Tick Tock, Are ANY Of These Brands Going To Survive In The US Market? Alfa Romeo? Chrysler? Fiat? Maserati?

What is the common denominator? They are all managed out of Auburn Hills with an institutional mindset that has bankrupted the company a number of times, has a less than successful history of involvement in the 80/90s with Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini that lead to both Maserati and Alfa withdrawing from North America. The fact is that Daimler Benz was willing to take a 26 billion dollar loss to separate themselves from Auburn Hills and the Obama administration literally had to beg FIAT to take over Chrysler when no other auto manufacturer would go near them.

Remember Daimler never merged their Mercedes operations with Auburn Hills, FIAT never allowed anyone from Auburn Hills to be involved with Ferrari when it was still part of FCA. Both are thriving today. Yes they do Jeeps and Ram trucks very well, they should probably stick with what they know how to do.

They are all managed by Turin, dumbass.

Again you prove you know nothing, they are (were) all managed out of the Tower of Terror in Auburn Hills, only Marchionne made regular trips between Torino and Auburn Hills. Manley makes an occasional trip but is firmly planted in Auburn Hills. With Altavilla gone, Pietro Gorlier was transfer to Torino to have an Italian face in upper management of the company but is domain is only EMEA. Elkann’s a New Yorker that isn’t involved in the day to day operations of any of the companies.

Maserati is the only one that is trying to return control of their brand to Modena. Since Marcchione replaced Harald Wester with Reid Bigland in May 2016 everything was run out of Auburn Hills. After his initial appointment as head of Maserati his only trips to Italy were to push forward the production of Levante, where he made one of my favorite statements of all time. We’re going to change this Italians taking the month of August off. Didn’t work. He was replaced by Tim Kuniskus who made only a few trips to Modena as Maserati and Alfa operations were consolidated in Auburn Hills.

When Maserati and Alfa were separated last year, Alfa’s operations were moved into the Tower of Terror on the same floor as Kuniskus’ office and Wester was reappointed to the big chair at Maserati. However most of Maserati North America staffing is still Chrysler transfers. Maserati’s world wide after sales is still run out of Auburn Hills by Ross McGinnis.

You may want to stick with Kia, as that seems to be your area of expertise.

Fiat owns the show.
Fiat is in Turin.
Stop being ignorant.
Chrysler is NOT running the show. If it were there would be new Chryslers and Dodges.

When Diamler bought Chrysler they were at that time the edgiest, most profitable car company in the world... Daimler then gutted Chrysler took all the profits and left a shell... history is for remembering...

And then they turned the company over to Cerberus for sloppy seconds and Sergio bought in for sloppy thirds.

Hard to say. You have to walk past all the obvious choices to get an Alfa or a Maserati. And it is a long walk past all the brands that have been held up as status or performance symbols for the past 30 years. It would not be easy for any brand to do. Lexus was no an overnight success and I don't expect these brands to be either. I would suspect Chryslers lineup to be cut back before either Alfa or Maserati.

FCA doesn't need Alfa-Romeo and Maserati.

So which to keep? Alfa-Romeo is newer but a crap storm of poor quality control and dismal reliability, while Maserati is better on both accounts, but doesn't sell either.

Solution: Kill both in the USA or do a Hellcat Giulia and Hellcat Ghibli.

Fiat is dead in the USA: Kill it.

Then put Ram back into Dodge and give Dodge a Dakota and renewed Challenger/Charger offerings because both are still viable despite their ages.

Chrysler is so dead at this point that the Pacifica could just be restyled and put out as a Dodge Cartavan. Kill Chrysler.

Sell who whole match to Geely or Hyundai.

@MD- Agree for the most part. If there is a buyer, sell / transfer Alfa and Maserati to Ferrari and let them have their multi-line car group and share platforms and engines and parts and make it a profitable venture. Chrysler can die. Fiat can leave North America and then only Dodge and Jeep will remain, free to grow and prosper using their profit spinning models to help only themselves vs a larger group.

Only an idiot would buy Alfa or Maserati.

