Straightline

Yesterday's marathon Chrysler-Fiat press conference/coming-out party wasn't entirely about EBITA and acknowledging the shortcomings of the Sebring.

Ralph Gilles, the Dodge brand's new boss, laid an Easter egg hunt on the assembled dealers, bankers and journalists. What you see above is a shot of the 2012 Dodge Charger that appeared briefly on the screen during Gilles' talk.

Gilles provided no details on the upcoming full-size rear-drive sedan, but it's obvious from the photo above that the next Charger will be a more expressive, sculpted design that draws inspiration from its historic namesake. Of course, the Charger will still be a four-door, but the sharp-edged line, rising from the front door to the tip of he rear is, well, Charger-esque. It looks a little like the four-door Charger concept vehicle of several years ago--at least from this angle.

What do we know about the platform? Only that it's an update of the existing LX platform that, if we remember correctly, Sergio Marchionne said cost so much to create that it would "shock your pants off." So there's that.

The new Pentastar 3.6-liter engine, which debuts in the new Jeep Grand Cherokee in the middle of next year, will be the volume engine, with a Hemi V8 as the upgrade. Something tells us it won't be offered with the Fiat 500's 1.4 Multiair mill.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Classic Cars,Coupes,Dodge,Future Vehicles,Sedans

Arguably the most likeable car in the current Dodge lineup, the Challenger will live on in the new Dodge car brand, receiving only a minor refresh in 2011.

The Dodge Caliber, on the other hand, will dead by 2012 (new interior notwithstanding apparently). It will be replaced by a compact Fiat-based sedan and a small B-segment car produced by Fiat and imported to the U.S. A Fiat-based C-segment sedan is also in the works.

The Dodge Avenger will get a new interior and an engine of unspecified size and horsepower (though just about anything would be better than the current offerings) in the fourth quarter of 2010. Exterior styling will be made less offensive, and there will be better NVH control in the cabin. However, this is a just a stopgap, as a new D-segment sedan will replace it sometime in 2012 or 2013.

Even more important is the refresh coming for the Dodge Grand Caravan, which is still one of the most recognizable nameplates in the Dodge brand. The DGC gets a new interior, a refreshed exterior, a retuned suspension, a new engine and improved NVH control.

Finally, an all-new 7-passenger crossover is coming, too, and it will exist along side the Grand Caravan and Dodge Journey.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Chrysler,Coupes,Crossovers,Dodge,Fiat,Hatchbacks,Minivans,Sedans

The Dodge Viper just got a bit more collectible, as Chrysler has announced that only 500 more will be built. A new sports car will arrive in the summer of 2012, but don't expect it to be anything like the old-school Viper, as it will use Fiat alliance architecture.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, though, our Detroit editor, Dan Pund, reports that Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of the Dodge brand, said, "When you have friends across the ocean that are the world's best at building sports cars, that's exciting." Friends, as in friends in Maranello...?

Alongside that, we've learned that the Dodge Nitro gets to live through the product cuts and will continue to be sold under the Dodge car brand. Apparently, Fiat President Sergio Marchionne owns one.

Chrysler has also said the Caliber, Avenger, Journey and Grand Caravan will get new interiors -- evidently on top of the upgrades already made to the Caliber for 2010.

And with the splitting off of the Ram brand, the new Dodge logo will lose the horns and just say "DODGE" on a black background with a touch of red. 

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat,SUVs,Sports Cars

Well, it's now official: The Italian overlords of Chrysler have split Ram off from the Dodge brand to be the company's purveyor of trucks.

Here's what the product plan looks like, at least through 2014 (and assuming the company makes it through the next year or two):

Mid-size Pickup: The Dodge Dakota will die for the 2011 model year and be replaced by a unibody-based midsize truck of apparently U.S. origin.

Full-size Pickup: The light-duty, heavy-duty and chassis-cab versions of the what we know as the Ram pickup truck will continue on as planned. All of them will get major (and unspecified) modifications for 2012.

Vans: A new large commercial van will arrive on the scene for 2012, using a platform from the Fiat Group. A small commercial van will also arrive for 2012 and will be produced by the Fiat Group and imported into the U.S.

