FCA's 5-year plan
05-30-18, 03:50 PM
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Sergio Marchionne of FCA about to kill the Chrysler brand.
should have happened in 2009 IMO:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...cid=spartanntp
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...cid=spartanntp
Sergio Marchionne will hold an investor's meeting in Italy on Friday, June 1, in Balocco, Italy, where the CEO will possibly kill one the corporation's most historic brands. FCA specialist Larry P. Vellequette of Automotive News reports that "a source told a European colleague" that Marchionne would declare the end of the Chrysler brand in the speech to investors.
Research
Research Chrysler on MSN Autos
In addition, Marchionne could detail plans to pull Fiat out of the United States and China, according to Automotive News. The brand would re-focus on building vehicles for Europe, Brazil, and emerging markets.
FCA's big strategic pivot would free up money to invest even more into Jeep, which is already the corporation's most profitable division. Among the new products reportedly on the way, there would be an even smaller SUV below the Renegade and the luxurious Grand Wagoneer for challenging the upper end of the segment.
The corporation might also merge Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single, performance-oriented division, according to Automotive News. The move would make sense because having two brands focusing on sports cars doesn't make much sense when consumers are currently clamoring for crossovers.
These major moves would be Marchionne's final grand flourish as CEO before he retires from FCA next year. He has led the company for the last 14 years, including spearheading the merger between Fiat and Chrysler and spinning off Ferrari.
If Marchionne actually kills the Chrysler brand, it would be the end of a nameplate with over 90 years of history in the United States. However, the lineup consists of just two models today: the ancient 300 sedan and the still fresh Pacifica minivan. With so few products, axing Chrysler is easier than ever.
Research
Research Chrysler on MSN Autos
In addition, Marchionne could detail plans to pull Fiat out of the United States and China, according to Automotive News. The brand would re-focus on building vehicles for Europe, Brazil, and emerging markets.
FCA's big strategic pivot would free up money to invest even more into Jeep, which is already the corporation's most profitable division. Among the new products reportedly on the way, there would be an even smaller SUV below the Renegade and the luxurious Grand Wagoneer for challenging the upper end of the segment.
The corporation might also merge Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single, performance-oriented division, according to Automotive News. The move would make sense because having two brands focusing on sports cars doesn't make much sense when consumers are currently clamoring for crossovers.
These major moves would be Marchionne's final grand flourish as CEO before he retires from FCA next year. He has led the company for the last 14 years, including spearheading the merger between Fiat and Chrysler and spinning off Ferrari.
If Marchionne actually kills the Chrysler brand, it would be the end of a nameplate with over 90 years of history in the United States. However, the lineup consists of just two models today: the ancient 300 sedan and the still fresh Pacifica minivan. With so few products, axing Chrysler is easier than ever.
05-30-18, 04:34 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Walter Chrysler will roll over in his mausoleum.
Mercury is gone. Oldsmobile is gone. Pontiac is gone. DeSoto is gone. Packard is gone. The AMC Ambassador is gone. Now Chrysler is about to be axed. Almost all of the classic upmarket/medium-priced American nameplates from my lifetime are gone. Only Buick is left....mostly because of the Chinese market and the hot-selling American Buick SUVs. I guess I won't complain as long as Buick is left.....that was, and remains, my favorite American nameplate of all....but I will complain if they drop the Lacrosse.
BTW, I did own a Chrysler at one time, in the early-mid 70s....a big, used 1967 Newport 2 door hardtop. Because of the unibody and torsion/leaf suspension, it handled better than the big Buicks, but didn't ride as quietly or drive as smoothly....and the Chrysler 2-barrel carburetors of the period were a mess.
This also, of course, begs the question of what will happen to the 300 and Pacifica. I can understand the Pacifica being marketed as a Dodge (if it comes to that), even though the Pacifica is clearly an upmarket minivan and substantially different from the older, cheaper Grand Caravan. But the 300 is essentially an upmarket Dodge Charger with some nicer trim inside and out....it would be harder to market what is essentially two of the same cars under the same nameplate. The 300, at least partly because of its bling, also has a loyal, cult-like following that, though not that big in numbers, are going to be p***ed if it is dropped.
