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DETROIT -- Chrysler brand CEO Olivier Francois startled an audience of more than 400 journalists and analysts last week by showing video footage of a couple passionately making out in the back seat of a Chrysler 300.
A voice says: "Let's design cars people want to make out in again, cars people want their pictures taken in." The clip shows such fashion icons as Coco Chanel and Giorgio Armani and lays out a bold new vision for the Chrysler brand.
The voice says: "What ever happened to style? It wasn't too long ago America had it. At Chrysler, we believe it's time to get it back, to regain the style."
Last week Francois was one in a parade of Chrysler Group brand bosses seeking to reclaim lost glory with daring plans. Group CEO Sergio Marchionne is betting Francois and his peers at Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck will redefine their brands for new customers with the help of fuel-efficient, Fiat-based vehicles.
The challenge is daunting. In recent years, General Motors gave Saturn highly regarded vehicles based on European Opels. The brand failed anyway.
On the other hand, the Mercedes-influenced Chrysler 300 was the biggest hit of the decade-long DaimlerChrysler alliance.
Observers were impressed by the plan unveiled by Marchionne and his team to reinvent its old brands for a new generation of customers.
Chrysler will spend up to $23 billion on new products, manufacturing and brand building over five years, hoping to push market share from its current 9 percent to more than 13 percent. Planned are about a dozen new vehicles underpinned by Fiat platforms and technology.
... Read moreIn January, Nissan Motor will steer what has been mainly a luxury-car feature--the navigation screen--into new territory when it offers the standalone option in the Sentra compact for $400.
The color screen, supplied by Robert Bosch, provides navigation but also can be connected to an iPod or MP3 player and a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone.
The nav screen has become like the iPhone for cars--a gold mine for suppliers striving to provide applications such as traffic reports, parking-assist systems, and backup cameras.
This year automakers will install about 1.4 million navigation systems worth $2.6 billion in vehicles sold in North America, according to iSuppli, a Los Angeles consulting firm that tracks sales of consumer electronics. That's up from 890,000 systems worth $1.8 billion installed in 2004.
"By 2016, one in three cars will have a navigation system of some sort," says Phil Magney, vice president of iSuppli's automotive practice. If that prediction pans out, nav screens could be standard equipment in about 5.4 million vehicles sold annually in North America, he says.
| Lots of action |
|---|
| Functions are proliferating on navigation screens. |
| • Active parking assist on Ford and Toyota vehicles |
| • Telephone controls |
| • Traffic and points-of-interest information |
| • Controls for the radio and air conditioner |
| • Route guidance |
| • Fuel economy performance information for hybrids |
| • Live video from backup camera |
| • TV programs |
The normal subscription price for FLO TV in Chrysler vehicles is $119 a year.
(Credit: Automotive News)In December, Chrysler Group vehicles will offer as many as 20 channels of programming from channels such as CBS, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC, and MTV. The service, from FLO TV, receives digital TV signals through a small antenna on a vehicle's roof. The suggested retail price for the dealer-installed service is $629, plus installation. Buyers get a year of free programming. The normal price for a subscription is $119 a year. The screen's in the back seat; front-seat navigation screens get programming only when the vehicle is in park.
(Source: Automotive News)
Honda talks about bigger hybrids, Cash for Clunkers might have been a huge boondoggle, Infiniti will get an electric car, should DWT be punished harder than DUI? And we take you for a ride in the frustratingly fun Scion xB.
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EPISODE 142
SHOW NOTES• Should DWT being punished more severely than DUI?
• CNET drives the new 2010 VW GTI
• CNET review of the 2010 Scion xB
• World distance record claimed for driving an electric car on a single charge
TURIN, Italy--Fiat S.p.A. may turn to Chrysler for help in reviving its European lineup of prestige sedans.
The Italian group's upscale Lancia brand could get a replacement for its Thesis flagship from the next-generation Chrysler 300, due in 2011, a Fiat source said. It also may base a smaller Lancia sedan on the next-generation Chrysler Sebring.
