Fiat to Introduce Two New Dodge-Based Sedans in China and Russia by 2013

As time goes by, Fiat SpA’s integration with the Chrysler Group LLC deepens and the results become more evident with the two carmakers making several plans for the future. Speaking at Fiat's annual shareholders meeting on March 30, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed plans to launch two new Dodge-based sedans in China and Russia.

The first sedan will be a compact model built on the next generation Dodge Caliber, which is expected in the USA next January. According to an Autonews report, this model will enter production in China in the second half of 2011, while timing for the Russian launch has not yet been disclosed. The other four-door saloon will be a mid-size model based on the replacement for the Dodge Avenger, which is scheduled for launch in the USA in 2013. It will go on sale in China and Russia the same year.

Both sedan models make use of a 40mm wider version Fiat's new Compact Wide architecture that underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback. The same platform will also be used on future Jeep compact and mid-sized SUVs.

According to the report, the Italian automaker is still contemplating the launch of the compact sedan model in Western Europe, while the mid-size saloon may enter the European market under the Lancia brand.

We’ll remind you that Lancia is also considering the launch the current generation Chrysler 200-based Flavia sedan, which was shown as a concept at last month’s Geneva Motor Show, by the end of the year. If Lancia goes ahead with both plans, then the Dodge Avenger-based model will replace the Flavia.

Sources: Fiat, Autonews [Sub. Req.]

2011 DODGE AVENGER F/L [CURRENT GENERATION]

Meet the Mefistofele, Fiat's 21.7-liter Record-Breaking Car from Hell

The story of the Mefistofele started in 1908, when Fiat introduced the SB4 chain-driven Grand Prix racer. After seeing it race, Sir Ernest Eldridge from Britain bought the car with the aim of turning it into speed record breaker. However, there was one problem: the original car's 18.0-liter engine was considered rather small by Eldridge, who decided to replace it with a massive airplane powerplant. He opted for a liquid-cooled Fiat-built 21.7-liter inline six-cylinder unit (type A-12 Bis) that developed 320 horsepower at 1,800 rpm after various upgrades such as the fitting of four valves and four spark plugs on each cylinder.
The story goes that in order to accommodate the long and heavy engine, Eldridge lengthened the SB4's chassis using parts from a London bus. The car was chain-driven and had brakes only at the rear, which made it a handful for even the most experienced of drivers. Interestingly, experts fail to understand even today the mechanism that allowed the car to reverse, since there is no trace of it left.
On July 12 1924 the Mefistofele, which obtained its name by the press because of the smoke and explosions produced by its massive engine, had its finest moment when it set the world land speed record in Arpajon, France. The 5.1-meter long, 2-tonne car driven by Eldridge recorded an official top speed of 234,980 km/h (146 mph) in what is said to be the last land speed record event organised on public roads. And even though its record stood for only 32 days, the fame of the Fiat Mefistofele survived more than a century after its birth.
In 1969 Fiat's boss Giovanni Agnelli bought the Mefistofele from Sir Eldridge's heirs and shipped it to Italy, where the car underwent a major restoration and was added to the company's historical collection.
The car is perfectly functional and can be admired at the Centro Storico Fiat in Turin. Unfortunately, there aren't any videos of the car in action, but you can check out the footage below from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, where the 21.7-liter Mefistofele was displayed next to the 0.9-liter […] Fiat 500 TwinAir.

By Dan Mihalascu

Sources: Fiat, Bigscalemodels

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Report: Fiat to Begin Assembly of New 2012 Panda Mini in November

The first examples of the successor to Fiat’s current generation Panda city car will roll off the production line in Italy this November, according to a top Fiat executive. The third generation of the Panda is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September.

"We are on track in refurbishing Pomigliano, which will become a truly state-of-the-art plant when it begins production in November," Fiat Group chief manufacturing officer Stefan Ketter told Autonews Europe.

Last year, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the updated Pomigliano d'Arco plant in central Italy would manufacturer the new Panda as part of the firm’s “Fabbrica Italia” (Italian factory) plan to increase vehicle productivity in Italy from around 650,000 units in 2010 to approximately 1.4 million cars in 2014.

