Straightline

After all the speculation that Alfa Romeo would share platform architecture with next-generation Chryslers and mount a return to the United States, Alfa never came up during today's 8-hour Chrysler-Fiat briefing.

Finally, a journalist asked, "What about Alfa?"

And Sergio Marchionne's reply? "We have Alfa in the 2014 sales numbers. But it's not much. Alfa needs to make a case for itself here, though."

That would be here, as in here in the U.S. But 2014 will apparently be no ordinary year. That's the year by which Fiat claims that Chrysler will more than double its current worldwide sales volume, topping out at 2.8 million units. That could happen, right?

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Auto Observer: Marchionne Disarms Alfa-In-U.S. Speculation, Calls Cost of Coming 300 Platform 'Shocking'

Categories: Alfa Romeo,Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat

After the late-2010 debut of the 2011 Fiat 500, the Italian automaker plans to bring us the Fiat 500C Convertible in 2011 and the Fiat 500 Abarth in 2012. The 500 Abarth has a turbocharged version of Fiat's Multiair 1.4-liter inline-4 rated at 135 horsepower and 152 pound-feet of torque.

Also today, Chrysler-Fiat announced that Chryslers sold internationally will share product and dealerships with the Lancia brand. We don't see that helping either brand, unless C-F miraculously figures out a way to resurrect the Delta Integrale and move it in mass volumes.

And by the way, we've been told that by 2014, 56 percent of all Chryslers sold will be Italian in origin.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Convertibles,Fiat,Hatchbacks

Well, here are the specifics on the future Chrysler brand products we were looking for. According to Joseph Veltri, VP of Product Planning, the Chrysler brand is the biggest benefactor of all the brands by the alliance with Fiat. Indeed, four of the size vehicles that make it to 2014 will be from Fiat origins.

Small car: Chrysler brand will dip into the B-segment in 2013 with a Fiat Group-produced small car.

Compact sedan: A new C-segment vehicle will arrive for 2012, using Fiat-Group under-pinnnings. Meanwhile, the Sebring gets new engines, interior upgrades, and NVH upgrades for 2010.

Mid-size sedan: Predictably, the Sebring gets taken behind the proverbial barn--eventually. It's place will be taken by a new Fiat-based sedan in 2013.

PT Cruiser: Dies at the end of 2010.

Mid-size Crossover: New D-class crossover based on a Fiat Group offering.

300/300C: The big Chrysler will be new for 2010 and will continue on indefinitely.

Town & Country: The minivan that isn't so mini gets a significant upgrade in 2010. An all-new van isn't scheduled to come to market until the 2014 model year.

Categories: Chrysler,Fiat

And the great plan for the underwhelming car known as the Chrysler Sebring? The ribs will be removed from the hood during a mid-cycle refresh slated for the fourth-quarter of 2011 2010.

We say it's going to take more than a smooth hood to make that dog hunt. A mercy killing seems more appropriate here, and we expect that to happen in the 2012-2013 timeframe when Chrysler-Fiat introduces a D-segment sedan to replace the Dodge Avenger, the Sebring's twin.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit 

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat,Sedans

Chrysler has a long history of fairly meaningless and relatively short-lived brand logos. Now, the brand has a new logo and it is every bit as meaningless as any that has come before it. The Chrysler Group, however, believes this one won't be so short-lived.

This is probably not going to turn around the Chrysler division. Neither are the short-term special editions that'll hit the market early next year. They include a 300 Sport edition aimed at the young folks; the Town & Country Fashion Edition, targeting affluent young families; the PT Cruiser Final Edition, aimed at, you know, old people; and the Sebring Ocean Edition, for people with compromised vision.

Neither are the refreshes of the Town & Country and Sebring, scheduled for the end of next year going to do the trick.

We're hoping to hear more promising product news out of Chrysler later this afternoon.

