Fiat and Chrysler strike alliance amid crisis

[KCALB SIRAY]

MILAN/DETROIT (Reuters) – Italy's Fiat said on Tuesday it would be given a 35 percent stake in struggling U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC in exchange for access to technology and overseas markets in a deal underscoring the huge stress on the global auto industry.

Under the terms of the deal, Fiat would not pay cash for its stake in Chrysler, which has already been given $4 billion in emergency funding from the U.S. government.

Instead, Fiat would provide the U.S. automaker with access to fuel-efficient vehicle platforms and components and to sales outside the United States where Chrysler is largely absent.

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Sooooo, my dream of owning a Fiat 500 in the states is not lost yet. Hopefully they will see the light at the end of the tunnel and move towards it quickly. If you want to read the entire article http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090120/ts_nm/us_chrysler_fiat

[ChinoCharles]

Get the hell out of Dodge. GET IT? HAH! :cry:

That is pretty neat, no? Fiat makes wonderful little cars.

[KCALB SIRAY]

I've always liked the 500, I really would like to get one

[ChinoCharles]

The question is would you buy a Chrysler 500? Where is the brand equity? Lets just ditch Chrysler and start selling some Fiats.

[KCALB SIRAY]

Personally I've never had any problems with my Chrsylers in the past. Granted the only newer Chrsyler product I've owned was a Jeep, but it was built to last a war, the rest were all pre 1971, lol. We've seen many of their products renew faith on design over the last 5 years despite the gas hogs (Durango, 300, Magnum etc.) great styles and have held their own in the design/auto world of awards. I honestly don't see it being a problem, just as Scion took to the states. It took a few to get it known, hopefully Chrysler can do the same with Fiat in the future. So yeah, I'd probably stillbuy it if it said Chrsyler on it

[NJBob]

Get the hell out of Dodge. GET IT? HAH! :cry:

That is pretty neat, no? Fiat makes wonderful little cars.

LMAO :biggrin: Ditto..I'd like to see some Fiats over here. The new ones are very cool.

http://i.l.cnn.net/money/2009/01/20/autos/chrysler_fiat/fiat_500.03.jpg

[BailOut]

Personally I've never had any problems with my Chrsylers in the past. Granted the only newer Chrsyler product I've owned was a Jeep, but it was built to last a war, the rest were all pre 1971, lol. We've seen many of their products renew faith on design over the last 5 years despite the gas hogs (Durango, 300, Magnum etc.) great styles and have held their own in the design/auto world of awards. I honestly don't see it being a problem, just as Scion took to the states. It took a few to get it known, hopefully Chrysler can do the same with Fiat in the future. So yeah, I'd probably stillbuy it if it said Chrsyler on it

My last car was a 1999 Dodge Stratus. I kept it going until 138,000 miles. When I would take it to any Dodge stealership for service people would come from all over the facility to look at it. They had simply never seen a Stratus with that kind of mileage on it. I never knew whether to feel proud or embarrassed.

I was quite happy the day I traded that car in for a Toyota. I doubt I will ever buy American again.

[Black Yaris]

I hope we start seeing some cool Fiats over here.....

I was confused by "MILAN/DETROIT" at first.... since Chrysler has a large plant in Milan, Michigan (very close to Detroit)

[KCALB SIRAY]

My last car was a 1999 Dodge Stratus. I kept it going until 138,000 miles. When I would take it to any Dodge stealership for service people would come from all over the facility to look at it. They had simply never seen a Stratus with that kind of mileage on it. I never knew whether to feel proud or embarrassed.

I was quite happy the day I traded that car in for a Toyota. I doubt I will ever buy American again.

My parents had a Dodge Carvan that went for 12 years, no problem, 200K + miles on it. Never had a problem, even after being rear ended in a high impact situation. My first Toyota had an electrical problem that Toyota themselves could not fix. Basically I could only run the car during the day. As soon as I would run the lights, it would kill the battery no matter what was replaced. Theres always that one in every crowd that stands out. In this case, it's the car I'm speaking of

[PetersRedYaris]

The question is would you buy a Chrysler 500? Where is the brand equity? Lets just ditch Chrysler and start selling some Fiats.

I 100% support this...

[GeneW]

My last car was a 1999 Dodge Stratus. I kept it going until 138,000 miles. When I would take it to any Dodge stealership for service people would come from all over the facility to look at it. They had simply never seen a Stratus with that kind of mileage on it. I never knew whether to feel proud or embarrassed.


Newer Dodges are like bad kids... they take up smoking in their youth and then die young. You could tell where they had been by their oily smell.

Probably most Dodge owners do not get their cars serviced at the Stealership. Too expensive.

Once upon a time Chrysler was a technological leader in the industry. Their drive train components were wonders, motors that did not die easily, trannies that were bulletproof and rear ends that were very rugged.

I drove a Chrysler van for 1000s of miles. Never had to do anything but change the oil, like our Yaris. Only after a new crew abused it to hell and back did the tranny start slipping. Simple rebuild and it was good to go for thousands more miles.

"Hemi", "Wedge", Charger, Challenger, Fury.... Coronet.


Does this new alliance mean that Chrysler will partake of the same craftsmanship and elegance that marks Northern Italian products? Is there a form of Ferrari or Lamborghini in Chrysler's future? What a possibility?

Gene

[Bob_VT]

If Chrysler would bring back the old horizon/omni with the proper adjustments they would be doing better.

Great cars but at 60K they would tank..... camshafts, steering mechanisms, electrical but up to 60K they would fly. I actually think they were mitshubishi based engines.

[jclo3313]

I'm a Mopar guy at heart. I've owned two Dodge Dakota's, a Jeep Cherokee and still own my Wrangler. My 89 Cherokee was driven into the ground quite literally and I loved it so much that after I had killed it I could not bare to let it go for about 18 months. I loved my Dakota's and never once had any trouble with them, other than poor fuel economy. I traded my 03' Dakota for my Yaris for that reason alone. The 4 liter jeep engine regularly travel 200k without incident, and as much as I hate to say it the Crysler minivan is an oustanding product. I hope all of the U.S. auto makers can find some way to survive, but my best wishes are always going to to be with Chrysler.

[tuckevalastin]

Fiat is in the alliance as a way of getting some of their models built and sold here in the US. Chrysler is in as a way of getting more Chryslers sold in Europe and at the same time keep their factories producing cars even when the times are rough. Don't look for a Chrysler 500 here in the US as that doesn't help Fiat at all, but don't be surprised to see a Fiat 500 or more likely a Alfa MiTo... Neither or these is planned to be the first Fiat/Alfa brought to the US though. Keep an eye out at your Chrysler dealership for some pesky lil Italians soon!