How good are today's FIAT cars on English roads?

Q: I'm speaking from the states here.... I really should have come to this site first, before taking a shortcut through Y!A UK's "Society and Culture" forum. What WAS I thinking? Anyway, after having been missing in action for 25 years, FIAT has announced that not only is it returning to the USA with Alfa Romeo, it will be BUILDING the cars in the US. Specifically, high end Alfas and the brand new FIAT 500. I know-it sounds like a halluncinatory dream, to me, too. Although devoted to FIATS of all types, I know they have a spotted past, to say the least. What are they like now? Are they reliable, do they rust away into oblivion while sitting on the dealer lot? Do they dealers stand behind you? Are they still a blast to drive? Would love to know how you perceive this mark. P.S.: on behalf of the Yanks, let me apologize for the spectacle of Bush telling Russia to get out of Georgia. In the wake of the Middle East debacle, his position defies belief. I would've posted this on the Society and Culture section, but there were too many chavs indulging themselves. Greetings from Virginia.

A: Sorry, Fiat & Alfa are the most unreliable heaps you could ever have - not so much bodywork now, but major mechanical misery; check out any owners' forum (especially Alfa ones) - they're just a catalogue of disasters. If they're to be built in the states, they may get better, but then the US doesn't have the best reputation in that area anyway - the US built BMWs & Hondas are much, much more problematic than their home grown models, and the Chrysler models sold over here have a pretty poor all round reputation. I don't even think that modern Alfas are that attractive to look at, it's a bit of the Emperor's new clothes in my opinion.

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