Video: The Birth of a Polyfiat
Video: Chrysler’s Turbo Power and Eighties Luxury
Your Next Chrysler Could Be a Lancia in Drag
The Fiat Group’s is looking to kill two birds with one stone. Lancia is Fiat’s entry-level luxury brand, a sort of Italian Buick. And like Buick, Lancia has been suffering from a stale image. Fiat execs’ strategy will gradually merge the American Chrysler and the Italian Lancia into one. The new Lancia Delta will be the first bilateral vehicle, set to be showcased this coming year. The Chrysler 300 will serve as the basis for Lancia’s next full-size saloon, the Sebring will cover the next mid-sizer, and the Dodge/Chrysler crossover architecture will be exported to Italy.
Jalopnik’s Worst Vehicles of the Millennium…Again, So Far…
Filed under: Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hummer, Jeep
It’s only fair for us to include Jalop’s the Worst10, since that is the more interesting list. Some cars we take issue with being included, others we wonder why not, but the list is generally pretty sensible. Take a glimpse for yourself.
Video: 200 mph Super ‘Cuda vs. Ferrari Enzo
The Ten Best Concepts of the Decade #5: Chrysler Firepower
The Firepower seemed like the next logical step in the Viper evolutionary chain. The old Dodge two-seater had grown a little long in the tooth by 2005, no longer the raw road monster it had once been. The Firepower closely resembled the Viper, but progressed the design to appear more upscale–even lavish–with chrome, creases, and leather.
Being a Chrysler, the Firepower was more about grand touring than all-out performance. The 6.1 L Hemi V8 put out seventy-five fewer horses (425 total) than the Viper’s V10, but the coupe made up for it with its shiny interior, stylish looks, and claimed 4.5 sec. 0-60 time.
It doesn’t take a scientist to see where the problems lay. The Firepower would’ve ended up as another low-volume, low-dollar exotic (a la the Viper). Oddly enough, the Firepower’s rumored target price was a mere $50,000. Of course, it never would’ve sold for such a low sum without major sacrifice. A shortage of company dollars and a lack of demand left the Firepower to the already-packed Chrysler bin. Soon after its mid-decade debut, the Chrysler Group began its slow meltdown…which we are still seeing today.
Alfa-Romeo in Dangerous State
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Alfa here in the US. With all the talk of the pretty cars and Italian style, observers ignore the horrid rep Alfas (and Fiats) have in reliability. For the past decade, Alfa-Romeo’s been trying to serve as the Italian Audi–which comes to a wannabe BMW. The overweight, front-drive convertibles and trouble-prone saloons aside, Alfa’s place in the Euro sales charts has been slipping big-time. Total sales are down by almost half of what they were a decade ago. Alfa and Fiat heads are looking to converge the Euro-American vehicles with Chrysler corresponding to Alfa and the dying Lancia, and Dodge hooked-up to Fiat. We’re betting on the Marchionne Magic burning out by 2015.
McCain Gives Thumbs-Down to Chrysler
“It was all about the unions. The unions didn’t want to have their very generous contracts renegotiated so we put $80 billion into both General Motors and Chrysler, and anybody believes that Chrysler is going to survive, I’d like to meet them.”
So goes Senator John McCain.
The Arizona senator spoke to The Detroit News while attending a Phoenix racing event. McCain’s grim prediction comes amid the continually declining state of the Chrysler brand and dismal words for CEO Sergio Marchionne’s business plan.
McCain went on: “We see the automotive industry, and my heart goes out to the citizens of Detroit, really in the tank, and yet we have manufacturing plants all over the South, which are not bound by some of the labor rules and contracts that make them non-competitive.”
Image courtesy of Caricature Shack.
Fiat Pushing Hard on Chrysler Recovery
Reworked editions of the 300, Charger, and Grand Cherokee have been underway with a 2011 target release. Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne is now publicly showcasing similar enhancements for several other vehicles in order to maintain approval from the President’s automotive task force.
The Marchionne plan will heavily revise Chrysler minivans and compacts. The minivan news is not surprising, but Fiat’s intention to fix up the critically panned Caliber and Compass took the wind out of us. The Caliber and Compass have ranked poorly in in comparison tests, but discounts and favorable buyer incentives seemed to have kept sales steady.
Also on the facelift bandwagon is Jeep’s Patriot SUV and Chrysler’s neglected PT Cruiser.
Fiat Will Push Chrysler into Premium Territory
Fiat management has big plans for the troubled Chrysler brand. Chrysler CEO Peter Fong has indicated that he foresees Chrysler becoming a step “above Cadillac.” Those are bold words when you factor the quality and performance of such Chrysler vehicles as the Town & County and Sebring with the likes of the CTS and SRX. But it wouldn’t be the first time Chrysler placed itself at such a mark: the Imperial was marketed as a respectable rival to the Eldorado and Continental from the 1950s to the ’70s. An Imperial concept was rolled out earlier this decade, but received some flak for its almost obscene resemblance to Bentleys–more so than the 300.
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