  Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 5474 Registered: 06-2004 |
Obviously they had the deal ready to go and were just waiting for the Admin's ok. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29 958784/ | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 281 Registered: 11-2008 |
From the AllPar site: http://www.allpar.com/cars/ado pted/fiat/fiat-cars.html | ||
Brg Member Username: Brg Post Number: 76 Registered: 02-2009 |
Fiat has nothing to lose. They aren't giving Chrysler any money and get 35% of zero. If Chrysler can turn it around, Fiat is the big winner because they will get a majority of Chrysler and employees will still have a job. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 4600 Registered: 02-2004 |
Looks like President Obama is NO FOOL! He is serious about the GM and Chryler's restructuring proposal not only for the unions but also of their budgets. So far Chrysler and Fiat has done their global merger for the moment However Fiat's execs. is still feeling the risk of dealing Chrysler's debt. Now GM will have to face some business hurdle. Especially after Wagoner gone. | ||
Gianni Member Username: Gianni Post Number: 216 Registered: 05-2004 |
Seriously, I can't wait to get one of those USA-built Alfa Romeos! | ||
Swimmaven Member Username: Swimmaven Post Number: 40 Registered: 05-2007 |
I hope Obama has Nardelli step down as well. | ||
Brg Member Username: Brg Post Number: 81 Registered: 02-2009 |
Trust me, if the Fiat deal deal fall through, Obama won't have no problem telling Nardelli to "hit the bricks" | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 1896 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'm waiting for one of these:  The Fiat 500 Abarth http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2008/06/stories/12/1.html http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Fiat-500-Abarth-CAR-review/ http://jalopnik.com/5155109/fiat-500-abarth-ss-gives-mini-cooper-s-italian-job Video review: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-275766490345514091 | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 484 Registered: 09-2006 |
I am not cramming a family of five into that! | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 9157 Registered: 12-2003 |
A few of the Jalopnik guys are regulars at Eph's, they are a wild bunch of enthusiasts...almost rabid! What a blast if more Euro econo-hotrods make it to our shores...even IF this one comes shipped in a wooden crate. Curious, this...the $3,500 option is ONLY dealer-installable to the original Fiat 500. It doesn't come from the factory this hyped up. Choose one, ferry the entire family around slowly in some minivan OR drive like hell with only a few of the luckier members in the car, grinning like fools. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 9158 Registered: 12-2003 |
Jalopnik is calling the whole debacle the Carpocalypse. Beautiful. | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 5475 Registered: 06-2004 |
Sometimes I can't help but giggle at the thought of these little cars plopping into big snowbanks - sort of like the Powerwheel pros the Jalops like so much. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 693 Registered: 12-2007 |
Smaller cars have made it through worse! http://thestar.blogs.com/.a/6a 00d8341bf8f353ef010536ea77b297 0b-800wi  O. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 282 Registered: 11-2008 |
Just offer me a Challenger SRT-8 at under $30k & I'll be happy. :-)  | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 689 Registered: 06-2007 |
Nice car. I bet the powers in washington force it to be discontinued in 2 years, tops. | ||
Zrx_doug Member Username: Zrx_doug Post Number: 947 Registered: 03-2008 |
Yup..no Challenger, no Camaro..no nasty ol' pickups & SUV's..just GREEN cars, powered by happy fairy dust twinkled down from magic-land on a wind-powered sleigh. Ford has gotta be laughing all the way to the bank about this balls-up.. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2137 Registered: 10-2003 |
Ford won't be selling many Mustangs, either. You all think gas is gonna stay around $2 per gallon? Guess again. When gas goes back up to $4.50 before too long, Challengers, Camaros and the like will only appeal to a VERY small niche market. Cars are only transportation. They're not dream machines or something romantic like that. Not any more. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 485 Registered: 09-2006 |
I still will not drive an ovary on wheels. I don't care if it has the ability to throw seed and flower a roadside, I won't do it! My 6'1" husband would not be caught dead in that thing. He's still pining for his '73 Javelin that I made him sell to help pay for our wedding. I feel so bad for him now. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 283 Registered: 11-2008 |
