Fiat has completed their purchase of Chrysler, clearing the way for the troubled automaker to exit bankruptcy — but what will the new company look like for consumers? Well, according to BusinessWeek you may be visiting your local Fiat, Jeep, Dodge dealer.
From BW:
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne will also serve as CEO of the newly formed U.S. company. Though he has been silent on many of the specifics, sources familiar with the planning work say there is a strong likelihood that the Chrysler brand of cars and SUVs will be eliminated and replaced by Fiat, and sold alongside Dodge and Jeep vehicles in combined dealerships that will carry all three brands.
Will the Chrysler nameplate be missed by anyone other than Michael Scott?
Chrysler-Fiat Finalize Accord [BW]
(Photo:Ben Popken)
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nope
no
well actually, maybe car mechanics will miss Chrysler.
@Yankees368: That’s okay. There are still plenty of them out there to break down and get taken into the shop.
@Yankees368: But they can fix fiats now!
@GavinEstecado: Fix it again, tom.
@Yankees368: I always heard it as “Fix it again, Tony.” More appropriate to use an Italian name, you see.
@Shadowman615: Yes, but now we will be fixing them in the US, thats why I said Tom.
Only Tony if I am in Europe.
@Yankees368:
And many others for just about any other car brand…
[www.carbuyingtips.com]
@Yankees368: If Fiat has improved their game since the last time they sold cars in the USA mechanics will have nothing to worry about. I speak as a former Fiat owner myself.
@MaytagRepairman: Dang nabbit! Edit: If Fiat hasn’t improved their game since the last time they sold cars in the USA, mechanics will have nothing to worry about.
@MaytagRepairman:
They were using Soviet steel and English electrics. There was nowhere to go but up.
@MaytagRepairman: [blogs.consumerreports.org]
Fiat finished last in a UK quality study
I, like Michael Scott, love my Sebring. That being said, I am not really tied to brand name…just MPG, reliability, and price.
@JediJohn82:
That’s what she said.
@JediJohn82: & yet you drive a chysler…
@JediJohn82: That sentence does not compute. You claim that you love Sebrings because you are concerned about MPG and reliability. Do you ever drive your Sebring or just look at it.
If you have a reliable car am am happy for you. I inherited a Sebring and needed a carat the time and it was horrible.
@sir_pantsalot: I ended up with a Sebring a couple of times when I rented a car. I liked driving it and thought it looked good. I was pissed when I saw the ratings it got from Consumer Reports. SO disappointed. (Not that I’ve been able to get a car yet…)
@sir_pantsalot:
Just got back from a 3100 mile road trip actually. Got 28 miles per gallon. Haven’t had any trouble since I bought the car…of course I stick to the maintenance schedule precisely (if not a bit early) which I am guessing most Americans don’t.
@JediJohn82:
John, you seem to be missing the point that although your car is serving your needs well, you MUST hate it because so many people in this forum are convinced that every single car of a certain brand must be horrible.
Look, I know you think you’re getting good gas mileage. Sure you can drive X miles, using only Y gallons, but what you don’t realize is that the popular opinion in this thread is that your car gets bad gas mileage. Clearly it is a horrible car.
I think that Fiat has better perceived name recognition than Chrysler, so this may work out well for them.
@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich: Not so fast… I’ve had a couple of Fiats in Europe and let me say… they suck. There’s a reason why Europeans coined the term Fix It Again Tony.
Although, since the U.S. consumer base is unfamiliar with the Fiat name, this might help the company rebrand itself.
@11hawkinst: As opposed to Fix Or Repair Daily? Ford is currently still doing better than GM and Chrysler.
@Corporate_guy: Found On Road Dead was the one i always heard.
@11hawkinst: I’ve had Fiats too.
Yes, they are not the best of cars, very simple and unsurprising. Yes, they tend to blend with anything and are somewhat frail. Yes, they are small cars. And Yes, they have a huge fan base for the few cars that gained a lot of history.
