After the marriage and the short “family planning” course, Fiat and Chrysler have unveiled details on their new American family. 7 new cars will make their way into the US market, four with Chrysler brands and three with either Fiat or Alfa Romeo badges.
The Chrysler-badged cars could stretch all the way from the A-segment up to the D-segment. Something based on the Fiat Panda/500 platform (also used by Ford to underpin their Ford Ka) would give Chrysler the city car they need. The B-segment will be served by the Grande Punto/Mito platform. A C-segment car will utilize Fiat’s C-Evo platform, which could replace the Dodge Caliber.
Finally, a D-segment car would use a stretched version of the mentioned C-Evo platform to replace the Chrysler Sebring and the Dodge Avenger. This apparently fits well into Chrysler’s vehicle roadmap according to Chrysler executive VP Frank Klegon, as Chrysler does not have an A or B-segment vehicle and their C-segment Dodge Caliber is due to be replaced soon.
The Fiat/Alfa Romeo branded cars are likely to be hits such as the Fiat 500, the Alfa Romeo MiTo, and a new vehicle based on the C-Evo platform for the C-segment which could end up being the Alfa Romeo “149” (successor to the aging 147).
Chrysler will also get access to Fiat’s Fire T-JET small displacement engines (1.4L to 1.8L). If I’m not mistaken, Chrysler’s smallest engine family right now is the GEMA engine, something it gained from DaimlerChrysler times. The GEMA family ranges from 1.8 litres (4B10) to 2.4 litres (4B12), and Chrysler uses these (including a turbocharged 2.4 litre) in cars like the Dodge Caliber (photo shown above).
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this sounds like a godfather movie. the american dream! heh. italian and american
hopefully they could create a dodge with a ferrari engine, hehe
What about handling? Wait, american’s don’t need that. Their roads are huge. Surely it could not be as easy as enlarging it few sizes.
What is this? Is Chrysler becoming the American Proton? Americans will surely bash this to the death…
good news for chrysler but bad for fiat
Kevin Lee said,
January 28, 2009 @ 6:41 pm
this sounds like a godfather movie. the american dream! heh. italian and american
hopefully they could create a dodge with a ferrari engine, hehe
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yah..or a ferrari with a dodge engine haha,coz rhat would be better.