The Auto Writer

There are some people who see Fiat as the savior of Chrysler while there are others who are doubtful at best, downright hostile at worst that Sergio Marchionne can pull of this newly crafted business arrangement. I’m in the latter camp as I believe that Chrysler’s chance to remake itself (with Fiat assistance) is something that must be accomplished before a fast closing window of opportunity slams shut.

That window will remain open only until a whole bunch of newer products begin to appear next spring including the Ford Fiesta, the Chevy Cruze as well as several hybrid and pure electric cars arriving from a variety of manufacturers. I don’t believe that consumers will embrace every new hybrid or EV that comes to the market, but I believe that Chrysler’s aging fleet may not be able to change over fast enough to keep up with the onslaught.

Alfa Dodgeo? That’ll Work!

Perhaps sensing that time is truly of the essence for Chrysler, word is coming forth that Fiat may marry the Dodge and Alfa Romeo names. Alfa Dodgeo won’t be the name of some newly minted brand for the automaker, rather Alfa Romeo models could find themselves rebadged and sold as Dodges in the US while Dodge models being sold in Europe would carry the Alfa Romeo name.

There are some similarities between Dodge and Alfa Romeo that most people don’t know about at least that is what Fiat is indicating. Both brands sell “muscle cars” in their respective markets, but even that definition has different meanings where these kinds of cars are produced. The Viper is a true, blue sports cars while the Challenger represents the current iteration of the pony car theme for Dodge.

“The level of competition between these two brands is tremendous because they are both going after the same customer,” Marchionne said in an interview with Autocar magazine. “Dodge is the American muscle car, while Alfa Romeo is the European muscle car. How we dovetail these two brands is very important.”

I haven’t seen Alfa Romeo models up close and personal in many years, but most of their muscle cars are smaller and narrower than what the average American driver prefers to drive although I could certainly see the Spider and Competizione finding a following in the states, but only if they’re sold under the Alfa Romeo brand. But that’s just my opinion.

Source: Autocar

See Also — Alfa Romeo