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Chrysler Hopes to Dodge Oblivion with Fiat Footwork

Chrysler execs preview their plans at Detroit presentation

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 4, 2009
Italian car lovers are rejoicing. Dodge fans we're not so sure about.

In a presentation today, Chrysler executives unveiled their vision for the next few years. Basically, it calls for U.S. badges on the outside with Fiat powertrains and platforms underneath. Now, Fiat is nothing to laugh at -- it's one of the biggest automakers in the world and controls a huge share of the small-car market in Europe.

One of its biggest sellers is the bug-eyed Fiat 500, a revamped version of the original Fiat 500 first introduced in 1957. It's a small hatchback that, in Europe anyway, comes equipped with a 1.2- or 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine and a 5- or 6-speed transmission, depending on the model.

No one is saying the 500 will simply be rebadged as a Chrysler or Dodge but Chrysler Chairman Bob Kidder today said it won't be "business as usual" at Chrysler, which reported a 30 percent plunge in October sales, the 22nd straight month its sales have declined in the U.S.

Speaking in Detroit, Kidder and other executives said the Dodge brand plans the following models in 2012 and 2013:

• A new car designed for America in the "C" segment and based on a Fiat platform, something about the size of a Ford Focus;

• A hatchback even smaller than the "C" vehicle, likely to be imported from a Fiat factory;

• A new sedan to replace the Avenger sedan, built on an unspecified Fiat platform.

For late 2010, Dodge plans to produce a seven-passenger crossover, with updated versions of the Avenger, Journey, Caravan and Charger.

But the traditional Dodge appeal to performance-minded younger males may be coming to an end, unless someone can convince U.S. drivers that winding out a little four-cylinder engine until it sounds like a hummingbird is the way to get your juices flowing.

It actually takes a lot more skill -- and, perhaps, daring -- to get top performance out a small engine. Putting a little Euro pocket rocket through its paces isn't as easy as just mashing the pedal to the metal of an American V-8 but there are rewards. Most European cars emphasize tight handling and excellent brakes, somewhat rare in traditional U.S. muscle cars.

And let's not forget that the Fiat empire includes such storied marques as Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari, racing legends that mostly view the competition through the rear-view mirror. A U.S. version of the Alfa Competizione was introduced earlier this year to great acclaim, though only a few hundred cars have been imported so far.

Gas mileage

There is, of course, a reason those European cars are all so small: gas prices are four and five times what we're used to here. And that's what Chrysler's new masters are counting on to drive sales of fuel-sipping Fiat-inspired cars.

Chrysler and other carmakers will have to meet the new federal fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016 and Fiat's experience with economical gas and diesel engines will be invaluable, said Chrysler (and Fiat) CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Marchionne, by the way, assured reporters today that while the company faces huge challenges, it is not running out of money. He said Chrysler had about $5.7 billion in cash at the end of September, up from $4 billion when Fiat took possession in June.

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