Ditching the codename of “Ellezero” Fiat has given their new crossover the anti-climactic “500L” nameplate. And while Europe will get a three-row version with 7 seats, Americans will get the five seater only.
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A USA Today interview with Sergio Marchionne revealed some interesting details about Chrysler’s future product plans – among them, a wider adoption of the Dodge Dart/Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform, a possible small hatch dubbed the “Chrysler 100” and Alfa Romeos built on American soil.
Today, “Italian automaker Fiat rolled out an introspective 90-second video for its new Panda compact car on the internet,” says Reuters. The wire claims that the ad is “aimed at tapping into the austerity zeitgeist.”
The commercial is inspired by last year`s “Imported from Detroit” ad that struck a chord with American buyers who want the good times to be rolling again. Now, Fiat wants to do a repeat in Italy. (Read More…)
Our European Best and Brightest dropped some knowledge on us, informing TTAC that the Fiat Panda, was not going to be Fiat’s new 5-door vehicle coming to the U.S.
Fiat will uneveil a bigger, five-door model, possibly related to the 500, at this March’s Geneva Auto Show. The new car will be built in Fiat’s Serbian plant and was designed with the U.S. market in mind, according to Automotive News. Europe will receive the new model before we do, and hopefully Sergio Marchionne isn’t “naively optimistic” about the car’s success in America. No word on whether or not it’s the Fiat Panda. We hope so.
The Fiat 500’s spectacular failure – selling less than 20,000 units in 2011, despite projections of 50,000 units sold- is quickly becoming the stuff of legend in automotive circles. Sergio Marchionne told CNN Money that the goal wasn’t really based on anything but wanting to beat Mini.
Chrysler is dropping half a billion dollars into an expansion of one of its North American plants, Automotive News [sub] reports. This is where Chrysler will produce (to what degree remains open) its Fiat Ducato van, which will be sold as a Chrysler Ram Van.
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler, told reporters in Detroit that this plant will be “the center for production of light-commercial vehicles in North America for us.” Red-white-and-blue blooded flag-wavers may object to the location of the plant. It is about 180 miles southwest of Laredo, Texas. In Saltillo, Mexico. (Read More…)
Fiat is hoping that their new 500 Abarth will inject some new energy into their lineup, just like couples stuck in a flagging marriage hope that immersing themselves into “the lifestyle” will add some spice and excitement to a union long past its expiration date. The 500 Abarth will likely have some demographic overlap with guests at Hedonism II, since it will likely be enjoyed by pudgy, swarthy men with outsized egos and overly made up female professionals.
100 percent less snark, 100 percent more cheesy innuendo after the jump.
Sergio Marchionne always had been a proponent of the “the world only has room for six large global automakers” theory. Fiat and Chrysler isn’t necessarily a marriage between two robust partners. Especially in the Asian growth markets, both are weak. According to Italy’s Corriere Della Sera, Marchionne is rekindling a years-old flirt with France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen. Of course, none of the presumably dating companies will confirm the rumor. However, the rumor was started by Sergio Marchionne himself, in Detroit. (Read More…)
Canadians already bought the Honda Civic in droves, so it would make sense that another unloved car, the Fiat 500, would do well in a country that favors smaller, more European vehicles, right? Sort of.
Usually, when you bring a car from Europe to be made in the U.S., you need to bring something else: Money. You know, for buying real estate for a plant, machinery, that kind of thing. Except when you are Fiat. In that case, a thankful U.S. government hands you yet another 5 percent of Chrysler, as a token of its appreciation, for what amounts to be a token act. (Read More…)
Once upon a time, the Dodge brand was brimming with pride. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Dodge had it all: affordable compacts, big front-drive cruisers, the hottest trucks on the market, and of course, the Viper. And when the times were good, all of those part melded into one brash, exciting, quintessentially American brand. From Neons and Intrepids, from Rams to Vipers, Dodge could do it all, as long as “it all” included a healthy dash of in-your-face attitude. But over the years, as Dodge’s shining moment faded into memory, the brand has managed to become both less viscerally appealing and less well-rounded. And when Fiat’s leadership stripped Dodge of the Ram “brand,” shucked its designs of their truckish cues, and repositioned Dodge as a more “youthful” and “refined” sporting brand, it seemed as if Dodge as we knew it was dying. Since hearing of Fiat’s plans to bring Alfa stateside, and with Dodge appearing to have lost out in brand alignment product battles, we’ve been wondering for some time now if Dodge isn’t headed out to pasture. Now there’s even more evidence that Dodge is being hollowed out en route to replacement with Alfa, as Automotive News [sub] reports
Absent from the redesigned SRT Viper will be the name Dodge… Viper has been linked to Dodge since the Dodge Viper RT/10 concept debuted in 1989. The first Dodge Viper SRT-10 went on sale in 1992, and over the years 28,056 Vipers were produced, according to Chrysler.
Not any more. Essentially, SRT becomes a brand with its own vehicle, in this case the SRT Viper.
That’s right, Dodge won’t have a Viper or a Ram (or, more prosaically, an Avenger or Caravan). Some might argue that, absent these components, the Dodge name doesn’t mean much of anything anymore. Certainly it doesn’t seem that Dodge can have a particularly bright future without any links to its last moment of glory.
(Read More…)
Jack Baruth showed you the Alfa-based new Dodge Dart – but what does it mean? For Sergio Marchionne, the little car means a lot. It means the final five percent of Chrysler, to be exact. (Read More…)
Alfa Romeo debuted as a brand on the Guangzhou Auto Show and they brought… only two cars, and a concept car. Those were the MiTo, the Giulietta and the 4C. Sales are said to begin sometime in 2012. Fiat doesn’t have a working joint venture in China, production at the new Guangzhou-Fiat JV is still at least two years away, so all Alfa’s will be imported and therefore expensive. Will the Chinese buy them? (Read More…)
Chrysler’s latest “Imported From Detroit” ad, which seems to be trying to convince itself to “see it through,” continues the brand’s recent tradition of associating itself (perhaps a bit too closely) with the trials and tribulations of the city of Detroit. That approach, like the 300 itself, might play well in parts of the US market… but Chrysler needs its cars (and ads) to do more. Imagine how this ad might go over in Berlin or Milan, and you might catch a glimpse of Chrysler’s larger challenge: making its cars relevant globally as both Chryslers and Lancias.
(Read More…)
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