FIAT Launches Its 500e Outside Of Europe For The First Time:

What does Stellantis do with Fiat in North America? There can be little doubt that Fiat blew the launch of the brand in every way possible and things are bleak right now for Fiat. No use even posing the question if Fiat is exiting this market and to analyze and evaluate every mistake made, which were many, has no purpose. Now, after these litany of mistakes comes this 500e that hints there is life left in the brand and questions yet to ask. There is an old axiom, “don’t pour new wine into old sacks” and if this we’re my decision to make, I’d shut the whole NA Fiat operation down for a year and gut the old and after a soul searching analysis, relaunch with new sacks. There would have to be a full line of vehicles from day one, new dealership personnel and a whole new business plan with more American input. Impressed as I am with this 500e, I’m not sure if Fiat can succeed and the new wine should go into Maserati, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Dodge and we plow under Fiat once and forever.
Wine is a valued commodity and one that needs care in all its stages from vine to table and care must be taken with the Stellantis branded vintage if sweet wine and not vinegar is what we are to get. Tempting though is this attractive 500e grape we see here on the Italian vine. Very tempting.

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We might know tomorrow if the new Fiat 500e crosses the pond.

A place where I once worked once very meeting happy. Nothing happened in those frequent meetings except to pass the responsibility of the management's screw ups onto the workers on the floor. A few of us who understood 12 step programs by personal experience would joke coming out of the work meetings, "They keep having these meetings, but nobody ever stands up and admits they have a problem." I participated in the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) during the time period when the torch passed from the 3 headed dog to Fiat. They asked us for our ideas on marketing Fiat and we told them to follow the example of when Dodge and Plymouth sold Mitsubishi products in their showrooms. The CAB was promptly ignored and soon done away with. The marketing of the Fiat brand in the USA was one blunder after another. We see the result.

The new Fiat 500e and the probable production Centoventi shouldn't be badged anything other than a Fiat. They must be optioned and tailored for American tastes, and not what some European elites think what Americans should have.

I will leave some examples from the past Chrysler Mitsubishi era. These cars didn't sell in Vega or Pinto numbers, but they didn't leave the legacy of those cars behind either.

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We might know tomorrow if the new Fiat 500e crosses the pond.

A place where I once worked once very meeting happy. Nothing happened in those frequent meetings except to pass the responsibility of the management's screw ups onto the workers on the floor. A few of us who understood 12 step programs by personal experience would joke coming out of the work meetings, "They keep having these meetings, but nobody ever stands up and admits they have a problem." I participated in the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) during the time period when the torch passed from the 3 headed dog to Fiat. They asked us for our ideas on marketing Fiat and we told them to follow the example of when Dodge and Plymouth sold Mitsubishi products in their showrooms. The CAB was promptly ignored and soon done away with. The marketing of the Fiat brand in the USA was one blunder after another. We see the result.

The new Fiat 500e and the probable production Centoventi shouldn't be badged anything other than a Fiat. They must be optioned and tailored for American tastes, and not what some European elites think what Americans should have.

I will leave some examples from the past Chrysler Mitsubishi era. These cars didn't sell in Vega or Pinto numbers, but they didn't leave the legacy of those cars behind either.

https://www.xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1980-Dodge-Imports.pdf

https://www.xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1980-Plymouth-Imports.pdf

I think you and I are saying the same thing from different perspectives. Your first hand inside knowledge confirms my suspicions that management always knows better and doesn’t know much in the end. Blame the messenger. Having experience with major corporations and their decision makers, nothing surprises. Fiat done right could work. Dying a slow death on center stage is so destructive to Stellantis in the NA theater. New team, new plan, more product including the 500e and an American point of view might just work. Guess that makes us the messengers.

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They must be optioned and tailored for American tastes, and not what some European elites think what Americans should have.

I agree with you Pat. But I'll take exception with this sentence. I don't know if execs at Chrysler were european so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Marchionne was canadian and he strongly misunderstood the european market. This is not something that an European elite would do.
To be brief: no executive with experience in the european market would discard station-wagons like Fiat and FCA did during the Marchionne era. For fleet and private sales are a must have in Europe. They instantly guarantee 50% to 70% higher sales for the corresponding model and for a long time they did not affect SUV sales (nor vice-versa).

When the Fiat Bravo 2 / Lancia Delta / Alfa Romeo Giulietta were launched in 2007/2008 there was no station-wagon versions of the Fiat and Lancia - this would've guaranteed almost double the sales. It's incomprehensible that a product was planned for Europe that did not consider this. When the Giulia was launched the same happened.
An european elite wouldn't have let Fiat disappear from the B-segment (which it dominated as much as VW dominated the C-segment with the Golf).

Unfortunately, FCA didn't know what to do with Fiat in the US but also in Europe. They should get the responsible exec from Fiat LATAM to run the brand globally.

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