BUT, if anything brakes it is easy to repair, even the new models are quite simple to repair and maintain, and most European brands are quite frail when brought out to America. Those cars need to be adjusted to fuel quality and predominant road conditions.
Most of the settings on your bimmers and benz are different from the euro counterparts.
@11hawkinst: Fiat has changed quite a bit in the last 5 years.
I hope they bring the Fiat line of cars to the US. I owned 3 Fiats in my teens and twenties and they were all good cars. It would be a nice change from what’s on the road here now.
@CaptZ: Which were these? the Punto and Uno i had were POS
@TheBursar: Did Fiat really have a car called the Punto? The Fiat Punto? Really? Holy cr@p, a Google search shows they did. And they look just like I’d expect a Punto to look — little wedge-shaped lumps of boring. The Punto. Well, at least it’s accurate.
@kidjesus:
Care to share for those of us who don’t even know in which language that is funny, let alone what it means?
@TechnoDestructo: I sense misunderstanding: I have no idea what “punto” means in any language. I just think it’s a horrible name and looks like a lame car. And therefor the name is accurate, at least in my case, in that it brings to mind a lame-looking car.
@kidjesus: hmph. i thought it looked like a vw gti when i saw it:
@CaptZ: i hope they bring some of the technology. i was screwing around on their website with their ECODRIVE technology – pretty cool stuff. you plug a thumbdrive into your car & then into your computer & it rates your driving efficiency (shifting, braking, accelerating, etc.). way beyond anything i’ve seen the americans push out (although onstar does have a few cool features).
I can haz Fiat 500 Abarth now?
@The Cheat: Sort of, you get new Dodge Colt R/T now
@Nick Bornemann: No no no… We will be getting the Fiat 500, and Abarth will follow. Sergio Marchionne is a brilliant guy, and he won’t have the 500 bastardized.
[blogs.consumerreports.org]
@failurate: from what i’ve seen of the car, you could probably rebadge it as a neon & no one would know any different.
Very interesting. Sends a tingle down my back to hear the Chrysler name will not continue one.
@Silversmok3:
Whether he’s crying depends on whether he deals in scrap or in parts.
If he deals in parts, sure, he’s getting less to part out, but then again, people are usually eager to get rid of their Chrysler when it breaks down, so no one wanted the parts anyway.
If he deals in scrap…on the one hand that’s fewer Chryslers glutting the market. On the other…there goes a steady revenue stream (like you were thinking.)
Car rental agencies will miss the Chrysler brand, Chrysler seems to be their bread and butter.
@jscott73: Now they’ll just buy more Fords and GMs…wait make that only Fords…
@SBR249: *crosses fingers for Ford Fusion*
@subsider34: I rented a ford fusion before. Why buy a corolla wanna be when you can just buy a corolla?
@Corporate_guy: I’ve driven both, will gladly take a Fusion over a Corolla any day.
@FLConsumer: Pop their hoods. You mind will change real fast. The Fusion is a mess.
Personally, I love my Chrysler PT Cruiser. It’s by far the best car in the world, but it’s solid. I honestly would hate to see them go.
Then again, I feel like I’m one of the few people that LIKE Chrysler cars.
@Preyfar: Then again, I feel like I’m one of the few people that LIKE Chrysler cars.
I’m there with you. I love my PT, my Dakota my wife is pretty happy with her Grand Caravan. Will I buy Dodges in the future? Dunno. Depends on how Fiat-ized they become, I guess.
@MPHinPgh: ugh, more power to you but I cringe whenever a car rental place gives me a pt cruiser, maybe because I am 6’4″, 220lbs but the car feels so narrow, my knees hit the hard plastic console and it has absolutely no acceleration power unless you completely gun it. My Mazda Protege5 fits me just fine with plenty of power and it’s about the same size.
@Preyfar: They were already planning on discontinuing the PT in 2009, which is a shame. I love mine to death- it has to be the coolest and most unique car to come along in ten years. Awful thirsty for a small car though.
@Nicole Jordan: That doesn’t surprise me. The aerodynamics of that cool 1940s-style shape have to be pretty bad.
