Fiat Struggles to Sell the 500 in North America

So Fiat has finally arrived in North America and it's doing... well... not as well as they wanted. There seems to be a couple of problems. First, it's smaller than most SUV-loving Americans would like. However, with gas prices through the roof Americans are increasingly opting for smaller, more efficient vehicles; the days of highways that look more like monster truck rallies have all but passed. Second, they are expensive; the average price hovers around $20K, which is pretty hefty considering its size and the fact that (third) they are not that well made. Fiats have never done very well outside of Italy, mainly because they couldn't compare to other solid European car makers. Italians love them because they are a point of pride, being typically Italian, and the service is much easier to find and cheaper within Italy.

It seems like they are trying to bounce back, introducing some different models and variations, not to mention an advertising blitz. But they can't even really get that right either. The first (in)famous commercial blew up in their face when Jenny from the Block was driving pretty far from the block. The second (above) is surely a fan-favorite among men, yet those diligent Italian students among us will surely notice her not-so-Italian accent. Her name is Catrinel Menghia and she is Romanian, which doesn't matter at all except for the fact that she is portrayed as being an Italian representative of this typically Italian car. It's actually kind of weird considering that Italy has no shortage of belle donne.

Honestly I hope these are just some minor hiccups for Fiat; it would be nice to see an Italian company doing well. The price needs to come down, but the trend seems to be heading towards the smaller, more efficient type of cars that dominate the European market. Plus, it seems like the "cool" factor is there (despite their advertising controversies), so people might actually want it. At the very least, they will always have a loyal market on the Jersey Shore.

Does universal healthcare work in Italy?

With the firestorm surrounding the healthcare debate in the United States right now, it might be interesting to take a look at a country where universal healthcare already exists, to let you make up your own mind about whether Obama's initiative is legitimate.

In Italy, healthcare is free. Anyone in need (not only Italian citizens) can go to a hospital and receive free care. This, of course, means that the lines at hospitals are unbearably long, and that the system, like many of its kind in Italy, is far from efficient. It also means that Italians must pay higher taxes to support the system. However, there is a basic, undeniable right to healthcare, a fact in which most Italians take a lot of pride.

Private insurance companies and healthcare also exist, and once in a blue moon an employer will offer private insurance. Many agree that the private doctors and clinics give higher quality care than the public hospitals and clinics, however this is not given. Since this is a very expensive route to take, as you would have to pay insurance fees on top of national healthcare taxes, it is not very common.

The fact is that, Italy being Italy, most people have a preferred doctor, who may be a friend of the family (or who becomes one after an appointment!), that usually does not charge much. A free pack of medicine here, a quick check-up there, it is taken for granted that care and treatment come first, money later. It's a cultural hierarchy of importance that does not value money over all else.

Italy's healthcare is perfect. The frustrating inefficiency in hospitals is on par with the inefficiency in other aspects of Italy (e.g. the Poste Italiane, a.k.a. eighth circle of hell), but the notion that healthcare is a right, not a privilege, is something that I think many Americans should think long and hard about. Maybe it's for this that the Italian healthcare system was rated 2nd in the world by the World Health Organization, while the United States' was 37th.