Jump to content
Create New...
  • 🚗 Your People Are Here. Get In.

    The internet is full of car content. This is the community.

    Cheers & Gears has been bringing enthusiasts together since 2001. Join the conversation, show off your garage, and find your people.

  • William Maley
    William Maley

    Head Of Fiat North America Leaves


    Laura Soave, the head of the Fiat in North America, is leaving the company. Soave oversaw the return of Fiat in North America with 500. However flagging sales, slow dealer network expansion and marketing disasters (see Jeniffer Lopez ads) have cause Soave to leave.

    Through October, Fiat has only sold 15,826 500s. A far cry from the 50,000 500s goal for 2011. The news is made even worse when Automotive News reports that 29 out of the 150 Fiat dealers didn't sell one 500 last month.

    gallery_10485_267_596846.png

    Soave's replacement is Timothy Kuniskis. Kuniskis previous position was Director of Product Marketing for Chrysler and Fiat.

    Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

    Press Release is on Page 2


    Chrysler Group Appoints Timothy Kuniskis Head of Fiat Brand for North America

    November 21, 2011 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Chrysler Group LLC today named Timothy Kuniskis Head of the Fiat Brand for North America. Kuniskis most recently served as Director for both the Chrysler Brand and Fiat Brand Product Marketing. The move is effective immediately.

    In his new role, Kuniskis is responsible for the Fiat Brand in North America which includes leadership for Fiat Brand sales, marketing, dealer network and service. He will continue the reintroduction of the iconic brand including its newest vehicle the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth.

    "Tim brings broad expertise and leadership in dealer operations and marketing where he has been already working with the team to shape the direction of the Fiat Brand," said Sergio Marchionne, Chairman and CEO, Chrysler Group LLC. "As North American Head of Fiat, much of his immediate focus will be working with the dealer body where his fresh perspective from the operational side, as well as that on the commercial side, will begin the Fiat Brand's next chapter."

    Kuniskis joined Chrysler in 1992 and since then has held a series of increasingly responsible positions in the Company's business center operations and marketing organization.

    Laura Soave has left the Company and will pursue other interests

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Now see I was trying to not go there :thumbsup:

    Ohhh ... trust me, I'll go there and I'll totally trash her like she trashed Fiat's U.S. relaunching.

    I will say, though, she'll have to put out better for me than she did for Fiat.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Good. Someone's head needed to roll. The Jennifer Lopez ads are terrible.

    You would think someone from Chrysler would show her

    and
    as proof that having celebrities in your ads isn't always a great idea.
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    ^ Are you guys talking about the woman above, or someone else not pictured here? ;)

    The woman above, although the same of course applies to J-Lo. Don't care about the bad ads, I just care about dat bad ass.

    Actually I heard she was f@#king ppl inappropriately and that's one reason she was let go.

    Hopefully she's keeping regular business hours after leaving Fiat then. I'll show her things about f@#king inappropriately she couldn't even dream of.

    Edited by black-knight
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    You would think someone from Chrysler would show her

    and
    as proof that having celebrities in your ads isn't always a great idea.

    Agreed on Dion, but Aerosmith wasn't actually in the ad you linked, just the song.

    ^ Are you guys talking about the woman above, or someone else not pictured here? ;)

    The woman above, although the same of course applies to J-Lo. Don't care about the bad ads, I just care about dat bad ass.

    Actually I heard she was f@#king ppl inappropriately and that's one reason she was let go.

    Hopefully she's keeping regular business hours after leaving Fiat then. I'll show her things about f@#king inappropriately she couldn't even dream of.

    Horsey, IMO. To each his own. :D

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I am not surprise the 500 hasn't sold, it is sort of expensive for what you get. It has some unique Italian styling quirks and I like the fold back cloth roof. But it has about 106 hp and only gets 32 mpg highway. There are 40 mpg cars with more power for less money.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    A neighbor bought a white 500. The car is small and cheap, but Fiat has a lot of work to do to overcome a terrible reputation. I'm still surprised they tried to come back here.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Support Independent Automotive Journalism

    25 years of honest automotive coverage — because someone has to do it.

    Cheers & Gears has never been filtered by manufacturer relationships or driven by algorithm. Just real people, real opinions, and a genuine love of cars. Subscribers keep the lights on and get an ad-light experience starting at $2.25/month.*

    View subscription options

    *A small number of ads feature member-exclusive coupon deals and will still appear.

  • Posts

    • The market for all coupes is stale. But this has outsold the Miata some months 
    • So as I mentioned in my Has it really been 25 years? post, I have an app I've been building.  It's called Apartmatic.  It is occupant first property management software.  What does that mean? Most property management software is geared to landlords and property managers that manage several to many units.  This software can do that of course, but what it also does is lets occupants manage their home maintenance, warranties for things they've purchased, keep receipts and other important documentation, keep track of repairs, and more.  You can scan the serial number barcode of your fridge into the software and it will look up the make and model for you AND look up parts like water filters, seals, shelves, handles and more.  It will give you the default manufacturer's recommended service interval for maintenance parts like filters, cleanouts, and more.  It will remind you when it's time to order parts and send you links to shopping sites that have them in stock.   You can use it to maintain ANYTHING in your home.  Have a slate roof? Those need service every so many years. Enter your favorite roofer's information in and it will give you a reminder and ask when you want to send the e-mail to schedule the service.  You can enter all your service vendors in.  Same goes for insurance. Track your insurance plans, extended warranties, keep an inventory of major purchases, have scans of the receipts, all stored in the app in case something happens. If you're a property manager, even more things become automatic. It can use prediction to warn you of when an appliance is nearing end of life.  It can automatically route issues to preferred vendors.  You can put jobs out to multiple vendors for bid and so much more. There is an entire listing to leasing to move-in workflow. Full payment and financial system, tax reporting, P&L reporting, unit turnover automation, and more. I've been building this thing from scratch, out of spite and frustration. No investors, just me being stubborn. If you want to help me out, sign up for the beta at https://www.apartmatic.com/beta and I'll send you the invite link as soon as it's open. It's free and always will be at the Home level. I don't need "looks great!", I need "this is confusing" and "why can't I do X" and "I clicked this and it broke."
    • Awesome change coming, so excited for C&G!!! Thank you Drew  
    • They over priced these, and the market seems pretty stale on the Z now.
  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search