Fiat and Daimler are reportedly in talks that may influence future products offered by each automaker. Fiat has already enlisted the help of Daimler to supply truck engines, at a cost of about $3.5 billion, but the current round of talks don't just involve engines.Fiat's chief exec Sergio Marchionne is quoted as saying, "... we're talking about everything," which could include joint ventures to develop Mercedes' next generation A- and B-Class vehicles, while Fiat may be utilizing some of Daimler's know-how to develop it's own breed of sedan and SUV.
[Source: Reuters]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
FThorn @ Nov 7th 2007 3:16PM
Bring the 500 over here. Kill the Caliber (keep patriot).
Xcountryflyer @ Nov 7th 2007 3:57PM
Daimler sold off Chrysler. Chrylser isn't going to be bringing the Fiat 500 over here anytime. The only company bringing it over would be Fiat. Agree about killing the Caliber.
Stéphane Dumas @ Nov 7th 2007 4:04PM
Xcountryflyer, Dailmer still own 20% of Chrysler stake despite then Cerberus own the rest.
MemphisNET @ Nov 7th 2007 3:51PM
Oh good - MB can bleed them financially dry now!
J. D. Billiford @ Nov 7th 2007 3:55PM
>>> How ironic! Fiat and Daimler are reportedly in talks to develope a series of vehicles together, when Daimler acted as though it didn't want to give Chrysler the time of day. And Chrysler was living in the same house!
It sounds as if everything Daimler and Fiat are considering could have been developed under the DaimlerChrysler alliance.
If Daimler would have been more open to sharing and developing technologies with Chrysler then perhaps the "merger of equals" might have been successful.
Frank @ Nov 8th 2007 9:34AM
You're right. Daimler gets my vote for most stupid automaker. They could have gotten so much good out of their relationship with Chrysler but they didn't. And then when they decided to sell it they talked it down in public, turning away potential buyers and pushing the price down! Imagine you were trying to sell your house and you tell all the prospective buyers what a crappy house it is and how much you hate living in it. Does this make any sense?
And yet they still own 20%. So either they are just stupid or there is some secret game plan going on here.
psarhjinian @ Nov 7th 2007 11:19PM
Geeze. FIAT and Daimler. Considering that we're talking about two of the least reliable makes on the market, this should be interesting.
Imagine it: a synergy of Italian quality assurance and German warranty performance. Or German quality assurance and Italian warranty performance. Brilliant--I can't imagine which would be worse.
But the cars, when running, will be pretty and will go fast.
iQuack @ Nov 7th 2007 11:39PM
Mercedes has a lousy record teaming up with other manufacturers--just look at the Sebring if you're not convinced.
Fiat might be much improved, but their cars were POS in the past, and Mercedes has lost some of its reputation for quality.
So, a combo of Mercedes and Fiat sounds like a mess to me.
Brian @ Nov 8th 2007 9:43AM
FIAT Fix It Again Tony
Flea @ Nov 8th 2007 11:11AM
I'd love to see the alfa 169 with a v8 amg engine option...