formula79

Fiat?

Wonder if they are planing on straight up selling Fiat's in Dodge dealers?

91_z28_4me

This thought occurred to me earlier today. It may be possible but how well will the Fiat name play in todays market?

AdioSS

could be interesting

ehaase

My understanding is that the 500 will be the only Fiat brand car here.

91_z28_4me

It doesn't make sense to spend the marketing and organization dollars to just sell one car. Perhaps the 500 will be the only one wearing Dodge skin?

96_Camaro_B4C

BMW does it with Mini. They did eventually add other variants (convertible, and much later, the extended length Clubman), but still just the Mini Cooper.

Eric77TA

This is the plan from my understanding. 500 as the only Fiat branded vehicle with convertible and other variants to follow. Any other Fiat vehicles will be redone as Chryslers or Dodges, with Alfa getting a next generation LX out of the deal.

guionM

You really are pretty paranoid about this Fiat thing aren't you?


I think you have the right direction. So why take it and run and jump off a cliff?

I think you're on to something about Fiat being a "volume brand", but again, you're dismissing Chrysler and making a sky-is-falling case that Fiat is simply going to suddenly spring onto Chrysler and Dodge Dealers that they're going to sell nothing but Fiats. I think all dealers know by now (and have for months) that they will be selling Fiats alongside Chryslers and Dodges.

They probably were smart enough to figure that out when Fiat took over the company.

But while it's completely absurd to think Fiat is simply going to suddenly shut down Chrysler and start making and selling Fiats, your basic premise is intresting in that based on what's known so far and what each division CEOs are saying, I think you point out (accidently or not) the exact place where the Fiat brand will actually fit into all this.

If Dodge is going to be more of a performance brand and Chrysler is moving upscale, that leaves Fiat potentially as the volume small car brand. A Chevrolet if you will, while the traditional American brands move upscale.

There will be no real place for cars like the 500 or other vehicles that small in an upscale Chrysler showroom or a Dodge showroom where a RWD Avenger and Charger are likely to be the star names.

I can see your point of the Fiat brand filling in a role as low priced, Euro sourced cars. Sort of the counterpart to Ford's new line of Focus based cars coming up over the next year or two. That makes alot of sense for a company that wants to return to the US, but at the same time, supply misdized and compact vehicles for Chrysler and Dodge dealers to sell.

But, again, if Fiat becomes a volume brand that means that both Dodge and Chrysler are moving upscale. That would require abandoning the notion that Fiat plans to gut both the Chrysler and Dodge names and create NBF (Nothing but Fiats), as well as the idea that Chrysler is an "albatross around Fiats neck", or that "Fiat will simply take all Chrysler's factories and make Fiats", or that "Chrysler brings nothing to the table, and that "Chrysler doesn't have an engineering department".... know what I mean?

Fiat will supply the architecture for all Chrysler cars the size of the Sebring and smaller. Chrysler will supply the architecture for all RWD vehicles made under both Chrysler Group and Alfa Romero. Chrysler will also continue to engineer and manufacture Dodge Rams, Minivans for both Chrysler and Dodge, and will continue to do all engineering on Jeep.

Chrysler survived Daimler's pilfering and plundering.
Chrysler survived Cerberus' financial starving.
Fiat actually is incorperating Chrysler with their operations, and has a defining purpose to the Chrysler Group.

The final plan will come out in November, most likely during the Los Angeles show. But there's enough bits and pieces out there now to get a general direction of what's happening.

I think you're looking up the right tree. But nothing supports a doomsday scenario, though.

Eric77TA

According to Chrysler CEO and head of sales for all Chrysler Group brands, Peter Fong, the Pentastar will be in charge of Fiat 500 distribution in the States, and unlike the ill-fated Chrysler TC by Maserati, the tag isn't expected to read "Chrysler 500 by Fiat." Because of its relatively low volume, Chrysler doesn't see the need to build a separate dealer network for the retro runabout. Instead, Chrysler dealers will just be adding a Fiat 500 corner in their showrooms.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/28/c...-distribution/