Fiat pulling out of us?

[Deleted member 995608]

sergio-marchionnes-reported-exit-plan-for-fiat-chrysler-1826419983

Intersting.......

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/06/02/dodge-fiat-chrysler-saved/665702002/

 

[Wayne M.]

Not Ram, but Dodge and Chrysler are toast- especially from what I saw at the NY auto show. When the hellcat/ Hemi love affair is over, there won't be any other reason for Dodge to exist. They're maneuvering a 3 row SUV to Jeep to replace Durango too. Even the man who made the Demon happen, Tim Kunistis (sp) got shipped outta Dodge.
There WAS mention of another mid size pick up.

 

[6V92TA]

you seen the story about Ford backing out of auto sales and going towards SUV's.. same applies to FCA. Only thing Fiat has going for them is the Jeep and Ram brands, all the rest of the stuff has so little market penetration its a waste to put any energy in it for FCA

when the ford news first came out I thought to myself why would they do that? .
a week later my wife and I were sitting in a Outback Restaraunt in Naples Fl and she brought up the Ford story, and as we sat there looking out the window of the restaurant we realized that almost 1/2 the vehicles in the parking lot were some type of sport ute or crossover... anything from a Porsche Suv's to little Honda CRV's and everything in between..

the change has been largely invisible but if you pay attention you start to realize how many of these more truckiike vehicles are on the road.. the car is dying and we didn't even notice.

 

[TFucili]

Not Ram, but Dodge and Chrysler are toast- especially from what I saw at the NY auto show. When the hellcat/ Hemi love affair is over, there won't be any other reason for Dodge to exist. They're maneuvering a 3 row SUV to Jeep to replace Durango too. Even the man who made the Demon happen, Tim Kunistis (sp) got shipped outta Dodge.
There WAS mention of another mid size pick up.

I wonder if the mid-sized truck will be sold as a Comanche?

 

[Wayne M.]

I wonder if the mid-sized truck will be sold as a Comanche?

I think you just hit it out of the park. Now if they make it look like that J20 concept, and put that little Diesel in there with a third pedal.......

 

[jgillott]

you seen the story about Ford backing out of auto sales and going towards SUV's.. same applies to FCA. Only thing Fiat has going for them is the Jeep and Ram brands, all the rest of the stuff has so little market penetration its a waste to put any energy in it for FCA

when the ford news first came out I thought to myself why would they do that? .
a week later my wife and I were sitting in a Outback Restaraunt in Naples Fl and she brought up the Ford story, and as we sat there looking out the window of the restaurant we realized that almost 1/2 the vehicles in the parking lot were some type of sport ute or crossover... anything from a Porsche Suv's to little Honda CRV's and everything in between..

the change has been largely invisible but if you pay attention you start to realize how many of these more truckiike vehicles are on the road.. the car is dying and we didn't even notice.

I had to rent a vehicle for the weekend in order to park in the parking garage of the hotel we were staying at for the weekend. The Enterprise location was out of standard sedans when I got there on Friday so they gave me a 2018 Explorer Sport with the 3.5L Ecoboost. It was the first time that I've driven one of these and I have to admit, it wasn't bad. It certainly wasn't like the last Explorer I drove (my wife had a new '96 just before we were married). Anyway, when we got to the hotel and got in to the valet line, every single vehicle was an SUV of some type with the exception of a Challenger. You are correct, it is almost becoming rare to see a standard sedan anymore.

Here was my rental for the weekend.

 

[Wayne M.]

Justin, you’re starting to worry me with this eco boost crack!

 

[jgillott]

Justin, you’re starting to worry me with this eco boost crack!

Lol. I think I need professional help.

 

[Wayne M.]

Lol. I think I need professional help.

Nah. Just a top line Ford warranty w/rental clause and patience.
Local Ford store has my buddy's escape (ecoboost too ) for 7 weeks. Started as a coolant bottle/ sensor recall and is growing into a long block replacement. I may be going down there with him to look at things pretty soon.

 

[jgillott]

Nah. Just a top line Ford warranty w/rental clause and patience.
Local Ford store has my buddy's escape (ecoboost too ) for 7 weeks. Started as a coolant bottle/ sensor recall and is growing into a long block replacement. I may be going down there with him to look at things pretty soon.

I will not own mine outside of the factory warranty. I will guarantee you that I will have another new truck in 2 years or less. I plan on taking it to about 33K and then starting over. If I still like the Ford at the time, I'll happily get another one. If not, I look in another direction.

You would be shocked, I have a completely different outlook and plan with this one. It is simply a means by which to go and do my job. I haven't rust proofed this one, no accessories. I just put a cheap tonneau cover on it to keep my tools and equipment dry and some husky floor mats to keep the mud off of the carpets. It fits in the local automatic car wash so I run it through once a week to get the mud off and that's about the extent of my care for it. I don't know if I have even opened the hood since I owned it.

 

[AEdelheit]

After driving in SUVs and trucks I hate being in low cars now, many small SUVs are getting great MPG, better visibility, easier to get in and out off so not too surprised that the market is going away for small cars.

 

[6V92TA]

IMHO crossovers and smaller SUV's are just replacements for the old minivan

 

[TFucili]

Guess my dad was ahead of his time. Graduated from Falcon wagons to Ranch Wagons, and had full-sized Ford wagons until they stopped building them. Add AWD and... poof, a crossover
#ad

 

[6V92TA]

I left out Station Wagons... I think the progression of family driving auto's in the USA was the Station Wagon in the 60's... ( my Dad had a 63 Belair Wagon, a 68 Pontiac and then finally a Buick Estate) then the full size van in the 70's, then the minivan became the thing and now its the SUV or Crossover. all do the same job and have similar features

check out the old picture of me, my cousin and my sister in front of the old stuff

 

[jhenderson]

Guess my dad was ahead of his time. Graduated from Falcon wagons to Ranch Wagons, and had full-sized Ford wagons until they stopped building them. Add AWD and... poof, a crossover
#ad

My father pulled our Yellowstone BP camper with several “ Beach Wagons”. Starting with a 68 Impala with a 350 and ending with a 72 Kingswood Estate Wagon with a 400 small block. Nobody ever told him you couldnt pull a camper without a diesel pickup.

 

[DaveHess]

I remember we had a 1975 Plymouth Custom Suburban station wagon in 1975. It was a butterscotch color. The coolest thing I remember about that car was the flip up seat in the cargo area that faced out the back window. That was the coolest thing on the planet for this 11 year old version of me!

 

[Wayne M.]

Well, to steer this Titanic back on course, I just spotted this piece now.
Everything is falling right into place.

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/4279411?__twitter_impression=true

 

[6V92TA]

Wayne M, that story is from 2014

 

[Wayne M.]

Wayne M, that story is from 2014

Hmmm. I'm usually pretty keen on those details. I guess the dart picture should have made me look. I'm just waiting for these final merge stories to pop up and happen.