Categories: Chrysler,Fiat

The 2011 Fiat 500 will be sold through select Chrysler dealers, mainly in metro areas, by a dedicated staff within the dealership. Expect the sales process to be Scion-style with a huge list of accessories and no-haggle pricing. No word yet on whether each dealer will get a walk-in Fiat 500 in its showroom.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat,Hatchbacks

The Jeep brand is the only among the Chrysler sphere that has any real standing internationally. So it's not a surprise that the Fiat bosses will focused more than little attention to what has become an SUV brand.

Here's the plan for Jeep through 2014:

Extra-Small SUV: This entry which is expected for 2013 will be based on a Fiat Group product, almost certainly the Panda.

Small SUV: This space is currently cluttered with the less-than-dynamic duo, the Patriot and its uglier sibling, the Compass. Both will get some modifications for 2010, but by the end of 2012, both will have been killed in favor of one offering, based on a Fiat Group offering.

Mid-size SUV: The Liberty will be slightly refreshed for 2010 and will be replaced by a Fiat Group-based mid-sizer in 2013.

Wrangler: It appears that the Italians know enough to not mess with the heart of the Jeep brand, the Wrangler. It will get some updates for 2010 and will get more for 2011, when Jeep celebrates its 70th anniversary, but it will otherwise be left alone.

Commander: On the chart Chrysler/Fiat gave us, the timeline for the big-'n'-boxy Commander goes all dotted-line after 2010. Above the broken line is written "International Reallocation" whatever that means exactly.

Grand Cherokee: With the new model coming out around the middle of 2010, there's not much to change, nor much reason to apparently. Even the lux Grand Cherokee will get a Rubicon Trail-capable "Trail Rated" version.
 

Categories: Chrysler,Fiat,Jeep,SUVs

We learned today that the Fiat 500 will launch in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2010, so we'll start calling it the 2011 Fiat 500. It will debut with Fiat's Multiair 1.4-liter four-cylinder presumably making in the neighborhood of 100 horsepower. A turbocharged version will come later on, though no word if the resulting car will get Abarth badging.

Other interesting news: Chrysler's family of four-cylinder engines (1.8-liter, 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter) from the now defunct alliance with Hyundai and Mitsubishi will live on but will be modified with Fiat's Multiair system and direct-injection technology.

Multiair is the Italian automaker's variable valve timing technology, and it's among the most advanced of its kind. Fiat's powertrain expert, Paolo Ferrero, describes the Multiair system as, "variable valve timing on steroids." We'll bring you more details on the tech side of it at a later date.

The other bit of powertrain news is that Fiat intends to share its 6-speed dual-clutch transmission with Chrysler, though it hasn't said which model(s) will get it.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat,Green Tech,Hatchbacks

Chrysler's new Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 will debut in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which hits dealerships in the second quarter of 2010. In the Grand Cherokee, this engine will be rated at 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque.

Single- and twin-turbocharged versions of the Pentastar V6 are also in the works.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

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

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

Among the new diesels Chrysler-Fiat plans to sell will be a diesel Jeep Wrangler scheduled for introduction in the fourth quarter of 2010. A start-stop feature will increase what should already be very good fuel economy and shave 5 percent off its annual CO2 contribution.

-- Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Chrysler,Diesels,Fiat,Jeep,SUVs

Chrysler-Fiat anticipates that by 2014, V8 engines will account for only 11 percent of its mix (and that's including the new Ram brand), down from 18 percent in 2010.

At the same time, the company anticipates anticipates that four-cylinder engines will make up 38 percent of its mix in 2014 -- up considerably from 19 percent in 2010. And there will be more diesels, too. Look for them to make up 14 percent of the mix in 2014, compared to only 9 percent today.

-- Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Diesels,Fiat

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

We don't know if the valet circle at the massive Hilton Tokyo constitutes as a satellite booth at the Tokyo auto show, but it's awfully coincidental that both a red and a yellow Fiat 500 showed up at the same time. Park a Nissan GT-R in front of them and they get 10 times more interesting.

Categories: Fiat,Nissan,Tokyo Motor Show