The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office this week approved a new winged logo for the Chrysler brand, according to the Detroit Free Press.

As reported last month by Allpar.com, Chrysler appears to be preparing to tweak the winged badge that has branded its cars since the mid 1990s. The new logo keeps the wings, albeit a streamlined version of them, and centers the word "Chrysler" between the spans, resting in a field of blue.

Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne will unveil his 5-year plan for Chrysler today during a day-long press event. It is unclear whether he will confirm Chrysler's new badge -- or whether there will be any changes to the corporate pentastar.

Source: Automotive News

Four months after exiting a U.S.-funded bankruptcy reorganization, Chrysler Group is about to unveil a product roadmap that relies heavily on vehicles from Italian partner Fiat (FIATY) while abandoning many of the U.S. carmaker's own models.

The plan, due to be unveiled Nov. 4, involves the reintroduction of Fiat's premium, sporty Alfa Romeo brand to the U.S. starting in 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported this afternoon.

Chrysler also will introduce the 500, Fiat's tiny car that is popular in Europe, to Americans. It won't, however, attach the Fiat name to it. More in the jump...

Chrysler meantime is preparing to phase out many of its current models, particularly Dodge cars, the Journal said.

Fiat and Chrysler are working to create several new vehicles with Fiat technology for the U.S. market, including a midsize Chrysler-brand sedan to be released in 2012.

The sweeping changes, due to play out over the next two to three years, represent a big gamble for Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, who has staked his reputation on the turnaround.

Marchionne, who successfully revamped Fiat, appears to be creating a vehicle lineup that stays true to Chrysler's blue-collar muscle-car and pickup roots while adding European-style vehicles to attract a new, more white-collar customer.

But in the short term, Marchionne's task is to keep the company afloat until 2012 when the bulk of the new offerings will come to the U.S.

Chrysler is faced now with shrinking market share and few new models coming to market. While it doesn't disclose its finances, Fiat has said repeatedly it won't inject any money into Chrysler despite receiving a 20% ownership stake in the company's reorganization.

Instead, it is contributing technology and management expertise.

"The biggest issue this company has is getting through the next few years," Rebecca Lindland, an automotive analyst at IHS Global Insight, told the Journal.

"They are going to have a hard time maintaining market share, let alone increasing it."

Source: MSN

Chrysler's new Italian management on Monday announced a surprise shake-up of the automaker's executive team, saying two recently appointed brand CEOs have left and that it was splitting Dodge into two groups, one focusing on trucks and the other on cars.

The moves marked the second management reorganization since Fiat Group SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne took control of Chrysler on June 10 when it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Peter Fong, president and CEO of the Chrysler brand and the company's top sales executive, and Michael Accavitti, president and CEO of the Dodge brand, abruptly left the company, Fong for personal reasons and Accavitti to pursue other interests, Chrysler said in a statement.

Sales of Chrysler Group LLC vehicles, which consist of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, are down 39 percent for the first nine months of the year. Chrysler also was caught unprepared for the government's Cash for Clunkers program and had too few small vehicles on dealer lots to benefit much from the rebates.

Source: Associated Press

Chrysler announced that digital owners’ manuals will replace their paper predecessors starting in 2010. The automaker is the first to switch from dead trees to DVDs, and estimates the move will save 930 tons of paper annually.

While we fondly remember our parents sitting down to read the owners’ manual after buying a new family car, that tradition has gone the way of the automatic seatbelt and horizontal speedometer. “As vehicles have increased in complexity, so has the size of traditional owners’ manuals,” said Chrysler’s Customer Care CEO Pietro Gorlier. “With this new approach, we are making it much more convenient for customers to find the information they seek.” Tutorial videos, large color photos and enhanced diagrams will show owners how to change headlamps and set the dashboard clock.

Best of all, buyers of used Challengers and Wranglers won’t be able to knock fifty bucks off the price because the manuals went missing — just leave a link to Chrysler’s service website in the glovebox and tell the new owner they can download it.

In addition to the 20,000 trees that Chrysler says they’ll save each year by not printing manuals, the company estimates the average manual-free car will have its weight reduced by five pounds and free up glovebox space for gloves — or soda, in the case of a Chill Zone-equipped Dodge Journey. Think of it as a modern-day equivalent of the “radio delete” option during the muscle car days.

Source: Wired

In a new survey by Consumer Reports, 81 percent of respondents that are looking to buy a new car said that they are likely to consider buying an American vehicle.
Only 47 percent said that they would consider Asian while 46 percent said that they would buy European.