Mercury is gone. Oldsmobile is gone. Pontiac is gone. DeSoto is gone. Packard is gone. The AMC Ambassador is gone. Now Chrysler is about to be axed. Almost all of the classic upmarket/medium-priced American nameplates from my lifetime are gone. Only Buick is left....mostly because of the Chinese market and the hot-selling American Buick SUVs. I guess I won't complain as long as Buick is left.....that was, and remains, my favorite American nameplate of all....but I will complain if they drop the Lacrosse.
BTW, I did own a Chrysler at one time, in the early-mid 70s....a big, used 1967 Newport 2 door hardtop. Because of the unibody and torsion/leaf suspension, it handled better than the big Buicks, but didn't ride as quietly or drive as smoothly....and the Chrysler 2-barrel carburetors of the period were a mess.
This also, of course, begs the question of what will happen to the 300 and Pacifica. I can understand the Pacifica being marketed as a Dodge (if it comes to that), even though the Pacifica is clearly an upmarket minivan and substantially different from the older, cheaper Grand Caravan. But the 300 is essentially an upmarket Dodge Charger with some nicer trim inside and out....it would be harder to market what is essentially two of the same cars under the same nameplate. The 300, at least partly because of its bling, also has a loyal, cult-like following that, though not that big in numbers, are going to be p***ed if it is dropped.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-30-18 at 05:56 PM.
05-30-18, 05:06 PM
#3
Research Chrysler on MSN Autos
In addition, Marchionne could detail plans to pull Fiat out of the United States and China, according to Automotive News. The brand would re-focus on building vehicles for Europe, Brazil, and emerging markets.
FCA's big strategic pivot would free up money to invest even more into Jeep, which is already the corporation's most profitable division. Among the new products reportedly on the way, there would be an even smaller SUV below the Renegade and the luxurious Grand Wagoneer for challenging the upper end of the segment.
The corporation might also merge Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single, performance-oriented division, according to Automotive News. The move would make sense because having two brands focusing on sports cars doesn't make much sense when consumers are currently clamoring for crossovers.
These major moves would be Marchionne's final grand flourish as CEO before he retires from FCA next year. He has led the company for the last 14 years, including spearheading the merger between Fiat and Chrysler and spinning off Ferrari.
If Marchionne actually kills the Chrysler brand, it would be the end of a nameplate with over 90 years of history in the United States. However, the lineup consists of just two models today: the ancient 300 sedan and the still fresh Pacifica minivan. With so few products, axing Chrysler is easier than ever.
In addition, Marchionne could detail plans to pull Fiat out of the United States and China, according to Automotive News. The brand would re-focus on building vehicles for Europe, Brazil, and emerging markets.
FCA's big strategic pivot would free up money to invest even more into Jeep, which is already the corporation's most profitable division. Among the new products reportedly on the way, there would be an even smaller SUV below the Renegade and the luxurious Grand Wagoneer for challenging the upper end of the segment.
The corporation might also merge Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single, performance-oriented division, according to Automotive News. The move would make sense because having two brands focusing on sports cars doesn't make much sense when consumers are currently clamoring for crossovers.
These major moves would be Marchionne's final grand flourish as CEO before he retires from FCA next year. He has led the company for the last 14 years, including spearheading the merger between Fiat and Chrysler and spinning off Ferrari.
If Marchionne actually kills the Chrysler brand, it would be the end of a nameplate with over 90 years of history in the United States. However, the lineup consists of just two models today: the ancient 300 sedan and the still fresh Pacifica minivan. With so few products, axing Chrysler is easier than ever.
Probably a smart move to axe Chrysler. However the Pacifica must be incorporated into Dodge's stable. Whether retaining the name Pacifica or calling it Caravan again. This minivan is very important, and would give people a reason to look at Dodge when comparing against Kia, Honda, and Toyota vans.
What the heck is below subcompact SUVs??? Ultracompact? Sounds like a new Jeep built for the city. The Grand Wagoneer I've been saying is going to start testing the waters against the base Land Rover Discovery.
That's absurd to merge Alfa Romeo and Maserati. The latter is been on record saying in the near future all vehicles would have some sort of electric propulsion. Plus they are a luxury badge, whereas Alfa falls more along the lines of Lotus just less intense.
As an aside, if they're doing all of this merging and axing, I'd like to see Ram reincorporated back into Dodge. I hate saying Ram Ram 1500
It's a Dodge Ram and always will be in my eyes.
