2010 Fiat Grande Punto and the Chrysler dilemma…

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The Grande Punto has just been revised in Europe. Mostly a new front and and nicer interior.
This would make a nice offering in the US. But how much would it be?
It could just be priced too high, like the Astra was for Saturn.

And this is what Fiat is facing now that they are running Chrysler.
Apparently, they just found out (!) what everybody else knew. There isn’t much in the pipeline . Chrysler and Dodge have almost no new models coming up. Except a new 300/Charger.
How are they going to keep these brand alive with nothing new?
The easiest thing would be to just rebadge some Fiats, but even that would take over a full year.

And this week, they just announced they want to turn Chrysler into a Cadillac competitor. Really?!?!
That’s been what Chrysler has been trying to do for decades. And they always failed.

I just don’t know how Fiat will ever revive Chrysler and Dodge.
I personally don’t know anyone who would actually buy one (Except the Challenger).

What do you think?

Conversation 36 comments

  1. always a smarmy political comment recently, and always anonymous. SIGN A NAME and FURNISH A LINK if you're so fucking politically savvy we should care what you say. i come here to discuss cars. save your bullshit for your fellow fox noise fans who wouldn't know a fact if it bit them in their racist white asses. y'all make me SICK.

    i was GOING to point out the similarity between a late 90s Concorde's front end and this new Grand Punto facelift. i think it's the way Fiat has added the 500-like chrome bar to their logo.

  2. Fiat has some great product and I'd love to see it sold here. With Chrysler they basically bought a distribution channel, but selling small cars in the US competitively with the Japanese and Koreans is no easy task. Look at all the past European failures.

  3. Chrysler should bring the Fiat 500 over to compete with the Mini cooper since it already established a strong market presence here in the US.

  4. If Ford is selling the Fiesta in the US, then definitely Fiat could compete with the Punto, and also the Linea. The 500 is a no-brainer, although being smaller and less well known than the Mini in the US, it probably won't be as successful.

    The problem is that Fiat cannot replace aging Chrysler product by rebadging their cars, because they just don't build cars of the size of a Chrysler or a Dodge; only the Croma comes close, and that would not sell in the US (it's not selling in Europe either). They cannot use Lancias or Alfas either because their styling is too particular to fit any other brand. They will NEED to design new cars very fast.

  5. Vince, how can you forget about the latest Dodge Ram. It's like the best pick-up in its class, and arguably the best vehicle Chrysler currently makes.

  6. The entire point of handing over 10 billion in taxpayer money was so Fiat could bring their cars over. Im waiting for the Alfa.

  7. Relax casey…everything will be OK…I promise.

    They all have to be US federalized before they can be brought here. The delay is over a year now but the 169 is coming.

  8. Value of dollar vs Euro could be pretty unhelpful just now too. Only way round that would be to manufacture in the US, and we all know that's no longer permitted. next option is to bring in redundant Fiats from China or Brazil.

  9. Well that's a new one. A guy says FIAT walked off with 10 billion and some genius calls him racist for it. Please provide a link to that definition. And then said genius ignores calls by his fellow geniuses on crap-it-all hill to raise the level of the debate. Not going to look it up for anyone, but 10B is about the amount of public "loan" Chrysler got and the feds foregave to unload the company.

    Fiat should use pieces of the Chrysler offerings and otherwise introduce their models into the distribution network. They make cars in Brazil that they can bring here on the cheap, and in the meantime convert US plants to built these things. Besides, I am not so certain they cant bring many of their euro models here based on price. I know the 500 is built in a low cost Polish plant, and they source many parts from eastern europe and I believe China, so the high cost west european contribution to many products in more than likely based on distribution and admin. Those can be circumvented here.

  10. Forget Chrysler.

    Chrysler should just apologize to Fiat and quietly go away.

    The only brand worth ANYTHING is Jeep.

  11. Casey, Boring Flickr page. No talent at all.

    So, if someone doesn't agree with you attack.

    Very sad.

  12. VINCE SAID: "they just announced they want to turn Chrysler into a Cadillac competitor." I SAY: NOT SO FAR FETCHED. Think about the guys who took NASCAR by storm with the '69 – '70's Plymouth Superbird & Dodge Challenger Daytona. Imagine them working together with the guys making the Ferrari F40 , Dodge Viper V10, Masarati Quatroporte & Alpha Romeao. Thow in the guys building 400HP Dodge Challenger Police Cruziers & Chrysler 300 MDS HEMI SRT's. THAT'S WHERE THE EXCITEMENT LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . . . The ingredients are there; just watch them simmer. I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!!

