[MoparNorm]

y]That is the oddest looking design for a truck I have ever seen!

It's just a chopped and lowered A100 pickup, pretty much in perfect proportion, to the original.

 

[MoparNorm]

Why do a Dart based Rampage when they already have the Strada engineered. Bring us the Strada!

Well, I don't have a horse in this race, but...everything else being equal, Strada would be imported, Dart/truck could be built here.

 

[MoparNorm]

I don't know why they just don't stick a bed on the new durango and call it a dakota offer reg cab ..3.6 /8 speed!

Because the independent rear suspension is a non-starter for many truck buyers.

 

[MoparNorm]

What's going to happen with the Chassis cab promaster FWD?

There has never been a sucessful FWD truck in the US, we are about to find out if the idea will work, or if commercial buyers take a wait and see attitude.
Look at the Caravan cargo van, less than 800 sales per month, but an argument could be made against it for several reasons, not just the FWD.
It's taken a long time for traditional Dodge SUV buyers to warm to Durango, possibky because of the suspension and lack of a rear straight axle, it remains to be seen if buyers would warm to a pickup based upon the same architecture.

 

[MoparNorm]

What defines a "traditional" SUV buyer?

Traditional, as opposed to Soccermons. Traditional owners towed, hauled and camped in their SUV's, just as traditional small pickup owners hauled, carried and camped in theirs. Throwing a couple of dirt bikes into the back, a bail of hay, or whatever, these owners are less likely to embrace a less capable SUV platform converted to a pickup and your Ford SUV buyers are not the targeted buyer.

 

[MoparNorm]

Diesel in SoCal is about 15 cents a gallon less than regular right now.
A new small truck, would have the same problem that Dakota did, fuel economy and price point. If it cannot get real separation from the 1500, it wont do well.
The other problem is small truck buyers themselves. As we have seen here at Allpar, as soon as the wish list is opened up, the factions start splitting the demand; standard cab vs. quad, vs. crew, long bed vs. short, the more you add, the closer you get to the Ram.
It's just like the hypothetical Jeep truck that Bob and I built a few years ago, you offer it one way, with few options and it pencils out.
Start making it something for everyone and you overburden the ability to produce it.

 

[MoparNorm]

The 'edgy' styling on the 2005+ Dakota did it no favors at all, combined with the cheap looking interior.

Agreed. When it was a "mini-Ram", it had a bigger following.

 

[MoparNorm]

The new midsize pickup is supposedly due in 2016, around the same time as the next-gen Grand Cherokee and a year after the Grand Wagoneer (2015). Perhaps the Dakota will be based on the new platform?
Another possibility is the new minivan platform, due in 2015.
A third option is CUSW. The CUSW Journey could be the starting point.
Due to trade agreements, Mexico might be the most likely production location. Toluca could have the capacity to build it once 500 production is integrated in Poland. If the next Journey moves to TNAP (or less likely, SHAP), that would open even more capacity at Toluca. Maybe a new Dakota (along with a FIAT variant) and a new Durango at Toluca, and Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer at JNAP?

Marchionne wants common platforms, for cost reasons, regardless of performance disadvantage, so it's hard to guess, but you should also consider the Strada mini-truck, in your mix of platforms above. There is no guarantee that they will use a US platform or plant.
More likely Mexico, so that Brazil is in the mix, where the Strada is already produced and sold.

 

[MoparNorm]

I'm posting this here, although the DOJ thread might be better. Please note these investments are for Brazil, where this announcement was made.



Source: http://www.just-auto.com/news/fiat-adding-jeep-raises-investments-to-75bn-by-2016_id134198.aspx

Yep, like I wrote;
Marchionne wants common platforms, for cost reasons, regardless of performance disadvantages.

So Chrysler gets from the same Alfa platform, a Dart, a Chinese Dart, a mini truck, a Jeep and two CUV's....which is 4 more vehicles than Alfa received from it.

 

[MoparNorm]

The Strada is way too small. This small "truck" looks like it will be a Cherokee-based pickup

Yes, I didn't mean to indicate it would be based on that, only that the two might share the new platform.

 

[MoparNorm]

Agreed, which is why I said Toluca is the most likely production site for the Dakota!

Agreed, which was why I was agreeing with you.

 

[MoparNorm]

And it wasn't even so much that it was a "mini-Ram" - it had a taut, muscular style to it (as did the same era Durango). Both lost quite a bit in the restyle - but those 2nd gen Dakota models - 97-04 - still catch my eye today.

