Fiat to have separate dealer network
Posted by Staff (07/05/2010 @ 10:52 pm)
The upcoming Fiat 500 will be sold with other upcoming Fiat’s in a separate dealer network. To get things started, Fiat dealerships will be located in roughly 125 U.S. metropolitan areas that Chrysler has found to have high small-car registration and grow from there. It will be interesting to see how many Chrysler/Dodge stores apply to be a Fiat dealer as well.
From the Detroit News:
 Detroit — Chrysler Group LLC will set up a separate dealership network to sell cars made by Italy’s Fiat Group SpA when they are reintroduced in the U.S. later this year.
The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker said existing Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealers will get a chance to apply to sell the Italian Fiats, but they must be able to operate separate facilities with different sales and service teams in order to win a franchise.
Fiat, which last sold cars in the U.S. in the 1980s, will return to the country in December with the debut of the Fiat 500, a highly efficient, very European-looking small car. Other Fiat models are likely for the U.S., but the company has not made announcements beyond the 500, known in Italy as the Cinquecento.
Read the full article here.
The truck sale battle rages on
Posted by Staff (07/04/2010 @ 8:01 pm)
The truck sales battle continues between Ford, Chrysler and GM as the Detroit 3 comprise of over 90% of this market. So many factors go into the decision when purchasing or leasing a vehicle and somewhere between products and bailouts Ford has been pushing the right buttons with customers. Ford has gained 5.2 percentage points of market share in the full sized truck segment this year and as the market slowly recovers that could mean big profits for the Blue Oval.
From the Detroit Free Press:
After owning three Ram pickups, Jason Reed of Texas — the nation’s largest pickup market — decided to switch brands in April: He bought a Ford F-150.
“I’ve never been a Ford guy — ever,” said Reed, 42.
He wasn’t just won over by the features on the Ford truck, though. Another factor also helped seal the deal: the taxpayer-backed bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors.
“I just don’t like the idea of our federal government doing that,” Reed said.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Posted in: News
Tags: bailouts, big profits, Blue Oval, Chrysler, Detroit 3, Ford, full sized truck segment, GM, market share, purchasing or leasing a vehicle, truck sales
Sales up for Chrysler
Posted by Staff (07/02/2010 @ 7:08 pm)
Chrysler sales take off in June with Dodge leading the charge clocking a 67% increase with the Charger, Avenger and Challenger leading the way. The industry average was well below Chrysler’s jump in sales as things might be changing for this company. Looking back a year ago and then to today with a market that has still not rebounded strongly you have to give the folks at Chrysler/Fiat credit for fighting back. There are new products on the way and if the auto market in the U.S. can find it’s way in the months ahead Sergio Marchionne will have a lot of new friends in the Midwest!
From the Detroit Free Press:
Chrysler said today that U.S. sales jumped 35% compared with the same month a year ago, a gain led by its Jeep and Dodge brands.
Jeep sales rose 25%, on an 86% jump Jeep Wrangler sales. Dodge, newly minted as a car brand, saw its sales increase 67% on a spike in sales of the Charger, Avenger and Challenger.
Overall, sales of Chrysler’s passenger cars, an area where industry observers say Chrysler must improve, nearly doubled.
Chrysler’s minivans also performed well. Sales of the Chrysler Town & Country rose 34% and sales of the Dodge Caravan jumped nearly 50%.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Chrysler gears up for 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee with second shift added to an existing plant
Posted by Staff (05/21/2010 @ 6:26 pm)
Chrysler is gearing up for the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee by hiring 1100 new employees at the Jefferson North Plant in Detroit, Michigan. This is a really big deal for Chrysler and bringing in new hires will make this vehicle launch even more complicated as these are not experienced auto workers so Chrysler better be focusing on Quality like a laser beam.
From the Detroit Free Press:
 Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne today said the company would hire 1,100 workers for a second shift at Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit over the summer.
The factory builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Marchionne’s remarks were made at a celebration to launch production of the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee — Chrysler’s first all-new vehicle since it emerged from bankruptcy nearly a year ago.
Marchionne said “nearly all” the new jobs for the second shift, which will start July 19, will be new hires and not existing UAW workers on layoff.
Read the full article here.
Posted in: Cars, New Cars, News, SUV
Tags: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler, experienced auto workers, focusing on Quality, Jefferson North Plant in Detroit, Michigan, new hires, vehicle launch
Lancia spotted in Motown
Posted by Staff (05/05/2010 @ 8:24 pm)
The stylish Lancia Delta has been spotted in Michigan. Fiat/Chrysler should be inclined to bring a sporty vehicle like the Delta to market in the U.S.
From Edmunds Inside Line:
Remember the mysterious brown Lancia Delta hatchback with Chrysler badging that was on display at the Detroit Auto Show? Well, Chrysler-Fiat may indeed have some specific plans in mind for it as a white and black prototype was spotted making test runs in Auburn Hills, around Chrysler’s Technical Center (CTC) this week.
