SEMA 2016

[So Cal Mark]

I've been at SEMA all week, talking to hundreds of vendors, mfgs, reps, etc. I've gotta say the only a**holes I've run into were at the Mopar event. It's pretty obvious they have no interest in Fiat in the US. No models of the 500 were on display; not the abarth, L or X models. They had one new 124 over in the corner. No Alfas's either. After taliking to the mopar rep for awhile, he attemped to have the Fiat marketing manager come over. The Fiat guy turned us down, and he wasn't busy to begin with, merely hiding behind the center counter. Fiat used to have a motorsports manager, and he attended SEMA. I was told that if Fiat still had someone in that position, that they would never allow him to come to SEMA, it would be a waste of time. The Mopar guy told me SEMA is all about selling accessories and that was it. When I mentioned that Fiat did offer some performance parts, he told me I was wrong.
It was very plain to me that the Mopar people really resent that Fiat owns them. Couple this with Fiat allowing Chyrsler dealers to close the Fiat showrooms and morph them into the Chrysler store and it doesn't bode well for Fiat's future here. At some point it may revert to many of us long-time Fiat vendors to keep the brand alive again

[spider2081]

I own a 500 PE and a 500L. The first 3 Fiat dealers I dealt with have closed their doors. The closest dealer is now 30 miles from our home. There is a Jeep Dealer 3 miles from our home but they can not perform warranty Fiat service. To me if Fiat/Chrysler was serious about the Fiat brand all of Fiat Chrysler Dealers would be Fiat Service Centers. A single mom can't afford to take a day off work to drive 30 miles for an oil change or recall service. I'm retired so it not a big deal. I know a couple who sold their 500L because the closest dealer was 35 miles from them after the one they purchased the car from closed.
Not many people even change their own oil today. So service availabilty is a big deal today.

[mscafide]

Maybe Fiat should close some Chrysler dealerships.

Fiat saved their ass.

[narfire]

Somehow it has to be important to them to keep the Fiat badge alive. Perhaps Mark if you can CC your post to someone in Italy that writes the cheques, it just might start a conversation and perhaps, just perhaps some good might come of it.
Bottom line, make it important to Fiat head office to get the Mopar dealers to smarten up or they might just loose a potential market. I thought the 500 was quite popular in Europe.

[So Cal Mark]

on the positive side, I've made connections for several new products including;
wiring harnesses
electric water pump
MOMO seat covers and floor mats
new design wood steering wheels
external thermostat with replaceable thermostat insert
billet water outlets
plug and play fuse boxes with blade type fuses
replacement instrument gauges with sending units

[aj81spider]

There's a couple of those I'll be ordering as soon as they are available!

Good stuff!

[Dawgme85]

We must be fortunate to still have 3 dealers in the Puget Sound area. Two are Fiat/Alfa, and one Fiat/Alfa/Maserati. The latter has a sales associate who is active in both the local Fiat and Alfa clubs. One of the Fiat/Alfa dealerships has been sold by the original dealer, while the other two are still the original Fiat Studios. I haven't had the opportunity to purchase from any of them, but the F/A/M dealer did have an experienced classic Italian mechanic on staff, the last I heard, and was offering original parts availability for the early models, as well.
I suspect that the previous issues with Chrysler product recalls that sucked resources away from introducing new Fiat models has taxed the Fiat dealer network. Now that more Fiat models are becoming available, hopefully the dealerships will become more profitable and viable.
LeRoy

[jwldane]

Hi Mark,

Any updates on the new parts you mentioned in this thread? I saw you installed an electric water pump on the performance 2L thread you started the other day. Is this a prototype or are there units available for sale? Also any update on the replacement fuse panel and other items would be appreciated.

Thanks
John