It was a 7/8 scale Ram, that taut, muscular style was because it mimicked the 1st Gen T-300.

 

[MoparNorm]

I justnfinished an interesting survey from Strategic Vision. It was for new Chrysler owners and how we perceive quality.

But the most interesting part was the last three questions:

Would you buy a car made in Italy?

Would you buy a car made in China?

Would you buy a car made in India?

That cannot bode well for future products and American workers???
They keep hinting that some of the chinese and Indian Jeeps will be sent to the US, that is a mistake.
The reason I own Jeeps and Dodge's is because I believe in buying American.
It really irritates me that my Dodge HD pickups are assembled in Mexico, the build quality suffers, even though they are good, they aren't as good as they could be.
I will not buy any product made in china, if I have a domestic choice.

 

[MoparNorm]

They are probably fielding out these questions to see what the general sentiment is. Worded like that, they will get a resounding NO.
Had they said, "would you buy a car made in XYZ if it had the same quality and costed 20% less", then probably the answers could have been very different
Btw, I thought the quality of the Mexican plant was one of the best ones of the group, worldwide. Maybe I'm remembering wrong...

Worded in any manner, it should be a resounding no.
The Mexican plant quality is very high, however there are issues with employee turnover, which make the training costs very high.
It's something in the neighborhood of every position turns over 2-3 times per year, which isn't a good position for management, however that is an improvement over just three years ago.
In a perfect world, you would build them where you sell them. They shouldn't need to waste money, on a survey, to figure that out.

 

[MoparNorm]

Aside from the similar "hood-higher-than-fenders" styling cue, it didn't remind me of a Ram 1500 any more than the Durango did. IMHO, if it was "just" a 7/8 Ram 1500 in styling, it wouldn't have sold as well.

The only difference between the Dakita and Ram was the "coke bottle" sides, th rest of it was very similar

 

[MoparNorm]

I think so, everything being equal patriotism can play a role for some consumers but it is the very last thing to be be factored in.

Even though when you think about how protectionist is the automotive sector in China...

And sadly, consumer ignorance about how harmful that is for homegrown industry and jobs, runs rampant.
If one is worried about the general economy and indeed their own job, point of origin should be the number one thing to be factored in.
If we aren't worried about our fellow citizens jobs, why can we expect them to be worried about our jobs?
It would be less important if there was true fair trade, but there isn't. As long as countries like Japan and China are allowed to manipulate currently, there will be trade imbalance.
The poll was a weak effort to justify exporting jobs.
Henry Ford, wasn't exactly a role model, but even Henry knew that he had to pay his workers a fair enough wage to allow them to buy his products.

 

[MoparNorm]

Although I'm not making any big ticket purchases, I always look for the point of origin in my purchases, and let the shops I'm dealing with know that I'd like to see more product made in the usa on their shelves. I'll even take my own time to help them locate suppliers if they are genuinely interested in my business.

Its that important to me.

Good for you! I do the same.

 

[MoparNorm]

First in America was Ransom Olds.

...and the Dodge Brothers, were his primary supplier. The Dodge Brothers also supplied nearly all of Henry Ford's parts, up until 1914, when they started building their own complete automobile.
Dodge will be 100 years old, next year, but Dodge Brothers were building car parts in the 1890's.

 

[MoparNorm]

That's a lot to infer from a survey someone else took.
.

I inferred nothing other than the questions were simplistic and slanted, with an obvious point.
What we know is this; Fiat has plants in India and China. It's not a secret that the wages in those countries are lower than in Europe and the US and Canada.
Any business that places profit near the top of their goals, would be foolish not to investigate the options.
You do not need be a rocket scientist to infer the point of the questions.
The commentary about consumer buying habits, comes from 45 years as a successful businessman. Some could learn from it.

 

[MoparNorm]

I'm surprised at the short memories. Does anyone remember the Dodge D-50,made by Mitzubishi, with a DIESEL engine?They go forever! Try to find one today/ Look at the world market -- small trucks sell,because their size allows greater manueverability!That is what makes them great, along with their versatility!I won't give up my second-gen S-10 sized, Sonoma until somebody shows mesomething in that size range!I was looking at a Nissan Frontier until they gave it a bowtox treatment!(Pardon my bad spelling)

The short memories are in Detroit.
They keep making these trucks bigger and bigger and more and more costly and then wonder why they don't sell.