Alfa 4C Arrives In 86 North American Showrooms, Brings 342 Pounds Of Luggage
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has just released their initial list of dealerships who will have the right to sell the Alfa Romeo 4C to North American customers, while the sports car will bring 342 pounds of luggage for the trip from Modena to the selected showrooms.
Autoblog reports all but four dealerships will be in the United States — the remaining four are in Canada — and the majority of those will be concentrated in three of the 33 states on the initial list: California, Florida and Texas. The chosen ones were drawn from a list of existing Fiat and Maserati dealerships, and though expected cities like Los Angeles, Orlando and Austin will be among the chosen, a few big names didn’t make the first cut, including New York, Seattle and Louisville, Ky.
Meanwhile, the chosen dealerships “will have a unique staff dedicated to the brand’s premium market clientele,” per the words of Chrysler Group vice president of network development Peter Grady. The dealerships are undergoing “an intensive curriculum” to ensure the success of the 4C and limited-edition 4C Launch Edition as FCA presses forward toward its goal of over 300 Alfa dealerships in North America.
As for the 4C itself, Jalopnik says the sports car packed on an additional 342 pounds to its 2,153-pound Euro-spec frame for the U.S. market, coming into port at 2,495 pounds. Aside from the usual federalization mandates, some of the weight comes from the standard air-con and radio equipped in the U.S.-spec model.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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There was a rumor that Colorado was going to get screwed on the initial allotment - glad to see I can schedule a test drive without crossing a state line. Then again, we move a surprising number of Ferraris through here, and our FIAT guy is in the top 10% of the nation. I'm going to be very interested to see if the added weight has any real visible impact on the interior. Based on the Euro-spec shots I've seen, it's going to be a challenge to sell this to Boxster cross-shoppers.
Another misstep by Marchionne? Don't Fiats currently sell much better (at least per capita) in Canada than in the USA? Aren't small European cars more admired and an easier sell in Quebec than in the rest of North America? So why not concentrate more initial dealers in Canada to allow Alpha to gain momentum rather than opening up across the U.S. then bemoaning how sales have lagged behind projections?
Wow glad, but also a bit surprised, to see Orlando getting Alfas at both of our Fiat dealers (FWIW since it's come up, Greenway is at a CJD store but Fields is a stand alone in a prime downtown piece of real estate). Also interesting that the Maserati store isn't getting one, although its at the Ferrari dealer which may be why.
"FCA presses forward toward its goal of over 300 Alfa dealerships in North America." Nice, more dealerships. I'm pretty sure if they could snap their fingers FoMoCo would eliminate its now redundant Lincoln dealer network and GM its BPG channel by merging it in with Cadillac. But FCA wants to create an Alfa only dealership? So how many more millions are you going to force dealers to spend in order to build the "Alfa" experience Sergio? Would have been cheaper and easier to just sell everything out of the Chrysler dealers.