No FCA-PSA brands will die, per Tavares

I agree with what Plymouth could of been. I remember Gale saying that the PT would also get a bigger version of some sort, but oh well.


Getting back to this forum. Sounds like the 2 Alphas are on the chopping block, and one is the 8C. No brands though whih is good. Maybe Chrysler will get some product soon.

 

Dave, I certainly wasn't holding up Daimler as an example. If it sounded that way, I need to change my wording. I am hoping that Tavares studies both Fiat and Daimler when it comes to what to do with Dodge and Chrysler.

 

"So... Daimler is what we want to _avoid._" ...... Totally agree with that statement. Daimler take over in 1998(may have been 99), within 8 years drove the great Chrysler Corporation right off a cliff. Aside from what's been done with Ram and Jeep is hard to argue that they haven't done but the slightest to keep the Dodge and Chrysler divisions heads above water.

 

And the really sick thing is Daimler/Chrysler could have been the greatest auto manufacturer of all time.

Although I think the PSA/FCA merger is generally positive, I expect further new product delays as the companies are integrated.

 

I don't understand all the doom and gloom all the brands we love look like they are here to stay also Peugot has some great platforms!

 

Peugeot brings nothing that is of any interest to the American market. PSA's largest product is a mid-size car, its largest-displacement gasoline engine is 1.6 liters, it it offers almost no AWD models. (Yes, that's similar to FIAT in 2009, but in 2009 there was also a fast-growing market for small cars.)

This fact is good news for US manufacturing sites: their products are not at risk of being replaced by imports.

The big gains of PSA-FCA will be in Europe, where the groups are technologically complementary: PSA has a good sub-compact platform and a mediocre larger-car one, FCA has a better compact platform in Small Wide, and is ahead of PSA on electrification - FCA went with a dedicated BEV architecture rather than retro-fitting electric power into cars designed for ICEs. Purchasing scale will save a fortune, which may unfreeze a couple of projects in Europe.

 

Really, really disappointed that the Guilia-based coupe and the 8C supercar are likely getting axed. I really think that Alfa is making some good product now and is hitting strong in terms of performance, and would love to see more of that happening in traditional sports car and coupe form!! At least this maybe means that Lancia has a stay of execution?

Yes, I don't see Peugeot "replacing" any products sold in the USA...or even returning to the USA, but...we'll see? I have long wanted to see Peugeot return, but as the market shifts away from small, sporty cars and 2-door hatches, they have killed off all the models I'd have been interested in, so...meh.

I complain a lot, but honestly I am happy that they are willing to come out and say there are no plans to axe brands right now.

 

I wouldn't bet my paycheck on that statement. PSA has some good designs. I'm in Opel's hometown (Rüsselsheim am Main) as I type, and have seen some pretty nice rides. Insignia is a non-starter, since it rides on a GM-owned platform shared with Buick, but the Opel Grandland X CUV is a pretty sharp compact CUV on the PSA EMP2 platform. Whether it's better or worse than FCA SW I can't say, but it seems well done.

 

And it offers no AWD and is no US compliant... Just for the start.

Post from @KrisW is spot on.

 

This may be just my pessimistic side, but Tavares didn't say that brands getting starved by FCA were going to get some love, he said no brands will be killed. Chrysler, for example, could soldier on for years with no investment, and only when the Pacifica gets to the point the Grand Caravan and Journey are at would someone have to make a decision to pull the plug. By the time Tavares will very easily be retired, and what he said will have remained true will he was in charge.

 

Or, maybe he will put back in place some of the plans that the managers in charge, ( and I use that term very loosely), shelved while they were looking for mergers. Also please dump the 9sp and install something as seamless and durable as the 8sp rear drive transmissions. One is bullet proof, the other is a joke.

 

I don’t know if it’s US compliant or not, or can be made to be so, but the Grandland hybrid sounds intriguing. An electric motor in the rear would help to provide traction...I believe much like the system that was supposed to show up in Pacifica was going to operate IIRC. It never materialized for Pacifica...big surprise...but Opel does have something similar it appears. Also, I don’t know if GM has any claim to it or the technology either.

Opel's first plug-in hybrid is a 300-horsepower, all-wheel-drive SUV (at https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/opel-grandland-x-hybrid4-suv-plug-in-hybrid/ )

 

The Opel Grandland has Chrysler written all over it. Even the headlights look like a Chrysler product. Change the grille and there you have it. I'd be very interested in it.

 

FCA has P4 PHEV

 

How long ago was it supposed to show up on Pacifica? Then again the Chrysler brand was supposed to have more new models then they would know what to do with too. Always a year or so away.

 

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In Buy-outs and mergers, there always seem to be Tells which percolate to the top.

Will watch to see how things unfold.

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But it is a form of AWD. And as I recall FCA has been working on a similar system for what seems like an eternity.

 

FCA offers both mechanical and electrical AWD on Compass. Pilot builds for Compass with e-AWD are ongoing in Melfi. Renegade follows.

PSA does not offer any mechanical AWD solution, and that is a disadvantage for the US. e-AWD is more expensive, and would have to overcome the natural conservatism of the US car buyer - in a market where people still don't like the idea of turbocharging, asking them to trust a secondary drive-train that's electronically synchronised with the front wheels could be a barrier to sales.

I think Jeep's approach, to pitch e-AWD as a performance upgrade, rather than the basic way of implementing AWD, is better. People looking for better performance are more willing to try something new.

 

I actually see space in the corporate lineup for an EAGLE return....>>>>>move along Alfa Romeo, your time here has expired!