Do the Fiat Dealers have their own Dealer Council?

[XDCX]

Do the Fiat Dealers have their own Dealer Council or are they represented by the CJDR Council?

I'm 99% sure the Fiat Dealers have their own Dealer Council but I've never heard anything about who the officers are. Is it possible they don't have any representation?

[XDCX]

Based on a report in Automotive News it sounds like the Fiat dealers have an Advisory Committee that acts like their version of a Dealer Council.

Automotive News reported that Carl Galeana, owner of Fiat of Lakeside, is a member of the Fiat Advisory Committee.

[57years]

I wonder what it would be like to be a "fly on the wall" in those meetings? Do you think they are dealers to "suck up" meetngs like with GM franchise?

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by 57years

I wonder what it would be like to be a "fly on the wall" in those meetings? Do you think they are dealers to "suck up" meetngs like with GM franchise?

To the extent Auburn Hills hand-picked the Fiat dealers I'd have to guess they selected dealers who were viewed as "team players" and not ones who would challenge the status-quo.

I also get the impression that most (if not all) of the Fiat dealers are so well established with their other stores that the failure of their Fiat store would be mostly a non-event.

That said, my bet is a meeting of the Fiat Dealer Advisory Committee is mostly a boring event where everyone lies to one another and agrees with the factory that success is just around the corner and then they all leave the meeting shaking their heads wondering how long Marchionne's folly will last.

[F500]

Originally Posted by XDCX

To the extent Auburn Hills hand-picked the Fiat dealers I'd have to guess they selected dealers who were viewed as "team players" and not ones who would challenge the status-quo.

I also get the impression that most (if not all) of the Fiat dealers are so well established with their other stores that the failure of their Fiat store would be mostly a non-event.

That said, my bet is a meeting of the Fiat Dealer Advisory Committee is mostly a boring event where everyone lies to one another and agrees with the factory that success is just around the corner and then they all leave the meeting shaking their heads wondering how long Marchionne's folly will last.

first, not ALL FIAT Studios are tied to existing Chrysler dealerships. most, but certainly not all. also, I highly doubt that any of the FIAT Studio owners would look at the failure of their several hundred thousand dollar to millions of dollars investment to remodel/construct their Studios as a "non-event".

I feel for the FIAT Studios as FIAT has not supported them as well as they should, or could have. first, the lack of ANY marketing for the first 4 months is a horrible decision. the dealers that busted butt and spent big $$ to meet FIAT's goal and open March 1st were left high and dry when FIAT management made the decision to NOT advertise until more Studios were up and running. nice way to support your BEST Studios........

my guess is that if there is any meeting of owners and FIAT management, it will be anything BUT 'boring'..........

[steve_biegler]

Originally Posted by F500

first, not ALL FIAT Studios are tied to existing Chrysler dealerships. most, but certainly not all. also, I highly doubt that any of the FIAT Studio owners would look at the failure of their several hundred thousand dollar to millions of dollars investment to remodel/construct their Studios as a "non-event".

I feel for the FIAT Studios as FIAT has not supported them as well as they should, or could have. first, the lack of ANY marketing for the first 4 months is a horrible decision. the dealers that busted butt and spent big $$ to meet FIAT's goal and open March 1st were left high and dry when FIAT management made the decision to NOT advertise until more Studios were up and running. nice way to support your BEST Studios........

my guess is that if there is any meeting of owners and FIAT management, it will be anything BUT 'boring'..........

Just wondering what flavor the cool-aid is?

[ssdd]

my guess is sour apple....

[Txflyer]

Sounds it like it won't take too long for the Fiat dealers to feel like the rest of the dealers (or in some cases ex-dealers) do.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by F500

first, not ALL FIAT Studios are tied to existing Chrysler dealerships. most, but certainly not all.

To be clear, Chrysler initially awarded 131 Fiat Franchises and 100% of them were issued to existing Chrysler dealers. Chrysler has subsequently issued seven Fiat Franchises to non-Chrysler dealers in an effort to back-fill open points that were dropped when the initial dealer decided to walk away.

Here's a link to the thread listing the Fiat Dealers - click here

Originally Posted by F500

also, I highly doubt that any of the FIAT Studio owners would look at the failure of their several hundred thousand dollar to millions of dollars investment to remodel/construct their Studios as a "non-event".

We'll have to agree to disagree.

Here in Arizona there was only one Fiat dealer in the state up until last month and that dealer was operating out of a TENT. The dealer who runs that Fiat store has been very successful with his other franchises and I think he could care less if Fiat failed.

While Chrysler likes to talk about all of the dealers who invested big money in their Fiat Franchises I think the smart dealers were the ones who made a minimal investment to secure the franchise - they'll walk if Chrysler tries to force them to build a facility for a franchise that's only selling 2,000 - 3,000 units per month.

Originally Posted by F500

my guess is that if there is any meeting of owners and FIAT management, it will be anything BUT 'boring'..........

Again, we'll have to agree to disagree.

Unless Marchionne's in the room why would a Fiat Dealer even bother to raise his voice in frustration over the current fiasco? The BC Directors don't have any horsepower to fix Fiat and I doubt Bigland sees it as a priority.

Additionally, what dealer in his/her right mind would want to piss off Auburn Hills over the Fiat fiasco? Look at how vindictive Chrysler's been with the OLDCO dealers and the dealers who won their arbitration case - my bet is most dealers would rather focus on their franchises that make them money and try to cut their losses with Fiat.