I rented one once and it seemed like an OK car. Kind of plasticky inside, like a lot of Chrysler products, but otherwise not bad.
@Preyfar:
I’ll miss them as well. Not that I had plans to buy another at this time, as I feel like Chryslers were just overpriced Dodges with some wood accents, but I’m a MOPAR guy.
At one point, I owned a Dodge Dakota, a Chrysler LHS, and a 1967 Plymouth Fury. The original MOPAR triumvirate.
@Preyfar: Well, good for you. It was already said above, but yes they were to die this year.
I always cringed when I saw one. The image I had associated with it was a hearse. Don’t worry it the same with Chevrolet’s HHR.
@Preyfar: I have to agree, I bought a PT Cruiser last year to commute back and forth to work. I was not a fan the first few weeks I owned the car, I came from driving a V6 engine and the PT is not quick off the line. However, the thing grew on me. Now I cannot imagine not having it around.
@Preyfar: D’oh. I just realized my stupid slip.
I mean to say “It’s far from being the best car in the world, but…”
FIAT = fix it again Tony.
noooooooo, not the brand of the Aspen, Crossfire and much beloved Sebring.
@nataku83: Believe it or not, the Crossfire is a rebadged Mercedes CLK230.
@H3ion: I choose not to believe it.
It makes me a *little* sad to see these classic nameplates going the way of the Dodo. Studebaker, Oldsmobile … there’s some of the magic of the romance of the automobile attached to those. Even though the romance of the automobile is over and nobody puts fins on anything anymore.
But I won’t, like, cry about it. Sorry, Chrysler.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Maybe TigerDirect will buy them up then we’ll see them selling Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs, just like they bought up Circuit City and CrapUSA.
@scootinger: HAHA best comment ever!
Does this mean that Fiat will be considered domestic, or will Jeep and Dodge go under the dreaded classification of “foreign”?
@squinko: Since Fiat is based in Italy, I think Chrysler as a company will cease to exist, and Jeep and Dodge will be under the wing of a foreign manufacturer. It doesn’t mean the cars won’t be produced in the US, it just means they are technically foreign.
But in name, Jeep and Dodge will be US auto brands, just like Aston Martin was still a British brand even when it was owned by Ford until 2007.
@squinko: good question, shouldn’t we move beyond those classifications now anyways since all cars are “international” with parts being built and assembled all over the world and the parents companies running operations worldwide?
@squinko: Some people have regarded Chrysler as foreign ever since Daimler bought them.
That said, when it comes to whether you get to park in front of a UAW shop or not, what seems to matter is the nameplate.
@squinko: Considering that Fiat is purchasing a 20% stake in Chrysler, and I believe the UAW is getting 55%, I’m not sure that I would call this a foreign auto-maker.
@nataku83: But the CEO is foreign and won’t pay taxes on his salary!
(Which is a common excuse that people use to not buy Japanese cars, even though they’re made in America.)
@squinko: Well, having considered working in the auto industry (and then after looking closer, decided to do aerospace instead), companies like Toyota and Honda also do all of their engineering overseas. The only jobs available are production, marketing, and MAYBE a little exterior design.
@squinko: Really? Since when?
@Major-General: Since when what?
Somewhere, a junkyard owner is crying right now.
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@The_Legend: DAmn, that one was hard to re-emvowel and read.
I’ll save everyone else the trouble and fix it for you
“HA HA everyone is stupid for reading consumerist because they cited an article from BuisnessWeek. I, however, am superdeduper clever and will call BW the lamest ever. I will continue to show my undisputed intelligence and uniquely compare them to Fox News! Har har.
note: that may not be a word for word translation
@SteveZim1017: Close enough.
@SteveZim1017: Well, considering several words in the language of ‘self righteous Internet rage’ have no direct English translation, I’d say you did a good job
.
So long as they don’t bring the Multipla over, we’ll be fine. Actually, to be honest, the newer Multipla isn’t quite as ugly as the old one was. That was the real life version of the Homer.
