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Hello to everyone

I'm Italian and I read some comments and views of Americans on Fiat / Chrysler.

I am surprised to read how pessimistic you are about your carmakers.

Chrysler is in fact American, with factories in the U.S. and its market of reference is the internal market.

The Chrysler are assembled with parts produced in the U.S. by American workers.

At most one can judge the "bad" (if it is) design.

As for the stereotype Fiat = Fix It Again Tony ... I would like to know how many of those have ever owned or driven a Fiat?

I think it is normal for any product (not just cars) that there are satisfied users and others not.

This depends on many factors:

Quality / Price
Features / Quality
Driving pleasure / Features
Gratification / Pleasure Driving
Beauty / Gratification


And I could go on citing more long ... but that's not the point ...

I believe that we should be somewhat optimistic and hope that the project will be completed successfully in order to allow Chrysler to preserve thousands of American jobs and repay the loan (because it is a loan) provided from U.S. government.

So it is not correct say "taxpayer money" given to a foreign company ... because it is U.S. lent money to an American company to enable it to remain in business and reorganize itself to return production and start to be profitable again ...

Still we have the question of the 20% to Fiat ... Don't forget that with that 20% Fiat is taking the risk for it ( no more bailouts next time ) and giving the company larger access to overseas markets ( more than Daimler did ) because:

1. It is unthinkable that Fiat will build top segment cars in Europe ( so the next Alfa 169 and others will probably be built in the Us and sold in Europe too ), because small numbers are not profitable  if production is split among many factories.

2. Bringing Technology for free doesn't mean simply to rebadge, but give for free patents ( expensive patents ) to update current Chrysler production (ex. Multi-air  injection even on bigger Chrysler engines ), ready to make small but powerfull 4 cylinders engines, clean diesels ...

3. Give new platforms for uncovered market segments that will save millions of dollars in engineering.

4. Last but not least Italian passion, that probably is what the company misses more than everithing else ... Chrylser has to start producing cars that are desirable beyond the cold numbers of the technical characteristics ( let Japanese and German make perfect but anonimous cars ) ...

So please be confident in what your workers will be able to produce ... and stop the old joke FixItAgainTony, and be proud to have a big carmaker still alive ...

Waiting for your comments ... sorry for my english ...

Ciao a tutti

Paolo  

The reason Americans are so pessimistic about Chrysler is its lack of high-quality products.

Chrysler has consistently produced run-of-the-mill, strictly (and often slightly below) average cars like the Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Caliber, Nitro and Avenger, and Jeep Patriot and Compass.  Not only are these vehicles that enthusiasts will not endorse, they're also cars that everyday people have overwhelmingly shunned.

After inventing one of the most popular segments in this country, Chrysler let the Japanese competition sprint past it with better-driving vehicles, instead counting on gimmicks like "Swivel-'n'-Go" and dual DVD screens to lure in buyers.

Americans will become more optimistic about Chrysler when it's churning out more vehicles on par with the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger, Dodge Ram and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

This is the second time around that Chrysler has turned to the government for support, and I reckon it'll be the last.  We all want Chrysler to succeed - but there's a point at which pouring money into the company isn't going to do any good, and the better option is to liquidate.

Only time will tell, I suppose.  

That's exactly what I was trying to tell ... when I was asking to stop the FixItAgainTony joke ...

Fiat was in the same situation, but they improved quickly and today their products are better than Germans and Japanese ...

I owned an Alfa 164 V6 Turbo in the early '90 and was a great car for performance, but deeply below the germans quality standards ...

After that I went to Audi A6 Avant in 1994, Bmw 320 Cabrio in 1997, Bmw 523 in 1999, VW Passat Variant 1.9 tdi in 2001 ... then back to Alfa in 2003 with 156 Sportwagon Distinctive 2.4 20 Valves MJet ( diesel ) and that was already a good surprise for the improvements made ... I've also owned a Lancia Delta Integrale Evo in 1992 ( just for fun ) and a Lancia Lybra SW 2.4 Jtd from 2001 to 2008 ( 286.000 Km without any kind of problem ) ... For my wife I bought an Audi A2 in 2000, changed to a Mini Cooper S in 2003 ( bad exchange ) ...

Today I own a Lancia Musa 1.4 16 Valves, changed job and needed a smaller car and that was the only choice for a compact MPV with luxury quality ... the same day I went to buy it my wife simply falled in love for a Lancia Ypsilon 1.3 Mjet ...

Take a look:
http://www.minisitilancia.it/lanciamusa/it/main.html
http://www.lanciaypsilon.it/ypsilon/site_sirenetta/home.html

But they also make larger and luxury cars as:
http://www.lancianewdelta.it/
http://www.lanciaphedra.it/phedra/ita/index.html

So I owned and drove German cars, Italian cars of the '90 ... and the latest products made in Fiat ... and I can tell you that they can do the job of making Chrysler building cars American will love again ...  

Seems noone cares ... noone is writing anything !

Sharing opinions on blogs/forums is the right way to let CEOS know what consumers think a maybe take into account those suggestions ... they have people reading and forwarding valid posts ...

It's up to you if you don't want passively accept head officers projects, but be part of it  

I'm not sure where you keep seeing that joke, let alone on our website, but it usually stems from Americans who encountered the last Fiats sold in America. Would you describe the X1/9 or Ritmo/Strada as pinnacles of Fiat's build quality? I wouldn't.

Still, that was thirty years ago. Will consumers look past that and look at the modern vehicles for what they are? As jduval said, time will tell. There are still consumers here that cite a poorly-built American vehicle from 10-20 years ago as rationale for abandoning these automakers, even though they produce a number of attractive, relevant, and reliable vehicles today.  

I agree about X1/9 , Ritmo and everything else you wrote ... I forgot to tell I also owned a Jeep Cherokee in 1988 powered by Renault ( 2.1 Diesel ) and that wasn't exactly the best car I ever drove ... but my brother owned a few years later a Chrysler Voyager 2.5 Diesel ( made in Austria with VM engine ) and was a great car ...

I like the 300C/T very much too and it is a succesfull car in Italy , so whenever Chrysler will built a new Alfa based on that car, rear traction, V6 engine Multiair ... I'll sign for it

Thanks for the comment  

Chrysler is dieing becuase they make crappy interiors, bad mechanical parts, and poor quality everything. the Challenger looks great from the outside, but the inside is pathetic.  

"Today Fiats are better than German or Japanese cars" Oh really? I would certainly hope they have cleaned up their act since they were last sold around here, but, better? Chrysler was fading fast before; now we have the govt. and labor unions blessing a shotgun marriage with Fiat. You can see why many North American observers are waiting to hear the punchline of this joke.  

I'm waiting to see if/when they bring in the Fiat 500...