In the first 6 months of 2023, Fiat Sold a total of 280 cars. There are currently 357 Fiat dealerships in the US.
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/fiat-us-sales-figures https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Fiat-USA/
I thought Fiat left the US in 2020?!
It’s a car that really only works in very specific places in the country, and you won’t sell the fucking cool one lol. Still want an abarth.
It’s a pretty good little car… But the automatic is better for the US to be honest. 5th gear is just too short to be ideal for US highways.
An unfortunate reality, I love my Abarth but if I have to go more than, say, 50-60 miles at once I really long for a 6th gear.
I’d even take a weird 5th gear that’s “too tall” relative to the other 4 as around town I’m rarely higher than 3rd or 4th
A 1.4L engine is downright dangerous merging onto American highways
It’s a turbo 1.4
It’s not fast, but it’s definitely sufficient.
European highway speed limits are higher than America’s
Our highways in Portugal have a 120km/h limit (~75mph). There are a ton of states with an 80mph limit, similar to some other European countries, like in France I think they have some places at 130km/h
I live in a country (Brazil) where Fiat is the company that sells the most cars. The issue of reliability is known among mechanics: it doesn’t tend to break very often, but if it does, it’s very cheap and quick to fix. They have a very general model line, with city cars, subcompacts, hatchbacks and medium sedans, ute pickups, trucks, crossover SUVs or classic SUVs and minivans. They just don’t sell wagons and they all use the same mechanics, at most resized to increase displacement or adapt the gearbox. The discounts they make for legal entities, fleet owners and the weekly stock burns for individuals are absurd. They are the cheapest models in all categories.
A common joke is that you can even find FIAT car parts in bakeries along with pasteurized milk and bread…
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Brazilian FIAT was a totally different animal from European FIAT. A quick look on the Brazilian FIAT website and the Italian one says that their lineups have very little in common. Probably simpler vehicles with older powertrains that have been around long enough that most of the flaws had been ironed out.
I looked up the European FIAT model range and saw that there aren’t many differences in the trims or anything like that. All FIAT models in South America are creations with their own design, engineering and production. Since the 1970s, the range has even had exclusive engines and platforms, such as the Fiasa engine designed by Aurelio Lampredi. Occasionally, they even call in Alfa Romeo designers, as in the Fiat Cronos sedan and the Fiat Argo hatchback.
What makes me love FIAT is its avant-garde spirit. They were the only automaker to have the audacity to put a high-power five-cylinder turbocharged engine in a family sedan (Fiat Tempra) or wagon (Fiat Marea). The engine in question was a Pratola Serra of Alfa Romeo origin with the most beautiful sound ever seen here. It sounds like an orchestra.
They were the first to bring cars with turbochargers, electronic injection, four-wheel drive, a locking differential, some comfort items and they usually brought Alfa Romeo models with changed emblems. They have an extra refinement and charm.
We have the Fiat Tipo SW in Portugal, caro irmão!
ABARTH MENTIONED 🦂🦂🦂🦂🦂
Here for the abarth thread lol. I was baffled when the 124 was canceled. I saw them around at a reasonable ratio to other small sports cars and think there is now a gaping hole in the market below boxster cayman.
If they made the 5-Speed Abarth 500 with Honda reliability, I would have happily bought one. Drives, looks, and sounds fantastic.
I mean you’re not missing out on anything particularly cool lol
Agreed. The 124 and 500 are niche, but they’re cool for people in that niche. Sub-compact crossovers are not nearly as niche, and the 500X doesn’t really have any charm to it. The only real differentiator is the Italian styling, and it’s proportions are too big for the 500 styling elements integrated into it.
I do really like the 124, but I don’t think they’re still making it unfortunately. The 500L is incredibly ugly imho, and the 500x is just meh
Not surprising when they only sell one model of car.
The other issue is it’s basically a reskinned Jeep Renegade. And it’s much easier to find a Jeep dealer, buy Jeep parts, and get support compared to a Fiat. There isn’t really a point in buying a Fiat. What made them unique was the 500. Not a volume seller but that drew people to the brand. I would’ve brought one if they still made them. There’s so many better options in the CUV segment.
Not only one model, they only sell small model. Even though 500X is a crossover, it isn’t a large enough for most American buyers.