Last edited by Hoovey689; 05-30-18 at 05:21 PM.
05-30-18, 06:05 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Chrysler's contributions to auto engineering, and to the modern vehicle as we know it, were invaluable. Here is a partial list of them:
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...er-innovations
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...er-innovations
- Replaceable element oil filter (1924) – Standard since the 1930s on Chryslers, it took until 1962 to make them standard on all competitor cars (including Chevrolets). Chrysler also developed the full-flow oil filter (1946).
- The first mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes (1924) – Engineered and redesigned entirely by Chrysler engineers, Lockheed supplied the components for several decades. It’s so nice being able to stop when you need to… Imagine your brakes being as poor as your current emergency brake (rear wheel, cable operated) and you have some idea of how important four-wheel hydraulic brakes were for safety both then and now.
- Rubber engine mounts (1925) – Part of this includes the located center of gravity for the engine, which was “cradled” scientifically in rubber to eliminate or vastly reduce vibration felt by the driver and passengers. Prior to this, engines were simply bolted into car frames.
- Power brakes (1932) – This option helped reduce braking effort.
- Automatic overdrive (1934) – Developed by Chrysler, it was manufactured for them by Borg-Warner and supplied to competitors. Overdrive improves fuel economy and allows higher road speeds.
- Electric windshield wipers (1939) – Do any readers recall how miserable vacuum operated windshield wipers were? When you stepped on the gas to pass, the wipers stopped. Convenient. American Motors continued with the abomination until the early 1970s, and even some GM and Ford cars maintained vacuum-operated wipers until the ‘60s.
- Hydraulic four-wheel disc brakes (1949) – Granted: They were not “caliper disc brakes” but more akin to what aircraft used at the time. Still, they were disc brakes. Difficult as it is to envision, these brakes were essentially “inside-out” versions of what came later. The finned discs rotated around a fixed inner disc that held the brake pads. These moved outward to contact the two sides of the rotating disc brake.
- Ignition key starting (1949) – Believe it or not, before this, there were various ways to engage the starter. Some makes required you to push a separate button on the instrument panel or on the floor, some required you to push the gas pedal or clutch pedal to the floor, Nash required you to pull up on the automatic transmission lever even into the mid-‘50s.
- Resistor spark plugs (1949) – In order to eliminate radio reception interference.
- Padded dashboard (1949) – For safety, obviously.
- Power steering (1951) – This option was developed as a solution to aide parking with the new (extremely heavy) Hemi V-8 engines introduced that year.
- Curved side glass (1957) – Not only a styling advance, this feature allowed a wider interior with a slight curve to the inside of the door, which means more interior room for a given exterior size of car and also less glare for other drivers on the road from straight side glass in certain circumstances.
- First use of modern electronic fuel injection (albeit with an analog computer) (1958) – Optional on DeSotos and Chryslers, the Electrojector system was built for Chrysler by Bendix, which supplied fuel injection for some aircraft.
- Cruise control, called “Auto Pilot,” (1958) – Who else remembers long, exhausting drives during the 55 mile per hour speed limit era? Can you imagine how much worse they’d have been without the option of cruise control?
- Alternators instead of generators standard on some cars (Valiant, 1960), all U.S. cars (1961) – Generators didn’t do a sufficient job in slow traffic or idle and modern cars’ electrical demands began requiring sufficient electrical generation, which only the alternator could provide.
- First mass-produced car equipped with four-wheel antilock disc brakes (Imperial, 1971) – The 1966 British Jensen FF had this, but only a few hundred were built over several years at astronomical cost.
- Electronic ignition on all cars (1973) – This helped reduce emissions and also eliminated much of the old “tune up” periodic services every few thousand miles, reducing owner expense and also saving time.
- Onboard car computer (analog) to control the carburetor mixture and electronic ignition (1976) – This system was called “Lean Burn” and it aided fuel economy and reduced emissions.
- – Yes, your car spoke reminders and warnings to you. In addition, it was a fully digitized, recorded human voice, not just a lame record of a voice like a child’s string-pull talking doll of the era (as the Japanese “innovated” in the same era). Chrysler engineers developed EVA in Huntsville, Ala., where they also worked on space and defense programs. One message would cause many a wag to make lame jokes. EVA: “A door is ajar.” Jokester: “No, a door is not a jar!” (Editor’s note: It’s funny when you’re eight years old!)
