Fiat

Nowadays there are rumours about Ferrari. It is not about the Formula One championship, it is about the Fiat’s tendency to sell it. You didn’t read wrong, Fiat is considering to sell the most iconic brand under its management. This lunatic behaviour is a result of Fiat’s CEO Marchionne’s dream to be the biggest automotive manufacturer and become a remarkable person. Honestly, he did a great job recovering Fiat from bankruptcy to profitable condition. This is a real miracle, nearly seven years ago GM did not wish to buy Fiat because it was in a very condition but now Fiat bought some parts of Chrysler!

Machionne wants more from Chrysler, he wants to buy more shares but they need lots of money. Even though Chrysler is excellent at producing terrible and rubbish cars, it costs a lot of money to buy its shares! And the best option is to sell Ferrari and make money and expand the Fiat brand into US.

Expansion to US is a real big gambling, it is a different market. Actually it is a different continent! What works in Europe do not work in US! American may not wish to buy a car called Lancia which sounds like a pasta sauce. Alfa Romeo has potential but it is very hard to create a brand image and inform customers and motivate them to prefer this brand and etc.

Machionne has a very interesting plan; in 2014 he is planning to produce six millions of cars under Fiat brand! Six millions, in four years! I don’t have anything to say to this. He is planning to use Grand Cherokee platform to produce Maserati SUV, which would definitely fail. Also use Chrysler’s chassis for next generation Alfa Romeos. This does not sound very promising for six millions target.

In meantime, VW is interested on Ferrari. They thought, we destroyed Lamborghini and it is not enough for us, let’s destroy another Italian brand. Let’s put Audi A8’s buttons to Ferrari, replace the instrument panel with stupid looking Audi’s Red LCD screens. Then replace the keys with same keys from Skoda, add some more senseless Audi technology and use the VW EOS chassis for next generation Ferrari. This is a flash forward of Ferrari, if it is owned by VW. Also Lamborghini would be annoyed by the presence of Ferrari and they will try to sell to someone else.

 

Pictures' Copyrights

Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Ferrari

We still have 1990s thanks to Chrysler

Yesterday I spotted a Chrysler in Birmingham (UK not US). I know you might say, what is wrong with that! But if you ever been to UK and have some interest on cars, you will be notice that there are no Chrysler on this island.

It is really rare to see a Chrysler, maybe it is too much American or maybe it still has the 1980s green dot matrix digital screen which can cause some people remember their school memories! You can find many more adverse points for Chrysler and that’s not very hard.

Honestly, I don’t like to criticize Chrysler like this but they don’t give us another option. Chrysler is like a four leaf clover which look terrible. The Chrysler I saw yesterday, it was like that. The iconic and boring Sebring with new design philosophy, if that exist!

This car was an icon for being Boring before Lexus and Chrysler did not show any significant effort to improve it. Okay, it is looks better but when you place next to Ford Mondeo; you can notice catastrophe more clearly.

Everyone know that Chrysler is under serious financial problems and they cannot afford to hire Pininfarina design office to make better looking vehicles. So, their sales will drop and they will ask for more money and they will design more boring car and their sales drop... This story goes on like this. If you want to win, hire an Italian design office and get rid of green digital screen!

 

Pictures are taken from;

Ford and Chrysler Website

A flashforward for Lancia and Chrysler

May 2014; since last one year Chrysler cars are branded as Lancia in Europe. When the Lancia first announced this in 2010, nobody was expecting this kind of reaction from consumers. Actually it was not too much but nothing has changed for Chrysler, actually things got worse for Lancia.

Lancia is one of the most iconic car brands for whole time, Stratos and Lancia Delta gained unforgetable victories for many years. However, Lancia could not compete with other brands and it turn into a entry level brand in Fiat range. Despite the efforts for introducing new models, Lancia never found the old time success.

This is most probably based on low production quality, lack of clear brand identity, unclear brand image on consumers and so on. People don't really what Lancia is! The decision was made in 2010 to introduce Chrysler cars as Lancia is like introducing Playboy as Euroboy to Europe! Example is not exactly the same but the mentality is the same. Let's change the package and sell it to Europe. What a wonderful idea! Chrysler was thinking to boost sale by doing this. Like their insufficient turbo boost, this decision did not boost well.

Dull to drive Chrysler vehicles damaged the brand image of Lancia and generated a confusion! Which Lancia is the real Lancia. Consumers struggled so much and they gave with Lancia. Also the dullness of Chrysler vehicles was a major reason. Unfortunately, Chrysler is not very good at producing cars with passion. Sorry! Also vehicles like 300C which does not have a proper brakes and suspension, also highlights the major manufacturing problems in Chrysler!

Sebring cabrio, Sebring sedan and PT Cruiser cannot name as Lancia! Last one year, everyone witnessed to why not to buy semi Chrysler semi Lancia car. There is not synchrony, video is showing something else, audio is saying something else. Logo is Lancia, car drives like Chrysler.