The Pacifica hybrid is a fantastic vehicle, but one car does not a manufacturer make. I'd hate to see it de-contented under the Dodge nameplate. But Chrysler needs more models if they're going to survive.

The Model Y simply is not the leap forward that it needed to be. The Model Y is a stand-still effort while everyone else is catching up. It would NOT surprise me to see Geely or Hyundai buy Tesla and the American arm of FCA. And before anyone brings up the voodoo number of valuation, valuation is NEVER the sale price of a company.

They should have listened to the complaints that they made too many functions handled on the touchscreen. Things like wipers need to be able to be controlled without looking away from the road.

The Y has better specs than any other midsize EV that exists today or has been proposed. It competes with the Jag and eTron at a lower price.

Also you do get a button for the wipers on the left stalk that lets you spray the windshield or trigger a quick wipe. It is fully automatic when it is sprinkling or raining, no adjustment needed. The screen isn't going anywhere, expect more cars to transition to a similar model.

@SJD we know Tesla pays you to spew hyperbole, but this: "The Y has better specs than any other midsize EV that exists today or has been proposed. It competes with the Jag and eTron at a lower price." is a bold-faced lie.

As goes Jeep so goes the rest of the brands. If Jeep continues to do well they all survive except perhaps Chrysler. If Jeep falters they get knocked off one by one...Chrysler then Fiat then Maserati then Alfa Romeo.

I hope all survive, more ompetition, if nay die I would not be sad to see Fiat go.

Jeep was always the only brand with any value within what was Chrysler. Make the Ram pickup a Jeep and the rest is what Marchionne paid for them (0).
Alfa can make it if there is commitment to more models and fixing quality. Maserati is too expensive vs competition.
The rest is one viable model per brand. What a mess. No potential buyer will want anything besides Jeep.

The only way anyone is going to buy those brands is if they Buy FCA - but even Jeep has a poor rating for reliability.

Fiat NEVER had a car that would sell in the USA in large numbers. THe little commuter cars that sell in Italy simply do not have any market here - and their European Lineup is not better there as well.

Fiat Should have included Maserati with Ferrari- when they spun it off. They would like to imply Maserati is an Exotic (WHich it was) - but their current offerings are a decade or more behind - and FCA simply does not have the money to invest in new product. That old Mercedes Platform did a good job for them but it simply cannot continue. And now that platform has run its course in the USA where large Sedans are not selling in any big numbers as well.

FCA simply waited too long to sell out. IF they had done so maybe a couple of years after the merger - when Jeep was still selling well and nobody else had the number of SUV models - they might have gotten a good dollar. FCA does not have the money to keep Jeep current. The rest is DOA except the Pacifica. Without Jeep they would already be gone.

Not true... when Barry Soetoro was running the nation into the ground with $3.50++ gasoline prices FIAT had a few offerings that had some attraction. Once the govt was out of regulating oil production and market forces were allowed reentry, gas fell to market prices. Now FIAT has nothing and they cant even sell their Miata...

Once again DementiaTom farts with his mouth: " The rest is DOA except the Pacifica. Without Jeep they would already be gone." That's false. Ram is doing exceptionally well. The Challenger and Charger are also doing just fine. What's dead is everything Italian. The Giulia sells at a trickle and the Stelvio's sales are cooling off in a crossover-crazy market.

Chrysler and Jeep are the only survivors.

Maybe Marchionne merged with Chrysler just to get Jeep and always intended to save Ferrari (check); let Maserati and Alfa wither on the vine (check); and finally get the Italian government to acknowledge that Fiat is a crap car that is only competitive in the second and third world, where it can be decontented and sold cheaply (50% 'check').

There is so much consolidation that is happening in real time right now amoungst auto brands (Opel, Vauxhall being basically shut down as we speak; Peugeot will be next as it suffocates under its Opel acquisition; then the cheap VW brands - SEAT, etc are next) that Fiat and Alfa are ripe to be sold or 'consolidated out'. Maserati probably gets sold to Tata who folds it into Jaguar and Land Rover as another premium brand to further amortize Jag/LR tooling and production capacity.

