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.
Meanwhile, the chosen dealerships “will have a unique staff dedicated to the brand’s premium market clientele,”
Probably the same guy who cleans the fingerprints and dust off of the Viper that’s been sitting on the showroom floor since September, despite multiple auctions on ebay where no one wanted to start bidding at $145,000.
You can park the two next to each other and watch them not sell.
Oh, and regardless of what kind of convoluted excuse anyone wants to use… OUR TAXES PAID FOR THIS CRAP.
U Mad Bro?
And why are you worried about tax money paying for this when Congressmen are STEALING 100 times this small pittance and financing wars where killing unarmed civilians (by bombing them by the way) is an acceptible risk???
Or all the money wasted on welfare for illegal (ILLEGAL ) immigrants???
Or all the tax money spent TAKING THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF AMERICANS???
I’m no fan of A.R. Cars but I’ll take these over PREDATOR DRONES flying over American heads…
ChryslerJeepDodge needed a bailout partially because their cars were trash that were 10 years behind the competition.
They still are.
So what does Fiat’s Generalissimo do? He forces US dealers to sell more Italian crap no one wants and brilliantly tells everyone that they don’t need to make more RAM trucks.
This is going to go the same way Daimler did, where the Euro company robs the American to the bone, then leaves.
Oh?
And what do YOU drive?
’12 JK Frankenheep rock crawler.
I’m not even sure what to say about that.
Yeah. sounds like a little bit of hypocrisy there.
Chrysler needed a bailout because it died in the eighties. We threw money at it then and were rewarded with a few innovations in the nineties, but mostly nothing else before the inevitable death again.
We didn’t throw money at Chrysler in the ’80s, and it didn’t die – it had Iacocca! at the helm. The banks wouldn’t lend Chrysler money, so the government guaranteed the loans.
Chrysler paid it all back early with K-car profits, just to get rid of the government restrictions. The government didn’t put up a single penny, or cent for that matter, just a co-sign for the loans.
Loan guarantees have a cost. The government has no business spending its time and resources in bailing out failed enterprises. Chrysler was failing because they were failing. Propping them up has unknown consequences plus the obvious bad ones.
Let faired fail. It’s part of the system. No free lunches.
Landcrusher, a co-signer doesn’t pay a cent unless the borrower defaults. Administrative or paperwork costs are miniscule. The costs of oversight of Chrysler management were mandated by Congress, and they actually impeded Chrysler management. According to Iacocca, the government minders had to be convinced to allow the company to spend money to develop the minivan. Again, according to Iacocca, project development money was used to pay the loans early to get rid of the overseers, forcing Chrysler to use spin-offs of the K-car platform for the rest of the decade.
I stopped reading at “unless”. It’s clear you you just don’t understand.
Would you like to guarantee a loan to restart my aircraft brokerage? It won’t cost you anything…
Before you start typing, just assume you, like the government, think it would be nice to do it. It might get you some votes.
Now, think about all the valuable resources you get to waste doing due diligence. Then, call a banker and ask him to tell you what a million dollar loan guarantee actually costs you and he can give you an estimate, but only if he wants to spend his time, also something of value.
There is a net present value for the guarantee, and it can be estimated. Saying it doesn’t cost anything is just naive or BS depending on your knowledge or partisanship.
For all of our sake and even Bigtrucker I hope your on the no fly list.
He doesn’t fly anyway. He’s afraid that he might be rejected by his peers for accidentally learning something about how people live outside the 20 mile radius that defines his worldview.
I checked… he was, so I took him off.
The only convolution here is that YOU have decided the government paid to take over Chrysler, and then you clapped your hands over your ears, and refused to read or absorb what actually happened. And that’s the truth. I’m fed up with the lack of knowledge shown over and over again by commenters here. Plus Ed Niedermeyer.
Instead of actually researching what happened, you allow illogical personal opinion, based on nothing at all to inform your bias, and then stand up and proclaim “truths”.
Ridiculous.
Word .
The only convolution here is that YOU have decided the government paid to take over Chrysler, and then you clapped your hands over your ears, and refused to read or absorb what actually happened. And that’s the truth. I’m fed up with the lack of knowledge shown over and over again by commenters here. Plus Ed Niedermeyer.
Instead of actually researching what happened, you allow illogical personal opinion, based on nothing at all but rage to inform your bias, and then stand up and proclaim “truths”.
Ridiculous.
Let’s see, 344 Fiat dealers in NA and 45% (155) are losing money, but the new Alfa is going to only 86 dealers (Reuters). How many dealers will drop Fiat/Alfa by the end of the year?
What does “losing money” mean in this case? Aren’t all Fiat dealers also Ram/Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler franchisees? Is the entire operation losing money, or just the 500 sq.ft. that’s dedicated to Fiat?
Is it because FCA mandates decent coffee machine on the Fiat side, as opposed to the recycled battery acid they serve on the Mopar side?
Fiat is a new brand in the US. Some dealers won’t have the inclination or marketing abilities for the brand, especially when Ram and Jeep are doing well. You can’t sell Fiat and Jeep the same way, and you probably shouldn’t service them the same either.
