What companies are impressing you that Fiat could learn from?

[neubauerjoseph]

Like the title says. For example maybe you like what Nissan adding in there cars like Bose or pro pilot assist or their excellent around view monitor. Personally I like a few things Nissan is doing like pro pilot assist and around view monitor and the backup intervention, also like my other post I see the need for fiat to add another car to sell. They could also go the direction like on the 200 and add park assist to automatically assist you with parking.
This post is means to praise other companies but also talk about how they could add some features to our cars.
So what do you guys think ?

[tvmaster]

I think adding some simple safety measures like blind-spot monitoring and lane assist would be wise, as the B Pillar in the 500 Abarth blocks your blind spot, even when you turn and look over your shoulder, at least where I position the drivers seat. Since rear-view is now mandatory, it would also be nice if current owners of FIATS previous to 2018, but who have uConnect systems, could purchase a newer, 2018 headunit and add rear-view camera capabilities. I tired to inquire about this at a dealership parts department, and the parts manager was treated like a suspicious parts-thief by the MOPAR folks on the other end of the phone. "Wow", she said, "I've never had so much trouble asking about a part, it's availability, price, etc. I don't know what they're so paranoid about". That made two of us.

[KellyfromVA]

So what do you guys think ?

I'd say FCA could learn from the Koreans. Hyundai/Kia was making some real junk when they first hit the U.S. shores, but came with a great warranty and a lot of dealers to back that warranty up. What H/K learned through, was in order to stay in the States, they needed to greatly improve the quality of their cars, which they did. Hyundai/Kia is now out-Japanese-ing the Japanese.

Fiat in particular, can't just live on the Euro-cuteness factor alone. Their build quality and bang for the buck needs to match what the competition is doing, or they don't stand a chance.

Speaking of Nissan: They have thrown a lot of features for the money in their smaller vehicles, but they have serious design and QA problems (CVT transmission, for one) which are creating warranty cost issues for the company, and their customers. Close to FCA, Nissan has the lowest customer satisfaction rating from several polling organizations.
If I were one of the few that dropped $60-70K on one of their Titan XD (diesel) half ton pickups, I'd be spitting nails right now. Not only have they had significant QA problems with the trucks, Nissan just announced they would be scrapping the Cummins diesel option for 2020. Since Cummins designed that engine specifically for the Titan pickup, owners who spent those big dollars will be SOL.

[map]

Good points and I think FCA is catching on to some of them, or maybe it's the Lithia chain. Service is improving and the 500 is no longer the "odd ball" car. (Much of the same tech is going thru the entire line.)

I like the idea of blind spot monitoring and the split mirror is helpful, but not enough. Part of the problem is that it's illegal to eliminate the side mirror and use cameras for the same job. I'm still trying to source a camera/screen for the job, as well as sensors to detect cars running in the blind spot. Some stereos have that option, turn on the blinker and the screen turns on a side view, but it's awkwardly positioned.

I'm not sure if H/K is a good example. Their shared engine has some serious problems they haven't corrected and their service dropped off to worse than FCA's, from what I'm reading.

[opiateESP]

I'd say FCA could learn from the Koreans. Hyundai/Kia was making some real junk when they first hit the U.S. shores, but came with a great warranty and a lot of dealers to back that warranty up. What H/K learned through, was in order to stay in the States, they needed to greatly improve the quality of their cars, which they did. Hyundai/Kia is now out-Japanese-ing the Japanese.

I gotta second this. The Korean's are nailing it. I've driven a couple Stingers and the G70. The G70 in particular is really nice. A RWD Stinger at 480 whp is a REAAAALLLY good time if you like a daily driver that runs 11's and doesn't break the bank.

[smark]

Ditto, the Korean manufacturers. They gone from making junk vehicles, to state of the art cars now. They offer a wide range of vehicles. Addressing the consumer needs. JD Powers rate them quality-wise and reliable, better then many of the Japanese brands.

We’ve owned, a couple Kia Souls. Very reliable car. This 2016 has only seen the shop, for basic maintenance.

[Ando]

I'm not sure if H/K is a good example. Their shared engine has some serious problems they haven't corrected and their service dropped off to worse than FCA's, from what I'm reading.

Meanwhile Honda's 1.5T has oil dilution problems that are just going to get swept under the rug.

+1 to Hyundai-KIA-Genesis. The Japanese are resting on their laurels (exception: Mazda), GM never seemed to be trying that hard in the first place, and Ford killed all of their vehicles that I would consider purchasing. Hyundai is putting in the R&D money, hiring the right people (Biermann), and listening to consumer needs/wants. The payoff for their effort is finally surfacing in public opinion.

I think in general FCA can look at all of their competitors (Corolla, Civic, Mazda3, Accent) to try to figure out how to make a cheap car interior feel less like a prison cell and more like something you would willingly pay to spend time in.

I love the visual simplicity of my 500's interior, and technically speaking the majority of things I need to interact with feel high quality and decently well thought out. But it still screams "I'm a cheap car!" all day long.

