500 Abarth in the states?

[Vince30]

Just got back from the dealer. The salesman told us that they won't be getting the abarth until about march and he didn't know what the price would be but he guessed 27-28k. That is not worth it imo, that is in focus st and gti range then. I was kind of hoping it would be in the low twenties. So we took a base model 5 speed out on a test drive and I was actually impressed with how it felt. The sticker on the one we drove was $16k exactly. But the salesman was completely useless and did not tell us anything about it.

[blefevre]

The Abarth will be under 25K starting. Source: Fiat spokes people at LA.

[BoxDriver86]

The Abarth will be under 25K starting. Source: Fiat spokes people at LA.

My dealer told me the same thing about a month ago. Fully loaded you're looking 29ish but that's navigation and fancy crap that I don't need.

[blefevre]

They come really well optioned unless you want leather and a sunroof. The forged wheels are really the only good option worth spending money on.

[Vince30]

For the base the premium sound with a year of xm was a $350 option, that and a roof rack would be all I would want.

[blefevre]

The premium sound is standard on the Abarth, however satellite radio is not.

[Dirtsquirt]

I think the 500s are beyond ugly.

But I drive a heavily modified smart, so for most of you my opinion is probably worthless.

[euroshark]

I drove a standard 500 (one of the first 500 imported actually) and I was completely underwhelmed. What a boring little ugly car.

[E30Kaiser]

But I drive a heavily modified smart, so for most of you my opinion is probably worthless.

This really did make me laugh quite hard! I don't even know what a heavily modified Smart would be like.

[325ix]

the new ones are a small piece of shit. typical fiat quality.

i would buy a gti instead

First hand experience?

I would rather have a Mini Cooper S.

There are way too many of those damn things running around. I would drive a regular 500, I love the way it looks.

[5Toes]

Id rather have a cooper S...

However, these are so damn popular in Europe... has to be for a reason

[Cabriolet]

after my wife graduates w/ her masters we'll probably get a standard fiat 500 for her. its a good DD car. u don't need over 100hp to sit in bumper to bumper traffic. and if we wanna take a fun drive, well that's what my car is for...

and at 16k not a bad price

[blefevre]

I drove a standard 500 (one of the first 500 imported actually) and I was completely underwhelmed. What a boring little ugly car.

Again, This is the Abarth version we are talking about. That's like saying a M40 318 is boring, therefore the M3 is boring too.

[CrusherCurtis]

If this fiat is so great and so cool, then why does no one buy them? Why is there such a huge supply of them? Why did they suspend production of engines already?

Does anyone remember when the Mini came out? My brit lit teacher paid 2x msrp for it. The shittness of the 500 will be the reason why we might not get alfa romeo's back year. IMO they should have launched Alfa first.

O and has anyone seen the rest of there Fiat's lineup. There even worst. Fiat almost has no chance of succeeding here, with the recent success of Hyundai/Kia and the vastly improved domestics (namely ford). No chance.
The 500 doesn't get 40 mpg. Its not fast. Its not big. Its not cheap. Fiats historically aren't reliable. Between today's economy and gas prices, there's very little room for cars that only meet the "cute" criteria.

They tried tried to sell us on Fiat and Sergio Marchionne saving Chrysler, but now Fiat is doing so bad world wide the Chrysler is saving them.

Don't buy from this brand. Again if you friend is looking of a Euro hot hatch with prestige get the John Cooper Works Mini. Its from Bavaria!!!

They are sold through chrysler, so they have a huge dealer network.

Fiat 500's being sold at Chrysler dealers!? Their bound to fail.

Sorry for the long post I'm an auto news junky and can go on for ever about this stuff.

[AnimalE30]

You and I are in the same spot. I was ready to pull the trigger the second the Abarth was announced. I have been saving my nickels ever since I heard they were coming. When I first went to the dealer, I was told the Abarth wouldn't be out for a while so I should just wait.

I have heard from a few different people that Alfa will be returning to the states, so I'm going to wait and see where that goes. I would much rather have an Alfa Romeo.

I did see an Alfa on the road in Detroit, MI. Was all covered up, with just the grill sticking out. Not sure which model, but it did look like a hatch.

The 500 would have been pretty cool if they didn't use J-Lo to market it. Total chick car now.