No prizes for guessing “not so much.” But with its product line dead in the water, Chrysler desperately needs to generate some kind of enthusiasm for its continued existence. And at this point, the promise of what Auto Motor und Sport call “retro-flitzers” like the Fiat 500 and 500 C shown above is the only shot they have. And sure enough, Automotive News [sub] reports that Fiat may export European-built cars in order to speed up the timeline for integration with Chrysler. “We are currently working on a plan to begin shipping the Fiat 500 minicar and the Alfa Romeo 940 [entry-premium car] to the U.S. in about a year,” says the anonymous source. who These cars would be sold at “some” Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealers in advance of production of the 500 at Toluca, Mexico and the 940 at an undisclosed American plant. Which means taxpayers will be funding a premium captive-import-led “turnaround.” Oh boy. Meanwhile, Fiat is considering building its production purgatory-bound 169 upper-premium sedan on Chrysler’s LX platform. I can see the “Italian Engineering” ads now.
So of all of Fiat’s small cars those chose the 500 to compete with the Fix, Yaris, Aveo, market? I thought the 500 was more of a premium nitch car like the Mini or New Beetle.
I would think the Grand Punto would be a much better choice to import and rebadge.
Good luck Chrysler…
My experience is that Fiat over commit and under deliver.
That said, their 500 took Europe by storm. They followed BMWs Mini strategy by modernising a classic and making it infinately customisable (take a look at their UK website for options), and priced at a premium, but lower than Mini. I think their Poland plant is their only one not taking down days (probably the only car plant in Europe that’s not from what I read), so they can do some things well. I heard that volumes were projected to be 120k per year and they’re running at 200k so it can’t be that bad.
As for exporting from Europe, well the Polish Zloty has crashed vs the US$ so it may make sense, but the freight would be horrible (the Tychy plant is nowhere near a waterway so railfreight to the docks then onto the boat).
Hey, if Fiat can make it work maybe Mullally could get the Ka into the US as well, I hear that he’d like to….. or maybe it could be made at the Mexico plant like Fiat make the Ka in Poland today.
If these companies can survive, 2010/11 will be very interesting times.
Whatever that cute little ragtop at the top of the page is, it’s a damned sight better than a Dodge Caliber. Can’t hurt to try it.
Well, Saturn’s dying with German products so let’s kill Chrysler with Italian products.
Makes sense to me.
Dave
Hey, if Fiat can make it work maybe Mullally could get the Ka into the US as well, I hear that he’d like to….. or maybe it could be made at the Mexico plant like Fiat make the Ka in Poland today.
i’d like to to it here, but Mullally already said it’s too small. I don;t think Americans realise just exactly how small this car is
Saturn’s dying from 15 or so years of cr@p. Finally coming out with a competitive product isn’t going to remove that stigma overnight. It’ll take a decade of stellar products to even try and recover.
Which is something Hyundai did… GM, however, doesn’t operate like that. They’ll see a lack of recovery and conclude that Americans don’t want quality, they want cr@p. Then, 10 years later, wonder why no one buys their cars (if they even survive), and then repeat the above again.
So, why shouldn’t Fiat bring their best to the U.S.? Now that they’ve lamboozled Chrysler, what have they got to lose?
People actually like to buy cars that are stylish and fun and useful, as long as they are mechanically OK. And that’s what the Polish-made Fiats are.
It’s not rocket science, you know. To me, it’s surprising that nobody else is trying to corner this market: a good-looking, reliable, economical car that is fun to drive. Anybody paying attention can learn how to make a reliable car; both Porsche and Fiat learned their lesson more or less directly from the Japanese. It’s a matter of applying consultant’s directives. Then, all you got to do is add the cheekiness and style Italians get served in their mothers’ milk.
Then, all you got to do is add the cheekiness and style Italians get served in their mothers’ milk.
Amen! I’m hoping the Fiat-Chrysler thing works out because it would bring an entirely refreshing new point-of-view to the US marketplace. Besides, it might bring the market value of my ’86 X1/9 up a touch :).
The Doblo would be a cool versatile microvan style vehicle to add to our market. Weird looking, but oodles of capability and plenty cheeky!
No one old enough to remember the last time Fiat sold cars in the US will give them a try. If the quality problems truly have been sorted, then the market will catch on -after several years. I’m not sure Chrysler has that long.
That’s the problem with all these plans – they all needed to start ten years ago.
I’m not sure if Fiat will fix any of Chrysler’s issues, but that 5oo softtop on every teenage girl’s wishlist for sure.
And hey, who wouldn’t like the idea of seeing a few obtainable Italian cars again?
What’s longer than ‘never’. Seriously, Chrysler has time for this Fiat and others to catch on? As if. Cute little car though…sorority pledges should get coupons.
Since GM found out tat building cars for Euros in Belgium and selling them for Dollars in the US doesn’t work well economically, they decided not to promote the Astra. Too bad too. Probably one of the better cars GM has sold here, and it’s going to die.
Can’t say this will so any good for Chrysler but it will be nice to see this car sold here. Funny, there were posters on the interwebs saying that it would take FIAT 2-3 years to bring the 500 up to US specs. FIAT says it will be here next year.