What should happen to FCA?

"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii) 06/15/2015 at 20:15 • Filed to: None

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It’s true. Sergio is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! than a dolphin in Timbuktu. No one wants any part of this, for reasons that will likely be revealed in time. (Historical note: Nothing good ever happens in a 5 year plan.)

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That’s why they should give it to me. Look, this thing is going down in flames (no thanks to you Ferrari) it may as well go down in the hands of someone with absolutely no experience and completely unprepared. I’ll take the fall of crashing the 7th largest and one of the most historical companies. I only ask for a bronze parachute in return.

But I have plans for this maligned group of glorious brands.

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Ferrari? Highest bidder please! It’s not going to be gaining any value being attached to the rest of this dumpster fire. Can’t win races and innumerable challengers on the street, looking like it is time to cash in these chips.

Now the proud brand of Lancia: Nearly free to a good home (Mazda) FCA probably owes Mazda for the Miata chassis anyways.

Chrysler: You have literally 3 models. 3. I’m not spending any money on you when I have more lucrative projects. I’m certain you’ll end up in China. I’m OK with this. What in the hell are you supposed to be these days anyways?

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Where do these current brands fit? Why is Maserati fighting the 5 series? I thought Alfa was the BMW fighter? Why doesn’t Dodge have a mid size sedan? Is that the Chrysler 200? Fiat, there is more than one freaking number. People are easily confused, don’t make it worse. How will I direct them? well;

Fiat: 500 (duh), 600/Panda(500x), 700(Nissan Rogue sized for a tiny 3 row CUV), Fiata and FWD Compact 4dr Coupe (gasp). This is intended to be cheap and stylish. The affordable (~20k) 4 door coupe will be a hit as all other compact sedans are...well, sedans. And all other 4dr coupes are relatively expensive. Everyone loves a car that looks more expensive than it is. If you want more practical, sell the platform-mate Fiat 600. All bases covered.

Dodge: ‘Murica. I like that part of their current marketing angle. Needs to dial back the MAN a bit, but who doesn’t love ‘Murica? And what’s more ‘Murica than a line of highly rated trucks? That’s right. Quit wasting money on branding RAM, it’s not fetch and like SRT it’s really never going to catch on. Let it go. (I realize Sergio did this to make it simpler in the eventual fire sale) The car line-up starts with the compact Dart (with hatch variant) and has an actual mid-sizer and finishes with the Charger. Don’t forget the Challenger (smaller Alfa base) Crossovers? Nah. Durango becomes a Truck based SUV again. Build a van that can fufill both the minivan and light duty workvan role (like the connect or V-class)

Jeep: Home of the crossover! Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but Jeep is actually in it’s right place, even with the crossovers. The only addition I’d do is a super lux Grand Cherokee for those fat profit margins. Tasty, tasty margins. Looking at you RR. One of the few unbroken brands and has serious appeal from 20k to 100k.

Alfa: Yes, Alfa. Mmmmm. Bread and butter, 2/3 series fighter. Small(ish) RWD sports sedan/ coupe/convertible. Name it with a dartboard, who cares? Then add a mid-size RWD sedan/FX-like “performance” crossover. This would be the Challenger’s platform. If you wanted to order a beautiful sedan with a Maserati V8...well I think that could be arranged. I would also continue experimenting with limited sports cars/ GT’s like the 4C and 8C. Prices (like other near luxury cars) start a bit above 30k and go up depending on the options, but still leaving room for...

Maserati: The often forgotten Italian auto marque. (Has anyone figured out how to pronounce Ghibli?) Entry level model, a safe standard mid+ sedan. Fine, but for a coupe? Try a 3 door Shooting Brake. Who hasn’t had a 4 door coupe by now? So passè. This... is a big risk. Huge in fact. But if the ship is going down, you may as well take it. A beautiful design can put Maserati back in the game. It worked for Mercedes’ CLS. Not that they were out of it, but it did shift attitudes after the late 90’s malaise. The Shooting Brake would grab attention. Conversations that aren’t happening; “Hey have you heard about Johnson in senior executive marketing buying the new Maserati Gibraltar?” Conversations that will happen; “Did you see Johnson’s new Maserati in the parking lot? That thing is (beautiful/weird/a real piece of work)“ So often I hear defenses of ugly cars* along the lines of “At least it’s not boring/divisive/controversial”. For the full size Quattroporte, we get back into a more conservative mindset. No one likes a full size sedan that tries too hard.

