Word on Chrysler

One of the big concerns for those of us observing the automotive market and community is the fate of Chrysler. Rob and I as well as many others have written on the subject of their potential impending doom, merge with Fiat, and resulting product line.

Sergio Marchionne finally revealed the product lines we can expect in the coming years, and in doing so confirmed some rumors, clarified others, and dispelled others. For those of you that didn’t catch the news, I will provide the highlights, from a smattering of news sources that I caught.

Marchionne has a lot to wrestle into submission at Chrysler, including ailing sales, debt to the government and others, a poor reputation for quality and fuel mileage, and an uninspiring product line. Since few of you have business degrees, and even fewer give a lug nut about the entire financial climate, I am going to provide a car guy’s lens on the new product overview.

Continue reading after the jump!

First, I am elated to report that my favorite rumor—that Alfa Romeo may make its way back over to the United States in the near future—is confirmed. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Alfa Romeo is an Italian sports car brand that Fiat owns and operates that has never benefited from a lot of sales traction stateside. Although the name may not ring a bell, you may know them from the opening scene in Quantum of Solace. Alfa Romeo 159s were the villains’ rides with the shockingly impressive exhaust tone that were tearing after Mr. Bond’s handsome Aston Martin.

Alfa Romeo also offers a host of dynamic small cars like the 147 which would be competitive with the tuner-popular VW GTI. Additionally, Alfa Romeo has a high-end, long-nosed performance car called the 8C that may eventually find its way here also. The 8C reminds me of a C6 Corvette and a Ferrari California and is priced more similarly to the Ferrari.

Fiat itself has some excellent assets to offer the American market as well. Quite likely the star of the Fiat portfolio, the Fiat 500 is a trendy small car built to compete with the likes of Mini. Even the earliest reports of Fiat and Chrysler’s merge spoke of the famed Fiat 500 here in the states, and it was confirmed that we will see them here in the States as early as next year at this time.

Although the Fiat 500 will arrive here unmolested, Marchionne made clear that the majority of the upcoming Chrysler fleet will be the product of a blending of Chrysler and Fiat designs and will feature several models on a few shared platforms, and most excitingly, Fiat’s fuel efficient engines. This shift to cost effective platform sharing and many Fiat drivelines will produce a fuel efficiency increase of 25 percent by 2014 per Marchionne. On a personal note, I won’t shed a single tear to see the Dodge Caliber replaced by something that bears more mechanical and possibly physical resemblance to a Fiat Punto Evo. According to Popular Mechanics, engine size should shrink across nearly the entire product line, with V8s only powering 11 percent of the fleet, a forthcoming v6 powering another 37 percent and as much as 50 percent receiving power from an advanced four cylinder or diesel.

Fiat Punto Evo Courtesy of Fiat.com

Diesel is a hot and growing market here in the United States for passenger cars as models offering a diesel option have been selling higher portions in diesel than ever before. An excellent example of this is the TDI Diesel Jetta. The diesel Jetta can command a higher sticker price and still fly out of showrooms, boasting crisp handling and performance with the 40+ mpg fuel economy of a turbo diesel. I ventured early on that Fiat’s merge with Chrysler would bring diesel engines into the Chrysler fleet and Marchionne confirmed my guess. Diesel is much more prevalent in Europe and other markets. With Fiat’s knowledge of the technology, and a consumer becoming more in tune with fuel economy and longevity, I feel that this could be a razor sharp competitive edge if executed wisely. I have always taken a particular interest in diesels because of their comparatively enormous compression ratios, their favorable disposition towards turbos and of course, their outstanding fuel economy. If Chrysler is wise enough to mate a stick shift to a turbo-diesel in a hatchback, I’ll be as gleeful as a fat kid at a buffet.

Marchionne confirmed that Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Jeep Liberty will all be updated in the short term, before we see the small cars that will result of the Chrysler/Fiat collaborative engineering push.

I am sure most of you have heard now that Chrysler has split Ram off into its own independent brand within the larger conglomerate. Ram will be a truck brand which is meant to cater to the commercial and industrial truck markets. I was unable to find any indication if the Ram brand will include smaller trucks and SUVS the way that GMC does at Government Motors.

All information seems to indicate that Jeep will undertake a revitalization to re-energize some of the owner loyalty and brand equity it has traditionally enjoyed over the years. Reportedly, Wrangler will be the cornerstone of the marketing campaign, which calls back to Jeep’s rugged off-road heritage and high consumer perception.

Photo Courtesy of Jeep.com

In summary, it is clear that Sergio Marchionne landed purposefully at Chrysler and took a decisively more rational approach to steering the ship that has been dangerously close to the jagged rocks. Chrysler needs better fuel economy, higher quality, and more exciting products, which is exactly the direction he is steering it towards. Ever since Lee Iacocca put his stamp of approval on Marchionne, I’ve seen and heard only good things. My hope is that he hasn’t taken the wheel after Chrysler’s direction and fate were set in motion by the poor decisions of his predecessors. I look forward to all of the forthcoming changes. If the ship doesn’t sink before then, the American consumer will see a lot of exciting products from Chrysler.