However, according to a report by Automotive News, actual U.S. light-vehicle sales differ. Through August 2009, Detroit automakers only accounted for 43.9 percent of new-vehicles sales while Korean and Japanese automakers accounted for 48 percent. European brands accounted for 7.5 percent.

Narrowing it down, the percentage of new-car buyers who said that they are likely to consider buying a Ford model...

Source: Autospies

Getting more out of the current generation of hardware is becoming increasingly important for the major carmakers as fuel and emissions standards tighten, but getting more power out of smaller, less expensive engines is also advantageous from a cost perspective. That's what makes Fiat's Multiair technology so attractive, and explains why Chrysler might get the technology in the very near future.

It's actually surprisingly easy to retrofit the Multiair valve system to an existing engine, Lucio Bernard, director of Fiat Powertrain Technologies, told Automotive News. Internally, the groundwork is already being laid for Chrysler's use of Multiair tech.

But what exactly is Fiat's Multiair system? Put simply, it's an electronically controlled valvetrain that enables more efficient and dynamic control of the air coming into the engine. That, in turn, improves efficiency for a given displacement and load, and reduces emissions. Power gains of up to 10% are normal as well.

Like most modern automotive innovations, it's not the hardware that's the tricky part. The software that controls the intake valve events and how they change dependent upon driving conditions is quite complex, and Fiat says it could take competitors two to three years to catch up.

That would mean Chrysler's inclusion in the technology loop could be a huge boon to the company, giving it a selling point not available to any other domestic manufacturer.

So far, only the Alfa Romeo MiTo hatchback has the Multiair technology, but Fiat is planning to roll the technology across its brands and engines over the coming year. If Chrysler does take advantage of the technology, expect it to start on the company's smaller four-cylinder engines before moving to V6 or V8 solutions.


Source: Blogs.Automotive

The PT Cruiser is the once-award-winning car that will not die: Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne says the attractive small car will continue to be produced for another year at the Toluca, Mexico station, according to an Automotive News report.

This is a change from the company's stated plans in January under Cerberus ownership. At the time, the plan was to end production after the 2009 model year and sell the tooling for the vehicle shortly afterward.

The PT Cruiser has lasted a long time for a car selling under $20,000 -- it was introduced in 2000. In our First Drive of the 2001 model, we noted that "we've been bombarded with letters, e-mails, and personal queries about this unique vehicle. The appeal seems to spread across all ages, lifestyles, and even current vehicle types."

Source: MotorTrend

Now that Chrysler has completed its sale to Fiat SpA, the newly formed Chrysler Group LLC resumed production at its first factory since coming out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Surprisingly, the plant that Chrysler chose to reopen first is its Conner Avenue plant, which makes the low-volume Dodge Viper.

There has been quite an interesting controversy involved with Chrysler’s Viper business, which now belongs to Fiat SpA. The Auburn Hills automaker has built only 61 cars at the Conner Avenue plant this year.

Chrysler shut down all operations after its Chapter 11 filing on April 30. According to Automotive News, most plants are now scheduled to resume production by the end of June.

“At this time, we cannot give exact timing in regards to the start of production at our other manufacturing facilities,” the Fiat SpA controlled automaker said in a statement today.

The plants will first resume production of some 2009 models and will then switch to 2010 models after the normal summer shutdown in July.

Source: eGMCarTech

Chrysler dealers nationwide were fearing the UPS guy on Thursday.

For 789 dealerships, the man in brown came carrying an overnight letter from Chrysler LLC indicating that they are being closed as part of the automaker's bankruptcy. Some dealers received additional phone calls from company representatives, while others discovered their fate after being contacted by reporters.

Those calls and letters informed dealers that on Thursday morning Chrysler had filed a plan with the bankruptcy court listing the 789 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers it selected to discontinue operations. Under the plan - which is still subject to review by the bankruptcy judge - the dealers have until June 9 to close their Chrysler franchises.

Source: CNN

As part of its well-publicized bankruptcy and restructuring, Chrysler will permanently shutter six of its facilities, one of which is the only plant that builds the Dodge Viper. That’s on top of word that all Chrysler factories and assembly plants will be put on hold for 60 days while the automaker attempts to emerge from what executives are calling a “surgical” bankruptcy.

Despite the White House’s assurance that no plants would be closed during the bankruptcy, court papers filed early this morning in New York indicate that Chrysler will close its Sterling Heights Assembly in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Detroit Axle, Conner Avenue in Detroit, St. Louis North Assembly in Fenton, Missouri, Kenosha Engine in Wisconsin and Twinsburg Stamping in Ohio.

