U.S. Fiat dealers to be chosen next month, have until February to finish showrooms
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Budget</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hatchbacks/" rel="tag">Hatchback</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/chrysler/" rel="tag">Chrysler</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/fiat/" rel="tag">Fiat</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport/#3359828"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" alt="Fiat 500 Sport" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/fiatdealerchoice.jpg" /></a>
<div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><sma ll>Fiat 500 Sport - Click above for high-res image gallery</small></strong></em></div>
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By September 22 the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/11/chrysler-chooses-600-dealerships-for-possible-fiat-franchises/">600 Chrysler dealers</a> given the chance to snag a Fiat dealership will need to have submitted their applications. A group of dealers are in Florida now and have been shown the U.S.-spec <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/14/chrysler-shows-off-fiat-500-sport-for-north-america/">Fiat 500 Sport</a>, and next month 165 of those dealers will find out that they've been chosen to sell the car. Once they get the letter, they better get to work: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/chrysler">Chrysler</a> expects them to have their <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/06/report-chrysler-to-set-up-separate-fiat-dealers/">standalone dealerships</a> completed by next February for sales to begin in March.<br />
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That's just 90 days or so for dealers to either revamp or build from scratch, and a fair number of them will need to deal with freezing winter weather while they do it. The prize that <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/fiat">Fiat's</a> offering is 50,000 little cars, which would average 303 per dealer each year, and <a href="http://wardsauto.com/ar/fiat_strategy_mini_100708/">brisk aftermarket trade</a>. Fiat's told dealers to work on the expectation of clearing a $1,500 margin on each car, so an outlet that came in at the median number is looking at $454,500 in cream. Of course, these are all imaginary numbers at this point - for now, there remain the selection process and winter and construction to get through.<br />
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<div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport">2011 Fiat 500 Sport</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/06-500_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/01-500_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/02-500_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/03-500_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2011-fiat-500-sport/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/09/04-500_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />
[Source: <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-14/chrysler-aims-for-february-deadline-to-open-u-s-fiat-showrooms.html">BusinessW eek</a>]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/16/u-s-fiat-dealers-to-be-chosen-next-month-have-until-february-t/">U.S. Fiat dealers to be chosen next month, have until February to finish showrooms</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:57:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-14/chrysler-aims-for-february-deadline-to-open-u-s-fiat-showrooms.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/16/u-s-fiat-dealers-to-be-chosen-next-month-have-until-february-t/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19634013/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/16/u-s-fiat-dealers-to-be-chosen-next-month-have-until-february-t/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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