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Automotive News & Views Chrysler Allies With Fiat
413 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 1:00 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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From Today's Detroit Free Press... BY MARK PHELAN • FREE PRESS AUTO CRITIC • March 4, 2009 "GENEVA — On the eve of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne’s meeting with the presidential automotive task force to discuss his company’s proposed alliance with Chrysler, the Italian automaker unveiled a new engine technology it says can reduce fuel consumption as much as 25%. The system is expected to be available to all Fiat’s current and future partners, including Chrysler, Fiat powertrain chief Alfredo Altavilla said at Geneva's annual auto show. The first engine using the system goes on sale in the Alfa Romeo MiTo sporty compact in Europe later this year. The MiTo is among the cars Fiat’s Alfa Romeo brand hopes to sell in the Untied States if its alliance with Chrysler comes to pass. Called Multiair, the system uses electronic controls and hydraulics to vary an engine’s valve timing over a wider range than the mechanical systems automakers use today. Many automakers have turned to variable valve timing to improve fuel economy and boost performance in recent years. Development of Multiair began with Fiat’s Ferrari Formula 1 racing team. The system will initially be fitted to Fiat’s family of 1.0-liter to 1.4-liter four-cylinder engines. It will also be used on an upcoming line of 900cc two-cylinder engines the automaker has developed for use in small cars. Fiat will eventually use it on all its automotive engines. Multiair reduces an engine’s fuel consumption 10%, but its high power output will allow automakers to replace big engines with smaller ones, leading to the potential 25% decreased in overall fuel consumption, Altavilla said. It also reduces exhaust emissions by 40% to 60% he said. Fiat has proposed taking a 35% stake in Chrysler in exchange for providing the struggling automaker with a variety of vehicle platforms and engine and transmission technologies to produce the small, fuel-efficient vehicles Chrysler needs. If the alliance goes through, Chrysler would build vehicles, engines and transmissions based on Fiat technology, in addition to assembling Fiat and Alfa Romeo models at some of its North American assembly plants. Fiat could eventually raise its stake in Chrysler to a controlling 55%. Multiair can be used on both gasoline and diesel engines. Fiat thinks it will allow diesels to meet strict 2014 European emissions limits without the costly exhaust treatment systems other automakers have said they will use." Is this a ruse by Fiat to get the Chrysler deal done, or is this new technology for real?
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Mar 04, 2009 4:50 am) Will result in an actual mpg improvement of maybe 10% (if that), as they will end up choosing to boost power at the same time as increasing fuel economy, I'm sure. |
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"Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne does not assume that 2009 will be a year of losses for his company. In an interview with Automotive News, the non-carguy chief executive said that assuming losses is a terrible message for the company." Fiat CEO Displays Odd Sense of Competency, Refuses to Accept Losses
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Replying to: steve_ (Mar 10, 2009 10:03 am) There was a spiel on the evening news the other day regarding the potential Fiat tie-up, and how "analysts said" it was a non-starter as Fiat was not bringing enough money to the deal and Chrysler would most likely founder before year's end. The little Fiats pictured in the piece were sure cute though! 