Categories: Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat

Here's the ultimate Dodge Challenger drag machine as envisioned by Mopar, or maybe you already guessed that from the name.

2009 SEMA Show
 
 

Categories: Classic Cars,Coupes,Dodge,Motorsports,SEMA Show,Tuners and Modifications

The Mopar division of the Chrysler Group, is taking a full-immersion dip into the retro bath for its SEMA Show concept, the Mopar Dodge Challenger 1320.

The new Challenger is already a pretty faithful re-issue of the old two-door, but the 1320 takes it several steps further with other characteristics from Mopar's drag- and street-racing heyday. Those retro cues include obnoxiously cool (or cooly obnoxious) paint, this time a yellow-green shade that's offset by flat-black graphics. It looks cool, at least from what we can tell in the computer-generated illustrations Chrysler released.

The bulged carbon-fiber hood covers a monster 426 cubic inch Hemi crate motor that punches out 556 horsepower. It is, naturally, no coincidence that 426 also happens to be the number of cubes of the most fearsome motor of the (first) muscle-car era, the 426 Hemi. All that power flows through a 6-speed manual to a Dana 60 rear end with locking differential. Based on the Drag Pak Challenger, the 1320 is also stripped-down to lighten its load and Mickey Thompson street-legal drag radials on wicked, black "police wheels." And, yes, the 1320 stands for the number of feet in a quarter-mile.

It looks tough and not very much like a Fiat 500.

Categories: Chrysler,Coupes,Dodge,SEMA Show

According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler's new product plan calls for partial redesigns of seven different models in the next 18 months. To accomplish the quick turn around, the company plans to hire additional engineers, designers and purchasing agents.

It's a far cry from earlier this year when Chrysler slashed it white collar workforce to maintain its cash reserves. Now it's finding itself in need of those same people to help push through product programs in half the time it did before.

Whether any of this helps is up for debate. A partial redesign of the Sebring pictured above isn't going to cut it. Chrysler needs seriously upgraded product to compete and 18 months is a long time to wait for a bunch of refreshes.

Detroit Free Press: Chrysler Aims to speed up its next redesigns
 

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Jeep

Chrysler has formally announced what has been rumored for weeks. The Dodge brand has been split into two. It will now consist of the Dodge Ram truck brand and the Dodge car brand each with its own CEO. Well known designer Ralph Gilles takes over as the head of the Dodge car brand while Chrysler marketing executive Fred Diaz Jr. will head up the Dodge truck brand. The former head of Dodge Mike Accavitti resigned. 

There were also a few other executive changes announced today. Oliver Francois is the new CEO of the Chrysler brand replacing Peter Fong. Francois currently heads up Fiat's Lancia brand in Europe and will retain that position along with worldwide responsibility for Dodge and Chrysler marketing. And finally, Joeseph Veltri, a long-time marketing executive has been named head of product planning.

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Jeep

Apparently, Chrysler still plans to expand the exterior color palette for the Dodge Challenger. Beyond Hemi Orange and TorRed (shown), you will see Plum Crazy and Detonator Yellow, says Jim Parker, manager of Chrysler's color studio.

PentastarVideo (YouTube)

Categories: Chrysler,Coupes,Dodge

Chrysler Group Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne is expected to lay out a formal, 5-year product plan for Chrysler today. Expected on it are 2010 launches of the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee (though Jim Press, above, won't be around for that) shown at this year's New York Auto Show, and the Chrysler 300, which will spawn Dodge and Alfa variants.

Marchionne is also likely to order makeovers for the Chrysler minivans, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass/Patriot and, somewhat surprisingly, the PT Cruiser. Marchionne wants these updated products on the market by mid-2011, the Detroit Free Press reports, and will rehire an unspecified number of employees to get this done. The word around Detroit, says Auto Observer, is that Chrysler has been so throughly gutted of talent and manpower, it currently doesn't have enough of a workforce to take on such projects.