- Modern cup holders (1983) – We mustn’t forget how miserable cup holders were “back in the day”. Essentially, if you had any at all, they were simply depressions on the inside of the glovebox door on which you placed your small Styrofoam coffee cup. While the car was stationary. It was a very shallow depression… (Was this innovation an advance, or retrograde?)
05-30-18, 06:20 PM
#7
dodge and Plymouth have been the top dogs so to speak on my hit list
i am happy to see all of their brands go one by one leaving unemployed Union bahstids in their wake
Last edited by S2000toIS350; 05-30-18 at 06:24 PM.
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05-30-18, 08:22 PM
#9
Sad day indeed. I thought they were going to cancel Dodge, hence why pickup trucks went from being a "Dodge Ram" to being just a "Ram". IMO kind of stupid, in my mind its still a Dodge truck. Also if they ever do introduce a midsize truck, its going to be a bit harder to brand it.
I know the car market is soft, and when they killed off the 200 and Dart last year, the writing was on the wall, there was no way FCA was going to keep marketing 6 different car based brands(Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari). Hopefully Dodge gets a few more products(I'd imagine some restyled Jeep SUV's would sell well), cause right now they're down to the Charger, Challenger, and Durango. I assume the ancient fleet special Grand Caravan and Journey will be taking a dirt nap pretty soon.
I know the car market is soft, and when they killed off the 200 and Dart last year, the writing was on the wall, there was no way FCA was going to keep marketing 6 different car based brands(Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari). Hopefully Dodge gets a few more products(I'd imagine some restyled Jeep SUV's would sell well), cause right now they're down to the Charger, Challenger, and Durango. I assume the ancient fleet special Grand Caravan and Journey will be taking a dirt nap pretty soon.
05-31-18, 05:52 AM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
Sad day indeed. I thought they were going to cancel Dodge, hence why pickup trucks went from being a "Dodge Ram" to being just a "Ram". IMO kind of stupid, in my mind its still a Dodge truck. Also if they ever do introduce a midsize truck, its going to be a bit harder to brand it.
05-31-18, 07:48 AM
#11
Probably a smart move to axe Chrysler. However the Pacifica must be incorporated into Dodge's stable. Whether retaining the name Pacifica or calling it Caravan again. This minivan is very important, and would give people a reason to look at Dodge when comparing against Kia, Honda, and Toyota vans.
I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner. Chrysler only has two vehicles now, unless you count the Pacifica Hybrid as a third... The 300C being nothing special these days, and the Pacifica being the only worthwhile product they have.
05-31-18, 11:51 AM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
there's really nothing to save as far as a brand and only 2 models. let's face it, chrysler as a brand has a HORRIBLE reputation. the pacifica is GREAT though and as said, can easily become a dodge. the chrysler 300 is ancient and maybe it can become a dodge too, the srt8 is still kinda cool especially if you saw breaking bad. 
05-31-18, 12:12 PM
#13
there's really nothing to save as far as a brand and only 2 models. let's face it, chrysler as a brand has a HORRIBLE reputation. the pacifica is GREAT though and as said, can easily become a dodge. the chrysler 300 is ancient and maybe it can become a dodge too, the srt8 is still kinda cool especially if you saw breaking bad.
05-31-18, 12:25 PM
#14
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
there's really nothing to save as far as a brand and only 2 models. let's face it, chrysler as a brand has a HORRIBLE reputation. the pacifica is GREAT though and as said, can easily become a dodge. the chrysler 300 is ancient and maybe it can become a dodge too, the srt8 is still kinda cool especially if you saw breaking bad.
05-31-18, 01:52 PM
#15
Maybe call it a Ram Dakota or something with an actual name. Still though Dakota is kind of a crap name applied to some miserably crappy/junky trucks, so maybe it should keep taking a dirt nap. Still I'd think it would be easier to market the trucks along with the cars under one brand name, one distribution channel, you can have ads/marketing that features both the cars and trucks. Maybe some of that trendy/cool vibe from the trucks can rub off on the cars/vans that aren't selling right now.
The whole decision to drop the Dodge from the trucks just struck me as odd. Probably cooked up by FCA's ad agency as a way to bill the company for more hours.