• MustangCoyote@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    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.

    • V8-Turbo-Hybrid@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      It’s main problem for Fiat, not all Stellantis members. Ram and Jeep are very competitive in the market.

  • Uptons_BJs@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I remember reading a very funny interview where a Fiat dealer told the interviewer that selling Fiats was the worst business decision he ever made:

    There was a time when FCA was begging every dealer in their network to carry Fiat, and if you did, you got the license for free! You just had to pay for the Fiat sign.

    In 4 years his dealership didn’t even sell enough Fiats where the total gross profit exceeded the cost of the sign

    • Snazzy21@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      So selling Fiats is as bad a financial decision as buying one. That’s funny

    • IWantToPlayGame@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I don’t understand the desperation of trying to make Fiat ‘work’.

      It just isn’t. It’s not a brand us Americans really care for and their product lineup is not competitive. It doesn’t take a genius business person to know when to cut their loss and move on. I’d stop allocating any resources to Fiat and put it towards Jeep/Ram/Dodge, yenno, brands that actually sell.

      • effeeeee@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        this so much, coming from an italian. stellantis management has been incredibly bad and dont even think they are doing any better here. current lineup is just bad even for euro standards

  • UAS-hitpoist@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I would positively fuck up a new 500e assuming it came in below 30k. I currently spend more money on gas per month than a lease or even purchasing with charging and it seems like the perfect commuter runabout.

  • goot449@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    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.

  • JDubStep@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Damn I’m really glad I didn’t pull the trigger on a 124 Spyder a couple years back.

  • Time_Pool8425@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    If fiat wants to establish themselves here, start selling a sub 25k manual coupe. Get young people excited about the brand by putting affordable, desirable cars on the road.

  • markko79@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I have to admit that I read that as “flat cars.” I’m a member of the r/trains subreddit, too.

  • craiglepaige@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    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.

    • niftyjack@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      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.