The decision to move production of the Panda from the Tychy factory in Poland to Pomigliano came after Fiat SpA workers supported a reorganization plan to increase their productivity by around 70 percent, switching to a three-shift, 280-workday year from the current two shifts and 235 workdays. Sergio Marchionne had threatened the unions that he would either keep production of the new Panda in Poland or move it to Serbia if they did not agree to the new labor deal.

Fiat has invested some €800 million to build the new Panda in Pomigliano. In 2010, the Italian factory produced around 30,000 units of the Alfa Romeo 159 sedan and sports wagon, plus the final examples of the 147 hatchback and GT sports coupe.

The Tychy factory in Poland builds the current Fiat Panda and 500, as well as the Ford Ka city cars, and is currently Fiat’s largest and most efficient plant in Europe producing more than 533,000 cars in 2010. It ranks second within Fiat Group's global plants after the firm’s Belo Horizonte, Brazil, facility that produced close to 700,000 vehicles last year.

Source: Autonews Europe [Sub. Req.]

CURRENT GENERATION FIAT PANDA

Chrysler Group to Boost Ad Budget by 70% to $2.9 Billion in 2011

As the Chrysler Group continues its product renaissance with new or facelifted models, the Auburn Hills automaker is now looking to boost its marketing presence in the United States by increasing its advertising budget nearly 70 percent this year, from $1.72 billion in 2010 to around $2.9 billion in 2011.

The increase is even greater when compared to 2009, when Chrysler had just come out of bankruptcy and joined forces with the Fiat Group. According to the SEC filing, the Detroit firm spent just $677 million on advertising in the second half of 2009.

However, promoting the firm’s new models isn’t the only reason behind Chrysler’s decision to boost its advertising expenditure as the automaker also wants to convince investors that the company is on the right track ahead of an initial public stock offering expected later this year

"No matter how good or bad the new products are, it is all about perception now," analyst Ricardo de la Blanca, chief executive of DLB Group in Miami, told Detroit News. "It is safer to buy a competitor's vehicles, so the challenge is to engage consumers. If they do it right, they will be able to create hype," he added. "It is critical because they also need to satisfy investors and the government."

Source: Detroit News

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Chrysler Group Celebrates Production Launch of 2012 Fiat 500 at Toluca Plant, May Also Produce Second Fiat Model in Mexico

Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne and Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon celebrated the start of the 2012 Fiat 500 production today at the Detroit firm’s Toluca plant in Mexico. The company invested $550 million USD, with the assistance of loans from the Mexican government, to build the subcompact model at the Toluca site.

Chrysler said the plant will build more than 120,000 examples of the Fiat 500 for export to the United States, Canada, and South America, as well as to China by the third quarter of 2011. The same factory also produces the Dodge Journey, which is shipped to the U.S. as well as its Fiat twin, the newly revealed Freemont that will be sold in Europe.

“With the assistance of the Mexican government, we have been able to prepare the Toluca Assembly Plant for production of the first Fiat, a vehicle that demonstrates the level of cooperation between our two companies and reintroduces the brand to the North American market after more than 28 years,” said Marchionne.

“Mexico is in an ideal position for production of this car. Because of its free-trade agreements with neighbors to both the north and south, it is a bridge between NAFTA and Latin America. And for the Mexican market, where the 500 has already been sold for several years, this marks an important shift from a vehicle imported from Europe to one that is built locally,” Marchionne added.

Speaking to reporters at the event, Marchione also announced that the company is looking to assemble a second Fiat model in Mexico, though he did not get into any specific details.

“We need to decide what we’re going to do with that plant,” Marchionne said. “The likelihood is that we will bring in an architecture that is more versatile and will give us an opportunity to produce more than one top hat or body style. Nothing has been decided.”

The company also confirmed that Alfa Romeo cars will go on sale in Mexico in June or July, starting with the Mito supermini, Giulietta compact hatch and the 159 saloon. Marchionne added that the 4C mid-engine sports coupe, which was shown in pre-production form at the Geneva Salon last week, would also be available in the near future.

Sources: Chrysler & Bloomberg

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