What follows is a quick guide to some of the changes outlined during the big Chrysler meeting today. Derek will have some in-depth analysis tonight.
Alfa Romeo will be recast as a RWD/AWD enthusiast brand. There will be eight new products including a performance flagship that could be a 4C variant, but there will not be another supermini to replace the Mito.
FIAT will focus on the 500 brand; their European product line will be broadened with additional Panda variants. There could well be an MX-5 rival in 2018.
Jeep plans to heavily boost volume with the Renegade. A new Grand Cherokee and Wrangler will debut in 2017. Compass and Patriot will be replaced in 2016. A “Grand Wagoneer” will arrive in 2018 to target the Land Rovers.
Chrysler will have a “100” sedan in the future as it moves downmarket (in theory) to face Ford and Chevrolet directly.
Dodge will purge the Caravan from its lineup and focus on sport. The volume burden of the Caravan and the already-deceased Avenger will move to Chrysler.
More information as we have it.
And yes, the top image is a GIMP manipulation. Such amusement!
Tomorrow…the world!
Careful BTS, you DON’T want to be mistaken for Bill from Buckhead.
Mopar uber alles!
Overall very intelligent and exciting.
Wonder if Marchionne “Has one more thing”
If this is the next 1000 Year Reich, then it should be kaput seven years from now.
As long as Marchionne makes the trains run on time, I’m cool.
Uhh, DOGE? Did they forget to spell-check?
I noticed that too. Is that really supposed to say “Dodge”?
I assumed that it was a belabored pun. One that would be lost on most people who did not study European political history of the time of Dante.
The “Doge” (pronounced “Dohj” with a long “o” and soft “j”) was the elected chief of state of early Italian Republics such as Venice and Genoa.
The Italian word is descended from the Latin “Dux,” from whence comes the English word “Duke.” As in, “Daisy Dukes.” Just kidding there.
So, I think it was a backhanded reference to Marchione’s near-dictatorial powers.
Or, it was a typo.
But I think not.
John Marks
Doge or Dodch goes back to the Chrysler plant that once was in Hamtramck, which was originally known as Dodge Main. Since Hamtramck was primarily Polish, the name sounded like Dodch Main.
I was about to write a far less detailed and erudite version of this. I thought it a belabored pun referencing Marchione’s powers with an ancient Italian term.
Or, a much more recent reference:
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge
Wow. Such Sport. Front drive performance. Much red.
Doge.
“One brand – one vision – one voice – Doge” Sounds like the lyrics to a 1985 Queen song…
Just gimme, gimme, gimme FRIED CHICKEN!
You ever see the Mercedes “One Goal” video?
It has lines like “Gone is the Bimmer and to Audi bye-bye” and “At Volvo they worry, the Japs they just cry.”
TTAC won’t let me post a link, just youtube “one goal mercedes”
Ever hear Laibach’s cover? Such evil. Much purple deer. Very Poland invasion.
wow
very picture
such typo
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge
It’s also pretty kind of ripping off Mulally’s slogan with Ford…One Team, One Plan, One Goal.
In other words, Chrysler is no longer going to try to be Buick.
Please tell me that “Doge” isn’t a misspelling of “Dodge.” That would be embarrassing…
I was just going to point that out… I can’t believe they would let that one out of MARCOM.
Such misspelling, very professionalism.
They didn’t have enough D’s, and saved their last one for the D-segment cars.
First thing I noticed, good catch Pch.
They’re Italian Pch, whaddaya expect? Go to the international Fiat site in English. Mistakes galore!
Maybe they were confusing Dodge with the Prince of Venice?
If the roles were reversed, what would Italian speakers think it Fiat was spelled “Fia”?
I don’t really think they’d mind that much. The Italians I know are anything but pricky.
They are the opposite of some of the Chinese folks I dealt with then. Very particular.
Hi–I believe Doge was an elected and non-hereditary office during the time Venice was a Republic.
Ciao!
John
Hey! I believe so too, but among his many titles I believe was “princeps” which just means, loosely, “first”, and from which derives “prince”.
“And yes, the top image is a GIMP manipulation. Such amusement!”
No, not a misspelling.
It’s an internet thing: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge
That’s what I get for skimming.
Their product planning makes perfect sense for dodge. Very curious to see their b segment, which they desperately need! I don’t think “down market” is a good direction for Chrysler however, they should stay a step above Buick and a step below Cadillac.
Did I just read that Chrysler will compete against Chevrolet and Ford rather than Buick? Is there that much hope be placed on Alfa to succeed in the premium segment? They’ll have to be darn good, see my comments below.
I do wish FIATsler luck with Jeep as a global brand. It may work, if the mechanical bits are on-par with the Japanese.
As for Dodge – it’s now looking like an unloved step child.
My question is, when was Chysler ever on a higher tier than Chevy and Ford? They sell a whopping four different vehicles, and two of them are called 200 (sedan/convertible).
And I know some people consider the 300 a knock-off Bentley/Rolls, but when did Chysler start drinking that Kool-Aid? That car in its best form is about the equivalent of the Taurus SHO/Chevy SS. Some prefer it, but it doesn’t stand head and shoulders above either of them.
