Saddle up! Fiat's plans for Chrysler to appear soon, leaks appearing even sooner

I'm thinking of a car, can you guess what it is?

While many of us eagerly await Fiat's official plan for Chrysler, which will be announced on November 4, 2009, the Wall Street Journal has taken this opportunity to speculate what will be announced.

In this link is a slideshow filled with photos of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge products and my thoughts on each of them.

If you guessed that Fiat-based models will pepper the future lineup of Chrysler's product lineup, then you would be correct. Let's analyze the WSJ report:

Jeep Commander will be dead next year. Why isn't it dead already? This thing was a non-starter from day one. I recall viewing some early shots of the Commander when a colleague turned to me and said, "This photo is a hoax, right?" Sadly it was not.

New Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300 next year. Both were great vehicles in their time, but is now the time for these vehicles? Current consumer behavior would suggest not.

Increased marketing of the Jeep brand. More marketing is better than less, but I am not sure how much this will help.

Dodge Caliber, Dodge Avenger and Dodge Nitro die while the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger live. Eventually phase out Dodge Grand Caravan leaving only the Chrysler Town and Country. Most of these changes won't occur for some time , so don't look for deals on orphan Caliber's just yet. Heck, the Caliber just got a new interior. Focusing Dodge as a performance icon makes some sense, but what will replace these bread and butter cars? Also, I understand that you want to de-duplicate the lineup, but the minivan segment is a big deal for the company. Even long term, why would you want to go and mess with its success by cutting back to only the Town and Country? Aren't Plymouth Voyager owners still licking their wounds?

Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chysler Sebring sedan, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot will be axed. No shocker here, the PT was already saved from the executioner once, it has to be replaced at some point. Sebring and Avenger sedans have been trouble since the get-go for Chrysler. While the Jeep Patriot is passable, the Compass is quite ugly and a detriment to the Jeep brand's rugged image. Fiat platforms should play well in this space, but 2012 better hurry up and get here.

Fiat 500 arrives in 2011. Can't arrive too soon! While it won't sell in huge numbers, it will generate much needed showroom traffic.

Alfa Romeo returns with volume models in 2012. Richie riches have the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione to play with while the rest of us have to wait. Will the wait be worth it?

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Manual intervention: Chrysler kicks bulky owner manuals to the curb

Simpsons character Troy McClure (source: wikipedia)

One of the joys of new car ownership for me has always been thumbing through the owner's manual. I am probably in the minority on this one as most folks prefer to sit down, buckle up and drive.

Chrysler is hoping to split the difference with a new approach to these weighty tomes: DVDs. For the 2010 model year Chrysler is swapping out the 500 page monster manuals with smaller 60-80 page user guides and an accompanying DVD.

You can watch a sample video below to gain a better understanding of the DVD guides.

It is a shame that Phil Hartman is no longer with us, his Troy McClure character from the Simpsons would have been perfect to narrate these DVDs. Can you just hear him now,

Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from your Plymouth Sundance. I am here to tell you all about your new Jeep Liberty.

These new videos should make tasks such as fiddling with the Jeep Wranger's soft top a much easier job for newbies. For owners who have built in DVD players, this swap is a no-brainer (unless they do not know how to use the DVD player) but for those drivers who have to tote the DVD into the house where it will soon be lost, it might not be the best solution. Ideally, the manual should be written to flash memory and accessed from a navigation screen on all vehicles, perhaps with an audio only function for drivers on the move who need to get some information quickly (using voice commands).

In a Prius-like, saving the earth move, Chrysler also mentions that the smaller paper guides will save an estimated 930 tons of paper, the equivalent of 20,000 trees every year.

For those buyers who do not care to watch a movie about their cars, Chrysler will offer free traditional owner's guides.

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Win a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (5/31/2009)

The Wrangler is actually one of the few vehicles that Chrysler makes a profit on. Pretty sad state of affairs, but the Wrangler does rock! Here's your chance to win one. Click here to enter.

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2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee: "Hey, I'm Still Relevant"

I'll say this: I have always loved the Jeep Grand Cherokee. One autumn I rented a GC and headed up to Vermont for some biking around Lake Champlain, camping and a spontaneous road trip to Montreal. I remember waking up one morning, popping my head of the tent and seeing a nice coating of snow on the ground. No problem for the GC, it was strong and confident as I slopped my way down the muddy trail. I'm getting misty eyed even thinking about it...Sigh.



Sorry about that, sometimes I just get carried away by automotive memories. Anyhoo, here's the 2011 model (top photos, obviously) and she has cleaned up quite nicely. I was never taken with the current generation, so this new take on the GC is a good one: it's clean, it's functional and it's unmistakably GC.

Improved in almost every way, the 2011 model will sport richer materials and a more refined powertrains. The pity here is that this is a 2011 model, so we are a ways from seeing this on the road. Put me in for a diesel (at launch diesel will only be available for international markets), I'll figure out how to pay for it by the time they release this one in California.

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This Jeep Wrangler Unlimited looks great. In my opinion, the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee are pillars for the brand. I am looking forward to seeing the new GC in New York. For now, I'd settle for some time with this Wrangler and a few logging roads in the Cascades.

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Trial Balloon: Cars for Chrysler, Trucks for Dodge, SUVs for Jeep?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Chrysler is considering an idea that each of its brands would retail specific types of vehicles. Under this plan Chrysler would retail only cars, Dodge would have pickups and commercial trucks and Jeep would have a lock on sport utility type vehicles. The plan makes sense to me as it eliminates badge engineered vehicles. However, some dealers may object to the plan. Chrysler has to do something besides axe models and reforming the way each brand aligns is as good a place to start as any.

source: wsj

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