Comments on the Chrysler/Lancia shakeup...

[OperaHawk]

Anyone have any comments on this?

Now the CEO of Lancia will be the CEO of Chrysler as well, with the aim to make Chrysler 'more upscale than Cadillac.' Apparently there will be shared platforms, with the new Thesis sedan being a version of the 300C, and Chrysler getting a Lancia variant for the new Sebring.

Interesting days ahead, my friends...

SBJ

[Geoff]

Cute. Might work. Can see lots of reasons it won't, but then again, if you were looking for a reasonably priced, upscale market car that shares componentry but maintains identity.... then Lancia is a good fit out of the Fiat stable.

On the other hand, gee, now Lancia gets to work with Chrysler to develop a mid/large car. That should be fun to watch. And you thought the Saab/Alfa/Lancia/Fiat chassis had issues.... that was nothing compared to Sebring meets ... well.... meets something new.

[1,6 HF]

I'm not holding my breath on any of this. But I will say that any discussion about a new Lancia model on a shared platform is more encouraging that the discussion a few months back about sacrificing Lancia to make a bid for Opel...

[SubGothius]

More interesting news/info consolidated here:
http://www.allpar.com/cars/adopted/fiat/chrysler-fiat-alliance.html
http://www.allpar.com/cars/adopted/fiat/fiat-cars.html

Apparently there's some serious discussion whether the Lancia and/or Alfa Romeo brands could completely replace the "tarnished" Chrysler brand.

I also recently learned from some Latino fellows at the local auto parts store that lancha is Spanish for "boat" but also used as a colloquialism for a large, luxurious automobile (no foolin'!), so in that sense there is already a considerable population here that would immediately recognize that Lancia = luxury and "livin' large", something you treat yourself to when you've Made It. :D

[rossocorsa]

Anyone have any comments on this?

Apparently there will be shared platforms, with the new Thesis sedan being a version of the 300C,


oh dear that will be breakdown city then, such a crap car the 300 built in the spirit of a yugo/lada/polski-fiat/fso/etc.............

[RdeMasi]

Lancia could probably bring over the new Delta with some tweeks. It would fit into the ugly crossover market that's developing here.

I have to imagine that car safety & emmission standards between Europe and the U.S are alot closer than the 70s when they'd have to make some serious and nasty changes to Federalize European cars for the U.S. market.

[Jim Keller]

oh dear that will be breakdown city then, such a crap car the 300 built in the spirit of a yugo/lada/polski-fiat/fso/etc.............

Ha ha ha ha, that's a funny opinionated comment! obviously you have little to no experiance with the Chrysler 300, probably never even been in one, let alone a HEMI one! they are SWEET! fast! handle great for a "HUGE" car with luxury out your butt! (yea a tad ugly but it's supposed to be snobby!), and best of all, it has enough room for the whole family of 6 and lots of room for hauling what you need for the vacation.

My brothers had his 4 years, (bought the first one sold in Columbus Ohio), has run the absolute crap out of it and not one single complaint or problem, it has NEVER been back to the dealer for any repair thus far, not one single mechanical, electrical nor fit/finish problem the whole 4 years he's had it, (other than self inflicted when he back into a tree on a densly wooded curvy driveway at a quick speed and got the rear quarter panel and the outer suspension arms driver side, but he was lets say, mildly intoxicated when he did that! LOL), They are very nice cars priced well, (fast if it's a HEMI car), great fuel economy for it's size/class, (Dave gets 25 MPG average if he keeps his foot out of it, 34 on the freeway), and very reliable........unless of course your speaking of the older FWD version, ok, that one WAS crap! ha ha ha He also just bought a new Chevy Camero SS fully loaded, it's been back to the dealer a couple times already and doesn't even have 2K miles on it yet, once was for snapping the output shaft on the tranny when he attempted to use the "Launch Control", he still hasn't been brave enough to try that again yet! LOL

That said, I have been talking to our local Chrysler dealer salesman and managers, (who can't sell anything right now mainly because they can't get any Chrysler cars right now), aren't real confident they will remain in buisness, they see eminant failure. The only thing they have on their lots right now are 15 or so $35 to $40K mini vans, 25 Chargers, 3 full size pickups, all over $35K, a couple Jeeps, one Wrangler, 4 or 5 Cherokees, about 3 GEM plug in electric cars that can't get over 25 mph nor go further than 40 miles for an outragious price for a vehical so limited in ability, (not much more than a golf cart), it's pretty dismal out there, but so are our Ford and Chevy dealers, they seem to be having problems with stock, especially the lower end stuff, they all have $35 to $50K stuff sitting around, but not much in the $15 to $25K range to speak of.

I have been trying to find an inexpensive pickup but all they have had in the last several months are either totally stripped stick shift or they jump to so over loaded with options they are sky high unaffordable to anyone not making $100K a year or more.

Detroit's biggest problem in selling cars, (aside from the FACT they laid off all the folks they once paid enough to BUY their cars and now have folks not making enough to buy one building them now), is, they have over loaded them with so many so called "standard" equipment items that are truly totally uneccessary, unwanted and unrelated to the automobile, making them far beyound reach for most folks who still have a job, jobs still left around here are all $10 or less an hour with very rare exception, try paying rent, buying food/supplies for your kids and then making a car payment and insurance on top of that!

They need to get back to basic transportation type cars as the main stay with upper levels being minimally produced instead of the standard, ones that only have things like Auto/Air/Cruise/Windows and locks, enough options to get accross the nation in reasonable comfort but not so much it's better than being in my living room! Take out the iPod and MP3 hookups, the TV's and crappy factory navagation systems, ditch the mega stereo with multi disc CD for a decent AM/FM radio, (most folks I know just use the radio), toss out the cabin filter system, (have we really become so sensitive to the enviroment we need these?!.....Comon! BS!), get rid of the 100 air bags, just give me the manditory fronts and build it strong enough to take a reaonable side impact, I'll take my chances beyound that, dump the traction control and antilock, I do better without it, my wife will just have to figure it out! LOL, shuck the keyless entry/car alarm crap with micro chip key and give me one WalMart can duplicate for $2, I dont' live in a big city where auto theft is a problem, I don't need a chip in my key making a replacement cost $200! I don't need a readout on my dash that tells me average fuel mileage, trip time, fuel left in tank, direction of travel and average speed! why do they MAKE me pay for that?!! I do NOT need split/fold rear seats that adjust front to back like front seats! and drop he damn price $10K!!!!!!

Getting rid of all the weight from those BS accessories and related wiring/hardware would naturally up the fuel mleage oi the car as well! ha ha ha

Off my soap box, I'm already out of control! LOL

[rossocorsa]

my ex-boss had one it wasn't good but I think they are assembled in the EU (???) maybe US ones are better

[SubGothius]

my ex-boss had one it wasn't good but I think they are assembled in the EU (???) maybe US ones are better
If it was curvy rather than razor-edged, then that was the previous-generation FWD 300M (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_300M) and not much to speak of.

When the current RWD 300/300C (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_300) was introduced, it was arguably the best "Mercedes" made in recent memory (at least in terms of engineering if not opulence), which should come as little surprise considering it was heavily derived from the recently-discontinued "W210" E-class Benz (although I'm convinced there's some W124 in there too, comparing the roofline profile around the door glass).