The appearance of a Lancia on Fiat’s newly-acquired U.S. turf isn’t necessarily unexpected, but our spy photographers report that Delta pictured here was undergoing some true road-testing, zipping back and forth through security checkpoints, and duplicating familiar test routes on the public roads around the CTC.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
April a decent month for auto sales?
Posted by Staff (05/04/2010 @ 9:58 pm)
April 2010 turned out to be a “decent” month for auto sales in the U.S. Most automakers posted double digit increases from a dismal April 2009 but numbers came in below March 2010. Nissan posted an impressive 35% increase, Ford up 25% and Chrysler sporting a solid 25% gain for a year ago. It will be interesting to see what the next few months have in store with the economy slowly getting stronger.
From CNN.Money.com:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Major automakers posted double-digit gains in U.S. sales in April compared to the battered sales of a year ago, but the overall pace of sales fell short of March results.
Industrywide U.S. sales came in just short of 1 million vehicles, up 20% from a year ago, according to sales tracker Autodata, but a bit shy of forecasts of between a 21% to 23% gain. And sales were down 8% from March.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Fiat designs should surprise
Posted by Staff (04/27/2010 @ 4:14 pm)
If quality and price are equal, what will be the deciding factor in an auto purchase? Fiat/Chrysler hopes you said “design” because look for their new cars to have plenty of “flair”. This is a smart move and it takes advantage of Fiats tools in their toolbox with top designers in house from all of those stylish brands at their disposal. If Fiat pulls this off look for marketing and design to lead them through this lull of new product and excitement.
From the Detroit Free Press:
TURIN, Italy — The world is still waiting to see what kind of auto design emerges from the alliance of Italy’s Fiat and U.S. Chrysler. One thing is clear: There’s a lot of Italian flair to draw on, in the person of Fiat’s design chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti.
Ramaciotti helped design everything from the high-end Ferrari Enzo to the economical Peugeot 407 during his career at independent styling house Pininfarina. Expect some surprises ahead.
“Italian design can’t be repetitive. It must be a design that is a little surprising, with something innovative from one model to the next,” said Ramaciotti during an interview in his modest office at Fiat’s Centro Stile, decorated with logos of the six Fiat brands whose style he commands.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Fiat to fill in the blanks for Chrysler
Posted by Staff (04/20/2010 @ 2:48 pm)
Chrysler Chairman Sergio Marchionne will lay out the companies five year plan Wednesday which will more than double Chrysler’s annual sales from 1.3 million last year to 2.8 million by 2013. The question is “will anyone believe him”? Plans can sound good but delivering is another matter. They way I see it is that everything really hinges on how well the North American market warms to Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo products.
From the Detroit Free Press:
 Chrysler’s chances of ending its sales decline and returning to profitability should become clearer Wednesday, when Fiat is to lay out a five-year business plan.
The strategy for the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands is expected to reveal new details about the vehicles Chrysler’s North American factories will build. Also expected are details of Alfa’s return to the U.S. market, plus future product lines for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and the new Ram commercial-vehicle brand.
Read the full article here.
Conflict of interest in auto regulation?
Posted by Staff (04/14/2010 @ 6:46 pm)
With auto sales starting to come back it feels like the auto bailouts happened some time ago even though it’s only been about a year. Well, According to a recent poll many Americans clearly want the government out of the auto business. The poll states that 48% feel the government has a “conflict of interest”. That should be short term once the government exit’s from their current equity stakes.
From theTruthAboutAutoCars.com:
 According to the latest Rasmussen telephone polling [via The Financial], 48 percent of Americans believe that the government’s ownership stake in GM and Chrysler means it has a conflict of interest in regulating competing automakers. 25 percent disagree, saying that the government’s bailout doesn’t affect regulation, and another 26 percent aren’t sure. When it comes to recent criticism of Toyota by administration officials like Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, only 25 percent believe the criticism stems from a desire to help GM, while 38 percent disagree and 37 percent aren’t sure. But the polls most interesting results have nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with perception:
Read the full story here.
Is the worst over for Detroit?
Posted by Staff (04/02/2010 @ 5:03 pm)
Is the worst over for Detroit? No one person can say for sure but this article gives a glance into what the Detroit are has had to endure the past few years and what could be on the horizon!
From MSN.com:
At last, sales of American-made vehicles are rising — and with them hopes that Detroit and southeast Michigan can start to dig out of the deep economic hole that swallowed the region in 2008.
And what a hole it’s been. For almost three years, Michigan has had the highest unemployment rate in the nation. Two of Detroit’s Big Three automakers in 2009 needed billions in federal bailout money to stay in business and drastically downscaled their operations. Plants, dealerships and parts suppliers closed. The city of Detroit, feeling the loss of tax revenues from the auto industry, grappled with insolvency.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
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