Fiat, Jeep, Dodge... No More Chryslers?
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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Comments:
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.
I, like Michael Scott, love my Sebring. That being said, I am not really tied to brand name...just MPG, reliability, and price.
I think that Fiat has better perceived name recognition than Chrysler, so this may work out well for them.
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.
I can haz Fiat 500 Abarth now?
@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.
Very interesting. Sends a tingle down my back to hear the Chrysler name will not continue one.
Car rental agencies will miss the Chrysler brand, Chrysler seems to be their bread and butter.
@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.
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.
@Yankees368: I always heard it as "Fix it again, Tony." More appropriate to use an Italian name, you see.
FIAT = fix it again Tony.
noooooooo, not the brand of the Aspen, Crossfire and much beloved Sebring.
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.
@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.
Does this mean that Fiat will be considered domestic, or will Jeep and Dodge go under the dreaded classification of "foreign"?
Somewhere, a junkyard owner is crying right now.
@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.
@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.
@Shadowman615: Yes, but now we will be fixing them in the US, thats why I said Tom.
Only Tony if I am in Europe.
@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?
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.
@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.
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.
@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.
@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.
I'm sure it'll have rusted through by tomorrow
@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.)
At least Fiat's cars aren't any uglier than the last few years of Chrysler's designs.
Except, maybe the Panda 4x4...
@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.
@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.
Who's michael scott?
@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.
@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.
@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.
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.
nope