mmarshall

Well, after some 25 years away from the American market, for those of you interested in looking at a new Fiat 500, Fiat has now (finally) published its list of planned American dealerships.

Like Saturn, though, which called Saturn shops "Retailers" instead of simple dealerships, Fiat is refering to them as "Studios".

For now, the 500 is the only Fiat model to be sold in the U.S. Higher-performance 500 Abarth and full-electric, plug-in models are also planned, though the electric model has not been finalized yet.

I looked at some 500 models at the D.C. Auto Show in January, and they ranked up with some of the more-interesting vehicles there. Unlike the junk Fiat was building decades ago, these looked like well-done small cars, with good fit/finish and some interesting trim-patterns. And, unlike the former, miniscule Fiat 500 Topolino (Topolino, in Italian, means "Mouse"), American-sized adults can actually fit into at least the front seats of the new ones.

Here's the planned list. It includes address, city/state, dealer-website, and proposed opening-date. You don't have to put in your zip code....the list includes all of them outright. Just click on "Find a Fiat Studio".

A few shops are open now....one of them in Gaithersburg, MD, not too far from my home. (I may go up there and test-drive a 500 next week, though I don't plan a formal review right now....I'm taking a temporary breather from reviews for a few weeks).

http://www.fiatusa.com/en/find_a_dealer.html#

(Here's new-vs.-old)

<VENOM>

I think they are just adding on to a Chrysler dealer, like Ford Lincoln

I8ABMR

I love the 500 ad hope its not a disaster like the Fiats sold in the US back in the day. I have a lot of hope for this brand but only time will tell. I am pretty sure they will sell like crazy in bigger cities for a while until the novelty wears off.......kind of like mini cooper

IS-SV

Good preliminary info. A lot of actual addresses/locations are still TBD in many of listed cities.

mmarshall

Yes, it takes a lot of planning, paperwork, and red tape. You can't just open up new franchises overnight, especially with a brand that has been out of the country for over two decades. But at least we know the addresses, how far they are away from our homes (or can easily find out how far), and have an idea of how long it might take for some of those that aren't ready for buisness yet. Others, as you note, are still on the waiting-list, without hard dates.

There will be at two or three of them within reasonable driving distance of my house...though not as close as I'd like. That shows that Fiat is expecting decent sales here (not surprising, as almost everything sells in this region). With the significant contribution that Silicon Valley makes to the auto-market, I'm sure there will be some in your area, too. And you can bet that L.A. and SoCal will have a number of them.......probably more than any other region.

Possibly so.......an interesting point. But, if so, it's obviously only a select group of MoPar dealers.....probably in the zones where Fiat expects the best sales.

We also see that with Hyundai....only select dealerships get to sell and service the Equus, and with Ford dealerships for Shelby Mustangs.

nine3es

iTrader: (3)

i would go stuntin in that old school one but the new one idk, looks cheap...

mmarshall

Of course, only time will tell with long-term durability. But, compared to the miniscule, stuffed-cocoon, poorly-built, unrefined models produced decades ago, the new 500 already looks like a winner. American-sized adults like me can (now) easily fit in the front-seats, though the 2-door configuration still makes getting in and out of the back like a pretzel. The paint looks like it will shine for years, instead of fading out almost overnight, and we probably won't start seeing rust spots popping up in the sheet metal the first time it gets damp. I didn't see any fluid-stains on the carpet from leaks under the cars at the D.C. Auto Show Fiat Display. And the interior looked like it was designed for at least some attractiveness instead of a military-stark basic-transportation machine.

I'll reserve final judgement till I test-drive one (which may be very shortly), but I'm far more impressed with what I saw on the 2011 model than on the old ones from the 1980's. The only thing inside I specifically didn't like was the gimmicky combination speedometer/tach display with two concentric semi-circles.

mmarshall

There's no real comparison between the two. The old one is like a kiddy-car compared to the 2011. And, considdering the base-price on the new one (slightly north of 15K in American-dollars) the materals used don't seem that cheap either. Of course, to be honest, the new one, by American standards, is still considered a small car, but now adults can fit into it.

spwolf

old cinquecento is iconic vehicle, as is old Mini.

No need to put it down just because you didnt fit in it.

mmarshall

Yes, true to some extent....but the old Mini, though charming and innovative, didn't cut it very well on American roads and driving conditions, either. Even then, with the then-new (introduced in 1959) sideways-transaxle layout up front, it was a lot more space-efficient inside than the 500.

Well, it wasn't necessarily me who panned the old 500, but the American public itself, and many of those here who owned it. I agree, though, that for a number of reasons, it was far more successful in Europe than it was here. Europe has narrower roads, a higher-percentage of its driving in cities, far more expensive gas, a more-widespread Fiat dealer-network, and, overall (especially in Italy and the Mediterannean countries) shorter, thinner people than here in the U.S. Plus, Italy's generally sunny climate did not make the old 500 as rust-prone as it was here.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Irvine one is closest to me. Def looking forward to test driving one. Its unique in my eyes

spwolf

it is very stylized little car... i think mike might find it a bit too small, too harsh and without side strips :-).

Luckily they seem serious about US market so they have adjusted some of the things such as new 6AT from Aisin (Toyota), while their euro cars have crappy robotized manual as AT.

Reliability wise, Fiat, together with the French (PSA and Renault), is still bottom rated brand in Europe, in every survey known to man.

LexBob2

The "Studio" near me is a Dodge only dealership.

The same dealer has a larger store a few miles away with Chrysler and Dodge together.

caddyowner

I believe Fiat / Chrysier is requiring Fiat dealers to build stand-alone "studios" for Fiats. I thnk the 500 is an ugly little car and the excitement over it will fade about as quickly as the excitement over the Smart car.

IS-SV

"Flavor of the month" is a real risk in terms of possible sales trends in US for new Fiat. Fortunately it's a more substantial car than Smart (saw it at SF car show in November).

Looks like at least 2 "studios" to start near/in (plus 1 in SF where the car should be very popular as Minis) Silicon Valley.