Editorial: Partnerships…

As the American car industry has faced hard times, some interesting partnerships have arisen. We at MicroCar Magazine can’t wait for something to come from this.

What are those partnerships?

Let’s start with Chrysler–they recently filed for Chapter 11 and partnered with successful European car company Fiat.  Now, with this filing of Chapter 11, the chief at Fiat has stated he is ready to pull Chrysler, once one of the Big 3, out of the bottom and back up to the top.

Meanwhile in Detroit, GM has partnered with another one of the European auto heavyweights Alfa Romeo. This marks the return of Alfa Romeo to the United States and yet some more possibilities for more microcars to drive!

What will they bring?

Before they left the United States market in 1995, Alfa Romeo had a reputation for having well-designed automobiles; however, the quality was lacking.  Fourteen years later, Alfa is ready to make its mark back in the US market and we at MicroCar Magazine are most excited about how the quality of an Alfa has improved over the years. The Mi To has been a well-received microcar in Europe and judging by the design, it will fit in very well here in the States.  What we are not sure about is how much power will be equipped in the Mi To and what the price point will be.

photo take by Fiat

Also making a return since it left in 1917 is Fiat, which comes to the United States to bring more micro goodness.  The 500 was first introduced in 2008 with a grand 500th hour reveal at the London Eye and it may not be the only possible microcar to be brought into the States.  Enter the FORD Ka, built through a partnership with Fiat and Ford in Europe.  This car could propose a challenge for SMART.  The Ka has about the same wheelbase as the SMART, but unlike the SMART, don’t look for the Ka to be easy to modify.

How powerful and how much?

No real information is available at this time, but as we receive news from around the world, we will update you. What can be said or at least questioned is whether these two European titans can unseat other microcar companies like Toyota or Honda.

Tags: 500, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fit, ford, Honda, Ka, Mi To, microcar, microcarmagazine, scion, toyota