Lancia stopped building the 7-year-old Thesis in the summer.
The source said Fiat aims to integrate the Chrysler brand more closely with the Lancia brand in Europe. He said Chrysler and Lancia will share distribution in Europe in the near future.
A version of the next generation of the Chrysler 300, due in 2011, could replace Lancia's Thesis, above. Thesis production ended this summer.
(Credit: Automotive News)Lancia could provide products for Chrysler, too. Chrysler could get a version of the next-generation Lancia Ypsilon small car, scheduled to arrive in Europe late next year.
Last week, in a step toward integrating the two brands, Fiat and Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne put Lancia CEO Olivier Francois in charge of the Chrysler brand. Francois will remain Lancia chief and remains head of marketing for Fiat S.p.A.'s Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Abarth brands, and Fiat Professional light vans.
He also will coordinate worldwide marketing, brand development, and advertising for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge cars, and Dodge Ram trucks.
Lancia sold about 110,000 units a year from 2005 to 2008, all in western Europe. Through August, Lancia's sales were flat at 79,683 units in an overall market that declined 7 percent, according to ACEA, the European automakers association.
Francois, a marketing expert, is credited with keeping Lancia sales stable during the economic crisis, helped by advertising campaigns. The French native joined Fiat Group Automobiles in 2005 from Citroen, where he was the French brand's Italy chief.
(Source: Automotive News)
FRANKFURT--By adopting a platform strategy put to good use in Europe, Fiat says it can help Chrysler Group differentiate its three brands quickly and economically.
The group's product strategy calls for greater differentiation among Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. About 80 percent of Chrysler Group dealers now sell all three brands.
The goal is to create distinct differences at the lowest possible cost.
Preview for analysts
Fiat-based Chrysler models are still a couple of years away. Harald Wester, Fiat's chief technical officer, this month gave a group of analysts here a detailed look at how the Italian company can help reduce the cost of launching vehicles and cut the time needed to do it.
Chrysler reorganized along brand lines after emerging from Chapter 11 in June. Fiat owns 20 percent of Chrysler.
Under Fiat's standardization approach, Wester said, only 25 to 30 percent of vehicle production costs come from components that differentiate models and brands. Those components are mainly the upper body, doors, windows, seats and interior trim, exterior trim, instrument panel and front and rear lamps. Most other costs are common among vehicles that share an architecture.
... Read moreFRANKFURT--The Chrysler brand will handle U.S. distribution of the Fiat 500 minicar, said Peter Fong, Chrysler brand CEO and head of sales for all Chrysler Group brands.
Fong said the 500 most likely will have a dedicated corner in Chrysler-brand showrooms. The limited volume planned for the 500 prevents creation of a dedicated retail network.
About 80 percent of Chrysler dealers now offer all three of the group's brands: Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep.
The Fiat 500 probably will have a dedicated corner in Chrysler-brand stores.
(Credit: Automotive News)Fong said no decision has been made on how many dealers will sell the 500. The plan is for the 500 sedan to be built at Chrysler's plant in Toluca, Mexico, beginning in late 2010 or early 2011, says a supplier source.
Fiat prefers Mexico mainly because of its free-trade agreement with Brazil. The Italian automaker, which is the market leader in Brazil, plans to export about a third of the 100,000 Fiat 500s planned for yearly production in Toluca to Latin American countries.
Eventually, Fiat is expected to offer in North America the entire range of 500 body variants: hatchback, convertible, wagon, and a sporty version sold under the Abarth brand name.
(Source: Automotive News)
The new digital owners guide pictured with the old paper manuals
(Credit: Chrysler Group LLC)As cars become more complex, the accompanying user manuals have become proportionally thicker. These days, your average luxury sedan or SUV will often come with a vehicle manual, a navigation manual, separate safety systems manuals and pamphlets, and--in the case of hybrids--a final manual to explain how the powertrain works. That's a good deal of paper that will most likely only be referenced once or twice (if at all).
