Jeep will be only Chrysler brand sold outside N.A., sources say

[vonboogie]

Fiat should just kill off Chrysler division and replace it with Lancia since they are going to be a shared division anyway like how buick is a warmed over opal... And if Gm is selling opal then would that not mean that gm is just buying cars from someone else and rebranding them as buick? Fiat should just kill Dodge and move dodge trucks to jeep... jeep is the only thing worth anything... so long chrysler...

[Bravada]

In today's market space there are just too many brands.

I don't get this argument at all. There are probably more toothpaste or washing detergent brands than car brands around, and the former are products people pay much less attention to. What we are seeing is gradual splitting of the market into more and more specialized brands - not long ago, you've had no MINI, Smart, Hummer, Scion. While in the meantime some GM brands and Plymouth disappeared, that was because those brands had a trouble finding some identity and meaningful message for their customers.

All three Chrysler brands are strong, I do believe with even more focused messages (Jeep = offroaders/SUVs, Dodge = muscle + trucks, Chrysler = luxury) they would add even more to every marketplace. They are by far the most successful American brands worldwide, as Ford and Chevrolet got de-Americanized with their globalization.

[jalberda]

Originally Posted by Bravada

All three Chrysler brands are strong, They are by far the most successful American brands worldwide, as Ford and Chevrolet got de-Americanized with their globalization.

Well, of course they are the most successful American brands worldwide, when you don't count Ford and GM. They are the only ones left!

Seriously: the introduction of Dodge has not been successful in Europe. Chrysler was a bit more known, due to the minivans. Apart from those, and even that is a shrinking market dominated by Ford and Renault, they are not big sellers at all. The cars may be nicely brutal, but outside NA, they do not sell well. This left Chrysler exposed to the downturn in NA. With the mismanagement of Daimler and Cerberus added to that, BK followed.
The old plan isn't working anymore. Fiat doesn't have the money or time to fix the cars and build the brands up all over the world. And without Fiat, no Chryslers at all.

So Chrysler lives on in NA and Lancia in Europe. They will be largely the same cars. To me, everybody seems to win.

[KingElvis]

Originally Posted by Exploder

No. Freaking. Way.

I was supportive of the whole deal precisely because Chrysler/Dodge are the only true American CAR brands that have the potential to truly go global. (Ford still might as well be 3 different companies, Chevy is even lower than Kia outside of NA) Now I get this.

So only Fiat/Alfa/etc can be expanded but not Chrysler/Dodge?

This is bad, bad news, no doubt about it.

Everything turns to crap in the end...

Let me guess what's next, the next 300 will be riding on an overweight FWD platform...

How much do you want to bet Fiat's upscale brands are sold here though. An alliance of equals...not.

But Jeep's still a hot property. I said just the other day that Mercedes really only wanted Jeep. Maybe Fiat does too.

[KingElvis]

Originally Posted by Stevasaurus

So now Dodge is a niche brand that is only going to offer a few enthusiast vehicles. Hmmm, where have I heard this before?

Ouch.

The truth hurts doesn't it.

[ColoradoZQ8]

Originally Posted by ohmywrd8

Oh we don't need to sink that low as to making fun of other peoples rides considering the Rabbit is probably better than any Focus, Cobalt, Caliber or anything else in it's class except for maybe the Mazda 3. I'm sure it's in good fun though so no offense taken lol. And I was talking about bread and butter cars like the Caliber, Journey, and all those. Chrysler has it's certain bright spots but a majority of their line up is uncompetitive.

True, True.
Detroit's small car offerings do suck. Hopefully the Cruze will be better for Motown.
Thankfully -- Detroit still builds some great performance machines.

It was in good fun.....

[4x4x4doors]

My Dad only started driving Chryslers because they quit making Packards. If he was still alive, he'd have to change again.

[ohmywrd8]

Originally Posted by ColoradoZQ8

True, True.
Detroit's small car offerings do suck. Hopefully the Cruze will be better for Motown.
Thankfully -- Detroit still builds some great performance machines.

It was in good fun.....

Yeah, I think the Cruze should be good. I actually really like the interior design and with the 1.4T engine, in it should be really great. I also have great hopes for the upcoming Focus we are supposed to get.

