News

Seattle Fiat dealer, Rairdon Fiat, is excited for the opportunity to sell the Fiat to Washington Fiat enthusiasts. The start of Seattle Fiat sales, however, is expected to rival the sales of BMW’s MINI cars.

Chrysler officials told Seattle Fiat dealers that the Fiat 500 will offer lots of customization opportunities and that they expect customers to pre-order cars and choose from a long list of options and colors. They told Seattle Fiat dealers sales personnel will function almost like interior design consultants in helping customers choose from all the options available to them.

That approach will pit the 500 in direct competition with BMW AG’s Mini brand.

The 500 will be made at Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico, factory with Fiat 1.4-liter MultiAir engines shipped from Dundee, Mich.

Seattle Fiat dealers who attended the event said Chrysler’s presentation was organized and impressive.

David Kelleher, owner of David Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Glen Mills, Pa., described Chrysler’s capital requirements as “reasonable.” He declined to give specifics.

“This is an opportunity to diversify yourself from being a high volume American brand dealer” into something different, “not competing and tripping over” other dealerships selling the same brands, he said. “That gives me diversity in my structure. That helps me weather some storms.”

Carl Galeana, owner of Van Dyke Dodge in Warren, Mich., said he is encouraged because he owns a Saturn franchise that will be going out of business at the end of October.

“This reminded me of one of my first Saturn meetings,” he said. “They signaled what the brand was and what they hoped it would be. It was very Saturn like.”

Galeana was also encouraged because Chrysler didn’t rule out the notion that single-point dealers who don’t have all four Chrysler brands could obtain a Fiat franchise.

Seattle Fiat dealer, Rairdon Fiat, couldn’t be more excited to start “owning” the high responsibility of being one of the only Chrysler dealerships in America to sell Fiat cars.

For more information about the Fiat in Seattle, please call 877-337-2123 or visit www.rairdon.com

The Rairdon Group is excited to announce the arrival of Fiat automobiles on our Seattle Fiat area lots in November 2010!

The old Chrysler has faded away and a new Chrysler has been born.  This would not have been possible without the new and exciting alliance with the Fiat family of companies – Fiat, Lancia®, Alfa Romeo®, Maserati® and Ferrari®.

Fiat currently owns a 20% share of Chrysler and when Chrysler pays back the United States TARP and Canadian EDC loans by 2014, Fiat will become a majority shareholder in Chrysler, with a 35% share.

For you and me as American consumers, this incredible union will provide a complete revamping of the current product line.  In fact, 75 percent of the current lineup will be enhanced within the next 14 months and 100 percent of all vehicles will be refreshed and reinvented by 2012.

The first roll out of this revamping will be in July of 2010 with the arrival of the completely reengineered and redesigned 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, available at our Seattle Fiat dealers.  Read more about the safety features of the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee from our Seattle Fiat dealership.

The Fiat/Chrysler marriage will greatly affect Seattle car buyers that have never considered Chrysler before. Our Seattle Fiat dealerships will start off the union with an incredible line up.

Fiat 500 in Seattle

The Fiat 500 of today is a more modern and advanced version of the Fiat 500 sold from 1957-1975.  Designed by Frank Stephenson, (the same Frank Stephenson that designed the Mini) this car will have the most pristine engineering, incredible gas mileage and super chic retro design.

The 2011 Fiat 500 will be about 5 inches shorter, over an inch slimmer, and 3.2 inches taller than the equivalent Mini Cooper. It’s also lighter by about 300 pounds.

The first Fiat to hit our Seattle Fiat dealer lots will most likely be a 94-horsepower 1.4-liter engine tied to a 6-speed manual transmission with a respectible 107 pound-feet of torque.  Industry guesses are that it will also come in an automatic.  There’s nothing like the excitement that comes with the unknown.

If you’re interested in becoming a proud Seattle 2011 Fiat 500 owner, I would highly suggest you prepare to snag one up as soon as they are released.  In Europe, the demand is so great that there is a waiting list.  Our Seattle dealer locations are:

• Kirkland
• Monroe
• Smokey Point
• Bellingham

Our Seattle Fiat dealership can not wait for the changes to come. Stop by one of our Seattle dealerships today!