Fiat screwing up their chances in the US

[Gunsmith]

My Daughter and I stopped by our local Fiat dealer Thursday night while taking our weekly drive for dinner. It was about 7:00pm or a little earlier and the sign on the door claimed they were open to 9:00pm but the door was locked. There was an Abarth sitting out front. It was at a big Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep dealer so there were tons of sales sharks there cruising the parking lots of the other brands. We walked around the Fiats that were outside for a while and then got back into our Spider and drove away with no contact with anyone at all.

I'm not sure that it is a Fiat thing or just a reality that few people try to do their job? If any of us worked a sales job at Fiat or anywhere else most of us would research the products on our own so we knew what we were selling. I think most people on this board would not sit around and wait to be spoon fed. If you look around I think you will find the same problems mentioned here with many other services. I am frustrated so often at the lack of effort put forth by people in such a bad job market.

The biggest competitor I see to the Fiat is the Mini and when I went there the staff lived and breathed them. This however could just be the philosophy of that particular dealer or sales staff not put out by Mini who knows.

[131]

Fiat has been back in Australia longer, but their efforts at re-establishing the marque have been dismal. I've heard reports from people about the same lack of interest from show room staff, and some staff more interested in pushing Alfa than Fiat. The cars are way over priced compared to competing vehicles in the same category. I haven't seen any advertising in any media, no one except an enthusiast would even know they were here.

[Daniel]

some of the less then helpful staff at these dealerships may have a bad taste in there mouths because of
pressure to sale a car they aren't familiar with or don't care for so there attitude could be based on a
personal choice not to like the brand . I am not defending Fiat by any means ( i have made up my mind
not to purchase one last year but that is another story ) we all see the flaws in there marketing, and
dealer start up issues It may just be a matter of time before there operating smoothly over here ? who
knows . I can say that the Abarth Ads do look good the 2 i've seen so far any how, JLO ads did not work
for me like most of the forum members .

IMO if fiat wanted to have a bigger impact on the market they would have imported a few models of
cars to choose from rather then 1 that isn't attractive to many people here and of course the rest
do like the looks . I've heard many people say they don't like the look of the 500 this is why i mention
this .

[spidernut]

Fiat's reentry reminds me of Hyundai's initial entry in 1985. They had one model, the Excel, and lousy dealerships who didn't believe in the Korean built car with a Mazda motor. I'll give Fiat the benefit of having a much better car, but you just can't build a positive brand image based on one microcar that's overpriced in my opinion.

I also don't understand the philosophy of adding the Drudge Dart to the Dodge lineup, but not adding a version to the Fiat lineup which seems like it would be a better fit.

Fiat dealerships have absolutely no excuse for poor customer service. We are a service-oriented country and service before the sale is just as important as service after the sale.

[FulviaHF]

I see plenty of 500s on the streets in LA, despite the efforts of the LA Studio to discourage as many potential customers as possible. Their local TV ads have a "mama mia, that's a spicy meat-a ball-a" fake Italian accent that makes it impossible to understand the ad copy, while at the same time insulting the intelligence of any potential buyer.

[dantye]

It seems to me that the Chrysler/Fiat CEO is purely focusing of the increasing sales success of Chrysler and Dodge brands, synergy in design and engineering - such as the Alfa Romeo technology being used in the new Dodge Dart - and branding Chrysler products as Lancia, etc., to be sold in Europe and elsewhere. He seems perfectly willing to hang the U.S. FIat Studios out to dry. With the state of the Italian economy, he may be more interested in bailing out Italy than in Fiat sales in the U.S..

In the St. Paul Pioneer Press - a major market Newspaper with two Fiat Studios in their market, there are typically 5-6 pages of Auto display ads, and there are NO regular repeating ads for Fiat. The assumption that Mini is the main competition may be right or wrong, but they will never know if they don't expose the product continuously. I happen to think there would be a major interest from older folks who are sentimental about the original VW Beetle - if Fiat even bothered to target that market.

[spiderrey]

Dante, there are plenty of 500,s around here. It seems most of the drivers are older , like past 55.

[dantye]

Dante, there are plenty of 500,s around here. It seems most of the drivers are older , like past 55.

No doubt there are many reasons for that, one may be that they are different worlds: In CA, you need to beat most folks with a stick to keep them from trying the "latest thing." Out here, you have to beat most of these Scandinavian folks with a stick to get them TO try the latest thing.
But seriously, I think Fiat focused the 500 product launch and a lion's share of their regional marketing budgets directly on the California market - not that you could blame them. That may have something to do with it.
There have been a few dealer TV ads here, but about the most aggressive corporate marketing arrangement I've seen in this area is the placement of rental 500s at MSP International Airport. (One guy I talked with who rented one was a nuclear scientist, and rented it just because it was different. His regular driver was a Lexus, and he wasn't exactly impressed with the 500.)

[So Cal Mark]

a new customer called Friday to see if I could do an oil change on her 500. When I mentioned the dealer will do it for free, she said the dealer told her to call back in a week or so because they are out of oil filters.