I would say Chrysler was above Chevy and Ford until the introduction of the K-car based model lines. An argument could be made that the transition began in 1977, but it was over in 1982. Chrysler started strong in 1924 with cars that nobody would compare to a Ford or Chevy, and they periodically diminished their brand value through mismanagement from time to time during the ’50s and ’60s. Positioning Imperial above Chrysler set a ceiling on their prestige during the era, but they were probably still a cut above Oldsmobuicks going into the ’70s.
Remember Plymouth? I believe the theory was that Plymouth competed with Chevy and Ford; Dodge competed with Pontiac; Chrysler competed with Buick/Oldsmobile.
DeSoto was their Oldsmobile for a while. It was introduced right before Chrysler bought Dodge, making it redundant. Then Chrysler elevated DeSoto above Dodge, almost simultaneously destroying DeSoto’s chances by making them a full-line Airflow brand. DeSoto soldiered on for another two decades, but was phased out in favor of the down-market Chrysler Newport, which managed to lower Chrysler perceptions too.
I see alot of “turbo” in the FWDs, so I see 80s Chrysler was called in to advise on strategy. I’m glad to see some of the lineup will not be mucked with in this regard, so there will be some FCA products worth buying in the future.
Meh, Italian management. Get used to it. It can sometimes work in their favor as it allows a lot of wiggle room. Sometimes it doesn’t. Like a top suit at Fiat Brazil once told me, “I only believe a new car is coming the day I see it rolling down the assembly line. Until then, it’s anybody’s guess”, or something similar.
Any word on Brazil? As Fiat’s most important market, they need new product here fast. We’ll probably get the Dart as a Fiat soon-ish, but outside of that they need new product. Seems like the new Jeeps will all have a Fiat version down here.
I think the Jeep name has a certain international cachet that none of the previous owners of the Jeep brand have been able to exploit successfully. I think maybe FIAT can accomplish this.
If I read this plan right, the Renegade and 500X will be close cousins. If FIAT does it right, the Renegade will outsell the 500X worldwide.
I am not sure. This seems just as unfocused as the previous long term plan from FCA.
So Chrysler will be a mainstream Chevrolet competitor and Dodge would be the new Pontiac, but mostly selling through the same sales channel? It sounds like they want to expand the product range too, so I am already seeing a lot of product overlap even without getting into Jeep.
It sounds too much like old GM (or Mazda’s old “5 channel strategy” that got them nearly bankrupt).
Eight models from Alfa also sounds quite ambitious for a brand with such limited success.
Given their sales volume and market, they really should be trimming the models, not expanding, and focus on improving the individual models.
Nice deal for Mazda. They got Fiat to help them with R&D costs, but they won’t have to directly compete with the Fiat roadster for at least 3 years.
But what about the new Alfa Romeo Duetto? Isn’t that supposed to be a rebadged Miata?
Not anymore. Sergio decided that all Alfas must be built in Italy; a Japanese built car would tarnish the brand. So they’re planning on making the Mazda derivative into a Fiat Abarth instead.
Demetri,
That a Japanese built vehicle would tarnish the Alfa Romeo brand is one of the funniest statements I’ve ever read. I can just imagine the horror of an Alfa Romeo owner at not spending half his life and most of his paycheck constantly getting his car repaired.
Now I have all this free time and money and no idea what to do with it. Damn you Japanese and your quality!
Lol That is one Monty Phyton-like statement. I can picture John Cleese wearing a Marchionne sweater on a horse while saying that.
There’s a good chance that a Mazda/Fiat could be the fastest oxidizing car ever built.
Here is link for those who want to read it all
http://www.fiatspa.com/en-us/investor_relations/investors/presentations/pages/2014_investor_day_presentations.aspx
I must honestly say that it looks all great and very ambitious, but can´t see FCA to be selling 7m vehicles per year in 2018. This year they will end up somewhere about 4.6m, biggest boost they can get in China and Alfa to become more volume brand with more models, but we are in 2014, there is no way they can do it so soon. I can see them selling 7m maybe in 10 years – with real Alfa reneassance and China becoming big market for Fiat cars and Jeep produced there, but no way 2018.
To brands – Fiat brand is going to be profitable but less volume in brand in Europe – which is weird, they always were small car maker and volume brand in Europe.
Dodge needed new direction after RAM split up from Dodge
Maserati may become Porsche for FIAT, luxury cars big profits, more volume
Is anyone keeping count of the number of Alfa Romeo re-plans since Marchionne took over? I mean, in general I think he’s done good work since taking over Chrysler, making the most out of what he started with.
But resuscitating Alfa is just too much of a reach for FCA. If VW is still willing to pay up for the brand, I would sell.
“If VW is still willing to pay up for the brand, I would sell.”
Oh no, not *that* crap again…
So the D-CUV must be a Journey replacement?
Which the Journey was supposed to make up for the death of the short wheelbase minivan in the first place. Did Chrysler Co. ever break down minivan sales into short and long? It would be interesting to know if the Journey ever met or exceeded the volume of the short minivans.
