Laura Soave

Launching the 2012 Fiat 500 minicar in the U.S. market was a gamble to begin with. But it's one that is paying off in some unexpected ways. Fiat's top North American executive, Laura Soave, told trade journal Ward's Auto that the Cabrio model with the roll-back cloth roof is proving far more popular than the 10 percent of sales that the company projected. Cabrios sold thus far have represented up to 20 percent of all Fiat 500 sales, which totaled 4,944 through June. Based on more dealers coming on line and the launch of a national ad campaign, Ward's projects that Fiat sales this year will...