Wordless Outtake: This Panda Breed Is Not An Endangered Species Yet
– Posted on April 27, 2019
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My daily driver is a 2004 Panda…..
Smart! (…and most certainly, a Panda is smarter than a Smart)
Europe: I put a trailer hitch on my Panda!
US/Canada: That’s cute. I bought an F450
It can easily (!) tow something like the trailer below. Either that or the hitch is used to carry a bicycle rack. Anyway, I checked its plate, the registered towing capacity -for a braked trailer- is 800 kg (1,764 lbs).
Brakes on trailers below about 2000kg are virtually unknown in the US. Also towing speed limits either do not exist or are unenforced in the US, depending on locale. This is why vehicles have much lower tow ratings (or none at all) in the US.
There’s a guy nearby my place who rents out a Volvo V70, that’s the wagon, to anyone who temporarily needs a more roomy car and/or a decent (camper) trailer tower in case your daily driver is -for example- a Fiat Panda or anything else with a low towing capacity.
He’s got quite a collection of them, about a dozen, I’d say. His website is called “vakantievolvo” (vacationvolvo, which pretty much wraps it up).
Dang, I wish there was a “vakantievolvo” like that in Portugal. It certainly would be nice to have when my Audi 80 isn’t up to the task
Diesel, gasoline, manual, automatic. There’s a V70 for you too!
https://www.vakantievolvo.nl/
Instead of the Fiat 500L, FCA should have brought the Panda to the US. It would have contributed to the franchise. I don’t think Americans understand what the 500L stands for.
Not sure how common Pandas are in Poland & Czech Rep, but will find out in the next few days. Hoping we get a Panda as a rental in either country.
Actually, the 2003-2012 second gen Panda, as seen in the picture, was assembled in Poland.
At this point the Panda, and especially Panda 4×4 (or 2wd with the 4×4’s body kit) would totally lay an egg on the US market…as a Fiat.
It would be a segment-defining hit as a Jeep, though.
In February, Panda sales were 15.939, up 19.7% while 500 sales were 11.308, down 24.5%.
With the next gen 500 going exclusively electric, while IC engine buyers will be offered the existing, now over 10 years old, version, one wonders what Fiat has in mind for the long term future for the Panda vs the 500.
Judging from the picture, the Panda is a very attractive looking vehicle, with cuv and crossover sales being what they are in the U.S., it would sell a lot better than the 500 and the 500L.
They didn’t sell these in the US. Or I would’ve had another option than the Kia souk I bought
@TJ: Yes, I was hoping these would come to North America when Fiat announced they were coming back. I also hoped for a European alternative to the Universal Asian Car, but no luck. FCA wanted to cash in on the MINI gravy train, or at least what they thought it was. Even MINI has lost some sales over the years.
On one hand, FCA has the fortitude to stick with a pretty rigid marketing plan; i.e., few other SUVs that aren’t Jeeps, most cars are Dodges, only trucks are RAM(!) in North America. On the other hand, I wish they would have sent us inexpensive cars like the Tipo, multifunction vehicles like the Panda and fun trucks like the RAM 70 from Mexico or the Toro from South America.
Oh well…
Or I would’ve had another option than the Kia souk I bought
Actually, they did bring an alternative to the Soul, the 500L. The 500L is only about 4″ longer than a Soul, 2″ taller and half an inch narrower. Fiat wants a lot more dinero for it though, about $4500 more than a Soul according to Edmunds.
The way Fiat was positioned in the US seems to be that of a boutique brand, to excuse the steep prices. The requirements for a Fiat dealership, even for an existing Mopar store, were a burden, both in the requirement for a stand alone showroom and the way the paperwork was set up. If picking up Fiat had not been so expensive, they would probably have had more stores, which would have increased volume.
They could have offered more product. When the Dart and 200 were introduced, the Ottimo hatchback version could have been offered under the Fiat brand. They could have introduced a Fiat version of the second gen Compass. Reportedly, the 3 row stretch version of the Compass will be offered as a Fiat in South America, but as a Jeep everywhere else.
Seems that the last push FCA made for Fiat was in 2016. They dropped the requirement for a stand alone showroom and simplified the paperwork. In the fall of 16 they announced aggressive price cuts on the 500 for the 17 model year.
Their strategy seemed to change for 18 as they bumped the price of the 500 back up. No new Fiat brand product. A dealer in metro Detroit has said that FCA has completely zeroed out the advertising budget for Fiat. Almost appears that FCA has decided to ignore Fiat to death, so that dealers give up on their own, rather than FCA pulling the brand and paying compensation to the dealers.
Meanwhile, Fiat is retrenching in Europe. The Punto discontinued. Next gen 500 to be EV only, with the existing 500 continuing for IC engine buyers. A year ago Marchionne said they would put no new money into the Tipo, and, when the next increment of emissions regs require changes in the car, they will pull the Tipo from Europe and make it a third world only product.