????對于當紅女星珍妮弗?洛佩茲來說，出演菲亞特（Fiat）的這款廣告可算不上她最風光的時刻。這名42歲的流行歌星最近出演了菲亞特500轎車的廣告，該廣告在今年九月初的《周一橄欖球之夜》（Monday Night Football）節(jié)目上首次與觀眾見面。雖然她的舞步還不錯，但是人們對這支在線廣告的反應卻稱不上熱情。一位Youtube網(wǎng)友冷淡地回復道：“我不相信像她這樣的富人會開這種車。”

????菲亞特期待的可不是這種反應。該公司于今年年初推出了這款緊湊小車，而且還計劃將推出更多車型。但隨著種種現(xiàn)實問題的出現(xiàn)，菲亞特的高期望也漸漸落空，尤其是這款小車面臨著品牌混亂和目標顧客定位不明的問題。現(xiàn)在就說菲亞特500是款失敗車型可能還為時過早，不過慘淡的開局卻給CEO西爾吉奧?馬基奧尼擴張美國市場的計劃蒙上了一層陰影。

????克萊斯勒（Chrysler LLC，已被菲亞特控股）已經(jīng)開始銷售菲亞特500，只是銷量緩慢，整個10月只售出了大約15,000臺。馬基奧尼在2004年收購了麻煩重重的克萊斯勒，然后迅速讓它起死回生，成為汽車業(yè)最經(jīng)典的成功故事之一。過去的三年里，他已經(jīng)全盤控制了克萊斯勒，計劃使兩個品牌結(jié)盟，包括重返美國市場。

????克萊斯勒本來預計菲亞特500第一年的銷量可以達到50,000臺，但現(xiàn)在這個目標已經(jīng)無法完成了，這在某種程度上是由于124家經(jīng)銷商的鋪貨速度慢于預期，再就是由于顧客識知度較低。了解菲亞特這個品牌的美國人很少，只有少數(shù)人還記得二三十年前菲亞特的幾款車型，比如菲亞特124，這款轎車由于質(zhì)量和可靠性太差，不得不撤出美國市場。

????菲亞特500售價15,000美元。汽車網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com的高級編輯米歇爾?克瑞布斯認為， 微型車這一類別在美國的銷量一向很小，所以菲亞特500對消費者的吸引力也十分有限。另外她還認為，鑒于公司邀請了珍妮弗?洛佩茲來代言菲亞特500，因此這款小車可能主要對女性比較有吸引力，而對男性的吸引力可能較差。

????汽車營銷者們總是愛拿菲亞特500的發(fā)布與寶馬Mini品牌的成功發(fā)布進行比較。寶馬Mini是2001年推出的，在美國大約有90個經(jīng)銷商，年銷量達50,000臺左右。寶馬Mini的成功堪稱是一個教科書式的經(jīng)典營銷案例，它告訴我們?nèi)绾问褂玫统杀镜?、靈活的營銷策略來取得成功——比如把一輛寶馬Mini綁在一輛林肯領航者（Lincoln Navigator）的車頂上，然后開著它繞著市中心游街。

????菲亞特還計劃在11月16日在洛杉磯推出一款外形更炫、功率輸出更高的阿巴斯（Abarth）版的菲亞特500，此舉或許能夠刺激銷量。汽車網(wǎng)站TrueCar的高級編輯齊因坦?塔拉提認為，這款阿巴斯版的菲亞特500“將吸引喜歡更大功率的顧客，而且可以與寶馬的Mini Cooper S形成競爭?！?/p>

????盡管現(xiàn)在就說菲亞特陷入了麻煩還為時過早，不過克萊斯勒仍會小心觀察，以確保在一個緩慢的開局后，菲亞特500的銷量能夠持續(xù)增加?？巳R斯特缺乏一個真正的豪華車品牌，現(xiàn)在它正打算增加更多的菲亞特車型，最終將菲亞特的阿爾法?羅密歐（Alfa Romeo）豪華運動轎車引入美國市場。但如果美國經(jīng)銷商們不滿意，那么這一切美好愿望都是鏡花水月——除非菲亞特500積累了足夠的銷量，讓他們覺得值得掏錢對自家的汽車展廳進行一番換血。

????譯者：樸成奎

????It wasn't J.Lo's finest moment. The 42-year-old pop singer starred in an ad for Fiat's 500, first aired during Monday Night Football earlier this September. While her dance moves were fine, response to the ad online was less than enthusiastic. One Youtube commenter wrote dryly, "I can't believe a rich person like her would drive a car like this."

????That's not exactly the kind of response Fiat was looking for. The company introduced its feisty little compact earlier this year, the first in a planned wave of new vehicles. But high hopes are giving way to real-world problems, especially in the wake of brand confusion and disparate opinions about the car's target customer. It may be too early to call the 500 a flop, but a lackluster start has cast a shadow over CEO Sergio Marchionne's grand plans to expand in the U.S.

????Chrysler LLC, which is controlled by Fiat SpA, has gotten off to a slow start selling the 500, selling only about 15,000 units through October. Marchionne took over the troubled automaker in 2004 and quickly turned it into one of the auto industry's brightest success stories. Over the past three years, he's taken control of Chrysler, mapping a grand alliance between the brands, including a return to the U.S.

????The automaker has had to skin back on a first-year forecast of 50,000 sales in North America due, in part, to a slower-than-expected rollout of 124 dealerships or "studios," as the automaker calls them. Low consumer awareness hasn't helped either. Few Americans know much about Fiat except for those who remember its models from two or three decades ago like the Fiat 124 that were hounded from the U.S. market due to poor quality and reliability.

????Michelle Krebs, a senior editor for automotive website Edmunds.com, predicted the car, which starts at about $15,000, will have "limited appeal" because of the small number of "tiny" cars like the 500 sold in the U.S. She also wonders if the car's appeal to women, implied by the J.Lo commercial, may make it less so to men.

????Among automotive marketers the introduction of 500 is being measured against BMW's successful launch of the Mini brand. Mini, which was introduced in 2001, is selling about 50,000 units a year in the U.S. from some 90 dealerships. It has become a textbook example of how to succeed with low-budget, guerrilla marketing tactics -- like strapping a Mini on the roof of a Lincoln Navigator and driving it around urban centers.

????Fiat plans to introduce a glitzier, higher-output Abarth version of the 500 in Los Angeles on Nov. 16, which could goose sales. It "will attract customers looking for more power, and can compete with customers looking at the Mini Cooper S," said Chintan Talati, a senior editor for TrueCar, an automotive website.

????While it's too soon to regard Fiat as troubled, Chrysler will be watching carefully to make sure sales performance continues to gain strength after the slow start. Chrysler lacks a true luxury franchise and aims to add more Fiat models and eventually to bring the Alfa Romeo sport luxury franchise to the U.S. as well. Neither of those will happen unless U.S. dealers are satisfied that there is enough sales volume to justify investment in their studios.