Sacramento Fiat Dealer Hopes To Cash In On Pope Francis' Ride

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Pope Francis surprised onlookers this week when he temporarily ditched the fancy Popemobile for a smaller Italian car.

A Sacramento Fiat dealership is hoping to cash in on the increased attention on the company's brand.

The pope raised eyebrows after hopping into a modest Fiat 500L.

"Basically these are super duper affordable cars that you are looking for, for a new one," said A.J. Howard with Niello Maserati and Fiat.

The dealership is scrubbing down and shining up the big inventory of its smaller cars head of this weekend.

"I'm really excited for this weekend to get some traffic in and all that good stuff," he said.

Dealers across the country are hoping the pope's visit will prompt a flood of foot traffic of biblical proportions. Currently, closing a deal is a challenge—car sales through August this year are down more than 11 percent compared with the same eight-month period last year.

For now, Howard is brushing up on his pontiff pitch. But there's one feature the Pope needs that might not be on the lot.

"Bulletproof Fiats? Not yet, but I'm sure that's something we can hook up for you," Howard said.

Currently Fiat makes up 0.2 percent of all U.S. auto sales.