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How Fiat explains its disastrous J.D. Power quality scores

Back in the '60s and '70s, Fiat didn't exactly have an enviable reputation for quality. Of course, lack of quality and a tarnished brand reputation eventually saw the Italian automaker flee the market, only to return with the 500 and the larger 500L in the last few years. However, if J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey for 2014 is to be believed, modern Fiat products haven't improved quite as much as we might have hoped. Fiat thinks that there is a very simple explanation for its poor performance on the annual list, though.
J.D. Power's IQS looks at flaws among autos in the first 90 days that customers own their new vehicles. In 2014, Fiat wasn't only dead last, it was at the back of the pack by a significant margin. The company's cars tallied 206 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) compared to a national average of 116 PP100. Even Jeep, the survey's second-to-last finisher, had 146 PP100. Fiat's performance was pitiful.
However, it can all be explained, at least according to US Fiat boss, Jason Stoicevich, who spoke with Ward's Auto. He qualifies the results by stating that the survey came at a particularly bad time for the brand. It produced very few 2014 500 models to allow extra time to introduce the updated 2015 version. That meant that about 91 percent of its vehicles surveyed were examples of the 500L, "which is a new car where there are always quirks to work through," said Stoicevich to Ward's. With only one model providing data, it skewed the results. Of course, that's all well and good, but it suggests that the larger 500L is even more problematic than the overall brand's 206 problems per 100 vehicles.

Marchionne defends FCA recalls, says Wrangler won't be all-aluminum

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne recently received the 2015 Industry Leadership Award from the SAE Foundation. While speaking with the press after the event, the boss discussed his thoughts about some key issues regarding the company's future. One of the big regulatory issues facing FCA at the moment is the upcoming public hearing by the National Highway Traffic Safety into the automaker's handling of 20 recalls. Marchionne has no intention of testifying there, according to The Detroit News. The CEO also thinks that the government regulator is becoming much more aggressive in how it handles safety campaigns, but the Feds aren't necessarily doing a very good job of communicating that. "We need to work with the agency in a very cooperative and open way to make sure that we can meet their requirements for their new stance," he said, according to the newspaper. "We have no option but to comply with their requirements and we will. I have nothing to hide in this process. I just want clear rules." Marchionne also dropped the news that the company has changed its mind about making the next Jeep Wrangler totally from aluminum. "Because of the difference in cost, not just the new material but the actual assembly process, I think we can do almost as well without doing it all-aluminum," he said to The Detroit News. This seemingly opens the door for the model to remain in production in Toledo, OH, but only just a crack. Marchionne says that the new Wrangler would still use a large amount of aluminum, and there are "at least" two sites in contention for the assembly. The company doesn't have too long to make a decision because the model reportedly launches in 2017.

Junkyard Gem: 1974 Fiat 124 Sport Spider

Fiat sold the Pininfarina-designed 124 Sport Spider in North America for the 1966 through 1980 model years, followed by a few years of importation by Malcolm Bricklin as the Pininfarina Spider. During the 1970s, these cheap and lightweight sports cars sold well, and enough of them still await oft-postponed restorations that plenty of them still show up in wrecking yards to this day. Here's a rusty but complete '74 in a Denver-area self-service yard. This wouldn't even count as real rust in Maine or Michigan, but it's a death sentence for a Denver Spider. According to the emissions-test sticker, it was driving in Colorado as recently as 1994. The inherent coolness of an Italian convertible keeps these cars around even after they break (which happens with great frequency), but their affordability makes owners reluctant to spend real money on fixing problems. This means that many thousands of 124 Sport Spiders sit in driveways, yards, and garages around the continent, awaiting repairs that (in most cases) will never come. Eventually, a spouse or landlord or homeowners' association has had enough, and the old Fiat project takes that final, sad tow-truck trip to the graveyard. The 1,756cc Twin Cam engine in this car was rated at 92.5 horsepower, which was decent power for a 2,128-pound car in 1974. The current Miata-based 124 Spider has 160-164 horses and weighs just a few hundred pounds more, but expectations have changed since the dark days of the Malaise Era. The 124 Sport Spider's main rival in North America was the venerable MGB. Both cars were notorious for reliability problems, but so what? Commuting in an affordable little European convertible was way more fun than chugging around town in a Corolla or Pinto. In 1974, the 124 Spider had a $4,395 price tag (about 23 grand today), and the MGB cost a mere $3,925. The MGB was heavier and had just 78.5 horsepower from its sturdy-but-primitive pushrod engine (yes, British Leyland claimed the half-horse instead of rounding down), but was much more solidly built; if not for the flaky electrical system made by The Prince of Darkness, the MGB would have obliterated the 124 Spider in the dependability department. I always grab these beautiful metal-and-glass warning lights when I find them in junked Fiats; I have installed them in everything from Impala instrument panels to homemade car-parts boomboxes. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.