There are two Fiat dealers local to me. One highlights the product, displays it nicely, and has dedicated (and well trained) sales staff. The other parks them in the back behind a close-out 200 with “0 Down!” on the windshield, and the sales staff genuinely can’t understand why someone wouldn’t “step-up” to a bigger car at the same price. I think I know which dealer is in the 55% making money and which is in the 45% who don’t. A quick sampling of dealer stickers on 500s confirms my suspicion.
“Aren’t all Fiat dealers also Ram/Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler franchisees?”
— In a word, “NO”. At least where I live Fiat dealerships are completely separate from RJDC dealerships.
“Is it because FCA mandates decent coffee machine on the Fiat side, as opposed to the recycled battery acid they serve on the Mopar side?”
— Now that’s just being mean. I’ve had FAR worse coffee than Mopar’s at my local donut shop (where you supposedly dip your donut in your coffee).
“Fiat is a new brand in the US.”
— Fiat is an old brand in the US; they just took a 40 year vacation from those American fools who don’t know how to drive a good car.
“Some dealers won’t have the inclination or marketing abilities for the brand, especially when Ram and Jeep are doing well.”
— Since the dealerships are separate, they don’t have that problem. Besides, at least some of their advertising comes direct from FCA.
“The other parks them in the back behind a close-out 200 with “0 Down!” on the windshield, and the sales staff genuinely can’t understand why someone wouldn’t “step-up” to a bigger car at the same price.”
— Firstly I find this story rather difficult to believe.
— Secondly, if it is true, I expect that dealership will lose its Fiat franchise in short order; something to do with breach of contract.
Vulpine,
Some fair points. My local Fiat dealers are associated to existing Chrysler franchises, but there are some Fiat-only shops/locations elsewhere.
My sales floor story was only a mild exaggeration. Chrysler lifers have a hard time relating to Fiat customers. They really think that the only reason to drive a small car is because you can’t afford a bigger one. Customers can feel that vibe.
Not singling-out FCA on this one. There was a TTA-Caroline story recently about how GM shops don’t understand small car customers either. I’m sure lots of them are “losing money” on small cars.
Most Fiat dealers have a parent CDJR franchise, but there are a few that are stand alone.
Where I live, there are three CDJR franchises within 10 miles of each other. As such, I was told Fiat chose not to show any kind of favoritism and required and independent dealership.
And considering the number of Minis, Smarts and other tiny but modern cars around here, Fiat is making a respectable showing, even if not runaway-popular. The 4C on the other hand… Would much prefer to see it priced down in the Mustang/Camaro range. They’d be EVERYWHERE!
Hmmm… maybe I ought to get back into the car biz. But then, I’m not a fan of dressing up every day–or even every week. In fact, I’m not a fan of dressing up ever!. (I hate “Formal Night” on cruise ships.)
I’d love to have a 500 Sport or maybe a Strada as a demonstrator. (Would get me out of the house, too.)
Many customers of CDJR might shy away if there were also those “crappy Italian Fi-yats” there too. Especially in smaller towns.
Sweet, Oklahoma (Edmond) gets an Alfa dealer!
How sad for Seattle and NYC when even Tyler Texas gets Alfas!
There will be a dealer in Tacoma and New Jersey, just nothing downtown.
Lots of Alfa dealers in the Baltimore/DC area.
I’ll bet anyone a Hot Pot donut that Ferrari & Maserati of Seattle will have one in the showroom.
They had that on the news yesterday. But I think that strip of dealerships that includes Fiat of Edmond, Edmond Hyundai and Cooper BMW/MINI is already overcrowded, even if they just dedicate a section of the Fiat dealership to Alfa Romeo sales. I wonder if Alfa Romeo is going to instate something that keeps people from buying cars outside of their regions, similar to what a lot of the mainstream luxury automakers do (to cut down on exports).
P.S. Bob Moore is also working on a Maserati dealership, which will possibly be situated on the Broadway alley, (where the Infiniti, Porsche and Land Rover dealerships are).
This car delights and terrifies me all at the same time. To me, it’s what us ‘thusiasts always say we want, not a numbers car but a really light, barely civilized go kart that cuts for the apex like a startled monkey.
It’s also an Alpha. And made of carbon. At least you won’t be able to hear it rust like an old GTV. On the other hand, it’s a Alpha.
I’m in love with it. For the life of me, I don’t know why they don’t build scads of them and actually make some money off the damn thing. That way, I could actually lust after a used one instead of an off lease Elise.
You should watch the Top Gear crew test driving an 8C. They loved it–and hated it.
The Fiat dealers in “flyover country” probably have a “Whut th’ hell? How’re we supposed to sell these here Eye-talian shitboxes?”
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?
Really your calling this a misstep ?
Really, his calling it a misstep, is what?
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.
There won’t be many, if any, stand alone Alfa dealers in North America for the time being. The quote means they are pushing to have 300 points of sale.
83 Fiat dealers and 3 Maserati dealers: That’s not the ratio to help the “aspirational” part of trying to sell Alfas in the US after 19 years.
6,000 sold the first year, and 1,500 each of the next 4 years – that would follow the classic Alfa pattern in the US. I hope it’s not so, just the same.