Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has a lot of brands these days. Now they're trying to figure out what to do with them. This week, FCA's five-year plan will be made public, and now we have some idea of what they're expected to announce — and it could be good for fans of American muscle
USA Today has some details on the plan Sergio Marchionne is set to unveil in Auburn Hills tomorrow, and it starts off with "a redefinition of Dodge centered on American muscle." They don't say what that could mean exactly, but I get the sense that they want Dodge to become a performance-centric brand not unlike what GM wanted to do with Pontiac before the bankruptcy.
We'll have to see where this plan leaves less muscle-y cars like the Dart, although I'm still hoping for an SRT version of that.
The plan, according to the newspaper, includes having the next generation of minivan go to Chrysler only; more Ram commercial vehicles; increased international production for Jeep; and more models for Alfa Romeo as they set it up to compete with Audi, BMW, Cadillac and Lexus.
But where does that put Maserati, the other brand they want to become a global luxury volume-seller? Apparently that will get more high-end luxury sedans and SUVs, so maybe it will compete on a higher level than Alfa Romeo.
Across the board, all of these brands — with the possible exception of Jeep and Ram — are starving for new products and a better definition of what they are and where they are in the marketplace. Marchionne knows this, so it will be very interesting to see if he can manage to give every marque the cars they need.
Also: No plans at all for a four-door Ferrari. I don't think anyone is sad about that.