Autoblog: Meet the Jeep... Panda? WTF?

Night_Hawk said:
I'm wondering just how stupid Jeep Panda's and Chrysler Mito's would look with the different styling.
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I wonder how far Fiat will let Chrysler restyle their cars, because the newest styling trend has obviously been a pretty big flop across the board...


and they're Italian.
 
Spectre said:
Not if they relaunch it properly. Marketing is a wonderful thing.
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That is, if they can get a launch correctly, as it seems that GM really can't do.
 
Dogbert said:
I wonder how far Fiat will let Chrysler restyle their cars, because the newest styling trend has obviously been a pretty big flop across the board...


and they're Italian.
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If anyone at Fiat has a brain cell left to produce a spark, then they won't let Chrysler do dick to any of their cars, other than maybe possibly a badge swap and that's it. Chrysler's styling works on the 300 and pretty much nothing else, and Dodge's macho-yet-nostalgic, relive-your-boyhood Tonka truck cheesy shit isn't working with the general public either, so I hope the styling remains as is.
 
I would rather have this with a Dodge cross hair grille..... The Jeep front end is completely out of place for this car. Besides, I'm sure there are many people who are looking for the Panda in non 4x4-guise...
 
Crazyjeeper said:
Eagle did have pretty decent cars. They had the rebadged Intrepid which was a good car, and the rebadged eclipse as the Talon, which was pretty quick (crank walk aside :p). In the 80s, the eagle 4wd station wagons, sedans and coupes were pretty popular up north. So yeah, I would buy an eagle. The name doesn't have a negative connotation with the public like Peugeot for example. People remembered that they were complete crap. :lol:
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I had no idea up until this point that the Eagle of AMC was related at all to Eagle of Vision/Talon..."fame"?
 
NooDle said:
so Yay MiTos for everyone? No?
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You know, I was just talking to my old ma, and as always we talk about politics (she hates Obama and listens to Rush Limbaugh a lot apparently. Ugh). Needless to say we got to talking about Chrysler, and I mentioned the Alfas and the Fiats to her, and she said "what the hell are they doing bringing those Europeans over here?!" at which point I mentioned BMW, Mercedes, VW, etc and she said "no no, small cars. We don't buy small cars here. We don't need them for little country roads".

And that got me thinking, performance and economy aside, why WOULD an American buy an Alfa or a Fiat, even if they were rebadged? The only reason I want the MiTo so much is partly because of Top Gear's fascination with Italians and my want for some of that action, and partly because I read so much international press and I find it quite good looking. I can't imagine too many other Americans (especially 'Mericuns) who are in my position.
 
JipJopJones said:
I knew I was going to get called on that. But still, you understand my point.
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Oh I know. I just wanted to paste pretty Ferrari's.

MadCat360 said:
"no no, small cars. We don't buy small cars here. We don't need them for little country roads".
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You don't think the Panda 4x4 would be a great little country road runner?

And that got me thinking, performance and economy aside, why WOULD an American buy an Alfa or a Fiat, even if they were rebadged?
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It's really, really, really going to come down to initial marketing. They're going to have an uphill battle with the inherent nationalism associated with our domestic market, too.
 
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MadCat360 said:
I was quoting my ma.
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Well, why doesn't she think a Panda 4x4 would be a good country runner? Or does this just fall into the hatred of hatchbacks/small cars/actual good fuel economy that we have in America?
 
Dogbert said:
Well, why doesn't she think a Panda 4x4 would be a good country runner? Or does this just fall into the hatred of hatchbacks/small cars/actual good fuel economy that we have in America?
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She just seems to think we don't need small cars in America. Size of our roads was her only argument against, though I'm sure if had pressed she would have cited safety, too, because I remember her ranting about those small car vs. bigger car crash tests a while back.

I'm willing to bet most Americans have a similar mindset. Most American guys will probably view everything coming over from Fiat as girly, except maybe the Punto.

I have hope. Mini isn't exactly going bankrupt, even if I rarely see them on the road, and the Golf seems to be selling okay. I bet, like those two cars, people will be buying the Fiats and Alfas just because they like them, and not for practical reasons. To me that doesn't exactly spell success, but I'm not a businessman. I'll try to get an Alfa depending on the price, but again, I don't care how practical it is, I just like the MiTo.
 
