fiat abarth or supercharge the yaris ?!?!?!?

[vten]

Originally Posted by TickleTimeTim

who owns the fiat is in the picture above?

it's mine for a good 3 months. we had a mazda3 sedan, my wife hit a deer one night, and the fiat was the replacement for the mazda, then one of the nights, she almost hit another deer again and she was so freaking out ... so I decided to get her a bigger car for her safety ... the deer is bigger than the fiat you know ..

[TickleTimeTim]

Well it looked good. But yeah imo, a doe is bigger than a fiat.

[joe keeney]

back when they sold fiat in U.S they were good for about 50,ooo miles, then to the boneyard. I know no better small car than yaris it a winner.

[vten]

i heard tons of bad FIAT things in the past, but it doesn't mean that the newer version with a better technology would do the same thing.... fiat is big in europe , they also make the lancia brand.

I understand that there are some differences with the us and europe specs in term of manufacturing, but it also doesnt mean that the fiat europe will let go any error or less quality control.

and if I were chrysler, I will do my best to make the fiat 500 to the highest qulity as possible as they already invest tons of money and aslo they want to make a profit as soon as possible.

that's how I see it.... it doesn't matter where did they build the car because they want to keep the price lower and I believe the standard is up to the italian fiat.

[SAV912]

Originally Posted by vten

and if I were chrysler, I will do my best to make the fiat 500 to the highest qulity as possible as they already invest tons of money and aslo they want to make a profit as soon as possible.

Fiat SpA owns a controlling percentage of Chrysler. Not the other way around. It's Fiat's job to make the 500 as good as possible.

[vten]

Yup back in Europe , but here in the USA, chrysler is controlling it share ... That's why in my opinion they brought the whole assembly in Mexico to keep the price lower and sellable ... Under the monitor of fiat spa off course .

[auxmike]

I've seen and sat in the 500 at my local area studio and was really impressed by it. The color variety is extensive and it appears to be put together quite well. The engine cover pops right off with a tug revealing the tiny 1.4 under it. The interior is a treat for the eyes, plenty of color as the dash matches the outside color. It seems like a much more "fancier" high end car than the Yaris in that there are so many standard goodies included in the base pop model like POWER WINDOWS!
My local dealer is having a blowout sale at $13,999 for a POP model that will regularly run you $15.5K.
With that said, I would KEEP the Yaris and buy the FIAT as a fun car to tool around in. The dealership network for fiat is REAL sparse and Toyota shops are everywhere, at least here. If/when Chrysler bails out and takes FIAT out of the US market, you will have an orphaned car with no factory support network. Remember Daewoo , Yugo (yikes!), Bertone X 1/9, and Diahatsu? The nearest SMART car dealer by me is now in NYC, used to be one 30min from home, but it's gone..
Keep the Yaris as a safety net for when the FIAT acts up....

[vadr45]

Well, I'm a newby, still getting used to my Yaris. I craved a Fiat until December when the dealer told me that he didn't expect the Abarth until April. Then I was reminded of my MINI Cooper S, which needed two years before they worked the bugs out and which lost its pumps and sensors - seriatum - at the five-year mark, requiring the sub-frame to be removed to get at the dead parts EVERY TIME ONE WENT BAD!

I'll go drive the Abarth just to see what I'm missing, but I'll be happy to drive my sooped-up 3-door for a least two years until we know if the Abarth is going to work or follow in the MINI's hoof-prints. I can say (without fear of successful contradiction) that my Yaris is far livelier and faster than the Fiat Sport model and they handle about the same. I have no reason to believe that the Abarth is going to thrill me.