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Chrysler wants to start with 165 Fiat dealerships in the United States

Chrysler Group dealers who initially get Fiat franchises will be expected to start with small showrooms--2,500-3,000 square feet--enough to display three or four cars. Such a small showroom will be sufficient to sell the Fiat 500 minicar, which will arrive in dealerships at the end of this year. Chrysler expects to initially name 165 dealers in 119 U.S.

EV maker Coda trims staff

Not much more could go wrong for electric-car maker Coda, which has struggled to sell its four-door EV in the United States since officially launching it here in March. But Web reports, first seen at www.plugincars.com, say the company laid off 50 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, last week, mostly in the sales and marketing departments. Efforts by Autoweek to contact Coda have not been successful.

Ford Fiesta sedan for U.S. market gets minor changes

Ford is busy courting the youth population as potential buyers for the new Fiesta--it has brought 100 Fiesta five-doors over from Europe and loaned them to people for extended test drives. Meanwhile, engineers are putting the final touches on the Fiesta for the United States. Some of those changes are happening in the front and back, as seen on this prototype of the 2011 Fiesta sedan.