Maserati is sort of safe as a brand but it is not long for existence in the FCA family IMO

@MD- Wait and see. They will have a future. As part of Ferrari or another brand. You can't fake history or real racing pedigree. And with the Germans doing the same designs year after year and Lexus offending most people with their grills, Infiniti circling the bowl along with Jaguar, being unique may pay off in the long run for them.

Alfa and Maserati's racing pedigree is a half century old, so it's gone, gone, gone.

@MD Alfa Romeo is on the F1 grid in 2019. Run by Sauber. But there they are in present day.

And literally NOTHING about that car has anything to do with street Alfa Romeos. Not even an iota. TVR competed with Rebellion. And like Alfa Romeo, they paid someone to allow them to put their logo on the car. NOTHING MORE.

I for one certainly hope you are right. I like more choices and if they keep at it they can get there. Kia and Hyundai were not expected to make it back in the day, but they stuck at it, got better and now are doing quite well. Let's hope they have the guts to stick it out and the diligence and stamina it takes to continually improve their cars and make them relevant.

FCA needs to reduce the number of brands. They do not have the resources to correctly developed new products, resulting in knee-capping the new Alfas with quality issues.
Not having a 7 seater Jeep in today's market is a big miss.

Sergio Maricon botched it.

Granted, FCA didn't need Chrysler AND Dodge, but that isn't the stumble.

The stumble was reinventing Alfa Romeo as a BMW/Mercedes competitor after having cast Maserati in that role.

Alfa Romeo should have been an Italian Subaru.

The Dart should have emerged reskinned as a turbo/AWD near premium Alfa Giulia.
The 200 should have gotten the reskinning as a Giorgio.
The Fiat 500X should have been the Stelvio with an Alfa version of the Cherokee above that.

Casting Alfa as a competitor to Acura/Subaru/Lincoln/Buick in price and pricing the Ghibli like an E Class and the Qporte as a bargain alternative S Class would have sped product to market.

Ram should never have left Dodge and putting it back there so that Dodge is Ram, Charger, and Challenger makes sense.

Instead, Sergio forgot about Maserati, rushed Alfa Romeo product out under-engineered, starved Dodge, and decimated Chrysler. Total idiocy.

Meanwhile, Manley seems to be making equally--if not more foolish--bad decisions.

The ONLY value in FCA is Ram/Dodge/Jeep. The Italian brands have all failed miserably in the market. Maybe sell that half to PSA. They like buying loser car companies.

Sell the American arm to Hyundai or Geely and watch excellence occur. Geely could very quickly market LincolnCo products as Chryslers or Dodges.

CC said: You can't fake history or real racing pedigree.

Rick said: I agree with what you said but that didn't save Pontiac (GTO & Trans Am)Plymouth (Superbird, Challenger, RoadRunner) Oldsmobile (442)

Actually, Alfa Romeo's F1 team is them trying to buy pedigree. All they've done is to slap their name on someone else's car. NOTHING more.

In today's crossover dominated market does racing even influence any buying decisions?

Not at all. I honestly do not think that anyone who buys a Cayenne or a Macan does so because Porsche is a bona fide racing company. Most people buy vehicles because they like the vehicle. Ferraris are bought for style and prestige.

@MD- Very sad, but very true. No Macan buyer knows what Le Mans is or what at 917, 956, Group B, 959 etc was. It is all about status and impressing the neighbours.

