Motor Authority - blog Category: Caliber

Alfa Romeo is a brand remembered fondly in living memory, and in the case of the 8C, desired greatly in the present, in the United States. Fiat's reputation with Americans is a different story - and that's why CEO Sergio Marchionne is focusing his efforts on the Alfa Romeo nameplate.

So far only the Fiat 500 will be sold in the U.S. as a Fiat. Any other Euro-styled cars brought into the U.S. will wear Alfa Romeo badging, reports the Detroit Free Press. And some of those Alfas sold here could even be built here, with the potential for export to Europe as well.

One of the vehicles likely to see U.S. production includes the Alfa version of... Alfa Romeo is a brand remembered fondly in living memory, and in the case of the 8C, desired greatly in the present, in the United States. Fiat's reputation with Americans is a different story - and that's why CEO Sergio Marchionne is focusing his efforts on the Alfa Romeo nameplate. So far only the Fiat 500 will be sold in the U.S. as a Fiat. Any other Euro-styled cars brought into the U.S. will wear Alfa Romeo badging, reports the Detroit Free Press. And some of those Alfas sold here could even be built here, with the potential for export to Europe as well. One of the vehicles likely to see U.S. production includes the Alfa version of the next-gen 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, called the GTX. The sedans and hatches will likely be brought in from outside the U.S. to do battle with the established Germans in the luxury sector, though some will also come from within. Possible entries from Alfa include the 169, which might use the Chrysler LX platform, and a Fiat C-EVO platform-based Milano. Several Chrysler vehicles will share some running gear with the Alfas, including the 300 and Dodge Charger (since they are also based on the LX platform) and the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Caliber (which could be based on the same platform as the Milano). Other planned Alfa Romeo models for the U.S. include the dapper yet efficient MiTo hatchback and the 159 sedan (pictured above) or its successor.Alfa Romeo Mi.To official imagesAlfa Romeo Milano spy shots Read More

The short-sightedness of the car-buying public is breathtaking. It was just months ago that fears over $4 gas prices had people scurrying about, dumping loaded SUVs for a fraction of their purchase price and replacing them with smaller, more efficient vehicles. But today, with fuel well under $2 per gallon in most places, Americans are returning to their big-car ways.

Hybrids have taken it on the chin as well, even leading small cars back into oblivion. Sales of the Toyota Prius are off 30.8% in February when compared to 2007 figures, and hybrids were down 10% across the industry throughout 2008, despite record demand in the summer, reports... The short-sightedness of the car-buying public is breathtaking. It was just months ago that fears over $4 gas prices had people scurrying about, dumping loaded SUVs for a fraction of their purchase price and replacing them with smaller, more efficient vehicles. But today, with fuel well under $2 per gallon in most places, Americans are returning to their big-car ways. Hybrids have taken it on the chin as well, even leading small cars back into oblivion. Sales of the Toyota Prius are off 30.8% in February when compared to 2007 figures, and hybrids were down 10% across the industry throughout 2008, despite record demand in the summer, reports The Detroit News. The cost of buying the technology makes owning one only marginally cheaper than owning a larger, less efficient car - and even then only when fuel prices are high. With stricter CAFE regulations looming in the background and a weak economy in the fore, carmakers are not precisely happy with the reversal of tastes among those that are still buying cars either. The backlog in small cars like Toyota's Yaris, which has a 175-day supply in the U.S., and the Dodge Caliber, with 205 days worth of inventory on hand, threatens to put the assembly lines on hold indefinitely. Chevrolet's Aveo (pictured) is even worse off, with 427 days of overstock - enough to sell until May 24, 2010 even if the factory stopped making them today, reports The Wall Street Journal. So what happens when the carmakers readjust yet again to this fluctuation in consumer preference only to have the price of fuel skyrocket along with demand for small cars and hybrids? Can the industry withstand another such setback? There are those among the major auto companies that think fuel prices were only the catalyst in the reaction, and that other forces, including political and moral influences, will keep the ball rolling toward a smaller, more efficient American fleet. With the government backing the industry's play, President Obama's call for 1 million plug-in electrics by 2015 and a popular culture that tends toward demonization of what is perceived as anti-environmental action, they may be right. On the other side of the issue, there are people like Kelley Blue Book's Jack Nerad, who told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "I think what you hear out of the government these days is almost antithetical to what you hear in the marketplace, at least in the short term." So will the short-term dissonance in consumer demand and government-mandated supply resolve in favor of the carmakers? Or will the consumers continue to snatch up SUVs, pickup trucks and larger sedans until they are forced to once again dump them on the used market only to seek hybrids and smaller cars - perhaps to find them unavailable? Only time will tell, but it's a game being played with millions of jobs in the balance. Read More

Chrysler will drop its all-wheel-drive option for the 2009 Dodge Avenger, Caliber and Chrysler Sebring because of low demand. The information was confirmed by company spokesman Jiyan Cadiz, who said the option never really caught on since its introduction for those particular models late last year.