[dantye]

a new customer called Friday to see if I could do an oil change on her 500. When I mentioned the dealer will do it for free, she said the dealer told her to call back in a week or so because they are out of oil filters.

Am i imagining things, or isn't that strangely similar to "Tales from the Yugo days"?

[wachuko]

Well... I want an Abarth... those are not in for a couple of months... so we went there to test drive a normal 500. Took out a 500C with a stick shift for a drive. What a wonderful drivers car. Loved the sound it makes, the fact that you have to work the car is just splendid! From my perspective it was a car that you feel pleasure pushing it. You see, you work it hard and it provides a good response. I know this might not go well with a few, but it is the best way I can describe it... it is a slow car that feels like you are going fast. That sensation of revving this car to reach 45, 50,60 it was just cool!! We loved it. Do not get me wrong, it reaches high speeds easily... but it had been a long time since I had a car that felt that way.

This is the first time we see one up close and personal. From the seating position, we liked the fact that you do not sit on the ground when you get in! Kids fit fine in the back. It really felt like a larger car than what it looked like from the outside.

We might have a problem because my wife and daughter loved this one and I am having a hard time convincing them to not go for it and wait for the Abarth... you see, they like the color combination of this car... I like the interior and additional oomph from the Abarth.... the plan was for us to get one and eventually give it to my daughter as her car... I am afraid I might not want to give it up when she is ready for her car...

Here is a few photos of the one my wife and daughter fell in love with:





Daniela at the wheel:



The way the folks at the dealer treated us was great. No pressure, no feeling of anything but "take your time, look around, and by the way, here, take it for a drive and enjoy it with the family"... we drove for some 30 miles around. It was great I tell you... hooked badly.

I don't want to give in and buy the one in the photo above... I want a stick shift, Daniela is willing to learn in one... I don't want an automatic... but it seems that the only leather interior ones are auto... argghhh, I will need to go back and take an automatic for a spin.... noooooooo! I want to wait for the Abarth...

I need some wine... ciao!

[AndyS]

I was surprised how nice the Automatic Lounge model we drove was to tool around in. Comfortable ride--car feels bigger than it is. At least fast enough to get out of its own way.

It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow-this is a known fact. a long term Fiat guy i know bought a Pop with an Auto as a commute car for the LA traffic. he loves it. pushes the gas pedal to the floor every time he starts out from a stop light. He sold a V8 Mustang to get the Fiat.

That said, still wish the base model had about 20 more HP and foot pounds torque.

Another thing: Do not be surprised if the Abarth turns out to have a pretty harsh ride compared to he regular 500's.. The Cooper S Minis with the sport suspension and bigger wheels have the same complaints. i know they reworked the suspension on the US 500 Abarth cars, but Euro testers did not like the ride much on the Euro Abarth versions. Hard not to have a jittery ride with that short wheel base plus stiffer springs and shocks and larger diamter wheels/ lower profile tires .

[wachuko]

...Another thing: Do not be surprised if the Abarth turns out to have a pretty harsh ride compared to he regular 500's.. The Cooper S Minis with the sport suspension and bigger wheels have the same complaints. i know they reworked the suspension on the US 500 Abarth cars, but Euro testers did not like the ride much on the Euro Abarth versions. Hard not to have a jittery ride with that short wheel base plus stiffer springs and shocks and larger diamter wheels/ lower profile tires .

Yes... but I want a 5-speed and I want leather... and after watching videos of this car and listening to the sound of the engine, and hearing the great feedback on how wonderful the car feels and sounds...

I have to decide on color... catalog shows 4 options for the car... reading a few post here in the forum some people say that only two are coming (black or white), others say three (black, white, or gray)... We don't want a white car, that is for sure. I like the black car, wife prefers red, we both can agree on the gray...

So dealers be damned, we are getting one, lol.... ...now, let me update the install of the top in my other thread

[spidernut]

We saw our first Fiat 500 in my town today...it was a grocery bag tan color with a 55+ driver enjoying driving in a zig-zag pattern through the parking lot. I could tell he was loving the agility of the car. He seemed pretty focused as I tried to get his attention to give him a thumbs up. I felt pretty generic driving my Honda Civic after watching him enjoying the ride.

[dantye]

We saw our first Fiat 500 in my town today...it was a grocery bag tan color with a 55+ driver enjoying driving in a zig-zag pattern through the parking lot. I could tell he was loving the agility of the car. He seemed pretty focused as I tried to get his attention to give him a thumbs up. I felt pretty generic driving my Honda Civic after watching him enjoying the ride.

Being 55+++ myself, I would guess that "being pretty focused" is HOW he got to be 55+.

We hope to drive our '81 Spider over to the nearest Fiat "Studio" - near the Mall of America - and take a test drive sometime this Summer. My concern is, with the way the winter freeze and thaw heaves the roads up here, short wheelbase cars can feel like a boat crossing the waves. We have a 2005 Scion XB, which has an 8" longer WB than the 500, and it can bounce you pretty good on those kind of highways. But then, our '81 Spider, with about the same wheelbase as the 500, actually has a FAR better ride than the Scion (and of course better handling since the center of gravity is about 50% lower!
So does that mean the Scion rides like a 500 Abarth?