What I’ve read elsewhere (but can’t place, right now, unfortunately) is that they’re going to avoid using the “Fiat” name here. The feeling is its image is too low-end for the upmarket cars they’re planning to export. They’ve watched the problems VW has had selling luxury cars under the “VW” name and they want no part of that.
@David Brodbeck: VW has luxury cars? You mean the Touareg (which isn’t much more than a mid-luxury midsize SUV)? Or the Passat (which is more than a Civic and Maxima)?
@pecan 3.14159265: Oops. The Passat is more than a Civic, less than a Maxima. Which explains why I don’t see many new Maximas.
@pecan 3.14159265: I was thinking of the Touareg and the Phaeton. They had trouble selling both of those under the VW nameplate, and probably should have made them Audis. The Touareg was actually a pretty good deal if you wanted that type of vehicle, since it was a Porsche Cayenne without the Porsche price.
@David Brodbeck: Phaeton being a steel bodied cousin to the Audi A8, though there were other differences. Actually, the Phaeton had features that weren’t on the Audi but on the Bentley Continental when it came out.
Then they killed the Phaeton for the North American market and redesigned the A8.
@pecan 3.14159265: the phaeton is listed from 66,000 all the way to 101,000 dollars. this is probably why you haven’t heard of their luxury cars. who in there right mind would spend that much on a VW. i never saw one until i moved to Indian Rocks Beach fl. you would be surprised how many of them are down here. must be the heat that makes a person crazy enough to drop 100,000 dollars on a VW.
@Trey Mahaffey: That’s exactly the point. People won’t spend that much on a VW because the nameplate’s image is one of cheap cars. If they’d badged it as an Audi it would have sold much better.
Fiat is trying to avoid the same mistake, so don’t expect to see cars sporting “FIAT” badges here. There are rumors that even the Fiat 500 will just have a “500″ badge. Higher-end models will probably be sold as Alpha Romeos.
Audi A8 = VW Phaeton, for the most part. Not that I see a lot of either around town but there are more A8s.
@David Brodbeck: They are not bringing “upmarket” cars. They are bringing small economy cars, think Kia or Suzuki without the icky stigma.
You might be thinking of Alpha Romeo, which will be slightly upscale (think Acura+). But Alpha has a pretty solid name.
Fiat doesn’t make any cars that are comparable to the Phaeton or Touareg.
What we will see first is the 500. Followed by the Grand Punto, then maybe the Qubo.
I’m sure it’ll have rusted through by tomorrow
At least Fiat’s cars aren’t any uglier than the last few years of Chrysler’s designs.
Except, maybe the Panda 4×4…
Who’s michael scott?
I’ve alwyas kind of liked the name Chrysler. Something about the hard sound of the “Ch”, and the “y”–it renders beautifully.
The only people I know who owned a Fiat were Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. But then they changed from a perfect size 6 to a size 2. And I’m pretty sure they changed the car during this redesign.
I doubt the Chrysler brand will go away, particularly after what Marchionne said:
“We intend to build on Chrysler’s culture of innovation and Fiat’s complementary technology and expertise to expand Chrysler’s product portfolio both in North America and overseas,” – [news.yahoo.com]
@subsider34: I think Marchionne is referring to Chrysler, LLC, the corporation, not the specific marque called “Chrysler.” It’s possible they’ll keep some of the specific Chrysler models and rebadge them as something else.
Woot! Bring on the Fiat 500! That would be amazing.
Yes, I’ll miss Chrysler. I have a 5-year old Pacfica. No repairs other than routine maintenance and that replaced a Town and Country which made it to 160,000 miles before I gave it away. That said, I don’t pay much attention to the name plate but I think Chrysler has gotten a bad rap.
Yes. Oh wait, will Chrysler be missed. No.
Chrysler? Fuggedaboutit!
While I will accept that Fiat had a reputation as a poorly-built car, so, too, did Chrysler at one time. How many people remember the K-cars?
According to one specific BBC motorsports-oriented program available on BBCAmerica, Fiat has made a significant improvement over its old models. The 500 is considered a remarkable car for its size and even their performance brand, Alpha Romeo, is regaining some of the status it held a long time ago.
