Fiat got it right, 500 Abarth sold out for 2012 Model Year in the US

M_Bolc

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Some much needed good news for Fiat, they sold out all the 2012 production for the Abarth, people are going on the 2013 waiting list.

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Fiat has exceeded expectations in the United States with the 500 Abarth, which has already sold out in the month since its late-April launch.

The Detroit News reports that demand is so high for the Abarth that customers are being put a waiting list for the 2013 version.

The news comes nearly a year after the original Fiat 500 flopped in the US, where sales floundered and had subsidiary company Chrysler wondering if Americans were ready for such a tiny car.

Things have changed drastically with the high-performance tuned version of the 500, and showrooms have run dry of the models after the factory reported it wouldn?t be able to produce more than the 3,000 vehicles it promised.

Although the production capacity is low, the surge in demand for the Arbath will allow Fiat to breathe a sigh of relief for the fate of the 500, which suffered from what Chrysler executives called an 'awareness problem'.

A high profile campaign featuring Jennifer Lopez appears to have helped the problem, with sales of Fiat models up 432% in the US last month, according to Chrysler figures.

A total of 4,000 Fiats sold in May, the brand's fourth consecutive sales record this year, creeping up to Fiat's original (hugely ambitious) sales goal of 6,000 sales a month.

Interest in the Abarth was also reportedly boosted by a Super Bowl Commercial starring model Catrinel Menghia, which proved to be among the most successful of the sporting spectacle's lineup.

AFP/Relaxnews



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/fi...-2013-version-article-1.1090953#ixzz1xQ4FVpdd

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/fi...s-waiting-list-2013-version-article-1.1090953
 
Fuck yeah, FIAT. :p

 
Good news for the environment too, if each of those 500s means one less needless SUV...
 
Good. Because it's an awesome car, really nippy with torque in any gear at any RPM, and they fixed the clutch and the shifter, and it looks good, and it's got the meanest-sounding 4-cylinder on the planet.
 
Good. Because it's an awesome car, really nippy with torque in any gear at any RPM, and they fixed the clutch and the shifter, and it looks good, and it's got the meanest-sounding 4-cylinder on the planet.

Yeah. How in the hell did that they get that note through noise regulations?
(Not that I'm complaining mind)
 
So...I'm having a hard time believing all that many people were cross-shopping Lexus RX's and Chevy Equinoxes and ending up with a Fiat 500...and if that was the case, why is it only the Abarth performance versions that sold out? Are the standard ones...not selling all that hot?
 
The Abarth is quite sexy. I'd drive one but doing so in the south is like signing away your manhood. Sad, I know, but true.

Sounds great too. They've been at a local Cars & Coffee the past two months. I might go test drive one just for fun...
 
It is a cool looking thing.
 
Saw a brand new Abarth in a car park recently...couldn't believe how loud and rough it sounded. Awesome! I still don't fit in the car right, it's painful/difficult for me to drive them :/
 
I really need to try driving one, sitting in it did not fill me with confidence.
 
As much as I like the 500, the seating position in the standard 500 was too upright for me. I hope they really fixed this with lower center of gravity bucket sport seats in the Abarth
 
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