Photo: Whatcar?
It looked as though Chrysler avoided certain catastrophe yesterday when the U.S. government pushed through a deal with Fiat. The new partnership guarantees that Chrysler will receive a sizable chunk of government money to stay afloat, but it doesn't guarantee that Chrysler will get cars from Fiat that Americans will want to buy.
A study published in Whatcar? magazine in the U.K. shows that Fiat is far from popular in Britain. And as you may know, they actually seem to like small cars over there.
Fiat's latest cars are said to be considerably better than their lineup from just a few years ago, but from the looks of this study, they didn't have anywhere to go but up.
Whatcar?: J.D. Power customer satisfaction poll '08
desmolicious says:
12:57 PM, 05/ 1/09
Look at the next two spots - Mitsubishi at 27, Chevy at 26. And yet you seem to have no problem praising those cars over here.....
carlisimo says:
01:13 PM, 05/ 1/09
They're a match made in heaven for Chrysler!
Desmo, don't forget that almost all the Chevies in Europe are various Daewoos. The Kalos is our Aveo, the Lacetti was sold here as a Suzuki... not great cars.
Mitsubishi has different trucks there (e.g. Pajero) as well as the Colt and Lancer.
I can't believe Skoda's up there, but its reskinned cousins (VW and SEAT) are far below.
flicmod says:
01:59 PM, 05/ 1/09
I second the disbelief about Skoda. I've always heard they're pretty much cheap, crappy cars.
brn says:
02:07 PM, 05/ 1/09
Well, JD Powers is disputable. :)
gcn says:
03:28 PM, 05/ 1/09
These days Skodas are VWs rebodied and better value.
Actually, if you look at the percentages, those at the bottom aren't that much below those in the middle. Obviously coming flat last isn't very clever, but objectively, it's not much worse than Ford who only did 2% better and landed in the middle.
firstwagon says:
03:38 PM, 05/ 1/09
This really isn't a reliablity survey. Not much goes wrong with new cars and most of what does in glitches more then serious problems.
Notice Audi is ahead of Subaru? I know both cars and not a chance. I like Audis but I don't think I would ever own one out of warranty. Subarus run forever.
Notice Kia is near the bottom but everyone I've known with a Kia in the past 5 years has had no problems.
I'd like to see the questions in the survey.
estreka says:
04:29 PM, 05/ 1/09
Keep in mind this is Britain, not the USA. It's a different market with different vehicles.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
05:07 PM, 05/ 1/09
When FIAT was actually selling cars in the USA, its name became an acronym for " Fix It Again, Tony".
If what FIAT brings here soon is no better, they won't last very long in the USA.
firstwagon says:
05:13 PM, 05/ 1/09
And Ford was "Found on road dead."
and I remember when tow drivers voted Hyundai the brand most likely to be found broken down on the side of the road.
Times change. When was the last time you saw a Fiat?
uncanny_man says:
06:33 PM, 05/ 2/09
to flicmod-- Look up the british website for chevrolet (or go to topgear or some-such), chevrolet is used as the bargain nameplate carrying largely korean products while vauxhal and opel sell the cars actually related to their US chevy cousins.
On the other hand, these are exactly the same Fiat cars that many of you guys keep clamoring for. When I lived in Italy in the 90s, the jokes were "Fix It Again Tony", and "nothing smells like a Fiat". Why do we want these guys running chrysler again?
srlracing says:
08:00 PM, 05/ 2/09
Skoda? Ha!
benson2175 says:
02:34 PM, 05/ 3/09
It looks like Fiats are totally primed to become Chryslers. I don't see a problem.
joeo26 says:
02:46 PM, 05/ 3/09
So Chrysler does have a European counter part!