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 11, 2009 9:04 am) 
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Here's an article by Keith Crain (AutoNews) about the Chrysler/Fiat alliance: To save Chrysler, let Fiat have it Keith Crain Automotive News Europe March 16, 2009 06:01 CET Anyone who has studied Chrysler for any length of time realizes it is on the brink of going out of business. There may be a number of viable solutions to the dilemma, from finding a Chinese buyer to letting the employees own the company to letting Carlos Ghosn make it part of his alliance. But no one has stepped forward. No one, that is, except Fiat. Regardless of what we think of the terms and the risk/reward ratio, there is no one out there except Fiat. So Fiat wins by default. If you accept the premise that Chrysler LLC cannot make it on its own, you look at the Fiat offer quite differently. No one wants to see the tens of thousands of jobs related to Chrysler disappear. When you add the people who work for Chrysler's dealers and suppliers, the total grows to hundreds of thousands of jobs just in the United States. Even with a substantial bailout by the federal government, Chrysler is unlikely to survive without some sort of affiliation. Going forward, Chrysler doesn't have the products necessary to compete in the most fiercely competitive market in the world. So if most of Chrysler is to be kept intact, it must be acquired by a company with products that are complementary to the vehicles Chrysler builds or has in its pipeline. Fiat will bring a variety of smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles that will be necessary in the months and years ahead when fuel climbs back to much higher prices. Fiat has the diesel technology that all companies will need. Yes, Chrysler's shareholders would again be outside the United States. But it's a matter of determining how the most jobs can be saved and what the only viable choice other than dissolution is. If the proposal of merging Chrysler with General Motors comes up again, remember that the resulting loss of jobs would be gigantic. A deal with Fiat would save the most jobs and give Chrysler the best chance for survival. It's not a perfect world, and the decision will come down to the analysis of the government's task force. But Chrysler doesn't have a lot of options.
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Replying to: dtownfb (Mar 17, 2009 9:53 am) No one wants to see the tens of thousands of jobs related to Chrysler disappear. When you add the people who work for Chrysler's dealers and suppliers, the total grows to hundreds of thousands of jobs just in the United States. ....and I think so what? We are losing 600,000 jobs per month in this economy, from companies that had a much better business plan and much more viable bottom line a year ago than Chrysler did. I think they should break off the small pieces of Chrysler that would actually be useful to Fiat, ask for some money for them, and dissolve the rest. This is a company whose time has come and gone.
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 17, 2009 10:41 am) |
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Replying to: nippononly (Mar 17, 2009 10:41 am) |
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that the plan for the Fiat alliance is well-developed and includes nixing pretty much all existing Chrysler Group products in favor of selling five different Fiats and Alfas (to be built at existing U.S. Chrysler plants) direct from Chrysler network dealers as well as building four more Fiats and one Alfa in the U.S. with Chrysler Group badges. ONE of the plans is to sell the Fiat Panda Cross as a new "pint-sized Jeep": The Fiat-Chrysler vision Viability plan details 6 Fiats that could be made in North America if alliance flies The future of Jeep in a 40-mpg world may lie in a pint-sized off-road vehicle already plying the back roads of Europe. The vehicle is called the Fiat Panda Cross and is available only in a 1.3-liter diesel version that gets nearly 40 mpg. ....Here's how current Fiat and Alfa Romeo vehicles could fit into Chrysler LLC's lineup. They are only tantalizing hints of what might finally be sold in North America. Fiat products for U.S. These vehicles could be built in Chrysler factories and sold in Chrysler dealerships under their Italian brand names. • Fiat 500 minicar: Big hit, retro hatch, possible Mini fighter • Alfa Romeo MiTo: Stylish 3-door hatchback • Alfa Romeo Milano: Compact sedan, will replace current Alfa 147 • Alfa Romeo Giulia: Sleek mid-size sedan, will replace current Alfa Romeo 159 • Alfa Romeo compact SUV: Compact utility vehicle hinges on Alfa Romeo's re-entry into U.S. In addition, they detail the five Fiat Group models to be rebadged and sold as Chryslers or Dodges, including the Grande Punto as a new subcompact Dodge, the Linea to replace the Caliber, the Alfa 159 (which will itself be replaced by the Guilia in 2012, a model designed around the so-called D-Evo platform) to replace the Avenger and Sebring, and a new Patriot and Compass based on the current C-Evo platform. http://www.autonews.com/article/20090323/ANA03/903230332/1193 (registration link) For all you diesel lovers, I suppose there's a decent chance some if not all of these will be available with diesel engines, because (a) the next generation European cars will all be designed to meet the 2014 Euro emissions standards, which are stricter than our existing standards for diesel, and (b) Chrysler and Fiat both seem to be deadly serious about becoming fuel economy leaders. There's still talk of many of these models also being available with all-electric drivetrains.
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