Mazda fanboy moment: The 124 Spider has the best FIAT interior by far, because it was directly borrowed from Mazda. Similarly Alfa Romeo's interiors keep getting compared to Mazda in a positive light. hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean?

[texanbrit]

The Fiat brand, and Alfa for that matter, are not going to succeed until something is done about the service network. Doesn't matter how good the cars are if you are a too far from someone to help look after it properly; and worse still if your service experience is poor when you make it there. I'd say take a good look at the Lexus service experience. Those customers will pay a premium for their cars, and the service work, because when you walk into a Lexus service center they treat you like royalty. It doesn't matter if you're driving an F-sport, an ES or a 16 year old LS. You certainly can't expect to charge a premium for Alfas and give them the Dodge experience.

[smark]

The Fiat brand, and Alfa for that matter, are not going to succeed until something is done about the service network. Doesn't matter how good the cars are if you are a too far from someone to help look after it properly; and worse still if your service experience is poor when you make it there. I'd say take a good look at the Lexus service experience. Those customers will pay a premium for their cars, and the service work, because when you walk into a Lexus service center they treat you like royalty. It doesn't matter if you're driving an F-sport, an ES or a 16 year old LS. You certainly can't expect to charge a premium for Alfas and give them the Dodge experience.

Our Alfa’s are sold at aristocrat Motors here. They sell MB, Jaguar, Porsche, Land Rover, and Maserati’s. They use to sell the smart car brand. I use to take my $14k smart car into service there. Was treated like king. Like any of their prestige brands. For 8 years now. I was never treated bad at any of the Fiat dealerships here. Parts were hard to obtain the first year. Service was good.

You want really good service, Toyota, and Honda dealership.

[tvmaster]

Agreed - FIAT needs waaaaaay more service outlets, and a presence at EVERY Chrysler dealership, at least one of each model. Will it happen? No, because people can’t get rid of their historic, auto-racism prejudice: “Fix it again, Tony”
Sad, so sad....

[texanbrit]

Our Alfa’s are sold at aristocrat Motors here. They sell MB, Jaguar, Porsche, Land Rover, and Maserati’s. They use to sell the smart car brand. I use to take my $14k smart car into service there. Was treated like king. Like any of their prestige brands. For 8 years now. I was never treated bad at any of the Fiat dealerships here. Parts were hard to obtain the first year. Service was good.

You want really good service, Toyota, and Honda dealership.

I wish your experience was consistent across every location. I've just struggled with missed appointments, 2 day jobs that that take 8 plus weeks and then incompetent techs. The worst experience I ever had was to find they had taken my 500 Abarth off the lift to make way for a "more important customer" with his Alfa 4C; and they were already weeks behind their promised schedule.

[map]

Agreed - FIAT needs waaaaaay more service outlets, and a presence at EVERY Chrysler dealership, at least one of each model. Will it happen? No, because people can’t get rid of their historic, auto-racism prejudice: “Fix it again, Tony”
Sad, so sad....

The only real problems I have with service is waiting for an appointment. The dealer treats me as well as the dudes who are dropping off their Jeeps that cost 4 times as much.

I think people will drop their prejudice if/when the product warrants it. It's not just major items, but simple ones as well. My car was missing interior clips and screws, and some were attached to the body but not holding the panels. It doesn't help when a new car needs $2500 in work.

[smark]

Agreed - FIAT needs waaaaaay more service outlets, and a presence at EVERY Chrysler dealership, at least one of each model. Will it happen? No, because people can’t get rid of their historic, auto-racism prejudice: “Fix it again, Tony”
Sad, so sad....

Our one large FCA dropped the Fiat brand. Poor sales. Fiat vehicles just sat on the lot. It has nothing to do with Fix it again Tony. Why train, and hire Fiat service techs, if you can’t sell the product. Our FCA dealership, made more lot space, for Jeeps, and Ram trucks.

Like the Korean car manufacturers Fiat sales would improve, if they would offer new products. Larger selection of crossover’s, and SUV’s. Fiat can’t continue to sell the same old cars.

[CoachRick]

I wouldn't mind 200hp in the L to match the Soul Turbo

[Koreanadian]

Ditto, the Korean manufacturers. They gone from making junk vehicles, to state of the art cars now. They offer a wide range of vehicles. Addressing the consumer needs. JD Powers rate them quality-wise and reliable, better then many of the Japanese brands.

We’ve owned, a couple Kia Souls. Very reliable car. This 2016 has only seen the shop, for basic maintenance.

The way Hyundai and Kia can build quality cars at affordable price is that they look for small but reputable local suppliers that can build great parts for them at volume. Then they'll increase the volume until the supplier depends on them as the only client, they'll start cutting the cost (usual reason is that the tooling is already done and it's cheaper to produce than the previous year) until the profit is so slim that they can't expand production enough to accept new clients or invest in a new production line. So the supplier is solely dependent on HK for revenue, therefore forced to produce great parts at cut-throat prices.