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MadCat360 said:
I'm willing to bet most Americans have a similar mindset. Most American guys will probably view everything coming over from Fiat as girly, except maybe the Punto.
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Probably not, seeing as how the Jetta is seen as girly. The Punto is alot more fussy and pretty.
 
MadCat360 said:
I'm willing to bet most Americans have a similar mindset. Most American guys will probably view everything coming over from Fiat as girly, except maybe the Punto.
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I can think of at least one demographic that Fiats will definitely appeal to: college kids, especially girls. Young people buying their first car are going to be broke enough, so they'll want something that can get really good gas mileage and carry a reasonable amount of IKEA furniture and 30-racks of Keystone, so something like the Punto could definitely sell big. Also, seeing as your average college kid isn't as cool as us and doesn't know a damn thing about cars, they'll spring for something practical without caring how well it actually drives.

Plus, girls will think they're cute.
 
BlaRo said:
I can think of at least one demographic that Fiats will definitely appeal to: college kids, especially girls. Young people buying their first car are going to be broke enough, so they'll want something that can get really good gas mileage and carry a reasonable amount of IKEA furniture and 30-racks of Keystone, so something like the Punto could definitely sell big. Also, seeing as your average college kid isn't as cool as us and doesn't know a damn thing about cars, they'll spring for something practical without caring how well it actually drives.

Plus, girls will think they're cute.
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The next Saturn or Scion, then?
 
Why would anyone in America want a small car?
Plain and simple: Cause the OPEC will make sure they get every penny they miss during this crisis once the economy works again. And they will get their money at the fuel pump. Once this crisis is over, we'll see fuel prices at at least the same level as before, if not even higher.

And, as a general rule, the bigger the car is, the heavier it is. The heavier it is, the more energy is needed to move it. The more energy you need, the more fuel you burn. If you make it worse by sticking a big-ass V8 into the big american car or have a "sensible" european four- or six-cylinder motor does not matter all that much then.
 
I forgot to mention they're gonna have to get a lot cheaper too.

In the MiTo's case anyway. Nobody around here or in America would pay anywhere close to 25 or 30k for a subcompact car regardless of quality.

It would be thrown into the same class as the Aveo/Yaris/Fit and other such cars that sell over here from around 12-16k. Unless the MiTo is cobalt/corolla/civic size, in which case it would fit in a little easier.
 
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Like most of you, I think that this will just come down to marketing. People will accept Jeep having a car in their lineup as long as they keep selling Wranglers and Cherokees.

As for people actually wanting a Fiat here, that will take some marketing too. We can see that there is certainly a small/cute car market here. Look at the Beetle, the Mini, Smart Cars, the Yaris, the godawful Aveo, etc etc etc. There's at least a niche market for them to start with. Provided people like the cars and Fiat does a good job supporting them, there's the opportunity for growth.

I guess price will also be an issue. Part of the deal is that Fiat will build cars and engines here, so that should help. So long as the UAW doesn't screw it up, and that may be hoping for too much.

Dogbert said:
Would YOU buy an Eagle, though?
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Heh, you know if I could find an Eagle wagon I'd be all over it. Weld the spider gears, put some mud terrains on it and take it to my local ORV area. :D
 
Dogbert said:
The next Saturn or Scion, then?
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Exactly what I was thinking. Scion was supposed to be a brand of cars for young people who wanted something new but had little money, but it turns out a fucking ass-ton of people wanted that because I see Scions all over the place. Fiats and Alfas can now be an alternative choice.
 
Night_Hawk said:
I forgot to mention they're gonna have to get a lot cheaper too.

In the MiTo's case anyway. Nobody around here or in America would pay anywhere close to 25 or 30k for a subcompact car regardless of quality.

It would be thrown into the same class as the Aveo/Yaris/Fit and other such cars that sell over here from around 12-16k. Unless the MiTo is cobalt/corolla/civic size, in which case it would fit in a little easier.
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Eh, I don't think it will be that cheap. I think it will start at 14-15k and then top out around 18 or 19 or maybe even 20. It's going to be cheaper than the Mini, in any case. I think the 500 will be the one going after the Aveo/Yaris/Fit with the 12-14k range.
 
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