  13. The ONLY way Fiat could make money on this would be to build these little tin cans in Mexico. The Alpa 169 is going to cost too much even to sell as Chrysler.

  14. LOL!!!

    Reminds me of the dude who got accused of being "racist" for calling some fat person a water buffalo…What race is a water buffalo?

    Mercedes tried to turn Chrysler into a Cadillac competitor and failed. I like the 300 even with the playschool interior.

  15. Chrysler could revive the Plymouth nameplate for all of the current Fiat cars that they want to produce/sell here (500, Linea, Punto, renamed of course). Alfas could be sold here with the Dodge nameplate. Take Chrysler nameplate upmarket with luxury versions. Use the Ram nameplate for all trucks. Jeep for SUV's.

  16. Vince, the Astra was priced too high because it was built in Europe and the exchange rates were highly unfavorable. The new Fiats will have to be built here in North America to be competitive. The new Fiat 500 will be built in the plant in Toluca, Mexico.

  17. "Chrysler could revive the Plymouth nameplate for all of the current Fiat cars that they want to produce/sell here (500, Linea, Punto, renamed of course). Alfas could be sold here with the Dodge nameplate. Take Chrysler nameplate upmarket with luxury versions. Use the Ram nameplate for all trucks. Jeep for SUV's." Most logical comment I've heard to far.

    I always thought that Chrysler was "on top" as far as the group brands go. I think Chysler lost its footing when base versions of their vehicles moved from Plymouth to Chrysler. It diluted the brand. I still think of the Town & Country LX as a Plymouth Grand Voyager….and it's been that way since 2001. What Chrysler needs to do is reset themselves. But see, herein lies the conflict, who Deserves RWD more….Dodge or Chrysler? They both have "full sized RWD sedans" but no full size FWD offerings which are STILL POPULAR TODAY. The Charger and 300 currently overlap. I think either the Intrepid OR Concorde should return as a larger FWD vehicle for either brand. Their midsize offerings are currently the Avenger and Sebring. The 200C seems like a worthy concept for a Sebring replacement and it is RWD. The Avenger has a mask of more Attitude, however I think it should remain FWD. On the smaller end offer the 500 as a premium Chrysler small car, and the Grand Punto as a sporty Dodge. In terms of "brand imaging" these two are like seeing Pontiac and Buick floating about together in a Chevy-less and Sans-Cadillac world. Today's US market place doesn't work like that. You HAVE to have at least a "Chevy-Caddy" scenerio (as in a regular brand tied with a Premium Brand). Until you've mastered the volume brand and the premium brand, you have no business touting MID-luxury, because Chysler is a great example of this. Heck, just look at Toyota-Lexus, Nissan-Infinity, Honda-Acura. They are doing just fine w/o mid-lux garbage…because they know how to develop a balance between the two and natrually offer Mid-Lux vehicles at the upper end of the volume brand and the lower end of the premium brand. Chrysler and Dodge are a hot mess right now because these two brands share too many roles and have no true identity/direction any more. Jeep is the least of the victims right now beacuse it seems like their only mistake was the Compass. I really think there is a need for plymouth again…to house the point A to point B affordable car and to distill what is still good about Dodge and Chrysler.

    However, if MB couldn't turn Chysler into a Cadillac competitor then no one can…..except maybe Hyundai!

  18. This thing is all kinds of infantile ugly. Do Europeans actually buy these?

    The Astra ruined Saturn. The ION sold greater than 5K units a month and the Astra never sold over 1K units.

    Chrysler/Fiat just don't have the talent for a long future.

  19. Fiat CEO makes an announcement that he will make Chrysler into a luxury brand (better than GM Cadillac), Dodge into a sporty brand while keeping Jeep the way it is. If so, I don't see any Fiat qualifies to be 'luxurious.'

    My prediction is divorce court or bankruptcy court in 2 years … about the time Fiat readies its cars to travel across the pond. Why? No competitive cars in the pipeline within the next two years to fend off competition.

