I know you’re probably looking at that above headline with something like alarm and disdain. After all, we’re only seven days into 2010–surely it’s too soon to preview ANYTHING in 2010!
But no, that’s not the case. Today we’re out with the Edmonds Inside Line crew who are taking us on a little trip through the Detroit Auto Show.
Amazingly, it’s going to be a big year for American car shows, Chrysler and Ford will have plenty of pieces in play, and even Ferrari will be there to show off its newest line. In fact, it’s going to be a big year for concepts, hybrids, and full on battery cars.
I’m downright amazed at the sheer presence that will descend on Detroit in the coming weeks, and hope that this will be a great auto show. Things haven’t been doing so well in Detroit of late, though–the average price of a home in Detroit is now down around five thousand dollars, for just one indicator–so hopefully security will be beefed up to match.
Okay, Jeep fans, put your jaws back in place and wipe off the drool! This isn’t an offer to sell one at a hundred bucks, but rather, this is part of a series of promotional installments from Jeep, promoting the Jeep line.
See, this one in particular is from a Jeep engineer who describes the first Jeep he ever owned. It was a rusty CJ-5, which he purchased from its original owner for a hundred bucks. Of course, he was fourteen at the time, but that didn’t really matter, because the Jeep didn’t run anyway.
At least…not right away….
It’s a great story, and really shows how Jeep engineers and Jeep dealers and such often grew up with the Jeep line, and how personally attached they are to the vehicles. It sort of gives you a little extra confidence in the vehicle, knowing that it, essentially, is made by a fan.
And that’s likely what they were trying for all along. So enjoy the video–there are others, and we’ll likely get to them eventually if there’s anything interesting to talk about in them.
Earlier today we heard of Chrysler’s plans to bring all electric Fiat 500 concepts to the Detroit auto show and now we have news of another vehicle: a Chrysler badged Lancia.
According to Bloomberg, debuting this vehicle will give a glimpse at what is to come from the Fiat/Chrysler integration as the automaker moves further away from bankruptcy.
There have been no details as to what exactly this Chrysler badged Lancia will be so we’ll just have to wait until the show next month.
Fiat has recently let us know that they will officially be building the 1.4-liter 92 horsepower engine found in their 500 in a plant in Dundee, Michigan.
For those of you paying attention, this will net them a 5% stake in Chrysler as they struck a deal that will increase their stake in the automaker when they build a fuel efficient engine in the U.S., build a 40 mpg car in the US and “expand Chrysler’s international reach”.
Let’s hope Fiat has what it takes to save Chrysler.
Motor Trend has chosen the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty Pickup the Motor Trend “Truck of the Year” thanks to its packed features. This includes an attractive exterior styling, plush and quiet cabins and meeting the emission standards without expensive after-treatment technology. Improved suspension tuning and new C-pillar hydra mounts were likewise key features for the 2010 Ram that now reduces shake and improved rides. Other key improvements include an integrated trailer brake control and an Electronic Range Select transmission which should be key in fuel consumption and smoother driving.
The all-new 2010 Ram Heavy Duty is priced starting at $28,165 for regular cab models, $31,415 for crew cab models and $36,865 for Mega Cab models. All prices include $950 for destination. They are scheduled to arrive in dealerships in the late 2009 calendar year.
If you’ve taken a long car trip with the kids recently–or even if you just remember back in the day when YOU were that kid taking the long car trip–you know the biggest problem of all is boredom. Sitting there in that car for hours and hours…it’s just incredibly unpleasant.
And now, you can take advantage of the opiate of the masses–television–to help keep the kiddies quiet. Already being seen in some cars, this former Chrysler option is being expanded steadily outward to become an aftermarket sensation in family cars all over the world.
Even better, this isn’t just some video player, no sir–this is a fully featured Sirius satellite television. It only gets three channels right now, but they’re all extremely kid-friendly–you’ve got Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and Cartoon Network.
Now you can make those long trips without the kids whining because they’re missing all their favorite shows. And because the monitors face backward, no risk of you being distracted!
And the answer to the big question above? Chrysler.
Ouch.
See, this is doubly unnerving after discovering that, yesterday, they were still trying to get a cohesive corporate strategy together and won’t actually have one until sometime later today. Or at least not one they want to tell their franchisees about, who are probably all looking at this news with a kind of confused rage and just longing to scream various epithets at anyone who’s in charge over there.
Chrysler needs a comeback, plain and simple. So what they’ve got to do is offer stuff you can’t get anywhere else. Frankly, I have a hard time imagining just what it is they CAN do. I drive a Chevy, myself, a wonderful if aging Monte Carlo, and my folks drive Ford Explorers. There’s not a whole lot of taste issues as I’m considering switching to a pickup fairly soon anyway, and chances are I will go either Ford or Chevy.
Chrysler needs to get some new and interesting product, or it doesn’t matter how many bailouts it gets–it’s still done for.
Yeah fellas, keep waiting. I got a feeling that, before you get a viable strategy out of Chrysler, Hell will be a Frigidaire dealership.
But there’s a vague glimmer of hope here, as Chrysler franchisees will now be getting their marching orders from Fiat SpA rather than Chrysler proper.
Now, ordinarily, I’d laugh myself stupid at the thought that somehow Fiat (widely known by the acronym for Fix It Again, Tony) would be able to generate a more viable corporate strategy than Chrysler, but hey…I’m laughing out the other side of my face today as it becomes clear that Fiat outlasted Chrysler. And in business, survival is the only real judge of viability. If you’re still in business tomorrow, then your business model works.
So what will that strategy be? We won’t find out until at least Wednesday, when the franchisees get the word.
You can add another feature to look forward to for upcoming Chrysler vehicles. Audiovox has announced that they will start supplying Chrysler dealers with FLO TV Entertainment System which should perk up the in-car entertainment being demanded today.
The FLO TV service is live mobile TV with the capacity for up to 20 channels with something for everyone. This includes programs like sports, news, children’s shows and reality TV. The system includes a OE headrest DVD and seat top solutions which can integrate with factory rear seat entertainment systems. A Mopar 7” DVD screen, remote controls and a small antenna is also included, promising better car entertainment for future Chrysler vehicle owners.
When we look at a concept car these days, the first thing we like to think of is the future. How things will look in ten, twenty, fifty years. The hovercrafts and autodrives and magnetic impeller cars and such.
So today, we’re taking a look at the Chrysler Star Car, a concept car from the 1930s. It was called a Star Car because of the shape of its engine. The five cylinder engine had its cylinders arranged in a circle, thus giving them the look of a star. It was one of only a handful of small cars Detroit ever designed, and since more people were interested in driving around in land barges of tremendous size, the Chrysler Star Car never went to production.
But still–even just taking a look at this strange car of yesteryear really makes you think about the direction we’re going today…and how far we’ve come since.
If you’ve taken a long car trip with the kids recently–or even if you just remember back in the day when YOU were that kid taking the long car trip–you know the biggest problem of all is boredom. Sitting there in that car for hours and hours…it’s just incredibly unpleasant.
And the answer to the big question above? Chrysler.
Yeah fellas, keep waiting. I got a feeling that, before you get a viable strategy out of 
When we look at a concept car these days, the first thing we like to think of is the future. How things will look in ten, twenty, fifty years. The hovercrafts and autodrives and magnetic impeller cars and such.