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

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

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

Fiat has taken a cue from hybrid technology to improve fuel economy in the 500 subcompact with technology that shuts off the engine at stops.

The 500 Start&Stop model raises fuel economy by up to 12 percent in city driving by shutting the engine off whenever traffic brings the car to a halt. On Europe's driving cycles, the 500 Start&Stop achieves 41.3 mpg in the city and 54.7 mph on the highway, Fiat said.

Start&Stop models use the 500's smallest engine, putting out 69 horsepower from 1.2 liters. Other 1.2-liter models without the start-stop function return 36.7 mpg in the city and offer the same highway efficiency. The Start&Stop is priced in the middle of the 500 range at the equivalent of $14,050.

Source: Inside Line

Carozzeria Castagna has released a full set of high-resolution images of its newest concept study, the all-electric Fiat 500 Tender Two that’s inspired from the nautical themed late 1950s / early 1960s Ghia Fiat 500 Jolly. If you manage to see through the ‘tender obstacle’ in the opening picture above (if you're having a hard time, don’t worry, we had the same problem), you may notice that like the Jolly, the 500 Tender Two has no doors and that its roof has been replaced with a removable canvas top.

Source: CarScoop

Fiat is considering moving production of Alfa Romeo cars and Iveco trucks to the United States and is already talking to U.S. automakers about sharing manufacturing facilities, the Italian car giant's CEO told the Financial Times.

Such a move would save money for Fiat, which is suffering from the relative strength of the euro against the dollar, and mark a return of the Alfa Romeo brand to the United States after withdrawing it in 1995.

"I've always had the view that we had to produce in America," Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Monday, adding that he planned to start North American production of Alfa cars by 2011 or 2012.

He said Fiat is already talking to Detroit's major carmakers about sharing production of Alfa Romeos in the United States.

Source: Automotive News

In attempt to show off the large sunroof found on the Fiat Stilo, the ad agency took it upon themselves to hire very large and in-charge folks to pop out of it for photo ops. The result? Me losing my lunch. I think many can agree they would have rather seen how many hot chicks they can squeeze together through that sunroof. Better luck next time, Fiat. Hire someone who knows sex sells next time.