Court Papers Reveal Which Fiat Models are Headed to the U.S.

I kind of like the Panda. The punto needs to be renamed so not to offend our hispanic friends. :)

The cars look good but I'll be really curious to see how they will be priced.

A small car has to be really special (like the Mini) for people to pay mid size car prices for small cars.

Not so sure about their attempted renames. Milano vs Murano. Punto vs Pinto?

I think Fiat could be marginally successful if they offer a BMW-like warranty. No mnx for 3-4 years.

Milano is not even a rename - The Mercury Milano is still kicking! But in all fairness, it is an Italian name.

The Punto would be cool in 2-door Abarth trim, and the MiTo is great looking. The Alfa 147 looks sharp, but it IS an underperformer on Gran Turismo.

I've owned 3 early 60s spiders. All Boat tails, and I'm really jazzed about the MiTo! I've been researching quite a bit, and if they were available now, I'd put my order in today! Been hoping for Alfa Romeo's return to America for a very long time. The MiTo will keep my 645i in the garage.

I've owned 3 early 60s spiders. All Boat tails, and I'm really jazzed about the MiTo! I've been researching quite a bit, and if they were available now, I'd put my order in today! Been hoping for Alfa Romeo's return to America for a very long time. The MiTo will keep my 645i in the garage.

Philipp, 'punto' means the same thing in Spanish as in Italian - point. It's without an n that it becomes bad. 'Punto' isn't any worse than 'shift.'

The Punto (now Grande Punto, actually) was a good enough car when it came out, but I can't see it doing all that well here unless gas prices go nuts again (not likely until a couple years after the economy's picked up). For the next generation, maybe if Fiat sticks a trunk onto it like VW did for the Golf...

I would totally buy a 147/Milano, but that's just me. I'm sure it'll be a reliability nightmare.

philipp...I think you are confusing the word > for the word >. Punto means point or period or to the point

I dont think any spanish people will even own a Punto! it just has to much resemblance to the bad word. those cars by the way are ugly. Have u looked at the up n coming Ford Fiesta! Theres forward thinkin right there. Go Ford!

I dont think any spanish people will even own a Punto! it just has to much resemblance to the bad word. those cars by the way are ugly. Have u looked at the up n coming Ford Fiesta! Theres forward thinkin right there. Go Ford!

Is it called the Punto in Spain?

I can't see why Fiat would choose a name that would prevent it from being sold in an entire country.

Yes, it's called the Fiat Punto in Spain; there are lots of them there. The word isn't that close, seriously. Is "shift" close enough to a bad word in English to be taboo? No!

This is just like that stupid Nova urban legend. Yes, "no va" can mean "doesn't work" (in Spain, not in Mexico), but "nova" is an astronomical phenomenon in Spanish just like it is in English, and it does NOT get confused for "no va." They don't sound the same ("no VA" vs. "NOva"), and it's a lousy pun to pretend they do.

thanks

That makes more sense.

Besides... Nova was the name of the gas sold by the Mexican state controlled gas stations (mmm lovely leaded gasoline), and people where happy to put Nova in their cars (well, not exactly happy, they didn't have a choice)

And over here in Mx we also get the Punto (well, the "Grande Punto").

It strikes me as odd that there is no word on the 500.

the 500 and Mito will be exciting- I'm guessing a real boon to Chrysler's lineup.
Both are really great looking cars.

those are all good choices for Fiat to bring to the U.S. The only one missing is the Fiat 500, but maybe they think it would take away from the MiTo, which I could see being a huge Mini rival. The Panda and Grand Punto are also good cars, hopefully Americans will see them as cool and european. And I think any alfa will sell because they have style, which is something american's like

I'm pretty sure the 500 would make it here. But it all depends on the marketing. In Europe the 500 undercuts the Mini significantly on price. If it could do so here, it could succeed.

I love the Panda, but I'm not sure it would work out here. Best bet would be (and I know I'm a broken record here) the multijet diesel version, but I think NewCo is betting on the 4x4. I've seen references to it becoming the "Jeep Panda," which I think is a marketing disaster in the making.

Punto, Milano, MiTo--same story. All depends on pricing, and on which engines make it over here. I could see Alfa going head-to-head with VW (Milano--Jetta, MiTo--GTI) on price and offering that Italian mystique. Fiats will have to come in "cheap and cheerful," i.e., Kia prices. Few customers will take a chance on them otherwise, unless there's one hell of a warranty as Estreka suggests.

One more comment: Jederino, we all know that Milano (as in Alfa) and Milan (as in Mercury) refer to the same city, but I doubt seriously that anyone will think they refer to the same car. After all, the Alfa has that creamy dark chocolate center between two crispy sweet wafers.

i ws trying to be funny, i guess it failed

i ws trying to be funny, i guess it failed

I don't think it matters what the names of the cars are. I am just looking forward to the return of Alfa and Fiat to the states. It has been to long. Maybe when Fiat takes over Opel, they will bring those cars to the states as well (not as a Saturn though).

8C COMPETIZIONE I'm trying to be funny too!

Busted Busted Busted. Man these are some ugly cars. Didn't Fiat get the lowest JD Power score in Europe?
My prediction is the Fiat will be a disastrous failure in the US. The market is stocked with good cars as it is.

I concur with dbostondriver. Those models are not going to fly with mainstream US consumers. Imo, a hot Alfa sports coupe or the Spider convertible would fare better here. Interested to see if quality and reliability will be any better than the last time these marques were here.

"The market is stocked with good cars as it is."

The market is stocked with boring cars. If you want people to buy small cars, you need something with more character then Corolla, Yaris, Focus, Colbalt, Aveo, Accent etc.

It will also be great to have European cars that are not German for a change.

I welcome the Fiats and Alfa and I'll bet it will quickly become the cool car to own among the young and the cool. The "mainstream" will just keep buying Camrys but who cares.

@carlisimo (about the Punto)
"For the next generation, maybe if Fiat sticks a trunk onto it like VW did for the Golf..."

Carlismo, they make a Punto sedan. It's called Linea, and it has a pretty generous wheelbase stretch.