gene cooley
Autocrosser
Not sure how many in the US really want to be driving around in something known as a "Pop" or a "Lounge".
You know, if they had gotten someone like Jay Leno to do a really cool commercial they would have sold tons more rather than with what's her name.
When Fiat entered the USA market the advertising campaign was run by the girlfriend of Mopar's CEO. If you recall it consisted of JaLo (not certain about spelling) cruising through the "hood" in Detroit or South Chicago to the tune of rap music! This DID NOT appeal to people in most other areas and it certainly didn't work in Detroit or South Chicago. Great move! I bought a used 500 Abarth and added the Magniti Marilli go pedal and ECU override. It's now has 22,000 miles and has been trouble free. I've taken it on 1,500 trips and felt secure at highway speeds. I like it more than my CTS with 14,000 miles. I've had about 70 different cars in my life and the worst was the most expensive. It was a 2006 500SL before AMG was bought out by Mercedes. Loaded with AMG stuff it went out the door for over $100,000. After 12 returns to the dealer I got rid of it in 6 months. Battery would die if parked over the weekend. I was told to put it on a charger if I wasn't going to drive it every day! My conclusion is , like people, all groups (car makers) have general characteristics BUT individual examples vary from great to undesirable. My 2 cents.