Sterling Heights Assembly currently builds the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, Conner Avenue hand builds the Dodge Viper and the St Louis North builds the Dodge Ram. Some of the Detroit-area jobs will be transferred to the Jefferson North Assembly Plant that builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Full Article at Source: Left Lane News

Fiat-based Chrysler products could be sold in the U.S. in as little as 18 months, according to Tom W. LaSorda, Chrysler's now outgoing vice chairman and president.

"We've done a lot of pre-work in terms of homologations and emissions," LaSorda told reporters during a press conference following the announcement of the Chrysler/Fiat alliance on Thursday. "Eighteen months is practical. Three years is fundamentally wrong. We can do it faster."

Industry observers, including longtime auto columnist Jerry Flint, have predicted that it will take up to three years for any Fiat-based Chrysler products to be sold in the U.S.

Bob Nardelli, Chrysler's outgoing chairman and CEO, said the Chrysler/Fiat alliance will result in a "much broader portfolio of products" for Chrysler. But a culling of products is to be expected, said executives in a Thursday press conference.

"We will eliminate certain models and duplication of products," said James Press, Chrysler vice chairman and president. "We're bringing all three brands [Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep] under one dealership umbrella."

Source: Inside Line

Two Obama administration officials say Chrysler will file for bankruptcy protection after talks broke down with a small group of the company's creditors.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the filing plan has not been formally announced. The government had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for Chrysler, but negotiations with hedge funds that hold its outstanding debt crumbled overnight.

Bankruptcy doesn't mean the nation's third largest automaker will shut down. And Chrysler is expected to sign a partnership with the Italian company Fiat as early as today as part of its restructuring plan. President Barack Obama is expected to discuss the nation's auto sector at noon.

Source: Yahoo

A battery-powered 268-horsepower two-seat sports car is in line to become Chrysler LLC's first electric car, provided the carmaker lives to see another day.

To survive, help is needed from Italy's Fiat but, as negotiations with the Italian automaker bog down and the two week deadline to hammer out a partnership approaches, the company's future - as well as its aspirations for an electric hot rod - are increasingly in doubt.

Chrysler's first electric car, set to be introduced late next year around the same time as General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, will be a sports car with a zero-to-60 time of under five seconds and a top speed of 120 miles per hour.

Source: CNN Money

Chrysler has been playing hardball with the Canadian government in an effort to secure up to $3 billion in loans, as company Vice Chairman Tom Lasorda recently threatened to leave Canada if it didn't receive the necessary loons. One supplier with only 60 employees is giving the Pentastar a sneak peak of what life will be like without its Canadian plants.

Chrysler was forced to shut down two Ontario plants as the facilities ran out of diecast aluminum engine and transmission mounts. The Brampton plant, which produces the Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Charger closed on Thursday and the Windsor minivan facility closed on Wednesday. The facilities will remain idle until the Pentastar can get the parts flowing again. Chrysler released a statement saying that if the parts shortage continues, other North American facilities may be affected.

The supplier in question, Trans Cast, recently purchased the engine and transmission mounts facility and demanded more money for the parts. Bloomberg is reporting that Chrysler has gotten a court order to get the tooling equipment from the supplier so they could produce the parts themselves. Once Chrysler receives the tooling, it intends to produce the mounts at a plant in Etobicoke, Ontario.

What isn't clear so far is whether Chrysler was behind on payments with Trans Cast. But since Trans Cast purchased the plant out of foreclosure very recently, it's unlikely that Chrysler would be in the hole with the new owners. What isn't in question is Chrysler's prodigious cash crunch. Chrysler has just recently received a $250 million Canadian dollar loan from the Canadian government just to keep plants open. The Auburn Hills, MI automaker has also asked for $6 billion in financial aid from the U.S. government, in addition to the $2-3 billion requested from the Canadians.

Update:
The Canadian court has ruled the troubled supplier must give its tooling and machinery back to Chrysler. The supplier must also give its equipment back to General Motors, although GM never experienced any production delays because of the dispute.

The supplier dispute causes a parts shortage, forcing Chrysler to close its Windsor plant on Wednesday and its Brampton plant on Thursday. Chrysler’s Windsor plant is responsible for producing the Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country and the Volkswagen Routan while its Brampton plant makes the Dodge Charger, Challenger and Chrysler 300.

According to The Detroit News, Transcast Precision Inc., the supplier responsible for the parts shortage, told both Chrysler and GM that it needed to significantly raise its prices or it would face bankruptcy.

To prevent any further production disruptions, Chrysler will temporarily move Transcast’s parts production in-house at its Etobicoke, Ontario stamping plant. GM says it is currently looking for another supplier to take over Transcast’s production.

Source: AutoBlog