The Fiat 500 is also expected to get a U.S. introduction by mid-2011, and it will be built at Chrysler's Toluca, Mexico, plant. All of this, of course, has to be greenlighted by the President's automotive taskforce.

Auto Observer

Detroit Free Press

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat,Jeep

Inside Line has learned that Fiat plans to resurrect the Alfa Romeo 166 sedan (1998-2007). The new sedan, known internally as Project 169, would switch from front-wheel-drive architecture to a rear-drive setup and share its basic structure with the next-gen Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger.

All three sedans would be sold primarily in North America and Chrysler's Brampton, Ontario, plant seems most likely.

The Alfa version would apparently use unique powertrains and have significantly different suspension tuning.

Sources close to the project suggest the new platform architecture might also spawn the next Alfa Romeo Brera and even a resurrected Alfa Spider, but this is unconfirmed.

And, yes, we're again hearing that Chrysler will borrow Fiat's A-segment (Fiat 500/Panda, Alfa MiTo), B-segment (Fiat Grande Punto) and C-segment (Fiat Bravo, Alfa Milano, Alfa Giulia) platform architecture to develop a new line of small and midsize cars. The Milano and Giulia would replace the Alfa 147 and 159, respectively, and if all goes well, those could be built in the U.S. alongside Chrysler and Dodge versions.

Yes, indeed, if all goes well...

IL Exclusive: Alfa 166 Replacement To Be U.S.-Built

So that's the old Alfa 166 in the above picture. Follow the jump to watch Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear road test of the 166.

Continue reading Alfa Romeo 166 Successor Likely to Be Built in North America.

Categories: Alfa Romeo,Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat

The Ram stands alone. Apparently. Inside Line has learned the Chrysler-Fiat plans to spin off the Dodge Ram as its own brand, with a line of Ram-badged pickups, SUVs and vans.

We've also learned that the Dodge brand will be discontinued in Europe, where it has never really gained a foothold. Probably this is because its success largely hinged on Dodge's ability to sell the Caliber hatchback. As you can imagine, that hasn't worked out well at all.

Inside Line News: Ram Nameplate Will Become a Full Brand

Categories: Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat,SUVs,Trucks

Chrysler is chopping the size of the owner's manual in its model-year-2010 vehicles. Paper manuals will be 10 percent of the size they were in 2009 and will be accompanied by a DVD. The 60-to-80-page paper manual will include only basic info (adjusting the seat, dealing with an emergency situation). The main "manual" will be on the DVD. The embedded video offers a sample of the DVD manual for the 2010 Jeep Liberty

On the surface, this change is about saving paper, but unquestionably, cost-savings is the main motivating factor. Chrysler says you can still get a traditional full paper manual at no extra charge, but you have to request it through your dealer or through customer service.

What do you think of this change? Is it long overdue given the current state of technology? Is DVD the most appropiate format, or should Chrysler be putting this on a mini hard drive?

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Jeep,Trends

This is not a new story. Ever since Chrysler announced it was terminating its franchise agreement with 789 dealerships in May, accusations that political bias entered into the decisions have been all over the Web, mostly on conservative-leaning blogs and forums. The basic "argument" is this: The vast majority of terminated Chrysler dealers gave money to Republican candidates, while many of the dealers who were spared supported the Obama campaign.

This claim has been refuted many times over in publications as wide-ranging as the left-leaning Huffington Post to the far-right Heritage Foundation's journal. Many experts have argued that car dealership owners as a whole are more likely to give to Republican causes, so it only stands to reason that many of the terminated dealers were GOP donors. Analysis by the Heritage Foundation suggests there was no correlation between dealerships' status and the percentage they donated to the Republican vs. Democratic campaigns (nor the amount they donated). In effect, it was just business.

But the rumors won't go away. Read Chrysler's official statement after the jump.

Continue reading Chrysler's Official Response to Accusations of Bias in Dealer Closings.

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Jeep

Chrysler stopped leasing vehicles on Aug. 1, 2008, at a time when low residual values (among other things) were causing all kinds of problems. Today, the company announced it will start offering leases again effective tomorrow.

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Jeep