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.

Tags: Business, Chrysler, Fiat, fiat spa, merger, strategy

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Chrysler may be the worst off of all the big three–not only were they smaller going in than GM, and both were much worse off financially than Ford, but Chrysler is the one you don’t hear from.

But now, some fresh news has emerged that should surprise some people–Chrysler’s Dodge brand is now essentially two businesses  in one.  Both divisions are overseen by their own CEO, but one branch will focus exclusively on cars, the other on trucks.

On the surface this seems like a good idea.  Specialization allows a company to take advantage of economies of scale, though I’m not sure how good an idea it was to hire TWO CEOs, considering how big a drain on resources a chief executive officer can be.  Of course, as long as the board of directors keeps executive pay at an even keel, this may not be too bad a move.  Get the economies of scale without the huge CEO pay package?  I’ve heard worse myself, and from Fiat, that’s especially surprisingly lucid.

Tags: brand, brand split, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat

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A vehicle-supply project between Nissan and Chrysler was shelved due to varied circumstances. Though it was not said directly, it seems that this had something to do with Chrysler’s tie-up with Fiat with regards to the supply of small vehicles for the global market.

The deal between Nissan and Chrysler started as early as the first quarter of 2008 which called for Nissan to supply small vehicle for the global market in 2010 and a compact sedan for the South American market at the beginning of this year to Chrysler. Nothing really materialized and was further compounded when the Chrysler-Fiat deal started in January of this year.

Also, one other factor is the current global situation. Both Nissan and Chrysler had halted production until they could come up with improved returns from operations. And as we know, Chrysler eventually filed for bankruptcy and later on announced a new alliance with Fiat which all but put the previous alliance of Nissan and Chrysler terminated.

Nissan was scheduled to have supplied Chrysler with an all-new, fuel-efficient small car made in Japan in exchange for a full-size pickup truck made by Chrysler in Mexico. Apparently all of these plans are a thing of the past as Chrysler is now tied up with Fiat for small vehicle distribution.

(Source) Reuters India

Tags: Bankruptcy, Chrysler, distribution source, drop project, Fiat, first quarter, global situation, India, Japan, Mexico, new alliance, Nissan, pickup truck, project partnership, Small Car, south american market, vehicle distribution

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Fiat has reportedly been working on an all-electric Fiat Palio Weekend for 3 years and just now the car is ready for the prime time.

Treehugger says that the car will go into production at Fiat’s Brazillian manufacturing facility and could cost as much as $70,000.

$70,000 for an all-electric vehicle? Wow, I guess it really pays to be the first production all-electric vehicle in South America. No word on if these will be available to consumers or just fleet orders as previously though.

Tags: all electric, brazil, Fiat, palio weekend, south america

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To me, the above car looks pretty ugly, but there must be a market for it as Fiat has recently announced that they will be launching a special edition 500 Abarth Competizione.

Despite it’s small size, don’t expect the price tag to be small as it will cost around $35,000, a $4,000 premium over that of the regular model. Reports say that this special-edition will feature a black roof, 17-inch alloy rims painted black, Abarth decals and interior bucket seats. Under the hood you’re going to find a 135HP turbocharged 4 cylinder engine.

No word on a release window yet but we’ll keep you posted. Although, only 10 of them will be made available exclusively to the automarket in Holland so it probably doesn’t matter now does it.

Tags: 500, abarth competizione, Fiat, special edition

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Fiat is really getting around now-a-days with their recent purchase of Chrysler along with several other business ventures the company has been in talks about.

However, today Fiat has announced that they have offered to buy one of Carrozzeria Bertone’s manufacturing units. You might be familiar with Bertone as the makers of awesome looking cars such as the Bertone Mantide, pictured above.

Autoblog reports that this will be the second time Fiat has offered to save Bertone from bankruptcy although, their first attempt never went through, perhaps they will be more successful this time.

Tags: bertone, carrozerria, Fiat, mantide

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With hard times here, one thing that motorists have to consider is the wise car to have. And while we all have certain budgets, the search to have ideal cars despite the times still plays around in our minds. Now the only question is what would that car be?

Saga Car insurance shares with us the right car to have at the moment. Now some of them may not necessarily be the ideal one for us, but then again, you just have to be wiser at least for the moment. Besides, if things pick up, you can always give them to your teenagers as their personal cars when you send them off in the motoring world.

Here are the top cars for the recession to consider:

1. Ford Ka
2. Fiat 500 1.2
3. Citroen C1
4. Suzuki Swift
5. Mini 1.6D Cooper hatchback

As you will notice, these babies are compact and economical as far as fuel consumption is concerned. Isn’t that the trend we are seeing today?

(Source) Press

Tags: 6d, babies, best cars, budgets, car insurance, citroen c1, Fiat, fiat 500, Ford, Ford Ka, fuel consumption, motorists, personal cars, recession, right car, saga, Suzuki, Suzuki Swift, teenagers, top cars

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How many times have you fantasized about driving a tank across your neighbor lawn? That might just be possible if you owned a Fiat Cinque Tank. Sure you’d end up in a police cell but years later you’ll have a great story for your friends.

The Fiat Cinque Tank in the picture above was conceived by an ironsmith, Mr. Kogoro Kurata. He managed to mount that famous Fiat 500 on top of some caterpillar tracks. The Tank works but you’ll probably get bored driving at only 3km/h. It’s still a cool do-it-yourself project which will look pretty cool parked in your back yard.

