Sorting it out
We know there is a replacement for the Grand Cherokee coming to the North Jefferson plant, based on Tom LaSorda’s statements. This should really be no surprise. It is planned to be lighter than the current model, also no surprise, given gas mileage issues and the reason why the current model is as heavy as it is (rumor has it the Mercedes people demanded changes based on their own needs). This vehicle will most likely end up being worked over and produced as a Mercedes, as the current one is.
Most likely some other vehicle will be built with it รก la Nitro/Liberty. Prime candidates are the Aspen and/or the Commander. Maybe the Durango… it all depends how they want to play it. If the Grand Cherokee is the luxury version, a companion Dodge would make more sense than a companion Chrysler. On the other hand the Commander could be the true-luxury version, and the Grand Cherokee the sortakinda Oldsmobile version. They could also make a “lifestyle Dakota” from this.
Small cars… are a big open question. I suspect Chrysler has numerous paths under way and is trying to figure out which will work. There are two pacts in China, one with Chery and one with Great Wall, which might come to nothing or be the next small Chrysler, replacing the Horizon. There is the possibility of using the Fiat 500 chassis, and there is the thought that maybe engineers from Chrysler have been working on their own A-class car and that no matter who builds it, it is still coming from the plans that started to be drawn up last year or the year before. And then there’s the B-car, coming from the future Nissan Cube… and to confuse matters, the Nissan Versa spinoff to replace the Hyundai Atoz.
D-class (Sebring/Avenger) cars are coming, and I believe that they will be sourced from Chrysler, especially since they seem to be planning a whole series of vehicles at long last (the same plans were apparently made for numerous other projects). They’d want to keep control in-house if they were making sedans, coupes, hatchbacks, minivans, and crossovers all from the same source.
Hanging over all these future projects is the question of model cuts. It would not be insane to think that maybe the Durango and Aspen and Nitro will all be allowed to die. The Liberty may not even be needed, if the Grand Cherokee replacement can be built in two varieties - think Cherokee and Grand Cherokee. The old Jeep used to do things like that. I don’t know if the Liberty has a real following, but I doubt the Nitro does.
By the way, I’d appreciate it if your comments focused on what is likely to happen, not what you’d like to happen. You know my opinion, but here it is again:
Dodge - muscle cars (Challenger/Charger), Ram, Dakota, Caravan (sporty suspension tuning).
Chrysler - 300C, extended-wheelbase 300C (”New Yorker”), true-luxury T&C.
Plymouth - small crossover (”PT Cruiser”?), small cars, low-end, V6-only big car.
