2019 Fiat 124 Abarth Review: When the Best You Got Is Borrowed…

Our unofficial Auto123 Convertible Week continues with a look at the 2019 Fiat 124 Abarth, an Italian car that’s half-Japanese, from a brand that’s barely hanging on by its fingertips to the edges of the North American market.

Still to come this week, our reviews of the 2019 Mazda MX-5 and the 2020 BMW Z4 M40i

When Fiat announced it was returning to North America for the 2012 year, enthusiasm was mixed with equal parts skepticism. The move was logical in the wake of the merger with Chrysler, but the word on many lips was reliability. Let’s just say that the Italian brand’s track record in that regard has long been spotty. Still, we all hoped for the best.

The best didn’t come to pass, unfortunately. A bit over seven years later, an honest assessment has to acknowledge that the experience has been catastrophic. Fiat struggles, to put it mildly, to sell its vehicles on our continent.

To add insult to injury, the best-selling Fiat product on this side of the Atlantic this year is… a Mazda.

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