Excerpt from an article on MSNBC.com

Fiat is not fairing very well, Long live the Mini!

6. Fiat 500

• Company: Fiat

This year, Fiat released its new 500 — a three-door car that is under 12 feet long. The car was expected to be a big seller, rivaling BMW’s Mini. Even before the car’s launch, however, detractors were predicting failure. Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, stated in Panorama magazine, “I do not see large market in the U.S.A. for a smaller car than the Fiesta. Those that tried failed.” He was right. According to online magazine DailyTech, “Fiat expected to sell 50,000 500s during 2011 in North America. Through the first seven months of 2011, Fiat sold fewer than 12,000.” Sales were so poor that Chrysler Group, which manages the Fiat brand in the United States, ousted U.S. chief Laura Soave this past November.

 

I am sorry to hear the 500 is doing so poorly in regards to sales. It is a quirky looking car that I thought would appeal to some people. Although I am not a fan I hope they do better.

 

I own a Mini but I am a fan of the 500. Damn I hate to see it doing so bad.

 

It might make a difference if they had a substantial dealer network -- like a sample Fiat in every Dodge showroom.

I am 250 miles from the closest Fiat dealership. I drove that far for my first MINIs, but for a Fix-It-Again-Tony? Probably not.

If more people could reach out and touch the Fiat 500, it might have a chance of success.

 

I'm surprised they're doing so badly. I've seen a number of them around town, of course we do have multiple Fiat dealers in Orlando.

 

The problem in my mind is twofold: First, they tried to introduce a "boutique" car without re-establishing themselves in the US market. Interestingly, MINI did just that in 2002, and succeeded. Which brings me to my second point:
NOONE in the US remembers the 500. Was it even officially imported here, or just grey market? And those that DO remember Fiat in the US probably don't remember it as a reliable vehicle. My parents had a Fiat wagon, and it was not a bad car, but the reputation was pretty bad.

Ironically, Fiat has some very appealing cars of varying sizes and price points, which I regularly see overseas. And from what I hear, they are not bad cars. In the next few years, you will see some Alfas slip in under various Chrysler nameplates, and manufactured in North America. THAT is the way to do it, I think.

It's my opinion that MINI succeeded because there was nothing else like it in 2002, and because Americans remembered the classic Mini. They basically cornered the market. Then of course the BMW brand carries a lot of strength here, but I don't know if that's the sole reason MINI succeeded over the 500. It obviously matters to people moving from a BMW to the MINI, but I don't know if that's so important to someone who is not already a BMW owner, who most likely make up the majority of MINI owners.

 

Fiat needs an Italian Job movie, with a different name naturally.

 

Maybe a Fiat Abarth will be more appealing to buyers.

 

Fiat's marketing failed, they fell short on introducing a product that isn't widely known. No buzz, hardly any excitement. The car itself also doesn't offer anything substantial in a category that is now very competitive.

 

It doesn't look that bad. I give it a 6 of a possible 10.

As for as the price for the car, that is the big issue - yes, it's $3000 - 3500 less than the basic model Mini Cooper, but c'mon, it ain't the same. I think they need to go lower on the price. It fairs well with the Ford Fiesta (IMO), but the Fiesta is about $3000 less than the 500!

 

I didn't see a single one on the road around here until I started reading all these reports about sales doing poorly. I've probably seen 5 or 6 different ones this week alone.

 

I dont think people wanna pay almost 20K after taxes for something that only advertises 101hp at the crank. At least IMHO.

Hell,.. Id never pay 30K$ for for a brand new Mini.

 

I've seen quite a few around since the summer and there is a dealership not far from me, right in central Massachusetts. Now the only reason I know that is because I happened to drive by it. I feel it has a lot to do with marketing and a little to do with it's styling...it's just not that cute nor sporty. They should have definitely advertised it as a quirky, fun car and not something that JLo drives in faux Brooklyn. Aside from that ad I have seen ZERO advertising, and if I did see it, it was so uneventful I don't recall it. It needed a hard, fun, quirky launch!!! Strange and weird with great mpg is fun!

Now on the other hand, the new VW had been advertised months in advance and the ads were great. As a Beetle lover, I was very excited waiting and watching. I can't say, however, that I have seen one new Beetle on the road. And the new Beetle color selection is BORING! Come on VW, it's a Bug!!!

 

observations from a 2002 MINI buyer

MINI had aggressive marketing and some very clever commercials leading up to their introduction (like a box at JETS games with the car sitting in it)

Mini had a 'sport' heritage, that I don't believe Fiat can match; US folk who remembered Mini thought of it as 'sport' ... I'm not sure that carries to the 500 even if you include the Abar'

MINI offered the base and the S from day one .... Fiat has made us wait for the Abar' ... enthusiasts are waiting perhaps??

