Maserati | Fiat

Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) traces its history back to 1899 when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP (also known as the 3½ CV), was produced.

By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company in Italy. That same year, a new plant was built in Poughkeepsie, NY, by the newly founded American F.I.A.T. Automobile Company.

Owning a Fiat at that time was a sign of distinction. The cost of a Fiat in the US in 1918 was $6,400 compared to $825 for a Ford Model T. 

The U.S. factory was closed when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917. Fiat didn’t return to the U.S. until the 1950s.

In 1983, Fiat left the U.S. car market with a reputation for poor quality, mostly rust and poor reliability.

In January 2009, the Fiat Group acquired a 20% stake in US automaker Chrysler LLC. The deal saw the return of the Fiat brand to North America after a 25-year absence. The first Fiat-branded model to appear was the internationally popular Fiat 500 city car.

Fiat does not currently offer any large family car, nor an executive car – these market segments have, to some extent been covered by the Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, which Fiat also owns.

The Fiat 124 Sport Spider and Fiat 131 Abarth were very successful rally cars in the 70’s and early 80’s.

Fiat-brand cars are built in several locations around the world (Brazil, Argentina, Poland and Mexico)

Fiat Automobiles has received many international awards for its vehicles, including nine European Car of the Year awards, the most of any other manufacturer, and it ranked many times as the lowest level of CO₂ emissions by vehicles sold in Europe

Fiat Automobiles S.p.A is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. It is now a subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established in December 1914 in Bologna.

One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri Maserati, won the 1926 Targa Florio. In back-to-back wins in 1939 and 1940, a Maserati 8CTF won the Indianapolis 500, the only Italian manufacturer ever to do so.

The famous Argentinian grand prix driver Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years in the 1950s, producing a number of stunning victories including winning the 1957 world championship in a 250F.

Maserati retired from factory racing participation because of the fatal accident during the 1957 Mille Miglia, where 12 people died when a Ferrari 335 spun out of control. Maserati continued to build cars for privateers but became more and more focused on building road-going grand tourers.