*Bangle BMW’s

3rd: Racing

With the jettison of Ferrari to the highest bidder, what will American-Fiat (new working name) race? Let’s see.... we have a modestly priced roadster based on the most popular track car of all time... a proper RWD sedan from one of the most anticipated brands (even Europe has to be interested in a RWD Alfa) and I’ve heard rumors that Maserati’s used to know their way arond a track. So I’m thinking Fiata and even the Dart should cover grassroots events, the Alfa numbersoup obviously competing anywhere a 3 series does and the Maserati Shooting Brake competing against GT1 type cars. Let’s see how that goes before testing a return to the clusterfuck of F1 (you think I’m not going to try to beat Ferrari?).

Yes, it’s enthusiast leaning (I gave you bean counters crossovers!) but this company doesn’t have the brightest future anyways, why not let me crash it into the ground in a fun way! Plus, I bet I’m asking for a much smaller compensation package than Sergio. Already saving you money!

Because Racecar > LongbowMkII 06/15/2015 at 20:19

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Have someone buy the Chrysler brand, have RAM function as is, and have Dodge exist solely as a performance/muscle car company and start pushing out the Mopar name again.

irisfailsafe5000 > LongbowMkII 07/03/2015 at 15:28

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Jeep is developing the Wagonner which is going to be the king of the hill but Sergio took their money and sent it to Alfa to make that shithole that they called the Giulia.

bottsdotts > LongbowMkII 07/03/2015 at 15:33

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Why can’t FCA be an independent company? I get that alot of money could be saved if development costs were shared by companies, but is it necessary for FCA to survive?

LongbowMkII > bottsdotts 07/03/2015 at 15:42

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It apparently is according to Sergio. Make of that what you will.

Ben Burkhardt > LongbowMkII 07/03/2015 at 16:02

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I like the idea of giving Lancia to Mazda for engineering the upcoming Fiat roadster’s chassis. It is a much better idea than what Fiat Chrysler is currently doing: killing it off slowly by selling rebadged Chryslers to the Italians.

Obruni > LongbowMkII 07/03/2015 at 21:01

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Sergio’s insistence on a merger has me thinking that FCA has little left in the way of new product coming down the line

Why else is he so desperate?

LongbowMkII > Obruni 07/03/2015 at 22:12

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I was honestly a bit surprised that the Guilia came out. But since it seems to be a Ghibli derivative it likely wasn’t too expensive. but no base model details as of yet is still disconcerting.

the fact that he’s so blatantly announcing that developing platforms is just too expensive is just weird. What other business leader has done that? “We can’t afford to keep innovating, merge plz.”

Moteel > LongbowMkII 07/04/2015 at 16:27

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Sergio is like the guy in Vegas, winning at the $5 table, then moving to the $20 table and keep losing

raz-0 > Obruni 07/06/2015 at 10:45

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He’s made two comments and one phone call. It’s not that desperate, I think he just speaks whats in his head too often in public. He’s turning a profit and paying down debt at a good rate. And pissing off investors because he isn’t borrowing to pay dividends or producing enough margin to attract someone to buy the shares they bid up. They are pissed, but not enough to oust him and implement a better plan because like every other stock the bankers have driven the price of it well beyond the slash and burn price of the company in question. They have similar misgivings about most of the automotive sector.

So far, Ford has given the only cogent rebuttal of Sergio’s “we need consolidation” line, which is that it has been done, lost money, and isn’t the imagined panacea.

That being said, at the very least, lancia and chrysler need to go away. I’d also suggest not trying to sell fiats in the US. The inevitable results are simply not worth the cost of entry.