Fiat is a company that has survived in…
Fiat is a company that has survived in Europe for 121 years! Founded in Turin in 1899. But since coming back to American shores they have been maligned viciously and slowly forced out of business in America yet again. I’ve owned two Fiats both of which I loved, the first one traded for the second that we own today..and the only reason I traded it away was the crappy Mopar fan assembly that fails in many other Chrysler products. Fiat buying Chrysler did them no favors. In fact only one Chrysler model is still made, the Pacifica Minivan...all others are discontinued.
But let me tell you.. when my 2016 Trekking plus Fiat 500x fan failed.. Again an AMERICAN sourced part assembly , Fiat stepped right up and gave us a rental for 4 weeks while the parts where ordered and replaced, and the car was fine... but I didn’t trust its American underpinnings anymore so we traded for an all Italian 500 Abarth, which only shares the Chrysler Uconnect system. FCA ( Fiat Corp America ) has always treated me wonderfully, most recently covering my out of pocket expenses for some warranty covered parts ( cosmetic ) my local dealer never sourced for me. ( Rick Case Fiat , see below ). The Abarth is my fav car out of 50 I have owned over the years, ( I’m 58 ) and we plan on keeping her well into the next decade at least, if not indefinitely. Now the Abarth 500 is no longer going to be available in America, and in fact many American Fiat dealers are shunning the brand all together, Agrigio Sawgrass Fiat no longer sells them or even services them...nor does Rick Case Fiat in Westin FL, they in fact won’t even return calls now, and I bought our first Fiat FROM them ! It’s a pity. The 500 is and will always be remembered by those who go “it” as a great little car. Little being subjective.. with the rear seat folded, ours fit 4 dining room chairs! Try that with your Mustang.
4 April 2020
Unprompted review