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Archives for June 2015

Fiat Chrysler Product Delays Mount

June 30, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Product delays will keep several Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler products from reaching showrooms when originally planned. FCA is pouring its resources into Alfa Romeo, a gambit that might backfire.

Alfa Romeo Guilia
FCA is pinning its hopes on the Alfa Rome Giulia.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has been in the news a lot lately, mainly due to chief executive Sergio Marchionne’s efforts to find his company a partner. The company itself is a new union of European and North American enterprises, but Marchionne insists that FCA could cut its costs by partnering with another automaker.

For FCA, the automaker is battling two problems: its debt levels are high and profit margins are low, twin threats to a company’s vitality when the economy is good as well as to its viability when the economy takes a downturn. Perhaps seeing that the next downturn is looming, Marchionne has been redoubling his partnership efforts.

Alfa Romeo Guilia

Marchionne is also gambling that Alfa Romeo will make huge inroads as new products come to the market. Last week, Alfa showed the world its midsize Giulia, a luxury sedan that FCA says will lead an eight-car onslaught in a bid to elevate this once moribund marque.

The new model has the looks to be a winner, but executing a flawless introduction is key. Moreover, competitors such as BMW, Jaguar, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, Infiniti, Audi, and Acura are not about to cede marketshare to Alfa Romeo without putting up a fight.

Pouring billions into propping up Alfa Romeo means that FCA’s other brands will have to make do with less. Or at least wait a bit longer for new products to arrive.

Jeep Grand Cherokee
The next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee will be delayed.

Jeep and Ram Product Postponements

Just last week Automotive News reported that the planned redesign of the Jeep Grand Cherokee for 2017 will be put off until late 2018 or even later. And it isn’t the first product delay noted.

Because of the Grand Cherokee push back, the upcoming Grand Wagoneer flagship will be delayed as well. The new, full size model would essentially complete the product line, giving the brand strong models from top to bottom.

In early June, Reuters reported that FCA’s big profit model, the Ram 1500, would be delayed by several months, missing its mid-2017 debut. Instead, November 2017 has been targeted as a more likely introduction date.

The Jeep Wrangler, initially planned for an early 2017 release, isn’t expected to arrive until July 2017. Two issues may factor in the Wrangler’s delay:

1), a decision to reverse course and stay with a body-on-frame model instead of the earlier proposed unibody design and,

2), FCA hasn’t announced where it will be built. The Wrangler has long been produced in Toledo, Ohio, but production can be moved elsewhere. Likely, it will be part of the UAW’s negotiating strategy when contract talks are held this September.

Chrysler 300
Additional product delays will likely involve the Chrysler 300.

Additional Product Delays

Delays for higher profit line models follows the postponement of production revamps for several lower cost models, including the compact Dodge Dart sedan and the Dodge Journey crossover. Instead of new models arriving in mid-2016, both vehicles will likely get refreshed and wait an additional three years for revised models.

Other vehicles that may see delays include the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans as well as the Dodge Challenger coupe. And the singular replacement model for the Jeep Compass and Patriot due out early next year will be delayed by at least six months.

Saving Money: At What Risk?

The product delays will allow FCA to put off some of its expenditures to later dates, possibly in a bid to see if Alfa Romeo takes off. A promising Alfa Romeo brand could make FCA a more desirable partner, but it comes as a huge gamble, especially if the product delays send customers shopping for newer designs elsewhere.

Meanwhile, FCA’s bid for GM remains in play. Earlier this month the two companies hired financial advisers to assist them. Furthermore, hedge fund Greenlight Capital snapped up more than 9 million shares of GM stock in the first quarter of 2015.

Lastly, John Elkann is chairman of FCA and oversees the Exor fund in Italy. He is the grandson of Gianni Agnelli and has been advising the family on how best to take on GM. His skill as an investment banker included a hostile takeover of a reinsurance company, PartnerRe. USA Today says that Elkhann “has no qualms about becoming an activist investor.”

