Mark Bury, owner of Turin Sports Cars, stands in front of his shop with (left to right) a Lancia Beta Zagato, a Ferrari 512 TR, a Fiat 124 Spider and an Alfa Romeo 164.
Southwest Michigan Mechanic Eager for Fiat Resurgence in the U.S.
by Bryce Hoekenga | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette
Wednesday July 08, 2009, 8:36 AM
KALAMAZOO -- After 27 years of trying to keep the Fiat name alive in southwestern Michigan, Mark Bury is looking forward to seeing the Italian maker of legendary sports cars roll out a new line of vehicles in the United States.
Bury, 51, became a Fiat mechanic before the company pulled out of the U.S. car market in 1982, and opened his own shop, Turin Sports Cars, at 3309 Redmond Ave., in 1988 in Kalamazoo.
Bury, who works alone, specializes in repairing, restoring and promoting Fiats.
All of that is poised for a big boost since on June 10 Fiat Group SpA bought a big stake in Chrysler LLC. In doing so, it is helping to save the struggling U.S. automaker. But it also will give Fiat a chance to use Chrysler's distribution network to re-enter the American car market in about two years.
Bury said he thinks the merger will help Fiat and Chrysler become more competitive with Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and other major automakers in the world market. And he's excited about the prospect of seeing Fiat make a comeback on American roads.
"I still have a passion for Fiats," he said. "They're cars from an era that has passed."
Bury likes to drive what he works on. He owns and drives the following: a 1991 Alfa Romeo 164; a 1981 Lancia Zagato; a 1976 Lancia Scorpion; a 1979 Maserati Merak SS; a 1963 Fiat 1200 Cabriolet; and a 1990 Chevy van.
Fiat makes cars under its own name, but the company owns several brands that are well known to sports car enthusiasts, including Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lancia and Maserati.
While the number of older Fiats on the road is dwindling, Bury said he continues to stay busy because of an increasing number of customers he attracts from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Parts for older Fiats also are becoming increasingly scarce and costly, but Bury does not foresee that changing after the company's re-emergence in the U.S. market.
"When Chrysler starts distributing Fiat parts, it will most likely exclude the older-model parts because there isn't enough demand," Bury said. "They don't see the old models as significant."
That means, however, that Bury won't have to worry about losing business to future Fiat dealers here. They are unlikely to service older Fiats, he said. And Bury doesn't expect to work on newer Fiats until they are several years down the road.
"Fiat cars will be sold through Chrysler dealerships and will be under warranty," he said. "I won't work on them until they are off warranty."
Bob Doerr GMC Fiat, a now-closed dealership that was at 3600 E. Cork St., began selling Fiats about 1980 and was the Kalamazoo area's only seller of the Italian car. Bury became a Fiat mechanic there in 1982, which was the last year Fiat sold cars in the United States. Although Fiat technically left the U.S. market, two of its models continued to be sold here for a few more years under the names of their designers.
Bury left the Doerr dealership in 1987 and restored three Fiat Spiders before starting Turin Sports Cars in 1988.
Turin Sports Cars takes its name from the Italian city of Turin, where Fiat is based. Bury said it is the only auto repair business in Michigan that specializes in Fiats, although there is one in Dearborn that specializes in maintaining and restoring Alfa Romeo automobiles.
Mark Bury, owner of Turin Sports Cars, stands in the engine bay of a Fiat 124 Spider.