Rosemary Cheramie
October 25, 2016
Used car dealers say local market remains steady
October 25, 2016
A long-standing car dealership on West Park Avenue has become the first in Terrebonne Parish to sell Fiat automobiles.
Southland Dodge Chrysler Jeep is already taking delivery of Fiat autos. They will handle the full Fiat production line, from the economy 2-door Pop to the luxury 500X sedan and the sporty Spyder.
“The Fiats bring an opportunity for consumers to purchase a new car at used car prices,” said Southland’s general sales manager, Diane Authement. “With that being said, Fiat has brought to the market quality, European style and handling, at prices everyone can afford. Southland Dodge is excited about this new opportunity to serve our community and the surrounding areas.”
In addition to selling Fiats, Southland is also servicing them as a certified Fiat Service Center. In offering the Fiat line, Southland now joins 31 other Louisiana new car dealers.
For more than a century the largest automaker in Italy, Fiat draws its name from the words Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, which translates from the Italian to ‘Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin.”
The name has been known in Italy since 1899. The company’s cars have been sold – and also manufactured – in the US during varying periods of time. The Fiat offerings, Southland said, complement what is already sold through its Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler lines. Fiat acquired a 20 percent portion of Chrysler in 2009. When that happened Fiat cars began to be sold in the U.S. for the first time in a quarter century. The Fiat 500 is made in the same factory as the Dodge Journey and the Fiat Freemont.
The Fiat 500X was the winner of the Autotrader 2016 “Must Test Drive” award, and the 500 was named one of the 10 Coolest Cars under $18,000 by Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com.
Fiat autos available will include those in the Spider line, a series of sports touring cars. Sports car enthusiasts in Houma might have a lot to look forward to, if a new Fiat line heralded by Motor Trend magazine ends up for sale here. The magazine raved about Fiat’s recent introduction of a GT class concept car, the Abarth 124 Rally class. The new auto was spied in the Italian countryside going through its paces by Motor Trend, which gushed compliments.
“Unsurprisingly, the 124 R GT sounds as ferocious as it looks,” Motor Trend crows. “Under the handsome roadster bodywork, a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder spins out 300 hp, managed by a beefy seven-speed sequential transmission.”
