Most liked posts in thread: Fiat 500, no threat at all

Most of us like Amish cookin.:ihih: As long as we stay out of the pasta places we can coexist. :yesnod:

Hey Adam is that yellow car the first Justa 500 here in Cowtown? :cornut:

 

Chrysler hopes dealers avoid haggling when Fiat returns with 500


DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler Group LLC wants dealers to avoid haggling with shoppers over the price of the Fiat 500 when reintroducing its parent company's brand to America, betting that will make young customers more comfortable in showrooms.

“The pricing is the pricing,†said Laura Soave, head of the Fiat brand in North America. “The younger generation doesn't haggle. They don't feel comfortable with it. They hate the experience.â€

Dealers have been given advertising standards that include prohibitions on promoting vehicles for less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price, Soave said. While automakers typically can't prohibit discounts, the company limited the number of U.S. Fiat franchises to minimize competition among dealers.

Chrysler, operated by Fiat SpA, is bringing the 500 and the Italian automaker's namesake brand to the U.S. market at the same time as it prepares to sell a redesigned Chrysler 300 flagship sedan.

The vehicles are among 16 models Chrysler has refreshed or redesigned in the past year, most of which are just going on sale.

The 500 and redesigned 300 “really represent that this company is coming together,†said Rebecca Lindland, an industry analyst with IHS Automotive.

The automaker is more than one year into a five-year turnaround that's supposed to return the company to profitability this year.

Clam-shaped hood

Fiat has already sold 500,000 of the 500 cars since 2007 in other parts of the world. The small car and its clam-shaped hood evoke the 500's iconic design of more than 50 years ago.

Unlike the original, the small engine is in the front of the car. Engineers also worked to update the new 500 to U.S. tastes, including the addition of an automatic transmission, glove box and cup holders.

Early buyers of the 500 will have a greater interest in the manual transmission, which will get 33 mpg in combined city and highway driving, while eventually the majority of buyers will prefer the automatic transmission, Soave said.

Younger drivers “never learned how to drive a manual and they have no interest in driving a manual,†she said.

The Fiat 500, already being made in Mexico, will start at $15,500, not including the destination charge. Chrysler has said it expects to sell 50,000 of the cars in North America. Company executives expect to make additional money on the sale of accessories.

Demonstration units have begun arriving in showrooms, she said, and a marketing push is planned for March.

Customer service

Early next month, Chrysler is bringing together about 300 people from the 130 U.S. Fiat dealerships for special training in handling customers and selling the car which can be configured in 500,000 ways, Soave said.

Dealers “need to be able to take the customers and show them how to accessorize the vehicle,†she said.

The sales “consultants†will take on non-traditional roles, including being the customer's contact point for vehicle service, she said.

Carl Galeana, who will open Fiat franchises in Michigan and Florida, said he's seeing a lot of excitement for the 500.

“The passion for a Fiat is much bigger than I thought,†he said in a telephone interview.

Source - Automotive News

 

Hope those new Fiat folks are reading M/A & learning all they can from us.

 

Got to love it. A car won't sell in the U.S. without good "cup holders". Didn't MINI even have a small problem with that.

Jim

Jim

 

Yeah..... But does it have "Lifetime Transmission Fluid" in their manual transmission? Huh... Tell me... Does it?rrr:rrr:rrr:

 

But magical. I keep finding loose screws in mine. And I can't find where they came from. ut:

 

My money is on this guy...



And this 500 is putting out 360hp on a 1.4l which is more than most of the MINI builds we see

 

WOW, that's some kind of wheel and high profile tire combo on the silver one. And I see some special exhaust tips out the back.

 

Those look like the "cannons" you were thinking about MM. That is one serious wing too. :eek6:

Jim

 

Not enough wheel gap for me. That thing would never pass the dead groundhog test.

The black one looks cool, but why oh why such a small wing?

Rally, thanks for the pics. You always seem to find great ones.

 

Not a threat per se, but if they sell 50,000 of them a year, you have to believe some of those folks probably would have bought a MINI since they were looking for a car in this class - and that would impact the overall sales and profitability of MINI in the US. Worldwide, since 2007 they've sold over 500,000 of the little buggers, so it definitely has had an impact!

The new Fiesta seems off to a sluggish start, and Scion's iQ is just around the corner - all in all, I think the subcompact market is pretty robust, but it will really take off if gas hits $5 a gallon this summer.

OTOH, Hyundai's new Elantra is rated at 40 mpg, and it's a whole lot bigger than a subcompact, and you know how "bigger is better" to us Amurcans...

 

Some MINI sales will be lost to the 500, that is for sure. I think MINI should be looking over their shoulder. As has been posted elsewhere they have slowly, but steadily priced the MINI to a point where for lots of folks it is no longer a good value. The 500 seems like more of a value although the jury is still out on its quality.

Speaking of good values the Mazda 2 looks like it may be a winner in that department. Some folks will think it is nothing special, but for those looking for value for money & a fun drive it may just be the ticket. The reviewers like it. I plan to take one on a test drive when the glacier here melts.

The Fiesta seems like an OK car. Considering it is built on the Mazda 2 architecture you'd think it would be getting better reviews than it is. I plan on driving one of these also.

I did drive the Honda Fit & found it to be a fine transpot pod. The drive was good & the utility is great. There is just something about it I didn't like.

Glad to see more small cars coming out. The idea of driving something much smaller than any of the cars mentioned here doesn't sit well with me. Maybe they remind me too much of the bubble cars of the distant past.

 

Actually having another small car generating interest in the segment can also bring more folks in to take a look at the Mini... Enlarge the segment as a whole.

 

Yah, lucky race cars don't have to abide by all the groundhog testing that us Ohioans have to put up with:lol:

Luckily they sell a nice wingless street version for daily drivers out there. A little less horsepower from the tuning, but still well above MINI numbers. Quite nice

It's my pleasure. I appreciate all things car oriented....even if they are threatening our MINI dominance over small-retro-car-dom.

 

Keep in mind Fiat left the US market without the best record from a quality standpoint (I still remember all the rusting problems associated with Fiat). Granted, there are less of me in the US buying public now and more of "isn't that a cute car, and look at that low price. I want one". Fiat is smart to come out with a low cost vehicle as they reenter the US market. It's always easier to gradually start increasing prices with option content.
Fiat also sells a ton of these 500 worldwide, with this puppy being scarfed up in 3rd world countries by people that don't have a lot of disposable income. To do that, some of the parts are going to feel cheaply made and might not go over as well in the US. Time will tell.

 

I think Fiat is counting on this. Eventually you & I are going the way of the dinosaurs & Fiat will be home free. Heck my Dad won't go for a dirigible ride after than Hindenburg fiasco.

 

There will be the inevitable Fix It Again Tony jokes and references to the tin worm that beset the last attempt at selling in the US but times have changed. Todays vehicles by and large are of a much better quality across all lines, not just FIAT. It has been a long time since FIAT was here and it really us enthusiasts of a certain age that still have that memory. The market the 500 is aimed at doesn't know of these things and likely doesn't care.