[Dave Z]

The problem with the 200 is it should have been a Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler should have been a version with a 4-5" longer wheelbase. There is room for a sporty short wheelbase midsize car, but it belongs at Dodge not Chrysler.

We agree on something again.
Admittedly a wheelbase change would have been a huge risk.
I think I would have done a Dodge sporty wagon (crossover between Cherokee and 200) and kept the 200 as it is... but if CAFE allowed, gone V6 only.

 

[Dave Z]

Anyone could see that Compass/Patriot was a stronger seller than Compass alone.

They did replace it with Compass/Renegade which are now on the same platform. I thought Compass vs Patriot was pretty clever if done well.

 

[Dave Z]

Yes, but made at two different plants, negating any cost savings. North American Renegades should be built in Toluca next to Compass, just as they do in Melfi. It makes no sense to ship Renegades across the ocean when you have a low cost plant that can make them here.

But propping up the Italian plants is required because they need volume they do not get in their home market.

Negating any production cost savings, you mean? I suspect at their volumes it's still cheaper. The main savings is in engineering. Like Scion, which had several bodies for the Echo.

 

[Dave Z]

The early Dart marketing was 100% disconnected from the product. Travis Pastrana and "Alfa DNA" were such loads of horse manure that those who fell for it were grossly disappointed in the product.....more "one and done" customers by low retention FCA.

Alfa DNA was an interesting sell. While technically true, sortakinda, they were trying to use a brand most Americans know only as "that car from that movie" and "that POS dead, on the side of the road" to sell a compact sedan. Some people would have bragged about how large it was, darned close to a midsize car, and made its weakness into its strength. It had a lot of cool features. It had better handling and ride than most competitors except the Aero. It was quieter inside unless you got the Aero. The FIRE engine was pretty cool on specs.

If any of that was advertised, I've forgotten it.

 

[Dave Z]

It was the "Don't touch my dart" and they made a decent amount of them.

We criticized them without mercy here. They were inane. Not as bad as the Gaffigan minivan ones. "I'm a crappy dad so I bought a Chrysler!"

I suggested the 2.4 Turbo from the Caliber only because they had all the tooling in hand and it would have cost the least. Your 1.75 from the 4C is a good idea, but would they have allowed an Alfa powertrain in a lowly Dodge? What did that engine cost to produce?

And would have had great nearly-instant-on torque while the 4C, while an impressive tour de force, would not have done well in the heavier Dart.
The 1.4 is great in a 500 Abarth, too.