[Allpar News System]

Writing in today's edition of Automotive News, Larry Vellequette reports that Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to present a revised five-year product plan during next Wednesday'sc quarterly earnings call. While most of the benchmarks promised in the original 2009 plan have been achieved on schedule, ongoing challenges have required enough reevaluation that Marchionne has decided a revision of what can be realistically expected is necessary. Most notable among possible corrections are products like the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and new, Fiat-based sub-compact B- and C-Series cars for Chrysler and Dodge. While an extra-large Jeep might be appealing to some, the market for plus-size American SUVs has declined considerably from its peak: in 2012, combined sales of the Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Lincoln Navigator were more than 10,000 units less than those posted by the Escalde alone in 2006. Sales of the Ford Expedition are down 56.4% over the same period and..

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[Allpar News System]

Writing in today's edition of Automotive News, Larry Vellequette reports that Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to present a revised five-year product plan during next Wednesday'sc quarterly earnings call. While most of the benchmarks promised in the original 2009 plan have been achieved on schedule, ongoing challenges have required enough reevaluation that Marchionne has decided a revision of what can be realistically expected is necessary. Most notable among possible corrections are products like the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and new, Fiat-based sub-compact B- and C-Series cars for Chrysler and Dodge. While an extra-large Jeep might be appealing to some, the market for plus-size American SUVs has declined considerably from its peak: in 2012, combined sales of the Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Lincoln Navigator were more than 10,000 units less than those posted by the Escalde alone in 2006. Sales of the Ford Expedition are down 56.4% over the same period and..

View the original, full post

 

[suzq044]

Unfortunate about the Wagoneer; I was hoping to see what they'd come up with. lol

 

[freshforged]

might still happen, not official (yadda yadda)

I could see the wisdom of reconsidering the B segment Dodge, but surely there is room in the portfolio for a C segment Dodge. Its not a given that such a vehicle would conflict with Fiat (which tends to play upfield from Dodge in the US).

Most likely I see this as merely an opportunity to push back the dates for certain models until supply constraint is eased.

 

[sebring96hbg]

Unfortunate about the Wagoneer; I was hoping to see what they'd come up with. lol

I thought Larry's article suggested its inclusion for the first time in the revised plan.

 

[Dan Minick]

might still happen, not official (yadda yadda)

I could see the wisdom of reconsidering the B segment Dodge, but surely there is room in the portfolio for a C segment Dodge. Its not a given that such a vehicle would conflict with Fiat (which tends to play upfield from Dodge in the US).

Most likely I see this as merely an opportunity to push back the dates for certain models until supply constraint is eased.

We already have a C-segment Dodge. (Dart)

 

[MoparNorm]

Killing off a vehicle (Grand Wagoneer) that few had asked for and even fewer would buy, isn't a bad thing.
Using that energy and capital to create something that Jeepers have been asking for and they resist building, would be better.
A true XJ replacement and an MJ Jeep pickup come to mind.

 

[Erik Latranyi]

...Fiat-based sub-compact B- and C-Series cars for Chrysler and Dodge.

Sounds like the Chrysler 100 could be affected.

 

[Moparian]

Killing off a vehicle (Grand Wagoneer) that few had asked for and even fewer would buy, isn't a bad thing.
Using that energy and capital to create something that Jeepees have been asking for and they resist building, would be better.
A true XJ replacement and an MJ Jeep pickup come to mind.

The pickup I think you will get..... replacement XJ not so much

 

[MoparNorm]

...Fiat-based sub-compact B- and C-Series cars for Chrysler and Dodge.

Sounds like the Chrysler 100 could be affected.

I think we will find, that is the gist of the change. Italy is in dire financial shape, they have paid workers just sitting at home, this is the plan to make them productive.
Capacity is strained here, the next B and C cars will come from Italy.
We will know more next week.

 

[JRS200x]

They should drop the Durango too and up production of Grand Cherokee's. We need more and our allocation isn't high enough, we are gonna run out of 13's before the 14's show up...

 

[freshforged]

We already have a C-segment Dodge. (Dart)

Big C. Little C. The former we have the latter we don't.

 

[IMPERIAL4EVER]

Killing off a vehicle (Grand Wagoneer) that few had asked for and even fewer would buy, isn't a bad thing.
Using that energy and capital to create something that Jeepees have been asking for and they resist building, would be better.
A true XJ replacement and an MJ Jeep pickup come to mind.

Good point Norm. I think also the lack of any spy photos or reliable news on the development of the Grand Wagoneer pretty much speaks for itself.

 

[james.mooney.]

I will be most interested to see if RWD D-cars and a Dakota replacement are included...

 

[MoparNorm]

The pickup I think you will get..... replacement XJ not so much

The pickup in my theory, requires the XJ replacement to be viable.
There would be stand alone platform/architecture sharing as there is no longer a Jeep made with the proper architecture to bring back the XJ.
Think XJ/MJ.

 

[unverferth]

They should drop the Durango too and up production of Grand Cherokee's. We need more and our allocation isn't high enough, we are gonna run out of 13's before the 14's show up...

Is the Durango that tough of a sell ?
I personally think it's one of the best vehicles out there. Too pricy perhaps ?
I just thought this new style Durango would do much better in the marketplace.

 

[Moparian]

The pickup in my theory, requires the XJ replacement to be viable.
There would be stand alone platform/architecture sharing as there is no longer a Jeep made with the proper architecture to bring back the XJ.
Think XJ/MJ.

I was going to say unless they did something like that, just didnt want to misuse the platform/architecture reference lol.

 

[bumonbox]

Is the Durango that tough of a sell ?
I personally think it's one of the best vehicles out there. Too pricy perhaps ?
I just thought this new style Durango would do much better in the marketplace.

My personal belief is the the Durango will get a solid boost from the 8 SPD, it's price is fine compared to competition, but it's on the bottom end in MPG, and not great on acceleration, the 8 SPD will fix those I should think. I will bet with the improvements, and a solid marketing campaign they could double their numbers to an acceptable, albeit far from industry leading number. Still seating will remain one of it's handicaps, as you are relegated to seating for 6 if you opt for center captains chairs, or worse accessibility to rear seats than most of the competition for 7. I think it's a nice looking vehicle. If I wanted a people hauler and towing ability I would definitely opt for it. Of course, I would never part ways with the minivan.

 

[Dave Z]

Then there's Fiat 500L ... would that not compete directly against Chrysler 100 if the latter was a hatch?

 

[Stratuscaster]

Directly? No. I think 500L is a bit smaller than the 100 will be.