Don’t believe a word of it!

The Wall Street Journal scooped everyone on the Five Year Plan, or so it seemed. The next day, an automotive news outlet of great repute came out with an equally incorrect but consistent story based on “informed sources.” Finally, someone who certainly knows Auto Task Force insiders came out with another consistent story which would relegate Chrysler to minivans and trucks. It might still be true, but only if you consider the basic platforms – an important part of the vehicle but not necessarily the MOST important part. After all, consider that the Reliant, Daytona, Imperial, and minivan were all based on the same basic platform (they did not have the same platform but they were all based on the same platform).

Here’s our story on the Journal’s story:

According to the Wall Street Journal, which claims access to people who have seen Fiat’s plan for Chrysler, many of the recent rumors regarding current models are incorrect, and Chrysler will incorporate more Fiat Group products than expected.

Vehicles planned for the US, according to the Journal article, include a replacement for the Chrysler Sebring, based on a Fiat design. The PT Cruiser, Sebring, Avenger, Compass, Caliber, and Patriot will all have their final year in 2012, with even the popular Dodge Caravan ducking out; the Chrysler Town & Country will be Chrysler’s sole minivan, according to the article, though historically the Caravan has sold better.  The Nitro will also be dropped.

Marketing for the Fiat 500 is unclear; the article claims it will not use the Fiat name but “will be marketed as the 500.”

Alfa Romeos to be sold in the US starting in 2012 include the MiTo subcompact hatch, a midsized sedan, and the Milano, all to be made in North America. Chrysler will start up a Sebring replacement and compact sedan in 2012 and a compact Fiat-based Jeep in 2013, they say.

To be kept are the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger.

Under this plan, Dodge would be strictly muscle cars and trucks, while Chrysler would take over the “Chevrolet – Plymouth – Ford – Toyota” position as the “everycar” brand. No mention was made of plans to move Chrysler upscale, which were announced by the former head of the Chrysler brand shortly before he resigned.

Now, a lot of this is true. What isn’t? The Dodge Grand Caravan will remain, and be redesigned in 2014. The Nitro’s fate is unknown. Liberty will move to a Fiat platform. Fiat 500 will be called the Fiat 500 and will use the Fiat name.  Dodge will get new cars, based on Fiat designs – with one actual Fiat imported without changes (beyond what is needed for sale in the US).  Chrysler will indeed be moving upscale, if not in price then in image.

Above all, the engineering staff is going to be increased. And, while the charts do show numerous Fiat platforms coming to the US, to the point where 50% of Chrysler’s vehicles will be Fiat-based, the charts also differentiate between vehicles made by Fiat and imported “as is,” and those re-engineered by Chrysler to meet their own needs. Whether this is a sheet-metal-and-shock-absorber deal or a true re-engineering, we don’t know. You can build very different cars on a single platform – Audi TT vs Volkswagen Jetta, anyone? Camaro vs G8 or Nova? Mustang vs Ford Fairmont? Belvedere Six vs Hemi Superbird?

The second media outlet claimed that Chrysler and Dodge would disappear outside of North America. It now appears that Chrysler will continue in Asia, and in other markets Chrysler and Lancia will alternate; while Dodge will still be used here and there, sparingly. There is a lot more sharing going on than one would expect.

Oh, and the amount of money going to Fiat… remember all those billions in consulting fees going to Mercedes, for “sharing” their lovely previous-generation-but-still-expensive technologies? Fiat has so far gotten $0.  What’s more, they haven’t shifted everything to Italian suppliers. Mainly, though –

For the first time since Daimler first took over, an increase in the engineering staff was announced.

Wow.<

Maybe it’ll work out after all.

Is something good on its way?

While Chrysler has now been out of bankruptcy for a while, it is not giving any real public indication of being alive again. The pundits, when they do mention Chrysler, normally do so in disparaging terms, usually something along the lines of “Chrysler has no product any sane person would buy, and won’t have any until 2011.”

I could point out that the 2009 Ram is still the best pickup out there, despite Ford’s superior marketing and propaganda, or that the minivans are still very competitive, or that many critics have reversed themselves on the Caliber and Patriot, and that some have even had the courage to praise the Sebring for its strengths even though Top Gear apparently thinks it’s worse than the Chevette, Pinto, Yugo, and Tempo all rolled into one.  The Challenger remains a family-sized alternative to the Camaro and Mustang, and is better-looking than either one by a huge margin. And, of course, the Charger has been rapidly replacing the Ford squads, to the point where the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor is being discontinued entirely.

I could also wonder why Chrysler did the absolute minimum it could do this year in terms of press materials. The new model press book was issued online, it had every indication of being a rush job, carelessly tossed out, with numerous missing pieces and, Heaven help us, dead links. Oh, and no way to view the whole thing at once. It was ghastly and did nothing to help those who wanted to get at the major improvements made to some models.

But I’m guessing now that the company is working on saving its energy for a major publicity blast. At least, that’s what I’m hoping, and not just because I miss their ad revenue. (I really do. I mean, Allpar is running ads for Toyota, General Motors, and Ford, but not for Chrysler, and it’s not by choice.)

I recently got an email suggesting that the first batch of 200Cs has just rolled off the assembly line. The 200C is a car so good-looking that when it was revealed at the auto show last January, the press issued a collective “wow.” It’s hard to make the press stand up (literally) and take notice. Sure, the 200C didn’t make the editors’ cut for most publications, but it made the kind of impression nobody can forget.

Maybe, just maybe, Chrysler is holding back until it has something to sell. The dealers are out of stock on many vehicles; the assembly lines are unable to make everything they need to, because suppliers aren’t providing key parts. Even Mercedes, presumably out of spite, is reportedly withholding parts.

Maybe the guys in the executive rooms are figuring that they will come out big-time with a splash, but that they’ll do it when they actually have something to sell at the dealerships.

Maybe they’re smarter than we thought, and smarter than they could be under Daimler’s Chrysler-loathing iron fist, or Cerberus’ cost-slashing (which had to both address longstanding product problems caused by Daimler, and cultural issues also caused by Daimler, while trying to figure out which executives were incompetent bootlickers and which had just not been able to work effectively given their constraints.)

Maybe, too, the new organization needs some time to regroup, as people get used to their new jobs, reorganize, move people around, start the paper trails necessary to fire people in today’s world, and implement the changes needed for higher quality and more customer-friendly cars and trucks.

Let’s hope so. Otherwise, we at Allpar will be very sad as the tailspin continues.