With Fiat acquiring a 35% stake in Chrysler, I am pretty excited about the real possibility of the Fiat 500 coming to the U.S.  Between it and the upcoming 2010 Nissan Cube, I’m contemplating purchasing a brand new vehicle for the first time.  The buzz at the moment is that the 500 will be marketed much like the Mini.  Meaning as there are standalone Mini dealerships, there will be standalone Fiat 500 dealerships, not general Fiat dealerships.  And due to our demanding expectation of performance here in the U.S. the only model offered may be the Abarth 500, which is fine by me as that’s the only one I’d consider (I’m one of those demanding types).