Picture Via Fiat North America |
So some of you might have read my review last year on the Fiat 500 Sport I drove around Dallas Texas. Now that the Abarth Model is starting to spend some time sitting on the dealership lots I figured I would go down and check one out. I had first seen the Abarth model on a trip to Indonesia in 2010, having owned a number of classic Fiats I was excited to see the new Abarth 500. But this was my first chance to kick the tires.
As I have found is standard with Fiat dealers in the US, the salesmen leave much to be desired, you would think if you worked at a retailer that sold only one product, and that is the product you talked about all day long you might know something about it. Sadly I have discovered that Fiat retailers are not staffed by enthusiasts but it seems Fiat North America has decided that from their ad campaigns to their sales staff, nothing they do should make you want to buy their car.
Having spent number of years in the auto industry and in the marketing side, you would expect that Fiat employees would be dressed in some nice chinos, a Fiat polo, and be as well groomed as the amazing studio space that they work in. But instead you find that it is mostly men in bad fitting shirts and suits who pulled the short straw from the Chrysler dealership across the street. From J-Lo driving and dancing around the projects, to the guy who mispronounced Abarth at the dealership I knew I was in for a interesting experience. But I digress, this is not a story about how I think Fiat should have introduced the product, who should be selling it and why, this is a story about the 500 Abarth.
The first Abarth that I looked at was fully loaded, and had been driven so hard that the leading edges of the tires were already bald and the white wheels were grey with brake dust. I pointed this out to the salesman who assured me that it had not been driven hard at all and that it was "normal" for tires to be bald on the edges, after a slow drive around the block. I then saw the $4,000 dealer mark up... I asked about it and was told that all dealers are marking up the Abarth models $5,000-$6,000 so I should be happy to only pay $4,000 over window.
The worst part about the one that had become the staff race car was it had the Tom Tom navigation package. A clumsy add on unit, that sticks out of the top of the dash. I asked if they had another Abarth, and he showed me the car on the showroom floor, a white model with black, & red interior, and no other options.
White Dash, Black Trim, Red Seats.its a little much... |
Paint peeling off the emblems on the showroom floor. |
So would I buy a Fiat 500 Abarth? Well if you are me, sure, I drive a 69 Mini Cooper and I am building a old race car for the street that has no top and windshield, but if you are someone that has a commute, wants to be able to go shopping, go out with friends, road trip with more than one small duffel bag? I would have to say no. If you want a fun cheap car that will make you smile all the time then yes.
UPDATE: Fiat did issue a recall on the Abarth for the paint peeling issue, at least they took care of it.