  20. "Anonymous said…
    VINCE SAID: "they just announced they want to turn Chrysler into a Cadillac competitor." I SAY: NOT SO FAR FETCHED. Think about the guys who took NASCAR by storm with the '69 – '70's Plymouth Superbird & Dodge Challenger Daytona. Imagine them working together with the guys making the Ferrari F40 , Dodge Viper V10, Masarati Quatroporte & Alpha Romeao. Thow in the guys building 400HP Dodge Challenger Police Cruziers & Chrysler 300 MDS HEMI SRT's. THAT'S WHERE THE EXCITEMENT LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . . . The ingredients are there; just watch them simmer. I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!!

    September 22, 2009 6:36 AM"

    1. Law enforcement agencies do NOT like the Charger PP/LEP. It isn't robust enough and they are having some issues with them early in their service life.

    2. You are talking about the late 60's/early 70's like it was yesterday. What have they done RECENTLY? Nothing, that is right, nothing. Their best vehicles (Sprinter + 300) isn't even a Mopar product and the other isn't 100% mopar either.

    3. The F40 isn't a Fiat, and it was made in the 80's. The Viper by far the least impressive performance vehicle of our time with less than 75HP per liter. Fiat had no hand in the Quattroporte.

    The only thing you are going to be waiting for, unfortunately, is for Chrysler to die a slow death. They have nothing exciting coming down the pipeline and their upper management has proven their incompetence many, many times.

    You are blinded by your bias. Chrysler is crap, sir.

  21. Global competition will destroy Fiatsler and our tax dollars will go with them. There are just too many better car makers coming up.

  22. The worst two car companies join forces to create by-far-the-worst car company…It's called synergy.

    This is going to be absurd and expensive.

  23. Am I the only one who smells cues in that front end that remind me a lot of a Neon?

    Is it possible to maybe bring this thru as the Dodge Hornet that showed so much promise as a concept?

    And yeah, Vince, it is high time you make people post with an identity here instead of allowing an ocean of anonymous cheap shots. We at least deserve a name to address.

  24. I agree with many of the comments that Chrysler/Fiat are really going to struggle over the next 2-3years. I don't understand how Fiat looked at this tie up and saw it as a money making potential. Do the outdated manufacturing facilities in N.A. and the almost defunct dealership distribution channels give them that great of a competitive foot hold? Maybe over other European brands that don't seem inclined to operate in N.A., but not against already established competitors.

  25. Build a competitively priced, comfortable compact Fiat model in Mexico or Michigan and call it the new Dodge Dart–a good name for a once excellent car.

    If the car is good and not too costly, it'll sell.

  26. Chrysler closed one of their best performing dealerships here in Fairfax, VA on RT-29/RT-50 right across from Fairfax Hyundai.

    It had been there for probably 40+ years.

    Sad that Chrysler is such a bad company, that dealer was forced to lay off a lot of people.

  27. The worst two car companies join forces to create by-far-the-worst car company…It's called synergy.

    -Like when Sears & Kmart merged; although that seems to be working. The biggest wildcard here is all the gevernment intervention & union oversight. Those are far far bigger problems then how to sell Iveco Dailys as Dodge Sprinters, or Fiat 500's as Dodge Omni's or Masarati Quatroportes as Chrysler Imperials or Chrysler 300 Hemi's as Alfa Romeos. If they can avoid the bureaucratic mess that has strangled every megaconglomeration from the government-run VA hospitals to the 10 divisions of the old GM; then there's more than enough in their collective parts bins to create everything from Hybrid minivans to electric Fiat Puntas and FlexFuel Ferraris

  28. some obvious, redneck, boneheaded comments. Fiat builds a better car than Chrysler ever did. Fiat can only make this garbage company better. The best thing that ever happened to unrefined, uneducated Chrysler customers was Fiat. You won't be smart enough to recognize this, that's why I'm tellin' ya!

  29. Sears/Kmart is a bad example. Neither store is fun to walk into. Target, Walmart, Macy's and even JCPenney are eating their food…all far more fun to shop at.

    We know there are cool lancias, Alfas, and Fiats of today worth bringing to North America under their own badge or as Mopars. This will pay off and was a far better idea than getting in bed with the Chinese or being cannibalized by Nissan.

  30. Newest FIATs are surely better than FIATs were in the distant past. Last FIAT I drove was in 1977–a FIAT 128, I think. It was a POS.

  31. That's funny. When the Soul came out and Forte people said they had hard plastics (like no one else does). But What about this interior?

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