I know most people in this sub, r/cars hating large truck so much, but that’s what America car market. Small crossover doesn’t really sell well in America, and most American buyers just wants large vehicles.
The fiat 500 is actually surprisingly popular on college campuses. I assume that’s a big chunk of their demo.
My friends had a term called the “fiat fakeout” which is when you see an empty parking spot in the garage but it’s actually occupied by a 500
It is not much larger to American eyes, but after just getting back from Italy, I cannot understand why they brought the 500 instead of the Panda, which is their most popular car there as well. It is big enough to not seem like a gag and the Panda 4x4 is much cooler IMO.
Different vehicle classes have different tariffs. It’s why the Subaru Brat was sold with jumper seats in the back, so the import tariffs were the same as a passenger car instead of a small pickup. The US also has a requirement for any car sold to be crash tested here and to meet certain standards. In other countries the car companies are allowed to sell more freely.
On the other hand, I thought the Panda was supposed to be sold here
Bigger margins on the 500, and under the skin the US/Canada market 500 is rather different from the RoW 500. The lower margins probably make adapting it to the US regulatory environment uneconomical. VW never bothered federalising the larger and higher priced Polo for that reason.
They took the “one GM” model and took it to the absolute extreme.
“hey let’s offer a tiny car as the only available model in a market with relatively cheap gas and an obsession for massive cars!”
And it’s ancient at this point.
I bought a car from a CDJRF dealer yesterday. Quipped to the finance guy “fiats are still around?” when writing the check, inquiring about the “F” in their name.
He said they’ve sold 2 in the last 3 years.
Whyd they stop selling the 500 abarth? Anecdotally I feel like I see a good amount on the road.
Damn I’m really glad I didn’t pull the trigger on a 124 Spyder a couple years back.
Considering all they sold in 2023 was the ugliest crossover on the market, I’m not surprised. Didn’t help that before that, all they sold was an even uglier crossover thing, an overpriced city car, and a worse miata.
By comparison:
For 2023 MINI USA has thus far seen a 18.7% increase with 22,769 vehicles sold compared to 19,185. Leading the way was a massive increase in Countryman sales with a 71.8% increase in sales for the quarter. That’s help offset the 285 decrease in the two door hardtop and 10% drop in Clubman sales.
From Google. As a previous MINI tech, I knew the Countryman was bound to fake over the brand since the small car market went down south after people got used to $3+ per gallon of fuel.
BMW has also been smart with MINI’s positioning, pivoting the brand ethos from being small to being about alternative design, acknowledging it’ll be a niche player. I think this is hard for Fiat to wrap their heads around because they’re traditionally such a dominant brand in their markets.
For North America, in my view, Fiat would be wise to either lean into design with captive import Stellantis products (basically the DS lineup), or go all-in on cheap and cheerful by federalizing their South American products.
we need the Panda in the US.
Americans are fat and don’t fit in them.
Italians are fatter than Americans these days. Tends to happen when your didt is nothing but cheese and carbs
Literally not true.
I have to admit that I read that as “flat cars.” I’m a member of the r/trains subreddit, too.
They’ll need to not be routinely near the bottom of reliability.
stellantis leadership will sink that boat
It’s main problem for Fiat, not all Stellantis members. Ram and Jeep are very competitive in the market.
all the euro stellantis brands are suffering the US brands are keeping that ship afloat
I can’t wait for the day they finally kill Peugeot and Citroen. Fucking ugly ass garbage
The Fiat 500 seems like it would be right up my alley if I only had any faith in the reliability of Fiats
something, something,
Fix
It
Again
Tony
My man, you have a 2008 Subaru, there’s nothing a 500 can do to surprise you on that front.
They are fairly reliable, I’ve seen few with 25k miles.
Tons of old fiat cars in Italy with a lot of kms
The 1.4 and 1.4T Multiair are very reliable engines. Just look around and you’ll still see a ton of 500s driving around despite not being sold for years now. The 500e was by and large reliable too. Lack of faith in Fiat is based mostly on outdated and just incorrect speculation.
I dunno, I work on cars for a living and ive only worked on one fiat 500 in my life and it kept coming back over and over again for different issues. The customer finally gave up on it when the axle seals failed again causing the manual transmission to gernade.