Don’t look down on Fiat without at least giving them a chance. Look at what Kia has done here in the States. And Fiat has won European Car of the Year awards twice in the last 10 years. Fiat ain’t what it used to be.
I still miss Plymouth. I had a ’92 1/2 Sundance Duster with the 3 liter v6 and 5 speed manual and that was easily one of the best cars of the 1990′s. It wasn’t best looker and it really could have used a slightly stiffer suspension but really for the price and for what it was — a subcompact sedan to get from point A to point B — it was quick, nimble, fun to drive, reliable, easy to work on if it needed it, and surprisingly enough, roomy. I was *really* disappointed when they replaced it with the neon. The neon was never as usable or reliable although I will admit the SRT-4 version was at least fun.
Glad Jeep is sticking around. I’m on my second one (first one had 130k+ on it), and I’d buy another one. Love having 4wd in the winter (I couldn’t get out of my driveway sometimes without it).
I hope Ford makes it as the *ONLY* US car manufacturer. Seriously we don’t need anyone else.
Get it right, Fiat is only one of the groups buying it. The rest is the union and the US and Canadian governments who will own more of it than Fiat.
@I Love New Jersey: Funny thing about minority owners these days though. They run things. Out of the three: Fiat, the U.S. Government, and the Canadian Government, who is more likely to guide the design, sales, marketing, and dealership model for the company?
The governments own majority shares because the governments lent them lots of money. But they have no interest in running manufacturing companies, let alone making product decisions. All those decisions will come from Fiat. Eventually, Chrysler will recover, and the governments will cash out their stakes – hopefully for a profit.
I can’t wait for the Fiat 500 to reach our shores… *fingers crossed*
as a chrysler town and country drive I feel a slight pang of pain, but I love fiat. (especially Fiat Spyders)
All the older guys in my neighborhood went with the 300M instead of Lincoln. It’s kind of cool because you see lots of muscle cars with bitter old men driving.
Now they’ll be stuck with the Charger.
@Joey_Brill: Give me a Gran Torino and a shotgun. I won’t be bitter, just in charge.
I just got the current car (Hyundai Sonata) paid off today. (yesterday, since it’s after midnight here…)
I want a new Challenger. It’s doubtful that it will survive, but I hope so. I owned a ’71 (tragically totalled in it’s youth — not even my fault!), and would like to own one again.
I own a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500, a 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8, a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix and a Kawasaki Z1000.
Would I miss the Chrysler name plate? No not really. Kinda sad to see it go, but oh well. I do think it would be a mistake to not have a Chrysler branded vehicles though.
You want a truck or muscle car, you buy Dodge. You want an economy car, you buy Fiat. You want an SUV you buy Jeep. You want a luxury car, you buy Chrysler.
Using this plan you keep your vehicles completely separate (no Ford Taurus vs Mercury Sable) and you cover the majority of the markets here in the US while brand image (for example, Jeep) isn’t tarnished.
My parents were faithful Chrysler owners (’56 Windsor station wagon; ’62 Newport sedan; ’69 Newport sedan). Sadly, the ’69 was the last straw–three transmissions and a whole line of defects during its time with the family. It was a comfortable and roomy car, but was the victim of Chrysler’s bad quality control at the time.
I haven’t owned a Chrysler product since I sold my ’74 Dodge Monaco in 1984. Let’s see what Fiat can do….
Well, it makes for symmetry at least. Chrysler dealers were usually Chrysler-Plymouth dealer; while the good Dodge Bros. was separate.
I hate losing a little piece of Americana, that century-old brand name is us. But then again, if they did not screw the pooch after their FIRST bailout and renaissance they would not be in THIS mess to begin with. (If this report is true.)
chryslers are teeribad, mom was a realtor and so she did substantial driving around the city, literally around the 4-5 year mark of each car, the engine exploaded and would cost more than the car was worth to repair and replace. Thank god she finally got a new mercedes which is only a little more expensive but is a diesel at that.
Maybe it’s time to bring back DeSoto.