This was a flash forward :) Mainly based on my imagination and witness the unsuccessful attempts to force brand to marry with each other with love. Like in human life, this does not work well for companies also. Lancia is something different and Chrysler is something different. The important thing for Chrysler to understand; people don't have a problem with Chrysler, they have problem with your boring design, lack of features which can be found even on Ford Fiesta, unsatisfying driving pleasure, unstable product life cycle and many more things.

Before branding Chryslers as Lancia, they should think again and try to understand the reality underneath the Chrysler's problem. Even Chrysler cars sold under Bentley, nothing will ever change!

Pictures are taken from;

Lancia and Chrysler Websites

GM powered by Google !

Last one year was very hard for US car makers. They lost their kingdom and defeated by Japanese car makers. Everything went very bad for them. US car makers were the king of automotive industry and nearly one hundred years later, they survived only with the help of huge amount credits! A few days ago GM was saying thank you to everyone and this flashed some ideas in my mind.

Of course, US car markers tried their best to be worst :) Hummer, huge petrol sucking V8s, ignoring diesel or any other alternative and designing car which were uglier than anything. Did they change their mentality? Of course no! Still you can find huge SUVs with huge petrol engines, they are not offering some different since one decade. Even last year's trauma did not make any change. Actually, I am sure that many people in those companies are doing their best to safe their company but the mentality of company does not change in one night!

And ten years ago something else came into our life! Google. We did not understand how created a relationship with Google but now our whole life relies on Google. Without we cannot even do very basic stuff :) And Google shares something in common with US car companies! They are in same country, one firm is making fortune, the other one is dying.

So my suggestion, transfer people from Google to car companies in US and let Google guys to do your marketing and product design. They don't know automotive industry but how worse can it be? Really! You all know automotive industry and we know the story. So, how worse can it get? Actually, Google guys are very good that designing new products and on marketing strategies. Give them a chance ;)

Pictures are taken from;

GM and Googel Websites

Design a New Car - 2009 Dodge Durango Hybrid

Dodge Durango offers style, comfort, convenience and greater flexibility in a real SUV, with three rows of seats and room for eight.

The Dodge Durango's style is enhanced with a high beltline emphasizing bold appearance, while short front and rear overhangs contribute to the vehicle power is concentrated expression. Crisp angles and chiseled surfaces highlight a strong and confident front-end design. Durango's signature crosshair grille stands out prominently, flanked by rectangles with dual halogen lights around the corners of the fenders. The design behind the Dodge Durango is marked by "afterburner" taillamps, and chrome highlights the rear liftgate applique.

Standard interior appointments include wood-accented door panels and instrument-panel center stack, air conditioning, overhead console with HomeLink ® Universal Transceiver and Electronic Vehicle Information Center, front and rear LED lamps that can be individually aimed, MyGIG Entertainment System with navigation, floor console with rear power accessory outlet, and 60/40 third-row bench.

Standard equipment includes leather trimmed bucket seats, eight-way power driver's seat with memory, four-way power passenger seat, heated front-row seats, and a second-row bench seat, providing seating for eight.

Dodge Durango rides on the torsionally stiff, fully hydroformed frame with independent front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, gives back the fingers 37.5 ft. - shorter than a Honda Pilot. Suspension and steering are sensitive to provide superior ride and precise steering. Dodge Durango rear suspension features coil springs and a solid rear axle secured with a Watt's linkage system, resulting in a smooth ride and handling characteristics.

Advanced safety and security features include standard Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Stability Program with Electronic Roll Mitigation and Trailer Sway Control, side curtain airbags for all three rows, ParkSense ® Rear Park Assist System, Tire Pressure Monitoring system, the guard Key ® engine immobilizer, and Parkview ™ Rear Back-up Camera System.


[Source: Chrysler]

Design a New Car - Dodge EV The Electric Car

Dodge EV is a two-passenger electric car similar to Tesla Roadster. The 200kw (268 HP) electric motor powers the rear wheels and produces 650 Nm of instant torque, which in turn accelerate the Dodge EV from stop to 60mph in less than 5 seconds, with quarter-mile times of 13 seconds. Dodge EV has a top speed of more than 120mph. It takes approximately 8 hours to fill up the battery with 4 hours of 110V and 220V outlets through. More details after the jump


[Source: Chrysler]

design of new Chrysler 200C car EV Concept

design of new Chrysler 200C car EV Concept

The definitive blend of design and technology, the all-new Chrysler 200C EV concept redefines the idea of responsible Mobility with a touch of class and sophistication never before embodied so elegantly in one vehicle.

The EV 200C has a 400-mile total range, and a 40-mile all-electric range with zero fuel consumption.

Design new cars, cheap cars, cars for students, Modifications to the car, luxury car, good car, car graffiti, art cars, modern cars, classic cars, and
many more cars in the collection at our website, just visit the zone car.

[Source: Chrysler]