Court documention reveals which Fiats and Alfas are destined for U.S.
Fiat 500 - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Curious which of its models Fiat plans to send over to the United States to sell through its planned partnership with Chrysler? Wonder no more. The most recent set of documents filed in Chrysler's Chapter 11 proceedings offer a number of intriguing clues as to what we can expect to see in the coming years.
Tom LaSorda, current ChryCo Veep, suggests that Fiat has agreed to assemble a vehicle using its C-EVO platform at one of Chrysler's underutilized U.S. plants. Further, Robert Manzo, executive director of Capstone Advisory Group, has specifically named the Fiat 500, Grande Punto and Panda (tellingly, Manzo called the Panda a Jeep) along with the Mito and Milano from Alfa Romeo as models coming to the aid of Chrysler.
Joining these new models would also be Fiat's 3.0-liter diesel V6 and 1.4-liter four-cylinder Multiair engine line, along with the Italian automaker's dual-clutch automatic gearbox, which would replace the units Chrysler will no longer be receiving from Getrag. The biggest question left unanswered seems to be what will be left of Chrysler's current line?
Gallery: Fiat 500
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
TriShield 7:05PM (5/05/2009)
So who is going to buy these cars in any great or sustainable numbers?
Especially with Chrysler brand names on them from dilapidated Chrysler dealerships?
Even if they were here as Fiats I don't see any of them selling well enough to warrant US assembly or being able to support all of Chrysler's excess capacity.
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Tango 7:11PM (5/05/2009)
me want 8C nao
txdesign 7:15PM (5/05/2009)
What are you basing this on? Until now the compact car choices in this country have been uninspiring (Focus, G3, Cobalt,etc.). These cars and the new Ford Fiesta coming from Europe will make people realize that small cars can be well designed and exciting to drive. Until the downturn Mini sold evry car that its one factory could turn out in 3 shifts. For the enthusiast the 500 Abarth and the Alfas will be welcome additions.
Rocketboy 9:01AM (5/06/2009)
I'd buy it if it it was labled a Fiat...
and I needed a new car.
Alex 9:57AM (5/06/2009)
I have to agree with TriShield and Rocketboy. I would be all over an Alfa Romeo Mito, but i'm not buying a Chrysler Mito. I hate to be a brand snob, but i guess i am. But more than that, there is not a single Chrysler dealership in my area that I like. I went with my mom as she was shopping around for a Charger and they were all piss-poor facilities.
I want Fiat and Alfa Romeo to come to the states but they need to do some serious work on the Chrysler dearships if they want my money.
Erik 1:39PM (5/06/2009)
It makes absoloutly 0 sense to me when people say they would LOVE a car with one badge pasted on the front but HATE the exact same car with a different badge placed on the front. It's the same friggin car people! Personally I care about the car - its looks, its performance, its reliability, its efficency, its level of comfort, etc. They could put a middle finger in place of the badge and it really wouldn't matter. I can only guess that people so concerned about what badge will be on the front are not really car people, but rather snobbish fashonistas concerned about what others think of them and the brands they own. Either that or just plain haters.
Rocketboy 2:34PM (5/06/2009)
Why wouldn't I? Because there's no reason to change the brand name. Changing the brand name also implies that they tinkered around with it as well. I don't want a watered down version of something, I want the real thing.
www.thecarnerds.com 7:10PM (5/05/2009)
I am wondering what Cerebis is thinking now?????????
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Toledo Guy 9:47PM (5/05/2009)
Uh, you mean CERBERUS?
I'm just guessing here, but since they'll have no control of Chrysler if/when the company emerges from bankruptcy, they're not really thinking about the future of Chrysler anymore.....
HotRodzNKustoms 7:09PM (5/05/2009)
I will take a long hard look at buying an Alfa or a Fiat 500 if I am in the market when they begin to arrive at dealers.
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zamafir 7:40PM (5/05/2009)
same here 500 and MiTo? I'd buy either before a rabbit or a gti. Build quality on the 500, esp inside, is fantastic (drove one last week, baja cars ftw).
schhim 7:11PM (5/05/2009)
I'll buy Mito just so I can say I bought an Alfa Romeo.
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jasonlu 7:11PM (5/05/2009)
Reliability?
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hawc1506 7:13PM (5/05/2009)
^^ I certainly hope Fiat will do well. Great cars, but poor reliability...
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Bloke 7:20PM (5/05/2009)
Fiat's reliability is no better or worse than any other mainstream European car. I've known people with troublesome Fiats, and people with flawless Fiats - and the same is said for any manufacturer.
Still, it's Americans' obsession with perception which has got their own car industry where it is today.
Kitko 7:39PM (5/05/2009)
Bloke, FIAT has major issues with reliability, although it has improved in the past 2-3 years, it is still substandard.
According to German TUV 2009 reliability report (it's actually based on data of 7 million cars inspected by German TUV auditors), the most reliable FIAT in the 2-3 years old category is Fiat Panda on the 90th place. And you can't blame it on a German bias since it's based on acutal technical data and criteria same for everybody. Furthermore, Mazda and Toyota are historically the most sucessful manufacturers in the TUV testing (best result ever achieved in 2008 report by Mazda 3 and Mazda 2) and top of the 2009 table is dominated by Japanese brands.
http://news.auto.cz/aktuality/auto-bild-tuv-report-2009-vozy-2-3-roky-verso-toyota-corolla.html
Scroll down for table, I couldn't find English version quickly, but table is pretty clear.
Ken Stamper 7:45PM (5/05/2009)
@Bloke
That may be true now, but you can't blame Americans for thinking that way. When Fiats were sold here in the 60's and 70's, they were really, really poorly built, unreliable rust-traps (so much so that Fiat was subject to a class-action lawsuit over the rust) even by the low standards of the day. I say that as the long-time owner of an X1/9 (which needed a new tranny at 41,000 miles, amongst many, many other issues).
"Perception" in this case is completely borne of reality
Bloke 7:46PM (5/05/2009)
Kitko - Fiat came bottom of the UK JDP survey last year too, with 77.8% - which was 0.1% behind Mitsubishi and 0.3% behind Chevrolet. By contrast, Lexus came in at just over 86% and Skoda, Honda and Toyota shortly behind in the 84 percentile range. Fiat's score was 2.9% below the "industry average" score.
Now, the difference between top and bottom when quantified is broadly 8%. That doesn't mean Fiats are untrustworthy vehicles whatsoever. I know someone whith a flawless Punto, and a troublesome Doblo; I also know someone with a faultless Ford Fiesta, and someone else with a newish Mondeo which has repeatedly been in the shop for a multitude of minor niggles.
It's a real world out there. Fiats are far from demonic, utterly unreliable cars - and certainly no worse than any Chrysler.
Bloke 7:59PM (5/05/2009)
At Ken Stamper - well you Americans always seem to be complaining about people buying Honda and Toyota out of perception. It works both ways.
Maybe the average American should look back at the utter rubbish produced by the American Big Three in the early 1980s, and look at what they produce today - products which are far superior in every respect. The same can be said of virtually any mainstream manufacturer which builds to a price point. Think GM and Ford (in America) if you want to understand how the likes of Fiat and Renault have progressed since the early 1980s.
Kitko 8:45PM (5/05/2009)
Bloke
A) JDP surveys people's opinions. TUV surveys cars.
B) Car X has 1.2% propability of developing a serious problem. Car Z has 2.4% probability of developing serious problem. It means that car Z is twice more prone to go wrong. Its reliability is twice that bad.