I’m guessing Ram and the commercial business is just fine the way it is. Seems like Dodge gets a lot of cars and not many SUVs Not only that but a lot big low mpg cars.
So, yet another Alfa Romeo plan. Still no new cars. No talks on moving the 300/Charger/Challenger away from ancient DC hardware.
The amazing thing about FCA is that this is a full-on marriage between the two companies that approached death the most in the last 50 years or so, without actually get killed. The fact that Chrysler and Fiat are still around is somewhat remarkable.
While that gives me no hope the plans will be fulfilled, it does tell me that they’ll manage to survive and maybe even outlive any other maker.
I clicked just to see whether the 300 was included.
If Chrysler is to go after Ford and Chevrolet, then there’s no real future for the 300 as we know it. The next model to occupy this segment might be an Alfa Romeo.
However, if Alfa is essentially Vapor Motors, the 300 will soldier on. However, if Alfa will get a new rwd flagship, the 300 won’t see a new generation. However…
Eight howevers later the 300 will become America’s Paykan.
It’s really embarrassing to misspell your own name.
Cue all the wisecracks about Chrysler Kuality.
Please read the rest of the post.
Maybe they should just drop the “e”?
One brand… one vision… one voice… Dog!
Why did the cowboy get a dachshund? Because someone told him to get a long little Doge.
I would drive a Doge Dachshund, lets rename the Dart!
Oh, hurry up with that Grand Wagoneer, already…. times a wastin’.
But to target Land Rovers? Optimistic, are we?
“The Land Rover you can keep”
TV Announcer voice: “The all new 2017 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, for when your Land Rover is being serviced”
Rover is a great name for a Doge
I’ve been around long enough to have seen MANY Alfa Romeo comeback plans. NONE have ever come to fruition. Maybe this time…..but I’m not gonna start holding my breath. I’d assume that for volume purposes that RWD architecture for Alfa would need to be shared with Dodge and Chrysler. Infiniti/Nissan has made great success out of their RWD/AWD chassis, so why not Fiat? We shall see…
Only today I read on another site that the Miata-clone will be badged as a Fiat instead of an Alfa-Romeo. How does that fit in with building Fiat’s brand around the 500 while Alfa focuses on RWD/AWD cars?
I have also read that it could be an Abarth. And that it will be DCT only, rendering the whole conversation moot.
Truth.
Ram is conspicuously absent from the summary. The Ram 1500 is easily FCA’s most successful product in my part of the world. High volume, high profits, and distinctive design in a world of look-alike vehicles. However, most people still call it a Dodge Ram.
Ram could be America’s Iveco, and that is not a bad thing at all.
Wow. Such whoosh. Very missed joke. Many heads flown over. Too olds. See, this is why we can’t have nice things! Would it have been too hard to google “Doge” or to… Um, read the post?
Anyways, still waiting on Alfa’s real plans or else I don’t believe anything he says. Interesting that the Durango has such a long stay of execution. AWD SRT4 should be VERY interesting. Dodge Journey SRT is odd but I could get with that. And after driving a government owned Caravan, good riddance. Those seats are absolutely freaking awful. My back felt like I just did deadlifts after an hour in one. Go ask Ford and Honda how to make seats that don’t royally suck.
Many grand plans. Much inconsistency. Such vaporware.
Wow.
If you think about it, the doge meme in this post is like the “no brown M&M’s” listed in the technical section of Van Halen’s contract rider, placed in such a manner as to see if anyone thoroughly read through everything.
I’ve spent many hours driving and riding in Caravans over the last five years or so, including a ’13, and my only real complaint was it could have used a little more power when I was driving a fully loaded one in the Smokey Mountains. I’ve never heard anyone complain about the seats, ever.
Chrysler should take the Caravan name for their minivan, and make the Town & Country the top trim level. I would guess that T&C as a name has no appeal or even negative appeal to many potential buyers, especially those who are already somewhat minivan averse. Plus, Caravan is a clever name for a van, and would have alliteration with its new brand: “Chrysler Caravan”.
Perhaps take it one step further. Short wheel base, Voyager, long wheel base lower trim, Caravan, long wheel base upper trim, T&C.
Goodbye Dodge Grand Caravan Canada Value Package, Hello…?
Hey Jack, was “DOGE” the only manipulation on that image? Because I’m not sure the rest of the image of an empty manufacturing plant with dead rat carcasses covered in black and red handkerchiefs is really that smart of an image to be releasing, regardless of the text on each of the remains.
Chrysler’s actual 5 year plan goes something like this..
Year 1: $4000 discounts, 25% to fleet, 50% to subprime
Year 2: $5000 discounts, 45% to fleet, 60% to subprime
Year 3: $7000 discounts, 75% to fleet, 70% to subprime
Year 4: $8000 discounts, 90% to fleet, 80% to subprime
Year 5: Bankruptsy
“A “Grand Wagoneer” will arrive in 2018 to target the Land Rovers.”
Well as a 3GEN Durango driver I say FUCK them. I’ll go buy a Ford Explorer if they don’t have a 4th GEN Durango…