For its 2010 model Chrysler, Jeep, and, Dodge vehicles, Chrysler Group LLC will be ditching the bulk of its paper manuals and replacing them with digital DVD manuals. The automaker will be the first to do so. According to Chryler's press release:
"The DVD includes the owners' manual, vehicle and tire warranty information, navigation and entertainment system guides, as well as information on 24-hour towing assistance. Video tutorials also are available for commonly used features, such as folding down a Jeep Wrangler soft-top, operating the video entertainment system and setting electronic speed control. In addition, owners may search by topic rather than sifting through a 500-page book."
"The printed user guide includes photos and diagrams allowing customers to quickly find assistance for emergency situations, such as changing tires, jump-starting a battery or assessing warning lights. The printed guide also covers basic operating procedures for temperature control, windshield wipers, seat adjustment and navigation systems."
Luddites and your grandparents can request a traditional printed manual by contacting their dealer or calling customer service. The switch will save 930 tons of paper, the equivalent of 20,000 trees, on an annual basis and save about 4 pounds of paper per vehicle.
So, loyal readers, what do you think about the jump to digital manuals? Is this something you'd like to see more automakers emulate?
The Caliber SRT4: Dodge's fastest small car is dead.
(Credit: Automotive News)DETROIT -- Dodge is dropping its fastest, most powerful small car for the 2010 model year. The Dodge Caliber SRT4 -- a turbocharged, muscle-bound version of the Caliber -- is being discontinued.
"The Dodge Caliber SRT4 was planned for a limited production run in the highly competitive sport compact market segment," Dodge said in a statement.
Dodge did not provide information on the number of Caliber SRT4s sold since the vehicle was introduced in late 2007.
The Caliber SRT4 was Dodge's attempt to add a little muscle-car panache to its smallest car. It was powered by a 285-hp turbocharged version of the inline four-cylinder engine built at the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance factory in Dundee, Mich., operated jointly with Hyundai and Mitsubishi. The six-speed manual transmission was supplied by Getrag, of Germany.
Chrysler's SRT (Street and Racing Technology) group now has five vehicles for 2010: the Chrysler 300C SRT8; the Dodge Charger SRT8, Challenger SRT8 and Viper SRT10; and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.
(Source: Automotive News)
(Credit:
Jankel Group)
Jeep stakeholders reasserted their intention to regain a share of the international military market at the Defence Systems & Equipment International Exhibition in London this week.
Chrysler has teamed up with the Jankel Group to market a new tactical version of the commercially available Jeep Unlimited. The Jeep J8 (it's the eighth version of the Wrangler) has been extensively modified but retains the long wheelbase, drive train, and distinctive profile (PDF).
The J8 will be available in 12 configurations including light patrol, pickup truck, personnel carrier, armored, and ambulance variants.
"What the J8 is, really, is a tremendously capable and flexible platform for modifications," said Jack Robinson, Jeep's government and military sales general manager. "Our business model is to have Jankel, JGMS' parent company, work with Jeep engineering to create a family of vehicles."
Chrysler reinforced the frame; added heavy-duty brakes, radiator, and suspension; upgraded the axles; and added a rugged air filtration system designed to withstand fives hours in a desert sandstorm. It then dropped in a VM Motori 2.8L, four-cylinder turbo diesel engine. The company adapted many of the upgrade parts from its Dodge truck.
Options available from Jankel's armor shop will include add-on roll-bars, tubular mounts for weapons and accessories, a weapon turret, a folding windshield, ballistic armor, and the essential convertible soft-top.
American Expeditionary Vehicles already offers a civilian version of a military-focused Wrangler--the EV J8 MILSPEC, calling it the most durable Jeep platform ever offered to the U.S. public. It comes completely assembled, but you have to add your own power--either the diesel or a 5.7L HEMI V8.
Assembly of Jankel's version will take place in South Carolina, with sticker prices starting at $30,000. Urban soccer moms, take note.
