Fiat needs to do two things:
1. They need to use the Chrysler development/innovation capabilities for larger models, incl. the future Chrysler models.
2. Fiat/Lancia models cannot and should not look like a European version of their US counterparts. The design at least needs to be completely different. What Lancia did to the 300C is just a joke.
3. Fiat needs to understand that the Chrysler models have their purpose too, especially in the US but also in Europe. Trying to downsize everything, incl. the bodies and engines, can be very wrong. Fiat needs to understand that Chrysler and of course Jeep and Dodge, are independent manufacturers which shouldn't be mixed up with the regular Fiat/Lancia model program. This can go very wrong on so many levels.
My Jeep dealer (he also sells Chrysler and Dodge) told me a couple of things which are pretty much true:
1. Chrysler needs in Europe only two models of each car: A powerful Diesel (250-350 hp) with a low consumption and a powerful V8 with lots of power (turbo charged, super charged...for emissions sake). Right now, they also have a V6 gas engine which isn't really necessary and a V8 5.7 l with 350 hp or so. Customers either want a lot consumption and a Diesel or the most powerful V8.
2. Quality needs to be kept up but at the same time, prices cannot rise. Nobody buys a Jeep Grand Cherokee for 100k EUR. These cars sell over the price too, Chrysler needs to understand this. Also, the cars need to look special. The Grand Cherokee SRT in in my opinion one of the most beautiful SUVs on the market right now.
3. Chrysler buyers over here in Germany love to mod their cars, most cars don't stay stock. Just met a guy with a Viper today at my Chrysler dealer, over 700 hp...supercharged. A real fun car for the weekend, The guy also drives a Bentley GT Coupe and other expensive cars but the Viper is a nice an "inexpensive" weekend toy for him. So Chrysler should offer some sort of mod kits or special parts to make the cars more special or even faster. Customers would love that.
It will be interesting to see if Fiat and US employees will get along and especially regarding the engineering/development but also the design part. If Fiat gets mixed up too much with Chrysler's "independence", they will ruin the brand. So far however, they seem to understand that cars in the US have to be different. The upcoming Challenger(?) with the Hellcat engine (supercharged V8 with 6.2 liters and around 650 hp) seems to confirm that Fiat understands the US market. I just hope they put this engine in a next gen Grand Cherokee too.
Funny thing happened yesterday on the Autobahn when we returned from Austria: While driving relatively slow (80-100 kph) on the Autobahn due to huge traffic, a guy in a car on my right honked and when I looked at him, he had the window down and was keeping his hand to his ear, as if he wants to hear something. I then I understood quite fast, I accelerated (my car with the sport exhaust sound really loud and deep) and both men in the car were showing thumbs up. My wife was laughing, the kids were laughing, it was really fun. Later on, I stopped at a fuel station and during the fuel up, a guy came towards me, just to tell me how nice the car looks and how nice it sounds. His friends were sitting on a bench with some beer in their hands and were yelling "Jeep Jeep Jeep". It was so funny and my son couldn't be happier. You just get a different reaction here in a Jeep than with a Porsche, which is quite weird and actually a bit sad but overall, I am happy I have this car. For the family, this is definitely the right choice.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014), BMW X3 35d (2013)