Anyone who remembers the Fiat’s of yesteryear knows that there were a few little quality issues when they were last sold in the United States in 1984. It’s now a new era in Fiat’s life cycle and since the merger between Chrysler and Fiat took place back in January, the big question was how would this relationship bode with the American consumer. People began to wonder if they would be seeing Chargers and 300′s re-badged with some funky Italian regalia and if their beloved Pentastar’s would wear a little Italian flag.

According to The Detroit Bureau, no such thing will happen. Apparently Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler CEO, wants to add 200 stand alone Fiat dealerships in the United States while at the same time keeping them completely void of any Chrysler product. In the beginning the only Fiat product that will come stateside is the itty-bitty Fiat 500, a car which has seen much success in the European marketplace. New dealerships cost upwards of 1 million dollars to set-up which is causing some people to wonder if this is in fact, a good move. Factor that in with the cost of re-marketing the Fiat brand in the United States and you can see how some issues may arise. Fiat has a lot of work ahead of them if they want to get U.S. consumers re-invigorated about the Fiat brand, lets just hope for their sake though that the little 500 is charming enough to push the brand forward.