Relaunching the Fiat brand in the U.S. with the pressure of a very short and demanding timetable, along with recruiting a new dealer network and setting high standards, especially in terms of developing standalone showroom specifications, was always going to be a project that hit snags along the way, but although Fiat North America expected to have 165 dealers with cars in the showrooms by the end of this month, that number is now believed to be set to number around 20 while the whole dealer network is now being talked about by Fiat at ending up more in terms of about 130.

As well as the requirement for standalone facilities, Fiat North America has laid out more European-style standards in terms of the respective showroom's furniture, fittings and decorations, to try to create a distinct brand identity for the small car that is targeted to attract different types of consumers than would normally be associated with Chrysler Group products.

Getting the cars into the showrooms from the assembly lines of the Chrysler Group factory at Toluca in Mexico is also proving to be one of the stumbling blocks to be overcome, although the first pre-ordered batch (known as the 500 "Prima Edizione"), Fiat says, are on their way and will be delivered to dealer network during the second week of March. It all means that while some dealerships aren't ready to receive their cars as they are still preparing the facilities, other that are now prepared have no cars to show off to customers.

Chrysler Group had targeted selling 50,000 units of the 500 this year, but there has been no word yet if it will revise this figure. Initial sales of the 500 in North America are expected to be robust, so making up lost ground and pulling towards the targets may not be too difficult. The question mark hanging over the 500 is more its long term attraction to stateside consumers. Generally dealer feedback, at least in the media spotlight, has been positive with the delaying situation most believing that Fiat North America is overall taking the right steps.

Originally the Chrysler Group had talked of having the 500 on sale in the U.S. by the end of 2010 with that later becoming January. However Fiat North America boss Laura Soave, speaking to reporters during the Life is best when driven by Celebration event, suggested that as well as 20 dealers coming on stream this month, around 30 to 40 will be up and running by the end of next month. The remaining dealers with be in action by September, although bearing in mind Fiat's tradition for wild targets, that could signal a much longer waiting period. The "dealer locator" function hasn't as yet been activated on the Fiat USA website. "It’s a tiny bit behind,” Soave was quoted by Bloomberg as saying about the launch to the press at Life is best when driven by Celebration.