[Bravada]

Dodge has a full portfolio until 2014 so they seem to be safe. Having said which, out of the models that aren't American specific and probably rebadged Fiats, only the Journey remains a globally attractive product not offered by any other brand.

Seriously: the introduction of Dodge has not been successful in Europe.

It's the highest-selling Chrysler brand in Europe after starting from scratch recently - you might want to define "successful" again...

[SwampFoxZ71]

Originally Posted by ohmywrd8

Oh we don't need to sink that low as to making fun of other peoples rides considering the Rabbit is probably better than any Focus, Cobalt, Caliber or anything else in it's class except for maybe the Mazda 3. I'm sure it's in good fun though so no offense taken lol. And I was talking about bread and butter cars like the Caliber, Journey, and all those. Chrysler has it's certain bright spots but a majority of their line up is uncompetitive.

Hey, don't knock the Rabbit. Our 2007 has been a good vehicle up to this point. We love it. I had only purchased Chevy's and Saturn's up until this one (car only, not counting trucks/suv's). The Rabbit, to date, is a much better small car than GM could build. My '95 Monte was probably a better car, so I still hand it to GM on the mid/full size market. But for small cars, while I liked some of my other GM offerings, this one has been good to us and a pleasure to drive.

And no electrical dumps yet...however, the powertrain warranty will be up for us in two years, so once outside of warranty, we'll be re-evaluating. I am hoping GM and/or Jeep have something for us to consider by that time, otherwise our small car/suv may be a Kia or Subaru.

[SwampFoxZ71]

Originally Posted by KingElvis

How much do you want to bet Fiat's upscale brands are sold here though. An alliance of equals...not.

But Jeep's still a hot property. I said just the other day that Mercedes really only wanted Jeep. Maybe Fiat does too.

Of course they only wanted Jeep. Now that GM is supposedly keeping Opel, who knows, in 3 years or so there may be complete restructuring at Chrysler trading Opel for Jeep.

GM gets rid of it's problem child. Fiat gets the market exposure in Europe they crave. GM gets the global brand in Jeep they wanted for Hummer. And outside of the Ram brand, Fiat keeps open several American models (Challenger/Charger/minivans) and simply uses the Chrysler/Dodge outlets as their franchise dealership network for Fiat group product, which is all they're doing now anyway.

[seeg]

Originally Posted by SwampFoxZ71

Of course they only wanted Jeep. Now that GM is supposedly keeping Opel, who knows, in 3 years or so there may be complete restructuring at Chrysler trading Opel for Jeep.

GM gets rid of it's problem child. Fiat gets the market exposure in Europe they crave. GM gets the global brand in Jeep they wanted for Hummer. And outside of the Ram brand, Fiat keeps open several American models (Challenger/Charger/minivans) and simply uses the Chrysler/Dodge outlets as their franchise dealership network for Fiat group product, which is all they're doing now anyway.

Opel's not exactly a "problem child." It's basically GME's version of Chevy and GM's only substantial presence in Europe, not to mention it's the #3 brand in Europe. Sales have also been on the increase recently and it's continuing to expand with new (well-received) product. The only problem Opel has is costs and it needs restructuring.

[SwampFoxZ71]

Originally Posted by seeg

Opel's not exactly a "problem child." It's basically GME's version of Chevy and GM's only substantial presence in Europe, not to mention it's the #3 brand in Europe. Sales have also been on the increase recently and it's continuing to expand with new (well-received) product. The only problem Opel has is costs and it needs restructuring.

Yes, it needs restructuring, is losing money and has a union that won't give too many concessions. Sound familiar? Yes, Opel has "it's costs". Costs GM no longer has the money to cover, hence why it is now a problem child.

[OLDSCHOOLGMFAN]

Originally Posted by Bravada

All three Chrysler brands are strong, I do believe with even more focused messages (Jeep = offroaders/SUVs, Dodge = muscle + trucks, Chrysler = luxury) they would add even more to every marketplace. They are by far the most successful American brands worldwide, as Ford and Chevrolet got de-Americanized with their globalization.

I agree.

[Tstag]

Fiat's plans for Jeep seem crazy. Apart from the Wrangler Fiat are talking about softening up Jeep and offering 2wd as an option.

Could you seriously imagine Land Rover "softening up" or compromising it's illustrious offroad image? Jeep are going to die if Fiat go through with this. Land Rover will be the only hard core 4x4 brand of note left.