Tags: 500, Caterpillar, Cinque, DIY, Fiat, Tank

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The new Fiat 500C convertible stands out with its automated sliding soft-top with an integrated glass backlight and built-in center high mounted stop light. The lining for the roof is a weather resistant canvas that is available in three different colors, red, ivory, and black, and has been fashioned to match the car’s exterior colors, which now has two new entries – Warm Grey and Pearl Red.

Now that Fiat has formed an alliance deal with Chrysler, there is a good likelihood this model may come to the U.S.  The 500 hardtop is all but confirmed for a U.S. launch, but don’t expect to see the cars in local showrooms for another year at least.

Tags: 500c, Chrysler, convertible, Fiat, US

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For the new chief executive, steering the new Chrysler to help generate more profits for Fiat is the objective of this acquisition. Being given the controlling interest of Chrysler, the merger of both car companies are upbeat that they can get by the sagging fortunes that befell the U.S. car company.

Calling it a new season of capitalism, Marchionne is no stranger to business challenges. He was able to pull it off in 2004 when he took over Fiat and now, expectations are high that he will be able to pull it off again. Actually he has already started, assigning top Fiat managers in Detroit last week. This is seen as the preliminary moves to which a whole lot more is expected in the following months.

“Marchionne knows he has to race against time,” the Corriere della Sera newspaper of Milan explained. “He knows that when the debts are eliminated, the costs reduced to the levels of Japanese competitors with factories in the United States, then miracles of technology and marketing have to be performed to give back life to a company that in the last six months has almost halved its sales and which, even before the financial crisis, saw its share of the U.S. market fall from 15 percent to 10 percent.”

(Source) Washington Times

Tags: business challenges, capitalism, car companies, car company, debts, Fiat, financial crisis, helm, japanese competitors, marchionne, miracles, new man, race against time

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With a new structure, the new company that Chrysler and Fiat have built has bared their initial plans. And topping the agenda is focusing on the key brands Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar. And of course, the next itinerary is to rebuild the brand trust and confidence, something that is to be executed immediately.

Chrysler Group’s new organization is based on a global brand-focused structure comprised of the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar brands, each with full profit and loss accountability. Common Commercial, Industrial and Corporate functions have been put in place to support the development, manufacture, distribution and sale of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge products and Mopar parts by the brand organizations.

With the new outlook, Chrysler and Fiat are aiming to correct the issues surrounding the fall of the old management style. And with the working minds of two distinguished car companies, it may just work.

(Source) Press

Tags: car companies, Chrysler, chrysler group, chrysler jeep dodge, corporate functions, Fiat, global brand, initial plans, Jeep, management style, mopar brands, mopar parts, new organization, profit and loss

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It was recently made known that the U.S. Supreme Court has given Fiat the go ahead to purchase the bankrupt Chrysler.

This sale is an attempt by the discouraged automaker to reorganize and come back stronger than ever, narrowly dodging a grim future. Apparantly, the Michigan based Chrysler was losing up to $100 million a day which also helped convince the court to let them cancel 789 car dealership agreements.

Let’s just hope that all of this money being spent (Chrysler and GM are asking for about $40 billion more) will help America’s auto industry flourish and come back better than ever.

Read (Bloomberg)

Tags: Bankruptcy, Chrysler, economy, Fiat, recession, ruling, supreme court

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Many Americans have been hoping the popular Fiat 500 minicar would come to the US but a lack of interest in small cars has largely held it back. Now, with Fiat’s alliance with Chrysler, the Italian auto maker has a gateway to the profitable U.S. market and the first model to arrive will be the 500, although it’s launch is 18 months away.

The Fiat 500 will be sold in Chrysler dealerships, and according to Richard Gadeselli, Fiat’s vice-president of communications, it will be the only Fiat-badged model in the U.S. Marketplace. Fiat is hoping to enjoy similar success with its 500 as BMW did several years ago with Mini.

Tags: 500, Chrysler, dealership, Fiat, minicar, US

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Fiat is planning to bring an AWD version of its acclaimed 500 minicar to market in an attempt to compete with the batch of recently launched and approaching models from Mini. The Italian carmaker will release a car next year with a decided wagon-like appearance. Part of the reason for launching a bigger version of the 500 is because of the release of Mini’s Clubman, which the 500 Giardinetta hopes to take sales away from.

The new AWD variation, based on the Giardinetta, will go up against Mini’s own upcoming crossover. This AWD Fiat 500 will use the same 4WD system applied in the Panda 4×4 hatch, with which the 500 already shares its platform. This ought to help keep development costs down, and this in turn will mean a better deal for customers when it appears in showrooms later next year.

Tags: 500, AWD, Fiat, Giardinetta, Mini

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The list has been trimmed down to three companies and one of them will be the winning bidder for the investor of Opel which is tagged alongside the debacle that General Motors is in. Many are expecting General Motors to file for bankruptcy soon, something that is beyond the obvious due to the financial situation that seems to have worsened.

The three bidders, Fiat, Magna and RHJ have laid their offers on the table. Magna was the favorite to win the bidding but Fiat sweetened its offer thus making the selection a toss-up between the two.

“A decision must come by early Thursday at the very latest,” one official, who requested anonymity.

(Source) Reuters

Tags: Bankruptcy, Fiat, General Motors, investor, magna, Opel

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