MINI was the first 'premium sub compact' according to one car magazine . . . now the others get to play catch up

I believe Mini was virtually unknown to most US MINI buyers until they saw and heard about one. Mini stopped selling in the US long b4 the birth of most current buyers. OTOH Fiat had been a product available in the US longer .... with a not so stellar reputation.

Fiat is developing a larger dealer base - much larger than MINI has today. I live on the Space Coast and my nearest MINI dealer is (still) Orlando - there are today 2 Fiat dealers within 15 miles if I believe the advertisements.

Will the 500 suffer the same fate as the Smart Car?

 

Aggressive marketing or not, I still expect more. Theres no way I could pay more that 14-15K for a 500? It seems more of a novelty rather than something serious. I say SMART cars fall into the same catagory

 

You mean all the J-Lo commercials aren't helping?!?! ha..

 

No way. They're way too goofy to be cool IMO

 

Sigh. This has been so sad as a developing story. I've been following the Fiat launch closely; I'd had my eye on the Abarth in particular, it really seemed like a fair alternative to a MCS or Beetle Turbo, each with different strengths and weaknesses.

But they've made every conceivable mistake. The Fiat "studios" were oh so late in opening, which might have mattered less had they mounted any kind of viable marketing program. They didn't. IIRC the first TV ad did not air until late August or early September; and that consisted of a dreadful J-Lo music video placed during Monday Night Football. Seriously.

We visited the dealer here in STL, and had a great time driving a Sport. These are small cars, uniquely styled, nimble, fun to toss into cloverleaf ramps, not necessarily for everyone (but might appeal to buyers similar to those who've found a home here in Motoring Nation). It felt well made, doors closed solidly, smooth running, a/c worked well. We did have fun with it, to my taste it needed more than 100hp...but it was perfectly acceptable. The sales guy lamented that they were shipped 90% automatics, and potential buyers were mainly shopping for stick shifts. No sale to us that day, of course...I was waiting for the Abarth due out in early 2012. And cross-shopping MINIs and new Beetle Turbos, no rush.

So since then...only worse. A Gucci Edition. J-Lo at the American Music Awards. Ms. Soave dismissed. In discussions with others, one common theme of what they could've done: look back at what MINI did, and do that. In Italian, but the same things. These are *cool* cars, not cute ones. Don't position it particularly for women, cool is for everyone. Let it have some toughness (e.g. the MINI bulldog tie-in, both British and tough attitude, perfect). It can be different in approach, to wit the Beetle "slap hands" commercial, also well done. The Abarth ad finally seemed to get it: Italian , driving passion, the car driven with smoking tires etc. then a week later: a featured placement on the Nate Berkus show where the Fiat was used in a run to decorating shops in NYC. Swell.

They do not know what they are doing. At all. Very sad indeed.

 

An recent article in the WSJ said that although the 500 is cute and cheap, the handling and power were terrible. They also mentioned that Jennifer from the Block used a body double for the FIAT ads because she wouldn't travel back to the old neighborhood and that really hurt that commercial.

 

The marketing sucks. The commercials are awful. I cannot understand what they are trying to accomplish and who they are trying to attract. There is no common theme other then J-Lo being in each commercial. They are appealing to emotion in the commercials when their product is essentially unknown. They need to provide a bit of information about the car. How is the gas mileage? How is the room? You have no idea watching the commercials. The commercials spend about as much time showing J-Lo as they do showing the car.

 

I think the styling is kinda cool but nowhere near as cool as the MINI. There are two dealerships here in Pittsburgh. I've started to see them pop up here and there lately. I don't know this for sure, but I hear that they already have more dealerships than MINI. That's probably not a great business plan for the first year.

 

The 500 is a small car...period. The MINI is a small, sporty car with great handling and excellent power, especially in the S model. If they expected the 500 to compete with the MINI they were sadly mistaken from the start. There is a lot of competition in the small, ordinary car market for the 500, but there is virtually no competition for the MINI (maybe the new Audi 1).

 

..................

Hell,.. Id never pay 30K$ for for a brand new Mini.[/QUOTE]

I paid just north of $27K for my 2010. No regrets at all.
No worries of what previous owner may/maynot have done.
Configured the way I WANTED it.
Looking forward to keeping it,.....not purchased with concerns of who to sell it to in the future.
The bonnet is SO sexy to wash with MF towels!

The Fiat 500.........agree with OP - but more from a "visual", as the MINI had me at first sight

 

I paid just north of $27K for my 2010. No regrets at all.
No worries of what previous owner may/maynot have done.
Configured the way I WANTED it.
Looking forward to keeping it,.....not purchased with concerns of who to sell it to in the future.
The bonnet is SO sexy to wash with MF towels!

The Fiat 500.........agree with OP - but more from a "visual", as the MINI had me at first sight

 

I read that during filming of one of the commercials the Fiat broke; there were photos of the JLo double sitting in the car while a mechanic worked on it. Also the crash test ratings came in at 3 of 5 for side collision. Trying to remember where I read this.