We've learned to roll our eyes when Fiat or Alfa Romeo pledge to return to American showrooms. Both brands have floated grand plans before, leaving us scanning the shores for some sexy Italian cars -- then leaving us jilted at the dock. But with Fiat now intimately intertwined with Chrysler, the plans to use Fiat and Alfa Romeo to shore up Chrysler’s weakling car lineup appear to be a done deal.
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Group, visited the Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, this week, with Vice President Joe Biden in tow. Automotive News quoted Marchionne as saying that roughly 200 Chrysler dealers will be awarded Fiat franchises later this year; he added that Fiat dealers would likely be the showroom source for the Alfa Romeo brand -- a move that makes far more sense than forcing the Alfa Romeo brand into an uncomfortable spot within Fiat’s Ferrari and Maserati dealerships. Chrysler’s independently owned dealers could certainly use any boost available to them: The company had 3,181 dealers before it filed for bankruptcy, and has slashed those ranks to 2,311 even as some dealers sue Chrysler over the loss of their franchises.
A Fiat spokesman said that Chrysler dealers in targeted metropolitan markets have until Sept. 22 to submit proposals to add the Fiat brand to their stores, ideally in stand-alone facilities. The first Fiat 500s, those Mexican-built MINI Cooper-fighters, are set to reach the States early next year, with a convertible version to follow and an electric 500 (featuring a Chrysler-designed electric powertrain) coming in 2012.
From a car lover’s point of view, the return of Fiat and Alfa can rightly be seen as a case of "the more the merrier." In an American automotive landscape littered with dull lookalikes, these svelte Italian cars are a refreshing alternative. And frankly, if you don’t like them or don’t trust them, don’t buy one. I have, however, driven a number of modern Fiats and Alfas in Europe, and they’re not easily dismissed. The Fiats are Euro-cute and spunky, and the Alfas are prettier than just about any car currently on offer from Detroit or Japan. Both brands’ cars have come a long way from the trouble-plagued models of a past era, so if you do want to slag Fiat and Alfa for what it produced in the '80s, do remember that Detroit, Europe and even Japan produced its share of lemon-scented rust buckets those same 25 years ago.
That said, Marchionne’s projections for Fiat and Alfa seem wildly optimistic -- especially for a pair of fringe Italian brands that haven’t sold cars here for more than a decade. Fiat is targeting an annual North American sales number of 50,000 per year (which includes Canada and Mexico). Plans for the higher-priced Alfa Romeo brand, which faces formidable luxury competition from the likes of Audi, BMW, Infiniti, you name it -- are even more aggressive at 85,000 cars a year in the U.S. by 2014 -- all for a slumping brand that sold barely 103,000 cars around the world last year. Alfa is expected to bring its midsize Guilia, the Guilia sport wagon and a compact crossover SUV in 2012, followed by a return of its legendary Spider convertible in 2013 along with the 5-door MiTo hatchback and a larger crossover SUV in 2014. The plan is for Chrysler to build the Alfa crossover models in America.
But while the tie-up with Fiat still leaves Chrysler as the long shot for success among the Big Three -- don't forget that its marriage with Mercedes ended in bitterness and billions in losses -- both companies have no choice but to forge ahead. Either way, seeing modern Fiats and Alfas at your local Chrysler and Dodge dealers at least sounds better than row after row of mediocre Sebrings, Avengers and Calibers.
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