I don't care if the thing runs on farts provided I get an honest 425 horses out of it. As far as gas prices go, this wouldn't be my daily driver anyway. How many Mustangs do you see on the road? Gawd, there are tons of them out there, esp the V-6 version. Trucks will still be made because that's what the public wants. Say it ain't so Mash!!! My wife let me keep my '73 Charger...although it's in pieces in the garage at this time. It may see the light of day again before I die. | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 486 Registered: 09-2006 |
He still has his testosterone Ram Charger. That counts for something, doesn't it? Your wife "let you"? LOL! We have THE POWER! | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 284 Registered: 11-2008 |
That counts, but I can see where he'd miss the Javelin. I should've probably worded that differently as she has never given me any static whatsoever about it. Even with our shed jammed full of parts...trying to get the mower out is like running an obstacle course. ;-) | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2139 Registered: 10-2003 |
This is the Fiat 500 variant that I'm waiting for:  ... the Giardiniera wagon (more room in the back than the standard 500). Well styled for a small car, I think. Hopefully they'll be built in the U.S. by the time I'm ready to buy. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 289 Registered: 11-2008 |
Fury, if I get the Challenger(unlikely) or finally get that beast of a Charger on the road I'll probably wind up having to buy something economical to balance it out. I love the V-8 of my Durango but with gas prices creeping back up, absorbing the costs of that plus another 8 is out of the question. If it means a 4-cyl Mopar, well, so be it. I had a Daytona with a turbo, enjoyed the on-demand power & the MPG wasn't bad at all. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2141 Registered: 10-2003 |
Mopardan, don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a toy (like a restored '58 Fury with the dual-quad Golden Commando engine) to take out once in awhile on a Sunday, but right now and for the next few years, practical finances won't allow that for me. Frugality has to be first for me when it comes to daily transportation. I do understand where you're coming from, though, and your plan to "balance it out" sounds pretty logical. | ||
_sj_ Member Username: _sj_ Post Number: 1750 Registered: 12-2003 |
quote: It is what the marketing people make you think you need and what gets the largest employee discounts. | ||
Mopardan Member Username: Mopardan Post Number: 290 Registered: 11-2008 |
SJ, I'll remember that as I see countless F-150s, Rams, & Silverados clogging the roads down here. Not trying to be an a**hole about it, just telling ya what I observe. Even Tundras appear as they're made down the highway in San Antonio...well sometimes they are. Even the Toyo guys are feeling the pinch. LOL | ||
_sj_ Member Username: _sj_ Post Number: 1752 Registered: 12-2003 |
I am only disagreeing with the statement of "it is what people want". | ||
Noodles Member Username: Noodles Post Number: 36 Registered: 02-2009 |
quote: I giggle when I see a huge Dodge Ram/Ford F-150/Chevy Silverado go into a wicked spin on a slippery freeway. I try to make sure they see my laughing and pointing as I drive by. Also, it's funny to watch Ford Mustang drivers manipulate themselves through the snow. Only now is Ford offering traction control on that model. Ha! | ||
Mashugruskie Member Username: Mashugruskie Post Number: 488 Registered: 09-2006 |
I had a stick shift Pinto in the 1970's and early 1980's that maneuvered me through snow storms and ruts just fine. Depends on how you handle the car. It sounds funny, I know, but I was never stuck or slid around. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2147 Registered: 10-2003 |
Yeah, and I used to have a '59 Buick without seat belts, and never once got impaled on its steering wheel in an accident. | ||
Russix Member Username: Russix Post Number: 239 Registered: 11-2006 |
I wish the three of them had gotten together years ago and pooled resources to really develop a high-performance, high fuel efficiency engine. | ||
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm Post Number: 1809 Registered: 02-2005 |
I seriously doubt that you'll see any of the small Fiats here, as they can't meet US safety standards. If they're changed to do so, then they'll add a few hundred pounds, increase engine power to compensate and decrease mileage. Therein lies the same problem faced by GM, Chrysler and Ford - reconciling federally (or state) mandated mileage, emission and safety requirements, and market desires. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2148 Registered: 10-2003 |
It's already been noted in the press that the 500 is one of the cars that Fiat intends to bring to the U.S. as a result of the Chrysler agreement. Fiat leads the European makers in reducing emissions. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 2149 Registered: 10-2003 |
http://consumerguideauto.howst uffworks.com/2011-fiat-500.htm |
