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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Latest news about the Fiat 500 Prima Edizione



The following was just emailed to folks who reserved a Fiat 500 Prima Edizione:

Dear Christian Vitale, Prima Edizione Numero 29:

With 2011 right around the corner, so too is the assembly of your Prima Edizione FIAT 500!

Production of the FIAT 500 begins this January in bright, modern facilities with "World Class Manufacturing" processes designed to create state-of-the-art assembly, efficiency and leading-edge product quality.

And our benchmark processes don't stop there. Each and every vehicle will be thoroughly tested and inspected prior to delivery to ensure that your FIAT 500 meets our standards — and yours. Delivery should occur in mid to late February. Which means we are also extending the deadline to the end of February for you to complete the purchase of your vehicle. In the meantime, dealers are busy putting the finishing touches on our Studios. We'll also be sending you details about the FIAT Studios in your area.

Soon, we will make history by introducing a new car company to North America. We appreciate your patience as we finalize operations.

Look for more updates regarding the assembly of your Prima Edizione FIAT 500 — and more importantly, its delivery date.

In the meantime, I wish you a wonderful holiday season.

Sincerely,

Laura Soave
CEO
FIAT North America

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are they going to build them before the orders are finalized? I thought they were to be built right after the demonstrators for the dealers.

L8BRKN said...

Chris, judging by the email you received it looks like you opted for Grigio on your Prima. I'm wondering if Prima owners are locked into their original color choice or whether there is still an opportunity to switch colors. Obviously, Prima owners had to choose their color "sight unseen." Having now seen the colors in person at the launch party in Los Angeles and at the L.A. Auto Show, I'm rethinking my color. I'll let you know what I find out but if you hear anything about the ability to switch colors, maybe let other Prima owners know.

Pushing the commitment date back from December - as originally announced - to the end of February makes sense. I think FIAT may be realizing that its aggressive plans to bring this car to market in the U.S. asap need to be tempered by the administrative and logistical realities inherent in creating an entirely new dealer network. I would hope that FIAT will allow sufficient time to let the dealers get their showrooms built and up and running, to let new sales staff get trained and hired, to allow mechanics to get up to speed on the car, etc., etc. My worry has been that FIAT has moved too quickly in the last several months and has been trying to do way too much in too short a period of time. If they rush to get the car here and the proper dealer, sales, parts and repair network are not far enough along to provide exceptional service right from the get-go, it could give FIAT's return a black eye - something it can ill afford. Now is no time to rush things IMO. We've been waiting 27 years - taking a few extra months to iron out all the wrinkles isn't going to kill us.

My $0.02.

FRF said...

Hey Christian,
Hope they build them in Vin number order so we will be the first to get them. I'm number 23!

Johnny Flosser said...

I'm so anxious, I could spit!

Fiat500USA.com said...

Hi all,

From what I've been told last week, production is still on target, early 2011. Exact dates aren't revealed because everything is top secret in the Auto industry. We can see from the latest news that there are cars trickling into dealers (speculating pre-production)and now this email seems to confirm.

As far as finalizing your order, good point (I'm undecided about color). We'll have to see how that plays out. There's another email coming, hopefully shortly.

L8BRKN, I agree with you. I can wait (no room in the garage and hate to get a new car in the middle of winter), but there are a lot of folks who are anxious.

I would suggest to Fiat to send us weekly updates on the progress or even just news about what's going on behind the scenes, e.g., at the factory (how about some pics of the car being tested, cars being painted, etc.). Info goes a long way. Then again, that's why I'm here;) LOL!

Fr Frey, I love that # 23. I must have just missed it when I picked mine!

Johnny, yep, this is exciting. There is nothing I can do about the time, so I'm going to enjoy the anticipation. When this time is over, I'll miss it.

Thanks for the comments!

David PR Bailin said...

I am #132 (Grigio). Have 2 close by dealers in NJ. But it appears that Fiat will pick your dealer. I can wait. My Alfa 16S (1993) still runs fine.