See Also — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: No Takers

Filed Under: Automotive News Tagged With: : Alfa Romeo Giulia, CHRYSLER 300, FCA, FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES, GM, Greenlight Capital, Jeep Grand Cherokee, John Elkann, RAM 1500, SERGIO MARCHIONNE, USA TODAY

Lotus Announces New Models, Plans US Return

June 29, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Lotus Cars says that it is moving its US operation and is readying the Evora 400 for the US market. A limited-edition Lotus 3-Eleven model will go into production in February 2016.

Lotus Evora 400

A federally compliant Lotus Evora 400 arrives at the end of 2015.

The Lotus automotive brand has been on a new product hiatus in the United States since 2014, the last year it made a model for the American market. Some 45 dealers scattered across the country are still selling the 2014 Evora, but no 2015 vehicle was imported because the government’s smart airbag waiver ended last summer. Without the required waiver, future new model sales came to a halt.

While the waiver permitted Lotus to circumvent an important federal government safety requirement, subsequent models could not be modified in time for the 2015 model year. Thus, Lotus was forced to sit on the sidelines this year while it readied a fully compliant model.

Lotus Evora 400

Lotus Evora 400

A new Lotus Evora 400 is on the way and will arrive stateside in December for the 2017 model year. It is essentially an update of the current design, representing a moderate refresh at that. Lotus unveiled the sports car at the Geneva Motor Show this past March.

Under the hood a 3.5-liter, supercharged V-6 engine making 400 horsepower and 302 foot-pounds of torque will power the sports car. That represents a 55-horsepower boost over the previous model and with its weight coming in at 3,119 pounds (down from 3,168 pounds), the new model should easily attain its projected 0-to-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds. Its top speed will be 186 mph.

Evora 400 buyers will still have a choice of 6-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions, the latter with shift paddles. Select the manual edition and your Lotus will get its first-ever limited-slip differential. Lighter wheels, larger brakes and a more refined cockpit are among the more significant changes to the new model.

Besides bringing the Evora 400 to the market, Lotus announced that it will be relocating its US headquarters to Ann Arbor, Michigan, from Lawrenceville, Michigan. The pending move will allow the company to consolidate its operation with its Lotus Engineering arm already located in Ann Arbor.

The automaker will continue to build its Elise and Exige models for other markets and has also set its eyes on building derivatives of all three product lines.

Lotus 3-Eleven

Road and track versions of this Lotus 3-Eleven will be built.

Lotus 3-Eleven

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed (UK) last week, Lotus took the wraps off of the 3-Eleven, powered by the same supercharged engine in the Evora 400, but making 450 horsepower. Furthermore, the race version weighs just under 2,000 pounds (dry weight) and is expected to go from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds.

Production of the Lotus 3-Eleven begins in February 2016 and will be limited to 311 models. The street-spec model will retail for about $129,000 and the track version for $151,000.

Lotus 3-Eleven

Lotus 3-Eleven

Lotus SUV

Yet another model is in the planning stages and should do for the brand what it has done for Porsche: bring an SUV to a sports car line. The SUV, sized relative to the Porsche Macan, will serve China first and if successful find its way to Britain reports Auto Express. There is no word whether the US market would follow.

Founded in 1952, the Lotus marque has survived the death of its founder, Colin Chapman, financial troubles and is on its third international owners. Indeed, General Motors owned Lotus for seven years beginning in the 1980s before selling it to Romano Artioli and Bugatti in 1993. In 1996, its current owner — Malaysia’s Proton Holdings Berhard — took over.

Besides building its own models, Lotus has cooperated extensively with other manufacturers, including designing the chassis for the DeLorean DMC-12, supplying the chassis for the Aston Martin DB9, and created a concept Dodge EV for Chrysler. Most recently Lotus has contributed its handling and steering expertise to better the Hyundai Genesis sedan.

Lotus 3-Eleven

See Also — Possible Lotus Sale Is No Surprise

Photos copyright Lotus Cars — all rights reserved.

Filed Under: Automotive News Tagged With: AIR BAGS, COLIN CHAPMAN, HYUNDAI GENESIS, LOTUS 3-ELEVEN, LOTUS CARS, LOTUS EVORA 400, PROTON HOLDINGS BERHARD, SUV

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