Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Future Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Fiat product plans revealed?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/19/future-chrysler-alfa-romeo-and-fiat-product-plans-revealed/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/19/future-chrysler-alfa-romeo-and-fiat-product-plans-revealed/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/19/future-chrysler-alfa-romeo-and-fiat-product-plans-revealed/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Alfa Romeo Kamal concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to automotive consulting firm IHS Global Insight, the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lineups are going to look drastically different over the next few years under Fiat control. No surprises there, but the report goes on the forecast which current Chrysler vehicles will be dropped and which ones will be transferred to new platforms. We've already heard that the next Alfa Romeo 169 sedan will be built atop Chrysler's LX platform in Ontario, Canada and that the Fiat 500 will be built ASAP in Toluca, Mexico, but that's only the beginning.

If IHS is right, joining the 500 in Toluca will be the Jeep Panda, which, as you may have guessed, will be a version of the Fiat Panda wearing Jeep's trademark seven-slot grille. Furthermore, Alfa Romeo may get two new SUVs that would be built in Jeep factories in Jefferson, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio - one midsize 'ute called the GTX that's based on the WL platform that underpins the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a smaller one built on Fiat's C-EVO platform, which will also underpin the next Jeep Liberty. That leaves the unloved Jeep Compass and its somewhat more likable brother, the Patriot, to die slow and inglorious death.

Fiat's C-EVO platform will also spawn the next-gen Dodge Journey, Chrysler Sebring (and presumably the Dodge Avenger if it survives past its current form), and Dodge Caliber. Moving downward in size a notch will (finally) be the Dodge Hornet, which will forgo Bad Chrysler's old deal with Nissan in order to share its Fiat 199 platform with the Alfa Romeo MiTo, both of which will be assembled in Belvidere, Illinois sometime in 2011. Thanks for the tip, Dad!


Gallery: Alfa Romeo Kamal concept


[Source: Global Insight]

Future Chrysler, Alfa Romeo and Fiat product plans revealed? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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click above to view more high-res pics of the 2008 Jeep Liberty

Employees at Jeep's factory in Toledo, Ohio reported back to work this week after two months of mandatory downtime. The good news is that they still have their jobs; the bad news is that they've been told to expect another four weeks off before the end of the year. This time, however, the shutdowns will be scheduled in week-long intervals instead of covering an entire four-week period. The slowdown of SUV sales has been widely covered and the Jeep brand has not been immune, including its bread-and-butter Wrangler model that had proven extremely popular a short while back when the first-ever four-door version was unveiled. Of course, back then gas was below $3 a gallon. Besides the Wrangler, Jeep also makes the Liberty and Dodge Nitro at the Toledo plant.

Gallery: 2008 Jeep Liberty


[Source: 13 ABC]

Toledo Jeep workers to get four more weeks of "vacation" originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeep sales are down. They're way down, in fact, posting a 44-percent drop in their daily sales rate last month. Though the larger 'utes are really dragging down sales, even the once-untouchable Wranger has been feeling the sting of escalating fuel prices, as its blocky shape and 3.8-liter V6 engine conspire to deliver awful fuel mileage. Also selling rather slowly are the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro, which are assembled at the same plant in Northwest-Ohio. In an effort to save costs, Chrysler officials are considering reducing the work-week at the Toledo plant from the normal five days down to four and allowing its workers to stay on for ten-hour shifts. While that total still equals the forty-hours from a five-day, eight-hour per day work-week, Chrysler believes it can save on energy and fuel costs by shuttering the plant for an extra day.

[Source: 13abc.com]

Chrysler considering four-day work week at Toledo Jeep plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What if the UAW and automakers recognized their mutual interest in building better cars on a tighter budget? What if creativity were used in negotiations instead of confrontation? Wonder no more as UAW Local 12 and 14 in Toledo have decided to adopt such a stance with DaimlerChrysler against the behest of the UAW at large.

Michael Oneal of the Chicago Tribune has penned a nice piece on the town's organized labor and the creative ways it's conjured to cut costs in order to save jobs. One idea the local union is currently pitching to DCX is the construction of a $1 million processing facility to capture methane gas seeping from a landfill across the street. The company would save two-thirds on its natural gas bill per year and the cost of construction would be recouped in a year.

One point the article pushes is that Toledo's local unions are maverick among UAW locals nationwide. Their ingenuity, however, has attracted $4 billion in investment, two new assembly plants, a GM transmission plant, as well as saving 10,000 union jobs and creating 1,200 more. How many industrial towns in the U.S. can say that?

[Top tip from Ryan, thanks!]

[Source: Chicago Tribune]

UAW's future to be found in Toledo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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