Finance in America, Tony
A couple of months ago, Rich Truesdell of Automotive Traveler came up with what seemed like a crazy idea:
Fiat has been on a roll with a succession of successful models that has stemmed the losses and put Fiat on a sound competitive footing in Italy as well as many markets in Europe. While Fiat is not immune from the current industry malaise, it has strong mainstream products in the all-important B- (Ford Fiesta) and C-segments (Ford Focus) with the Grand Punto and Bravo, respectively, and with the soon-to-be-replaced Alfa Romeo 159 in the D-segment. Chrysler, which has no B-segment subcompact and whose Sebring (and companion Dodge Avenger) have been a huge disappointment in the midsize D-segment, is weak in all three categories.
Looking at the situation objectively, Chrysler has immediate needs in the B- and D-segments, and the Dodge Caliber certainly could be augmented by the stylish Fiat Bravo. Fiat-Alfa Romeo could fill these needs for Chrysler. Conversely, to be considered a global player, a manufacturer must have a US/North American footprint, which Fiat lacks.
Conversely, the under-utilized Chrysler dealer body could be used to sell selected Fiat and Alfa Romeo products. In addition to the previously mentioned Fiat Grand Punto and Bravo and the next version of the Alfa Romeo 159 (and possibly its companion sports models, the Brera and Spider), Chrysler’s dealers could also sell Fiat’s trendy, retro 500. Alfa Romeo, which has been threatening for years to reenter the US market, would have dealers ready, willing, and able to provide the needed support instead of dualing with Maserati dealers, which has been rumored.
Well, looky here:
Fiat SpA is in talks with Chrysler LLC over a possible stake in the struggling U.S. automaker, a source close to the Italian group said on Monday.
“Between the two groups, there is talk about Chrysler possibly using Fiat technology in exchange for a stake,” a source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
How much of a stake are we talking here, anyway?
The talks between Fiat and Chrysler were reported by auto industry publication Automotive News Europe earlier in the day on its website.
The publication cited unnamed sources as saying Fiat could take a stake of up to 35 percent in Chrysler and give the U.S. automaker access to platforms, engines and transmissions.
Presumably this would have to be cleared with Daimler AG, which still owns 19.9 percent of Chrysler, but I suspect they won’t object to anything that might actually bring them some return on what’s left of their investment.
Rich Truesdell »
20 January 2009 · 2:56 pm
First, thanks for the mention of my crystal ball skills. Someone had to make a wild-ass prediction like this, in this case it was me. Now if I could just predict the six numbers that will come up on tomorrow’s $50 million CA lottery, I would be in good shape.
I’ve looked everywhere on your site for a way to contact you, and can’t find where you have it hidden. I must be some sort of dolt, but why does blogging software make it so difficult to contact the blogger? You have my entry here, contact me, I’d like to see about swapping links as well as having you make contributions to automotivetraveler.com.
Richard Truesdell
Editorial Director, Automotive Traveler
Jeff Shaw »
20 January 2009 · 3:07 pm
I’ve have great Idea! They could meld a Fiat 128 and an Dodge Aries K.
They could call it the D’Fiat 128k. You could paint it pea green with light brown-yellow naugahyde interior with the little air holes in it.
Then we could dispesnse with both car companies, finally.
CGHill »
20 January 2009 · 5:39 pm
Actually, le dolt, c’est moi; all the old (pre-9/08) sidebar stuff got moved to the Backdrop tab — except the contact information, which was completely forgotten.
Charles Pergiel »
21 January 2009 · 2:27 pm
I always like Fiats and Alfas: light, fast, sporty. But Fiats were just a little too flakey, too tin-canny, too prone to breaking for people who want a Maytag on wheels. So maybe they changed.