Chrysler Brand to Sell Fiat 500 in U.S.

gay! that car is not at all attractive. i can see how the performance attracts people, but it is sooo ugly its rediculous.

Aint no way that tin can will sell well in the U.S. That thing isn't much bigger than the Smart Car and we see how well that piece of crap is selling. When are European car companies going to wake up and realize that the vast majority of Americans don’t' want to drive around in a tin can death trap.

Probably around the same time the majority of Americans realise that most small cars aren't tin can death traps...

@SteelCity

It's about the size of a Mini Cooper - which sells very well. This will probably sell about as well as Mini Coopers do (which is damn well).

Yeah I don't know I mean hell you can price out a Mini at over $30k. That's one expensive "small car". Yet I see a shit load of them on the road.

Somebody figured out something right.

When do I get my Clio Sport?

The Mini-cooper is a "mini" sportscar, not just an econobox. I've personally pulled away from several in my MB...at over 100mph.

I'm not really a mini or hybrid fan, but I personally don't see how this can compete with Mini-cooper, toyota prius, honda civic or any other small car being for that matter.

But who knows?...........

@b2man

Mini has a low powered Cooper, which competes with the base Fiat 500 and then there's the Cooper S which competes against the 500 Abarth .

You could've learned that on your own just fine, but instead you go "It's not the size of a house?! IT SUCKS!"

Oh, and go online and find the review of the 500 Abarth from Top Gear - watch that and tell me it's a boring car.

Totenglocke:

The Mini is longer then this thing, plus the Mini is built by BMW which has a strong rep in the U.S. No one knows who Fiat is and anyone that ties their name with Chryslers puts them in the negative rep wise. Ask Benz that.

I have 3 major concerns with this car: pricing and build quality.
A top of the range Abarth model on the European markets costs about the same as a Mini Cooper, lesser models are cheaper. Considering Fiat isn't a well established brand in th US, it should be priced considerably lower than the Mini's.
I wonder if they can do that without sacrificing my other concern, which is build quality. If you consider build quality of VW and Mercedes cars intended for the European markets it's interesting to note that their respective worst cars are built in Mexico (VW Beetle) and the US (MB ML-class), where the European built cars are rated much better. The same may happen with a Mexican built Fiat.
Third concern: Is the US market really ready for small cars? I think they're getting there, but it'll still take some time to mature.

@Totenglocke
Performance and price wise a Cooper (1.6 NA 120hp) is a little bit slower and a bit more expensive then a 500 Abarth (1.4 turbo 135hp). A Cooper S (175hp) is both faster and more expensive.

Most people in the US had never heard of Mini (and most STILL don't know that they're run by BMW) - so using that as a reason why the Fiat 500 won't do well is just BS.

@M

The 500 Abarth is about dead between the 0-60 times of a Cooper and a Cooper S and it only costs as much as a base Cooper. Yes, a Cooper S is faster, but it also starts about $4,000 higher than a 500 Abarth. Is less than a second faster to 60 going to be worth another $4,000 to the average person? Nope.

M does raise a good point about build quality though, there is nothing like releasing an inferior product to quickly ruin a brands reputation.
Being an Aussie, I had heard nothing but good things about the quality of VW's products, and so was confused by the terrible rep they appeared to have amongst Americans. That is, until I found out the models destined for the US market appear to be built rather inferiorly in Mexico.
If Fiat doesn't suffer from the same first impression, then I could easily see this being a Mini competitor in the growing small car market.

@Totenglocke:

You are correct. I don't know a lot about the car but I never stated any facts about this car either:
Funny, I cannot read anywhere on my post that states, "It's not the size of a house?! IT SUCKS!" Nor did I ever say it was a "boring car".
You'd be a good CNN reporter.

I only said, " I'm not really a mini or hybrid fan". (depending on which area this care wanted to compete with). I also did not state anything particularly wrong with the car, nor did I even say I thought it was ugly.

I only said a personal opinion, which is one purpose for this forum, which obviously you didn't know, and that was that I didn't see how it could compete. There are some big names to compete with in these catagories and most people get a totally different idea in their mind when they think Mini (BMW), as compared to Fiat or Chrysler. The same would go on the hybrid side against Toyota or Honda. Perception and value are everything when it comes to sales.
SteelCity1981 said it best.

And I even gave this car the benefit of the doubt when I said , "But who knows?..........." Which means, for potential CNN reporters, it could do very well.

P.S. Most people I know actually know the Mini is built by BMW.

Totenglocke:

"and most STILL don't know that they're run by BMW)"

They don't? well then you would have to be a completely blind then when you buy a new Mini, because the vast majority of new Mini's for sale are at BMW dealerships. So yes there is a diff. If a Fiat is sold at a Chrysler dealership then the vast majority of people are going to think it's some new Chrysler econmic car division and not the other way around. No one going into a BMW dealership looking at a new Mini will think that a BMW is a division of the Mini Cooper. Not to mention whenever you put your name on a automotive company that has been failing for years, it does nothing but drag your company down along with it. Like I said go ask Benz what Chrysler did to its profits and rep when they tried to tie their name with the company.

"because the vast majority of new Mini's for sale are at BMW dealerships"

Not where I live - we have Mini dealerships here. You won't see a Mini on the same lot as a BMW unless it's a used car lot here.

Well here BMW dealerships have Mini's as apart of their lot in a diff section.

That's a one spicy meatball.