Based on gas prices and larger SUV buying habits Fiat simply does not make sense anymore in the US. I still think it makes sense in the rest of the world. Its sad because the little 500 city car is a fun little car to drive with nice styling to it. Further it is also the most reliable Fiat that FCA sells. In theory the 500L should have been the best seller for Fiat. It is very roomy with lots of cargo capacity for its size. Unfortunately FCA decided to build it in the old Yugo factory in Poland which doomed it to be built like shit. This on model destroyed any chance of success for Fiat in this country. The 500X is not a bad vehicle. However It should have been made into a larger vehicle the size of a Jeep Compass or even Jeep Cherokee. It's too small for most families. The 124 Spider is a fun car but should have had more power (200 HP) minimum to separate it from the Miata. But everything Fiat has done in this country has simply been done in a half assed way. The main problem is gas prices are not averaging $5 or $6 a gallon. If they were Fiat actually would have significantly better sales. Alfa-Well its been Sergios wet dream. The only problem is he did not understand the need to offer excellent reliability, excellent quality and excellent dealer service like Mercedes, BMW, and Audi do. Here's hoping Manley will change things. One thing they could do is drop their prices. Maserati-Link up with Ferrari-Improve quality, don't use Chrysler parts. Instead use Ferrari parts and raise the prices by 15K. Lower volume, higher profit.

You have obviously never driven a Giulia or a Stelvio....To call them "milquetoast" is akin to saying Tesla has great build quality.....Alfa has never sold this many cars in the US....People are gravitating to a chic alternative to the over rated Germans and boring Jap crap....FORZA ALFA BABY !!!

zodig - You are 100% correct. Alfa, the Gorgio platform, the Giulia and the Stelvio are dynamically top of their class. Yes they are selling better than Alfa's ever had, but that is not good enough. They MUST be committed to being different, to offer options and vehicles that are not 'me too'. They must be laser focused on continuing their momentum with products that are different from the masses. There is a car culture out there that will always support the brand.... but they have to provide product worth getting even more excited about. Carbon fiber drive shaft, 50/50 weight distribution, class leading power to weight, excellent balance between performance & efficiency, there are no rivals.... but yet their advertising is about emotion. You have to create the bond and a reason to travel past 2 Audi & countless BMW/Merc dealers with potential buyers BEFORE they get emotionally attached. The bond is created by providing vehicles that are superior to the german offerings, and letting the general public why they should buy an Alfa.

BMW quality is crap but their dealer experience is excellent, Mercedes even bigger piles of crap (under the skin) but amazing interiors & with an even better dealer experience. Audi gust warmed over VW platforms, excellent interiors, bulletproof reputation for reliability & some of the best buying experiences around.

Alfa NEEDS to up the ante slightly with their interiors, and seriously provide us with kick ass dealers and service departments (remember you have to drive past several german dealers just to get to the nearest Alfa outlet)..... They could start by providing 'free' services for 3/50K, (hell raise the base price to cover it!) Alfa's are already very price competitive! Best in the business warrantee's (that's how Hyundai repaired this crappy reputation)

I have an idea for their next 'Nero" edition... a true "superlaggera' option, (not just some blackout trim pieces!). CF hood, CF roof, Manual trans (yes a manual would be lighter than the ZF box), naturally aspirated V6 (yes the same 2.9 with no turbos and yes it will be lighter than Q's motor and 350 to 400 HP), take the plastic cover off the motor (for weight savings), some special lightweight sport seats (The sport seats are already the most comfortable seats on the market, but just lighten them by making them manual only adjustment), no trunk spoiler (cause that saves weight), 18" magnesium or forged wheels, titanium Akrapovic exhaust (with center exit cause it less pipe.... ie lighter), a single large CF piece in the interior that replaces an existing structure not just covers it! (even if it is only a 10lbs saving think of the advertising possibilities!) 'We made this vehicle a reality because we truly believe in being focused on the driving experience....... being different with a purpose! I'd trade my BMW tomorrow to buy that car, even @65K price! Hell I'd spend that much and give up a body part for that vehicle.... and its that kind

of passion and emotion that will bring buyers to the dealers.... we are out here and we will spend money for the right vehicle.... why else do E30 M3's go for outrageous money?........ because they don't make them like that anymore! Think of all the additional free advertising that enthusiast and the press/car bloggers when this superlaggera comes to market. FCA has proven they will spend the money to develop something lie this.... Without the Demon I don't think the chargers/challengers would sell as well as they do..... Alfa can bridge that gap left when BMW became a luxury brand and forgot about the enthusiasts!

Th