That sort of confirmation bias has left me wondering on numerous occasions why Fiat is even in business, let alone why it's been able to acquire so many other badges. I'm just aware enough of this that I don't automatically accept statements like "Fiat have made mostly terrible cars". Is that really true? How could they be the third largest manufacturer if that's all they do?
The 500 is fun (to look at, not to drive) but the Tipo, Punto, Panda etc are pretty dreadful.
As to how they got to their position, I’d say that being effectively a flag carrier manufacturer helped sustain them and Chrysler were pretty desperate for a partner after the Daimler split.
Don't worry, this is only temporary. European C02 standards are going to go up every year, so Fiat have to move to electrics as fast as they can.
they have no clue on full size cars, and still pay for the socialized handling the Italian car sector was subject into the nineties, but below management they still have good tech and when they put their eggs into the right basket, the output is just phenomenal.
and the Alfa tonale was a thing from unsuspecting times.
I think a Panda excels in Southern European medieval plan cities with its nimbleness, short dimensions, good visibility and just overall practicality. Also looks good. It isn't a sports car or a luxury car and the design accepts that.
In Northern Europe, I would recommend something much more robust than a Fiat.
But: Fiat made great progress under their late CEO. The current 500 is a modern icon IMO.
Whatever FIAT is importing for the US market hasn't been particularly reliable.
they still have good tech and when they put their eggs into the right basket, the output is just phenomenal.
Speaking of, the one thing that surprised me with the 500 was how primitive its bluetooth support was. I think it will only sync contacts with a phone (playing audio is just not in the cards).
And yes, bluetooth is weirdly primitive. I prefer aux anyway, so no big deal.
But honestly my experience is good. I mean, it's reasonably cheap, aesthetics tend to be ok at least, engines are decent, and overall it feels like they do a decent job for the price. Not to mention that they have some famous commercial vehicles that Fiat Ducato.
The gasoline owners were less enthusiastic. One of the big problems in San Francisco is that it was the Maserati/Generic Italian dealer that got the FIAT franchise (granted the other Bay Area FIAT dealers are just as bad). They're expensive, incompetent, and not particularly customer oriented. One friend had transmission/clutch issues and the dealer wanted $3000 to R&R the clutch on a car that was barely two years old. The other Bay Area dealers wanted about the same amount of money. I asked someone overseas to look up the book time and parts cost (about 3 hrs and $300 respectively). That works out to well north of $700/hr in labor charges.
The scummy service advisor showed us what he claimed was the clutch they pulled and it looked almost brand new. Turns out FIAT put a hydraulic clutch control system in the American market ones and their Mexican factory put the wrong throw out bearings in early builds. The dealer never did give us the throw out bearing (I wonder why...).
If I wanted an econobox with a warranty that was fun to drive I'd buy a Honda. They've had that market locked down for ages. If I wanted something more exotic I'd look at a VW. If I wanted something difficult to find parts for I'd get a Peugeot or Citroen. If I wanted something that rides like crap and isn't utilitarian I'd get a Miata.
The story only gets worse with Alfa. FIAT couldn't even keep the press cars running and they kept blaming software issues for mechanical failure[0].
FIAT gets a bad rap in the United States because they don't have the cachet to get away with their mediocre quality and non-existent support network.
0: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a23145269/alfa-romeo-gi...
The car itself is quite interesting in my opinion, but the untenable range and lack of accessibility doomed it to unpopularity. If Fiat made a reasonably priced version with at least 200KM of range, and high quality cells, I would make it my next car.
My concern, though, is that Fiat get to continue making mostly terrible ICE cars thanks to what feels like green washing.