat won't have those issues and should be free to do what they want. I suspect that if this car is successful, and or, if Chrysler becomes spendy baggage, they'll dump it in a heart beat.

It seems to me that the 500 would appeal to basically only those people that were aware of the original. The new beetle was successfully because the original was. Even as a "car guy" I've never even heard of the original 500. Europes version of the Pinto? Yawn. I don't think it matters one bit if Fiat has been doing good for 20 years in Europe, they haven't done it here.

Both Fiat and Chrysler have an uphill battle in front of them. This whole thing has disaster written all over it.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that we bailed them out and now we're getting foreign car dealers in place. For every 500 sold, a small percentage of the money goes to Mexico (assembly labor), a little stays here (dealer mark-up, service) and the other probably 90% of it goes to Europe. That's what we got with our bailout money?! I need an aspirin.

[SpartaPerformance]

Guys guess what! The Fiat 500 and the new Ford Fiesta share the same platform. I guess everybody is running out of ideas.

[LIGHTNIN1]

If Chrysler becomes an economic disaster for Fiat maybe they can give it to Renault and they can make Chrysler LeCars. As far as Fiat 500s not selling here, not a problem.The car Czar will order all the government motor pools to only purchase Fiats, then label the government bailout of Chrysler a success. Problem solved. Next.:D

[SpartaPerformance]

Actually I don't know what your beef is with Chrysler. It was Mercedes that put the final nail in Chrysler. When the Germans refused to use anything Chrysler the only choice was to make Chrysler cars on Mercedes platforms, so how do you make "Mercedes" affordable...... use cheap light duty substandard parts and slap a Chrysler emblem on them. Benz bought Chrysler to get around some import loophole that's all they needed it for.

[Donny Carlson]

Frig the 500, Fiat green lighted a new Viper last week!

http://www.autospies.com/news/2012-Dodge-Viper-revealed-to-dealers-approved-for-production-within-5-minutes-57672/

[RF Overlord]

"Chrysler (and Fiat) are requiring dealers to sell the car out of separate showrooms and have a dedicated sales staff for the vehicle. For some, that means putting up a new building or a new addition to their existing facilities."

Oh yeah. That's a GREAT way to build support.

FIAT left the US market for a number of reasons, among them that their junky little econo-crates couldn't be made to pass US safety and emissions specs without bankrupting the company. Their poor reliability and expensive upkeep left a bad taste in Americans' mouths.

[Mr. Man]

Oh yeah. That's a GREAT way to build support.

FIAT left the US market for a number of reasons, among them that their junky little econo-crates couldn't be made to pass US safety and emissions specs without bankrupting the company. Their poor reliability and expensive upkeep left a bad taste in Americans' mouths.

Whole new crop of 20 and 30 sumptins' who know nothing about the old Fiat and will be willing to give them a try. I waiting for Alfa to come back and since Fiat is the parent co. they should be along in short order. My dad had a '71 Spyder and I remember going to get pizza with him with the top down. It was a fun car.

[SpartaPerformance]

The problem with Alfa's is their fun car when they run. They still have to this day super reliability issues.

[FordNut]

"Chrysler (and Fiat) are requiring dealers to sell the car out of separate showrooms and have a dedicated sales staff for the vehicle. For some, that means putting up a new building or a new addition to their existing facilities."
.
Oh yeah. That's a GREAT way to build support.

FIAT left the US market for a number of reasons, among them that their junky little econo-crates couldn't be made to pass US safety and emissions specs without bankrupting the company. Their poor reliability and expensive upkeep left a bad taste in Americans' mouths.

That's what I was thinking about when I said this:

Looks to me like Fiat is using Obama's gift (Chrysler) and forcing them to build up Fiat's US sales & service network as a separate entity. Then they can/will dump Chrysler along with the American workers who build them. Voila! Fiat will have an American footprint and one less competitor, thanks to Barry.