Just learned FIAT is coming!

[DrEntropy]

A local Caddy dealership lost the Saturn line after setting up a NICE showroom/shop for 'em, now the principal has announced he's bringing Fiat to the vacant showroom... and attempting to lure Alfa in as well!! YAY!!!

I've no interest in the Fiat but a HUGE desire to see Alfa back in the area (and the country)... 'course this falls into the "Rumor and Propaganda" category at the moment. Fingers crossed, we'll see.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Would love to see them back as well.

Guy around the corner from me has a new 500. I haven't stopped by to check it out yet, but plan to. Good looking competition for some of the other subcompacts. Hope they do well.

 

[DrEntropy]

I don't wish them ill, and the 500 really should be a genuine viable alternative to other subcompacts. It just doesn't ring my bell.

 

[drooartz]

We've got a Fiat dealership down in Salt Lake City. Wife and I keep eyeing the 500 as a possible/eventual replacement for my Honda Fit once that's put out to pasture. We've no kids to schlep around, so it would fit the bill nicely.

Don't expect to see Alfa anytime soon. Last word I heard was they were delaying entry into the USA another year or two, so 2013 maybe. Would love to see them around.

https://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/15/exec-confirms-alfa-romeo-american-comeback-delayed/
https://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/20/fiat-dealers-irked-by-alfa-romeos-delayed-return-to-u-s/

 

[DrEntropy]

Yeah, 18 months out at best is the rumor-mill scuttlebutt I'm hearing.

 

[jsfbond]

Fiat is already here....Go to your local Dodge dealer.

 

[aerog]

Fiat has been <span style="font-style: italic">here</span> for awhile... with their own showroom, etc. They opened in June.

During my trip to Maine we saw a lot of them on the road - and there are quite a few around here. The 500 really doesn't appeal to me, but if it keeps those butt-ugly smart-cars off the road I'm all for it :laugh:

 

[Deleted member 8987]

If it says FIAT, anywhere, I ain't interested. It's a good thing I considered Chrysler products to be rolling on 4 wheels just to wheel them into the junkyard, or I'd have to mentally have put them in the same scrap bin as FIATs.
Citroen? Renault? Lada (rooskie FIAT)? Worlds full of 100 cars you must never own.

 

[Gliderman8]

If it says FIAT, anywhere, I ain't interested. It's a good thing I considered Chrysler products to be rolling on 4 wheels just to wheel them into the junkyard, or I'd have to mentally have put them in the same scrap bin as FIATs.
Citroen? Renault? Lada (rooskie FIAT)? Worlds full of 100 cars you must never own.

Ya missed Yugo

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Ah. I thought Yugo was dead-o.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Of course, there was the classic Re:No, the Le Carcass.

 

[DrEntropy]

Fiat has been <span style="font-style: italic">here</span> for awhile... with their own showroom, etc. They opened in June.

During my trip to Maine we saw a lot of them on the road - and there are quite a few around here. The 500 really doesn't appeal to me, but if it keeps those butt-ugly smart-cars off the road I'm all for it :laugh:

I know Fiat has been in the States for a while. By "here" I meant our local area. Alfa on the third hand hasn't been seen in the States for too long. Even the idea/rumor there will be a local dealer for THEM is encouraging to me.

As for the 500, I agree it is a wonderful alternative to the Smart cart.

 

[vagt6]

I think the 500 will sell, but ONLY if the price is right. A nicely equipped 500 will have to sell for less than roughly $16,000 or so for folks to latch on to them.

It's a small car (about 2,400 lbs.), but not significantly smaller than a MINI. The stock, entry level engine puts out 101HP and gets very good mileage.

In Europe you can get some really fancy ones like the Fiat ABARTH edition: https://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/25/fiat-confirms-500-abarth-to-make-u-s-debut-in-los-angeles/

175 HP should really make the Abarth go at least as fast as a MINI S.

A big,or even semi-big sticker price tag will be the end of the Fiat 500 here, methinks. The competition in that price range is just too good, especially for a car that doesn't exactly have the best street cred in the U.S., and a limited number of dealers.

We'll see soon enough . . .

 

[Deleted member 8987]

And you think $16,000 is a good price? For a FIAT? One too many zeroes. Just sayin'.

 

[vagt6]

Yep, you're probably right.

 

[Banjo]

I love the styling of the new 500. If I was in the market for that type of car, it'd be high on my list. very much more so if the Abarth version could be had.
Of course the last and only Fiat I ever had was an 850 that really did nothing for my liking of the brand.
Gotta say, I'm one of the few people that liked Renaults. My parents had a LeCar when I was little and it was a really decent car. Thy had also had R-10s before that, and my wifes' Alliance (Appliance) she had in college was amazingly reliable.
I wouldn't mind finding another LeCar, if it was dirt cheap, and it has to have the big canvas sunroof. (not that I'm looking for one actively)
I'd love to see Alfa come back.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

Saw the 500 at a shopping mall. Had two of them in a Fiat store. Neat car.

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Mine was a 600. Suicide doors, roll-back canvas sunroof, rust-free SoCal car, biggest POS I have ever seen in_my_life. A Vega was a better car.

 

[aeronca65t]

We run up and down to Rehoboth Beach a fair amount and there was a brand new Hummer dealership built along the road into the Del-Mar peninsula. The building was very macho with big exposed metal beams. It's a FIAT dealer now. :laugh:

We'll see how the new 500 is. I hope they succeed. The new MINI wasn't exactly perfect at first, but it's a decent car now (price-wise it's almost double that of the small Suzuki or Nissan, so it better be decent).

Like Ben I like Renaults and would be happy to see them here again. I had great fun with a LeCar and excellent service from an Alliance. And I still rent a Sports-Renault once in a while. It would be good to see ALFA back too.

 

[AngliaGT]

I was mowing my Mother's lawn yesterday,& saw one drive by-
"Drive by sighting?".And we don't even have a dealer here.

- Doug