Most liked posts in thread: Fiat 500 Sales Behind Expectations?

That was better.

Jim

 

Timings everything... Now it looks like they're making excuses. They should have come out with the spot first.

Anyway, this..... "Spot"..... Was better.

They seem to be stumbling a lot. Not good for those of us that remember the last time Fiat was here. They need to come out firing on all 4 cylinders....

 

Yeah well, Cali is a different country......

 

There is more to this...

The dealership in question here was one that Chrysler took away from it's original owner back when they were trimming sales outlets. Chrysler then took ownership and remodeled the store to be the flagship model of what a Fiat Studio should be like. This ran afoul of Cali franchise laws for auto dealers that prevent the manufacturers to own sales outlets.

There are very few manufacturer owned dealers in the US. Both MB and BMW have flagship stores in Manhattan but thats about it in the US. While auto dealer franchise law varies from state to state one thing that is pretty common is that the manufacturers are pretty much not allowed to have company stores.

To put it simply this is protect the dealers around them from having to compete directly with the manufacturer.

 

Again wouldn't this situation be covered in the franchise agreements? Shouldn't or wouldn't you before purchasing a franchise understand clearly the non compete section of that agreement. Then if the "company" violates said agreement by opening a store with in the agreed area, have legal course for compensation and/or action against that "company"?

Or do we need a nanny government regulation to protect us from ourselves and our own lack of planning?

Would it make good business sense to buy a KK doughnut franchise and not have in the agreement that KK could and would not sale another franchise, nor open another doughnut store within a specified distance from your store; and if this was not spelled out, would you or the "company" be the idiot if you went ahead and purchased the franchise anyway?

I should add that I'm not saying everything they did was right, but they have made it right now and because of a nanny regulation they are going to be punished for investing in that economy.... But it's OK for the Government to piss away a half billion tax payer dollars on a company making overpriced solar cells.... Priceless.

 

You talk of nanny government regulations but I'm sure that it's the dealers themselves who pushed these laws through.

 

Totally agree. But the Government should have said this is none of our business.

 

Well it happened five days ago... The local Chrysler dealer has the Fiat. SH**! And we still have no MINI dealer anywhere within 120 miles. Go Figure. What's worse is the potential for those damn wine burners to be everywhere in no time. I mean I like wine, hell I like all booze I guess. I just can't stand that car or the idea that they're being sold in my backyard. C'mon MINI USA, settle your differences with the local BMW folks or change your business approach in markets where the friction takes center stage over common sense and car sales and service.

Sorry, just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

That sucks...... Fiat did move into our local Chrysler dealership, but I have the privilege to having 2 MINI dealerships within a 1/2 hour from me. 2 more within an hour!
Apparently PA is hogging them all! Our bad

Saw some blond driving one the other day. Yep, it's gonna be a chick car for sure :lol:

 

They might be reaching a tipping point. There were two parked in my neighborhood this morning when I was walking the dogs. One in a reddish copper color looked good. Seeing the rear from a block away, I was wondering if it was a JCW in a color I hadn't seen before. It had some kind of bodykit.

 

^^^ Yeah, real similar to both front and rear bumpers on the JCW aero option.

 

I drove one last week. Nothing special. Actually much less fun to drive than a Mini, to the point it seemed just like any other car on the road with numb feedback.

 

LOL :lol:

 

Should be a nice little road toy. I wonder how it will differ from the plain vanilla 500 they sell here now. I'm hoping it has a bit more spice to it.

 

And the original/classic Mini was designed quite intentionally to be 'un-styled' - Issigonis decided that he had overdone the (American-influenced) styling on the previous Morris Minor and so the Mini got as little 'styling' as he could manage.

Which is one reason why I don't mind the classic Mini guys saying the BMW Mini isn't a 'real' Mini. In looks, it is the exact opposite of the classic, despite copying many details.

 

I hate negativity

 

On the plus side you were at a Wawa. I got introduced to those this year since my company HQ is in Cherry Hill, NJ.

 

They are good for ATMs and snacks, but I never get gas at them.
I drive all the way to the opposite side of town to the nearest Shell

 

Slow Fiat 500 sales bring layoffs at engine plant

Source - Automotive News