“For the Avenger, the take rate was 1.5% for 2008, and for the Sebring it was at 0.7%.” Cadiz revealed during a recent interview with Wards. “So obviously the bottom line is people want fuel economy, and the AWD modules are not profitable for us. That’s something we can get rid of as we’re consolidating products and... Chrysler will drop its all-wheel-drive option for the 2009 Dodge Avenger, Caliber and Chrysler Sebring because of low demand. The information was confirmed by company spokesman Jiyan Cadiz, who said the option never really caught on since its introduction for those particular models late last year. “For the Avenger, the take rate was 1.5% for 2008, and for the Sebring it was at 0.7%.” Cadiz revealed during a recent interview with Wards. “So obviously the bottom line is people want fuel economy, and the AWD modules are not profitable for us. That’s something we can get rid of as we’re consolidating products and finding what’s profitable.” Both price and fuel-economy play a major role in affecting customer buying decisions in these segments. The FWD V6 Sebring, for example, is $2,000 cheaper than the AWD model and gets a city/highway EPA fuel-economy rating of 16/26mpg (15-9L/100km) versus 15/24mpg (16-10L/100km) for the AWD model. Chrysler president and vice chairman Jim Press has also in the past questioned why an AWD option was offered on these three vehicles in the first place. However, a spokesman from BorgWarner, the company that supplies Chrysler with its AWD system, said the move was odd given market research that showed AWD is gaining popularity in the B, C and D segments globally. Chrysler is currently developing an active AWD system that normally runs in 2WD mode and only switches to all-wheel mode when there’s loss of traction. The system is expected to debut in the next-generation Chrysler 300 sedan and fuel-economy is expected to be almost the same as the 2WD-only model. The company also plans to keep its AWD option on its other models. Read More

The PT Cruiser has enjoyed a long and surprisingly successful run since its debut in 2000, but rumors of its demise have been spreading for some time. Nevertheless, a graphic designer has taken the time to envision what the PT Cruiser might look like if it were to live on for another generation.

Much more sleekly designed, streamlined and futuristic, the PT Cruiser imagined by Mark Stehrenberger, the graphic designer and speculative renderer for Germany's Auto Motor & Sport, bears only passing resemblance to its somewhat ungainly forebear. In fact, it bears rather more resemblance to Mitsubishi's line of late thanks to the 'fighter jet'... The PT Cruiser has enjoyed a long and surprisingly successful run since its debut in 2000, but rumors of its demise have been spreading for some time. Nevertheless, a graphic designer has taken the time to envision what the PT Cruiser might look like if it were to live on for another generation. Much more sleekly designed, streamlined and futuristic, the PT Cruiser imagined by Mark Stehrenberger, the graphic designer and speculative renderer for Germany's Auto Motor & Sport, bears only passing resemblance to its somewhat ungainly forebear. In fact, it bears rather more resemblance to Mitsubishi's line of late thanks to the 'fighter jet' style grille/intake area. That's not stopping them from speculating about the car's underpinnings or powerplants, however, postulating that the Caliber platform from Dodge is the most likely candidate for such a vehicle. That neglects to notice that the Caliber is effectively a somewhat modernized PT Cruiser, and steps even further away from the recognition that the PT Cruiser was probably successful in part because of its decidedly retro look. Errant details aside, the next-gen PT Cruiser envisioned by the Germans includes a 2.4L four-cylinder powerplant good for about 150hp (111kW) in naturally-aspirated form and 180hp (134kW) when turbocharged. Presumably the 280hp (213kW) turbo-four found in the Caliber SRT4 could also be on the table for a hotted-up SS variant as well, while we're speculating. Given the current state of the market and the expense involved even in re-engineering an existing platform, Chrysler's existing plan to rid itself of duplicate or overlapping models and the rumors that have already been circulating, it seems more likely that Chrysler will just let the PT Cruiser cruise peacefully into retirement. Read More