Chrysler News
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Chrysler today submitted three proposals outlining a $448-million plan to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in order to rapidly bring electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid models to market. The proposals were submitted in order to receive two initiatives established by the DOE - the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative and the Transportation Electrification Initiative. Both are designed to speed up development, demonstration, evaluation and manufacturing of EVs and plug-in hybrids. The programs represent a 50/50 cost-share opportunity, with $224 million...
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U.S. Treasury invests $7.5 billion in GMACAs the economy and car market continue to stagnate, it's becoming increasingly obvious that the bailout funds already paid to industry players like General Motors, Chrysler, and their financing arm GMAC, were just the tip of the iceberg. Today the Obama administration proved that point by handing...
Ralph Hanson -
Report: Fiat picks 3 directors for restructured ChryslerOnly yesterday it was announced that former Chairman of Borden Chemical and of Duracell International, Robert Kidder, would preside over a restructured Chrysler as its new CEO, but already reports have emerged claiming Fiat has appointed three new directors for the struggling carmaker. In the lead...
James Martinez -
Mopar cuts sponsorship ties with champion drifter Sam HubinetteChrysler's in-house accessories division Mopar has been sponsoring champion drifter Sam Hubinette for a number of years now, including for this year’s 2009 Formula Drift series where he is competing in a highly modified Dodge Challenger. Unfortunately, the relationship will be ending soon due...
Ralph Hanson -
C. Robert Kidder to head Chrysler after restructuringNearly three weeks into Chrysler's bankruptcy and the global strategic alliance between Fiat and Chrysler comes news today that C. Robert Kidder - not Sergio Marchionne - will play the role of CEO for Chrysler after the bankruptcy. The news, which comes directly from Chrysler, contradicts a...
James Martinez -
Chrysler dealers fire back at proposed franchise rejectionsJust a couple weeks into the nascent Fiat-Chrysler partnership, trouble is already brewing. The American carmaker's 3,188 dealers, upon hearing that 789 of their number will be let go by June 6, banded together to prepare for a legal fight. The dealers are contesting Chrysler's incredibly short...
Nelson Ireson -
As bankruptcy thrashes Chrysler vehicles' resale value the company is pulling out all the stops to keep sales up until it can emerge and join forces with Fiat. To help get feet on the floors of its remaining dealerships, the company is now reportedly getting ready to send out $1,000 certificates toward the purchase of a new car to all of its existing customers. The move is a bold one, since the certificate is ostensibly in addition to all the price cuts and incentives already on the table at Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. Coming along with the $1,000 offer is a letter from CEO Bob Nardelli...
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GM reveals more details on 1,124 dealer cutbackCutting back production and right-sizing brands and lineups is just one aspect of the restructuring underway at the hands of the U.S. federal government. Earlier this week hard cuts in both labor and dealership numbers were discussed, foreshadowing the next steps to come, and just yesterday a...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler reveals more details on plans to cut 789 dealers by June 9Cutting back production and right-sizing brands and lineups is just one aspect of the restructuring underway at the hands of the U.S. federal government. Earlier this week hard cuts in both labor and dealership numbers were discussed, foreshadowing the next steps to come, and today a Chrysler memo...
Ralph Hanson -
AEV making Jeep J8 MILSPEC available for U.S. civiliansImagine it: the sheer irony of a Jeep - the quintessential American military vehicle - being available only to foreign militaries and governments. Until American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) stepped in to supply the Jeep J8 to regular people, that's exactly how things stood. But now American civilians...
Nelson Ireson -
Honda could leapfrog Chrysler in North American production, salesWith almost all of its plants shuttered through the bankruptcy period and faith in the company at an all-time low, Chrysler is soon to be passed in both North American production and sales by Honda. The Japanese #2 carmaker has already cut the gap to Chrysler's production figures to 17,011 vehicles...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler may still build Nissan’s redesigned Titan pickupBefore Chrysler was ever involved in alliance dealings with Fiat, the Auburn Hills-based carmaker was already tied with Nissan over several platform swapping and production sharing deals. In February of this year, however, plans for Nissan to build a Chrysler compact car based on its Versa in...
