(January 17, 2011) Fiat it seems is getting off on the wrong foot in the United States. And as the adage goes, sometimes the first impression is the best impression, or perhaps the last impression.

We thought Fiat would have things right when introducing its first car in America under the new Fiat/Chrysler banner. But it appears a few things have gone wrong.

First, the 2012 Fiat 500 heading to dealerships has been delayed. And even worse, the first units arriving at Fiat stores in late February will have manual transmissions, according to the company. This is not good for Fiat, because most of the 500s will be sold with automatic transmissions. Few people even consider manual transmissions these days.

And that's not all. As Fiat kicks off its North American sales only 20 percent of the 130 dealerships will be open, according to Laura Soave, head of the Fiat brand, as quoted by Automotive News.

We feel Fiat will get its act together. And hopefully this rocky start is not an omen of things to come.

— Jim Meachen