FCA-Peugeot Group merger agreed on.

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Originally Posted by dave1251
We never know what will happen. Under Fiat Chrysler has done pretty good. Let's see what happens.



Sergio Marchionne actually surprised me to be honest. Lets hope it continues to go as well as it has.

If you look at modern French cars they are surprisingly good, really fantastic and the reliability is at least decent in many models today with some French cars being quite reliable.
 
I rented a Peugeot 5008 last year and it had the versatility of a Toyota RAV4 that drove better than my BMW and had some features of a Rolls Royce.

Don't dismiss them. They build cars in ways that American companies can't even dream about. If (when) we run into the next oil crisis I'm hopeful that they will have access to American markets.
 
Let's see....take the two worst auto manufacturers and merge them with another horrible manufacturer thats tried and failed already in the market mmmmmm what can go wrong.

I gotta be honest, I've worked on a lot of cars, towed a lot of cars and owned a lot of cars and by far the worst made cars come from none other than FCA. BMWs are always in the running for this honor as well.

Nice cars yes. Well built cars. No. Plenty of data to reinforce this as a fact.
 
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Originally Posted by Passport1

I owned two Fiats at the same time, daily drivers too. A 128 coupe and a 131 wagon which I bought new. They were the most engaging cars I've ever driven except maybe a Ferrari my friend once let me drive. The Fiats kept me busy honing my mechanic skills but they rusted faster than they even broke down. The 128 once had a fractured front brake rotor which I never imagined possible. Italian cars are intoxicating, at full throttle they issue a siren song but sailor beware.

Never worked on a Peugeot but they seemed reliable kind of like a Gallic 240 Volvo. I think the 505 is a very attractive car.

[Linked Image]



Gotta agree re the Italian cars. First car was a '72 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe 1600. Drove very well; mechanically not too bad; rusted prematurely. Definitely engaging.

Seems like a millennia ago...
 
Originally Posted by grampi
What's going on with Chrysler that they feel they have to keep merging with other companies?


I don't think this is Chrysler's idea, I think it's Fiat's.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by grampi
What's going on with Chrysler that they feel they have to keep merging with other companies?


I don't think this is Chrysler's idea, I think it's Fiat's.




Exactly. Unfortunately Chrysler is the black sheep here. Fiat was basically forced via a shotgun marriage to take them in. They have been trying to unload Chrysler for years.

The prize of Chrysler is Jeep and Ram. The rest is discardable.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by grampi
What's going on with Chrysler that they feel they have to keep merging with other companies?


I don't think this is Chrysler's idea, I think it's Fiat's.




Exactly. Unfortunately Chrysler is the black sheep here. Fiat was basically forced via a shotgun marriage to take them in. They have been trying to unload Chrysler for years.

The prize of Chrysler is Jeep and Ram. The rest is discardable.


Yup, Dodge is a bit hit and miss, as is the Chrysler brand. At least Dodge has Caravan, Durango, Charger and Challenger. Chrysler has what, 300? Jeep sells well as does RAM, definitely the most desirable marques of the group, though I wouldn't say Dodge is undesirable, just less so.
 
Dodge still sells good for the above mentioned models but the lack of entry level cars hurts them. The Chrysler brand is just a shell of its former self. The 300 and two nearly identical minivans.
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by grampi
What's going on with Chrysler that they feel they have to keep merging with other companies?


I don't think this is Chrysler's idea, I think it's Fiat's.



Chrysler hasn't had an original idea since the Iacocca and the Kcars / mini van. Probably see Chrysler and a Dodge nameplates disappear. That was the whole reason for bringing about the Ram nameplate. Don't expect to see Chrysler and Dodge much longer. All that will be left of the Pentastar is Ram and Jeep.
 
Don't really except to see Fiat remain in US market. Good luck to Peugeot but they couldn't make it before 30 years ago when people still wanted cars and they had cars. Today it's trucks and SUVs. Cars are continuing to shrink and companies making cars are continuing to shrink. In 5 years you won't see any GM cars sans the corvette. Even the Camero a goner. Ford nada. The new Mustang is a SUV and the car based ICE version will make a couple or three more model years an go away. FCA will milk the 300/ Charger / Challenger a couple or three more model years but they won't put money into a car platform. The current platform is based off a Dimaler design and is woefully old. Poor crash test ratings. Poor reliability. Just a poor nostalgia product popular with some small demographics. If Nissan was smart they would kill off most of their cars. Maybe keep an entry level model but they don't need the 370, Altima, Maxima, Versa, Sentra. Especially the Altima and Maxima. Same cars.
 
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Originally Posted by ToadU
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by grampi
What's going on with Chrysler that they feel they have to keep merging with other companies?


I don't think this is Chrysler's idea, I think it's Fiat's.



Chrysler hasn't had an original idea since the Iacocca and the Kcars / mini van. Probably see Chrysler and a Dodge nameplates disappear. That was the whole reason for bringing about the Ram nameplate. Don't expect to see Chrysler and Dodge much longer. All that will be left of the Pentastar is Ram and Jeep.


Viper was original as was the PT Cruiser (which inspired the HHR), Prowler and the Demon (releasing a car with a full drag racing setup), there's been originality, it just hasn't always been successful.

I suspect the Chrysler brand may die, but Dodge will likely carry on.

This is a trend we've seen with all the marques that used to have overly broad stables. Ford is now just Ford and Lincoln, GM is now just GMC, Chevy, Buick and Cadillac. I'm amazed they've kept GMC alive.
 
How cool would it be if a wealthy investor / auto enthusiast type purchased Chrysler / Dodge / Ram and released the creative energy of designers / engineers to build the best performing, most reliable and stylish vehicles ever MADE in the U.S.?. . . we need another Lee Iacocca, but with different goals. We have the resources and talent, we just need the vision. . . .
 
Originally Posted by Robster
How cool would it be if a wealthy investor / auto enthusiast type purchased Chrysler / Dodge / Ram and released the creative energy of designers / engineers to build the best performing, most reliable and stylish vehicles ever MADE in the U.S.?. . . we need another Lee Iacocca, but with different goals. We have the resources and talent, we just need the vision. . . .


That ship has sailed most likely if someone wanted to do that it would have happened already. Although I agree, it would have been great to see a US citizen and US ownership again....Dodge is surviving OK, and RAM and Jeep are doing quite well. I'm almost a little surprised that Elon Musk didn't try to buy them with a investor group.
 
Originally Posted by Robster
How cool would it be if a wealthy investor / auto enthusiast type purchased Chrysler / Dodge / Ram and released the creative energy of designers / engineers to build the best performing, most reliable and stylish vehicles ever MADE in the U.S.?. . . we need another Lee Iacocca, but with different goals. We have the resources and talent, we just need the vision. . . .



That would have been viable in about 1990. Now Americans just don't care. Plus once a company goes public the only thing which matters is the bottom line.
 
This would fall under wishful thinking. Remember, a number of automotive companies knocked at the door willing to buy but got scared away. Even the Chinese backed off after some checking.

Debts? UAW ? That's the big question. What made it different for Peugeot?
 
I'll keep it simple. I hope for FCAs sake the Peugeot merger does more for FCA's vehicles, than imo and ime the Renault alliance did for Nissan vehicles.
 
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