Cars Simplified: Everything Automotive Explained

Fiat

Fiat, which stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or Italian Automobile Factory of Turin in English, is an Italian auto manufacturer. It currently produces a number of compact cars, most of which aren't sold in the United States of America, though the Fiat 500 is the one recent exception. Fiat is owned by Stellantis, and before Stellantis was formed, Fiat Chrysler was a company that had brands like Dodge and Lancia.

Fiat's History in the USA

Fiat's first attempt to reach the North American market was cancelled due to bad press. The popular phrase used to describe them was "Fix It Again Tony", partially due to a lot of their cars being unusual under the hood (for one, they were front-wheel drive, which was unusual to see at the time), and partially due to rust and other reliability issues. To avoid further mocking and negative press, Fiat pulled out of the North American market for almost 30 years.

A 1970 Fiat 500 L
The Fiat Trepiuno Concept, which would later become the Fiat 500.