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Old 03-10-2010, 04:57 PM   #1
ohiobuckeyes
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Default The Fiat's are Coming! The Fiat's are Coming!

That's right folks, we have a brand chief for the FIAT (Fix It Again Tony) Brand. It was not announced in the D mail yet. I found it on Auto News.

From the DETNEWS.com
Laura Soave joins the Chrysler management team from Volkswagen of America where she has held marketing, advertising and communications responsibilities. Prior to working for VW, she worked for Ford Motor Co. as a Brand DNA Manager helping to position the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands.

"Laura joins Chrysler with extensive experience in automotive marketing," Marchionne said. "Her rich background will serve as a springboard for reintroducing the Fiat brand when it takes to U.S. and Canadian roads this December after more than a 25-year absence. This truly iconic car exemplifies Italian style, technology and passion and, offers something more. The 500 heralds a new vision of technology's role in sustainable mobility."

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100310/...#ixzz0hpEvmvAt
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Old 03-10-2010, 06:00 PM   #2
possum
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Except for the select heavy metro markets, Dealers could not care less about Fiat 500 news. It will mean nothing for most Dealers in the real world.

Chrysler needs to address its core products, and marketing, much like GM is now doing.

A 5-year plan for Fiat is useless, unless they intend to be a niche company, like say---Bricklin.
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Old 03-10-2010, 07:54 PM   #3
XDCX
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ohiobuckeyes - Thanks for starting the thread.

I'm inclined to agree with possum that the arrival of the Fiat 500 will mean nothing to most Chrysler dealers. We know that Chrysler's going to limit the franchise to metro dealers and if I had to guess, my bet is they'll end up with 300 - 500 dealers covering the entire country.

Concerning the news report, it's interesting that Marchionne went outside of Chrysler to fill the new position. Is the remaining talent pool at Chrysler so shallow that there's no one qualified to fill this spot?

On a final note, I'm amazed that I haven't heard any "buzz" about who's going to be getting the Fiat 500 franchise for their area. Chrysler's either doing a great job of keeping their plans under wrap or they haven't even started talking to dealer prospects yet? Time will tell....
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Old 03-11-2010, 01:17 PM   #4
79LilRedExpress
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It is my understanding that Chrysler, at least at first, will try to pair up the 500 in a dealership that has a Mini Dealership in its immediate market.

How many Mini dealers are there? I'm sure that none are in rural markets.



Quote:
Originally Posted by XDCX View Post
ohiobuckeyes - Thanks for starting the thread.

I'm inclined to agree with possum that the arrival of the Fiat 500 will mean nothing to most Chrysler dealers. We know that Chrysler's going to limit the franchise to metro dealers and if I had to guess, my bet is they'll end up with 300 - 500 dealers covering the entire country.

Concerning the news report, it's interesting that Marchionne went outside of Chrysler to fill the new position. Is the remaining talent pool at Chrysler so shallow that there's no one qualified to fill this spot?

On a final note, I'm amazed that I haven't heard any "buzz" about who's going to be getting the Fiat 500 franchise for their area. Chrysler's either doing a great job of keeping their plans under wrap or they haven't even started talking to dealer prospects yet? Time will tell....
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Old 03-11-2010, 02:30 PM   #5
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 79LilRedExpress View Post
How many Mini dealers are there? I'm sure that none are in rural markets.
I did some quick searching on the Internet and was surprised to learn that there are only about 100 MINI dealers in the U.S.

In fact, based on a MINI Press Release in June of last year they were planning to increase the size of their dealer network by 20% so they could reach the 100 dealer mark. Here's a link to an autoblog.com report that includes the MINI Press Release - click here

I would have lost money on that bet - I would have guessed there were 300+ MINI dealers.

Concerning sales levels for the Fiat 500, in my opinion the two big variables are going to be the pricing of the vehicle and the price of gas. The cheapest Smart car sells for just under $12K - it will be interesting to see how Marchionne decides to price the Fiat 500.
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Old 03-11-2010, 03:29 PM   #6
79LilRedExpress
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That also brings up the question of how many dealers will be willing to put up the investment that will be required.

You know that they will want a seperate salon in the showroom for the 500.

Next the training. Then the SPX special tools....

On and on in order to sell a car that the invoice will be higher than the MSRP !!!

We went down that road in the '80's with the Colt !
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Old 03-12-2010, 04:10 AM   #7
dodgequality
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Soave will lead the presentation of the Fiat 500 starting in December. Chrysler has said it may begin selecting dealers in the second quarter to sell the 500s, using separate sales staffs.
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Old 03-12-2010, 07:55 AM   #8
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 79LilRedExpress View Post
That also brings up the question of how many dealers will be willing to put up the investment that will be required.
It will be interesting to see what Chrysler's demands are for dealers who want to add the franchise to sell the Fiat 500. Given the limited time between the selection of new dealers and the launch date I doubt they can expect their dealers to make too many facility changes.

It will also be interesting to see how heavily involved the BCs are in selecting the Fiat dealers. Who will have more influence in getting a dealer approved - a BC Director in his 50s who's been with Chrysler for 20+ years or the new CEO hired this week who's in her 30s and has been with Chrysler for a week?
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Old 03-13-2010, 05:25 AM   #9
Ralph
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or...................the auto task force, and the dealer council? If there's 3 dealers in let's say, Miami...which one will get it?...the guy who is well connected or the guy with the prettiest showroom? With respect to Oldco/Newco...many dealers who had just built the Chrysler directed mausoleums were tossed on the trash heap and "good old boys" with older facilities were spared. There's been some apparent ugly favoritism around the playground lately and I have a feeling it will continue in the 500 selection process. I know I'm not in the running...I cause too much trouble with Chrysler too. LOL

(I got a call from the head of the BC a few weeks back and told, concerning the Wrangler Hardtop issue....to shut up when contacted by the press from now on, whether speaking the truth or not. Hehehe....I just can't stay out of trouble no matter what I say...)
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