It's Offical - Fiat is Back!

Yes, those are U.S. flags and the Fiat logo and yes it is a Fiat Dealership Studio.  This is Bergstrom Fiat in Milwaukee one of three dealerships open in the U.S.  The other two are in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.  In addition to these there will be 180 more dealerships opening this year.  There is a bit of irony here because that is a former Hummer Dealership that closed due to lack of sales and the pending GM bankruptcy.  Now the building will be selling cars that have fuel economy of up to 40 m.p.g. and amongst the lowest polluting cars sold in the U.S.  Fiat stopped importing cars in 1982.  In 1992 VW almost stopped but instead gave it one more try and succeded - VW is now the world's second largest producer of automobiles and is narrowing in on Toyota.  Hopefully the re-entry into the U.S. will help Fiat in world wide sales.  Fiat now owns 20% of Chrysler and will own 35% by the end of 2011.  Fiat, without Chrysler and not selling cars in the U.S., ranks sixth largest and if Chrysler is counted in the next two years it should be fourth behind Ford.

It is wonderful being in Milwaukee and being one of the first open.  Fiat had mentioned that the Midwest was the last region of the U.S. to get the cars (we buy more domestics than the other areas of the country).  But the new Fiat 500 is not entirely an "import".  It is built in North America and technically a Chrysler Group car.  I could explain why but to do so would need much more time with an all new blog post that would be longer than this one.  The engine and transmission are assembled in Michigan and final assembly is in the Chrysler plant in Toluca, Mexico.

Look Daddy!  Its baby Fiat car!!! (She is frozen there and too
excited to get close to it)

Baby Fiat Car! Baby Fiat Car! Baby Fiat Car!

This is baby Fiat car eye...

this is baby Fiat car nose...

and what's this daddy?



Beep! Beep!

Baby Fiat Car goes Vroom! Vroom!

Baby Fiat car is happy daddy.

She was speachless about the rear end - just screamed
for joy.



All cuteness aside, this is a serious car.  While I didn't drive it I can tell you its interior is much higher quality than a 2011 VW Jetta S and the fit and finish is up to BMW quality.  The seat position was excellent and comfortable.  At almost six feet tall I fit in the backseat comfortable but tight with just enough headroom - the same headroom as in a 2011 Dodge Charger (4 door) I just sat in at the car show.

Diesel Electric Hybrid! Finally They are Planning for Them

At the LA Auto Show VW is showing their first diesel electric hybrid. The Up! Light is designed to get 70 mpg and is not a "plug in" electric car. It will produce its own electricity and drive off primarily a 2 cyl. turbo diesel engine. About a year ago both VW and Fiat discussed to the press that they would not consider diesel electric hybrids because the cost would be too high and they predicted that consumers would not purchase them. Apparently they have changed their minds, this includes Fiat also. Remember that the VW, Mercedes Benz and Fiat are the technology leaders in diesel production. Their engines can also be found in other manufacturers' cars (example: Fiat makes the diesel engines that power the Ford Fiesta and Focus).

LA Auto Show 2009 Volkswagen-Up-Lite Photo Courtesy Road & Track

I have proposed them for the last several years and could not understand why nobody was developing them for cars. We see diesel electric hybrids in operation for over fifty years - they are diesel locomotives that exclusively power our modern day trains. Something nice about diesel electric hybrid cars is that the fuel does not have be a petroleum product. They can run on biodiesel made from used fryer oil and at 70 mpg you won't need a lot of that. My proposed car is actually propelled by (proprietary information not to revealed) similar to train locomotives.

There are "plug-in" electric cars proposed by some car manufacturers (and a few currently available) but these are usually a worse environmental choice than a car with really low fuel consumption. The reason for that is the majority of electricity available in the U.S. is produced from coal or gas. The quantity of noxious emissions created by the electricity generated to charge the batteries for an electric car is larger than the quantity of emissions from the average gas powered car (for coal or gas sourced electricity). Unless the "plug-in" electric car gets its electricity from a safe renewable source (i.e. solar, wind, hydro electric), there is a negative environmental impact. The only good point is the emissions of the plug-in car are zero, but the power plant will be spewing a higher quantity of emissions.

So, before buying an electric only car or an electric hybrid car, really research the information including where that electricity does come form to power that plug-in electric car that you may consider. Also research the batteries.