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I ask you, would I make this shit up?
The above headline is from respected auto scribe, autospies.com. I realize that this is going to be a little difficult for some of you to swallow, but let’s proceed, shall we?
"In a piece of copy published by that infamous New York paper, the story reads that the new 500 ‘essentially matched the sales of its chief competition, the Mini Cooper.’ " autospies begins. "The 500 actually sold MORE than the Cooper if you discount the 600 or so Countryman pseudo sport-utility vehicles."
The numbers do not lie.
Mini Cooper sales for August plunged 29.7 percent, with 3,109 cars sold. Fiat, for the same month, sold 3,106 cars.
Pretty amazing considering the delays 
in getting Fiat’s dealers and studios up and running. Meanwhile, reports earlier this year said the 500 was cleaning Mini’s clock in Canada.
Now here’s a tidbit for Defender of the Mini Realm, comment dude Rogger.
Who knew? Turns out the new Fiat 500 is a dude magnet!
"Fiat has worked to attract male drivers in the United States, with a ‘sport’ version that offers more aggressive performance and styling," the New York Times reports. "Men account for 64 percent of Fiat 500 buyers in North America but only 30 percent in Europe, where no sport trim is available. Fifty-seven percent of buyers here have chosen the sport trim, and most of those cars have come equipped with manual transmission, despite Americans’ overwhelming preference for automatics."
Therein lies Fiat’s problem locally…
Fiat of Olathe‘s lot is jam packed with every flavor imaginable of the 500, including cabrio models. And the cars are reportedly selling at a good clip. Just one problem.
Too many automatic transmissions – buyers like want sticks.
By the way, the fire-breathing, Mini-mauling Abarth model is slated to hit in the first quarter of 2012.
May wanna sell that Village People Halloween getup on eBay and plunk the money down on an Abarth, eh matey?
Don’t Mean Nuthin’
I tried to call your Dodge Truck/Fiat dealer four times this week to see if the much touted “Studio” has been built. The mojos won’t even answer the phone! The one time I got through, the receptionist said she was sending my call to a Fiat salesman,(a joke in itself) and it rang fifteen times only to revert back to her. The true mark of a jaggoff schlock operation, but it goes nicely with the product.
One month’s sales figures mean less than nothing, and you know it. Let’s see what Automotive News says about the big Fiat boon in sales, not your little obscure website run out of a meth infested garage behind a laundramat. Since you are touting the massive inventory, I would guess you are pimping for some advertising money from them, yes?
I seriously doubt that the “Studio” is even under construction, much less, finished and ready.
Don’t forget our little bet where I conclusively disprove the homophobe barbs you constantly toss my way.
Nobody I know “touted” the local Fiat Studio. It’s a converted used car shack hidden on the butt end of the Dodge dealership, Plus it’s smaller than my brain.
They totally do not have their shit together on the phones though, I agree.
Had my first service there two weeks ago. Only the toll free line on the Web site and nobody answered period.
I called the local number for the Dodge side and it took like seven transfers to get my service set up. They did it the same day and there was zero cost, but geez – seven call transfers?
The bet is done, dude. You lost. The studio is totally done, go check it out. What, you need phone confirmation?
Not pimping any ads (yet), just passing the info along. And again, it’s not that flattering. They’re loaded to the gills but don’t have the cars most customers want is hardly a blow job.
Now, the Fiat has been on sale for months. They’re just now starting to get more of their dealers open. Think they have like 20 or 30 more by end of the year. Fiat in Canada started beating Mini right off btw.
And I know you understand what momentum is.
Girlfriend has seen the studio and knows it’s done, dude. Sorry. You ain’t disproving anything with here. Me? Eh, I’ll check you out when you get the Village People thing together.
I wanna be the Indian this time.
Are you guys really mad about a car?
Who said anything about being mad? I’m just along for the ride.
Frankly, in many ways the Mini is a superior car. Mostly performance wise. Value wise, the 500 has it beat hands down. Way more trunk, lots more rear legroom and it’s the new game in town. You’re not going to see yourself coming and going like in a Mini.
Me? My 500 was a spontaneous, crime of passion. I like it OK but I’m hardly here to defend the realm.
Other than with jolly Rogger
By the way…
Would you guys believe that’s my girlfriend checking out Gadhafi’s 500 in the pic?
F.I.A.T. Fix It AgainTony, and Again and Again
Just an FYI.
If I drive all the way out the no-phone-answering, Olathe Dodge Truck/RV/Fiat store, and the freaking “Studio” is a warmed-over tire shed; we are gonna’ take this little wager to the appeal process and to a higher level…perhaps Glazer, for a ruling.
And Rogger is pronounced like Kroger…hard G’s….get it?
I think maybe I don’t want to get it…
However, allow me to assure you that it’s a free standing, designer-looking, first class-but-shrunken full blown Fiat Studio. Got an email from my former GF tofay inviting me to the grand opening, ribbon cutting Wednesday between 5 pm and 7 pm.
I’ll be going. Tony may come with me. So be there or be square. I’ll try to bring the new GF so you can count your losses.
As for the acronym, time to move on, dude. They don’t build ’em like they used to. Just as even lowly American cars are far more reliable, safe, better handling, etc than they were 28 YEARS AGO.
My car is as reliable (seeming) as my late model Civic Hybrids and 2010 Prius.
Adding lowering springs on Wednesday, so you can check it out before you order your 500. And you know, customize it.
Honda/Toyota vs. Fiat ???
“My car is as reliable (seeming) as my late model Civic Hybrids and 2010 Prius”
Oh my! You’ve kicked another hornet’s nest. The day a Fiat is as reliable as a Honda or a Toyota, we’ll be watching monkeys and ducks raining from the sky.
A customized Fiat….wow! How very avante garde!!!!
Rogger, as in Kroger.