James Martinez -
It's simple math: carmaker plus bankruptcy equals uncertainty and lower resale values. But Chrysler owners are feeling the bite of that equation as the value of their vehicles dropped 6% on average in a single week. In the week after Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owners of Jeep and Dodge vehicles saw their 36-month resale value go from 38.4% and 37.3% of their original price, respectively, to just 32.4% for Jeep and 31.2% for Dodge. Chrysler-branded vehicles fell an even 6% from 34.8% to 28.8%, reports the Detroit Free Press. That's a very rocky patch, worsening...
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New Chrysler vehicles won't just be rebadged FiatsChrysler and Fiat have already tied the knot but now questions are emerging as to how the two companies will conceive new Chrysler vehicles based on Fiat's current stock. A Chrysler-Fiat vehicle won't just feature a Chrysler badge slapped on the bonnet, but instead it will have to be re-engineered...
James Martinez -
American launch of Fiat 500 may pave way for Ford KaAs Wall Street tumbles and Americans deal with the tough times, Ford is eying its global minicar, the Ka, for U.S. sale. The car had previously been rejected as incompatible with the American taste for large, powerful vehicles, but with the signing of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance earlier this month a...
Nelson Ireson -
Chrysler begins new ad campaign to show off future modelsChrysler's recent announcement revealing its new global alliance with Italian auto giant Fiat now means that the company has to hurry to re-establish itself in the market. In order to do this, Chrysler will be unveiling a new advertising campaign to show off future models and get people interested...
James Martinez -
Chrysler to build new sedan in U.S. based on Fiat C-Evo platformThe alliance between Fiat and Chrysler still has just been finalized and with the government’s deadline for restructuring falling at the end of this month dealers understandably are nervous. Add a looming bankruptcy to the mix and stress levels for most dealers will likely be going through...
Jeremy Weber -
Report: GM wants 30% stake in possible joint Opel-Fiat companyThe landscape of the automotive industry is changing, and before things are done, the changes may be massive. Already Fiat and Chrysler are forging an alliance, and Fiat is also going after part of Opel. Now a source says General Motors wants a piece of any merged Fiat-Opel operation that might...
Ralph Hanson -
As Chrysler pushes forward during its bankruptcy period and prepares for its new face and alliance with Fiat, many are wondering what will come along for the ride and what will be left behind. News today from within Chrysler reveals that the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, as oft-maligned as they are, will be sticking around. Neither of the two sedans are going to win any beauty pageants, and sales have absolutely plummeted, charting just under 7,000 units so far this year - down 80% from 2008's figures. But in an interview with Edmunds, Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau said, "We definitely...
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Chrysler-bound Fiat and Alfa vehicles revealed in court papersWith the news that Chrysler and Fiat have finally managed to forge an alliance settling in and Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings underway, the documents attendant to that process are beginning to reveal key details of the two company's plans. Today the models destined for U.S. sale via the...
Ralph Hanson -
Fiat ranks last in UK JD Power survey, bodes poorly for ChryslerChrysler's vehicles, like all of America's cars, have improved greatly in recent years. But not-too-distant memory reminds us of the Le Baron and even of another ill-fated Italian tie-up and its Maserati-branded spawn. So Fiat's poor scores in the most recent JD Power survey in the United Kingdom...
Ralph Hanson -
Ford's image improves by staying above the fray, says studyIt wasn't so long ago that people were deriding Ford for mortgaging the Blue Oval itself, key investors were dumping shares into the open market and the company was forced to sell off its stake in Mazda. But now a study is saying things have turned around, with Ford's image improving in relation to...
Nelson Ireson -
Fiat wants to form new company to combine Chrysler and GM EuropeFiat has confirmed that it wants to acquire General Motors' European operations and to do so the Italian auto giant may form a new company to combine its Fiat car brands (Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo) along with Chrysler and any acquired GM entities. The information was revealed in a statement issued...
Jeremy Weber -
Chrysler to close 8 U.S. plants by 2010This past week’s bankruptcy announcement for Chrysler means the decisions will be coming hard and fast. The carmaker has already confirmed that overlapping models and some slow-sellers will be dropped but there will also be a lot more cutbacks as revealed by new bankruptcy documents filed...
James Martinez