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DODGE DART

Jeep Patriot, Compass Gain a Temporary Reprieve

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Two compact Jeeps will be replaced by one new model in 2017.

Is this the future Jeep pickup truck?
Is this the future Jeep pickup truck?

The Jeep brand’s two smallest models slotted above the Renegade may reach the 2017 model year after all. The Jeep Compass and Patriot, compact SUVs introduced in 2007, will be built until Dec. 23, 2016. A Brazilian-manufactured replacement vehicle bearing one of the two model names will launch in 2017, according to Automotive News.

Plant and Product Shuffling

The reprieve comes as Fiat Chrysler realigns its manufacturing base to build more SUVs. Both the Compass and the Patriot as well as the Dodge Dart are assembled in Belvidere, Illinois. All three models will be canceled or moved out to make way for the Jeep Cherokee.

The Cherokee is currently built in Toledo, Ohio, but will be moved to Illinois in an effort to provide additional capacity for the next-generation Jeep Wrangler and a much anticipated Jeep pickup truck. Following extensive retooling, Cherokee production is due to begin in May.

Jeep Cherokee

Jeep Cherokee.

The plant shuffling also extends to Sterling Heights, Michigan, where the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan is being built, but in modest numbers. FCA plans to lay off an entire shift of workers as it realigns Chrysler 200 production with demand. Sales of the 200 are down sharply over last year as consumers shift to pickup trucks and SUVs.

By 2018, the Sterling Heights plant will begin making the next-generation Ram 1500 pickup truck. FCA is still looking for a partner to build the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart, models it says it no longer have priority in its portfolio. So far, no manufacturer has been identified as a potential partner.

Lengthy Model Run

Eleven years is a long time for a model run and both the Compass and Patriot are showing their age. The two models were extensively updated in 2011 as part of a massive product overhaul conducted by the then Chrysler Group in advance of its merger with Fiat.

Strong incentives coupled with increased interest by consumers in all matters of SUV have helped Patriot and Compass sales stay strong. However, with new models above (Cherokee) and under (Renegade), customers have much better choices.

Jeep Renegade

Jeep Renegade.

Future Jeep Product

FCA has two significant moneymakers in its Jeep and Ram brands. However, unlike Ram, Jeep is now a global brand and will continue to provide the most significant growth and drive the greatest profits for the automaker going forward.

FCA is also holding down costs by building Jeep’s two smallest models overseas. Besides the Brazilian-built replacement for the Compass and Patriot, the entry-level Renegade is built in Italy. All other Jeep models are built in the US.

Slotted above the Cherokee is the Grand Cherokee and in its own special category is the Jeep Wrangler, the only body-on-frame Jeep model presently built.

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Jeep Grand Wagoneer Reprise

In a Jan. 2016 update to FCA’s 2014-2018 business plan, the automaker noted that future “white-space” products are planned – Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Jeep pickup truck.

The Grand Wagoneer name was last used in 1991, a model based on the Jeep Wagoneer, itself introduced in 1963. The original Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer was based on Jeep’s full-size truck platform. Later Grand Wagoneer models incorporated features common to today’s SUVs, including a roof rack with rails, power bucket seats, leather surfaces, and upgraded sound systems.

As for the new Grand Wagoneer we know it will be a three-row luxury model, based on the next-generation Grand Cherokee platform. Further, FCA has promised the grandest of all Jeeps will compete with Land Rover for luxury SUV shoppers. FCA will introduce the Grand Wagoneer to dealers only this August. As for the rest of us, expect the luxury Jeep’s global unveiling to take place in a major US auto show by early next year.

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On the Horizon: A Front-Wheel Drive Chrysler 300?

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What could this mean for the Dodge Charger and Challenger?

2015 Chrysler 300

The next-generation Chrysler 300 may switch to a FWD platform.

The days for the current Chrysler 300 are numbered.

Introduced in 2005, the second-generation 300 bowed in 2011, offering dimensions only slightly longer and wider than the first-generation model. Now in its sixth model year, the current Chrysler 300 is showing its age — plans for its replacement are underway.

What may follow could stun enthusiasts, especially if parent Fiat Chrysler elects to place the large sedan on the same front-wheel drive platform underpinning the all-new Chrysler Pacifica minivan. If FCA utilizes Pacifica architecture to support the third-generation 300, it’ll offer optional all-wheel drive, just as it does today.

News of the 300’s possible successor was shared by FCA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne with reporters at the company’s manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ontario, on Friday reports Reuters. Marchionne was on hand to thank workers for launching the Chrysler Pacifica, representing a $2.6 billion investment in its minivan line.

That investment may never be recouped unless other models are derived from the platform. One of the models thought possible was a Dodge SUV variant — either to replace the current Durango or to supplement it.

2016 Dodge Dart

A replacement for the current Dodge Dart is still open.

Front-Wheel Drive Architecture

Moving to front-wheel drive architecture aligns with the approach Chrysler’s competitors have long taken, including the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet’s Impala, and the Toyota Avalon. Of the three, only the Taurus offers available all-wheel drive — the possible Chrysler approach is also one Audi takes, but the latter’s market is the luxury segment.

Mention “Chrysler 300” and two other models come to mind: Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger. The current Dodge sedan and coupe share nearly everything with the Chrysler, including the platform and most major components. One difference is found in the Hellcat lines as these are unique to Dodge and have effectively placed a lucrative halo over each one.

Marchionne’s pronouncements typically provide reporters with enough fodder to keep FCA in the news, while omitting some information about related products, brands, and production facilities.

Chrysler and Dodge Separation?

Although long tied at the hip, there is nothing written in the FCA playbook that the Chrysler 300 and its Dodge cohorts must continue on the same path. Indeed, Chrysler is now a mainstream brand, while Dodge represents its performance brand.

Thus, the next-generation Dodge Charger and Challenger might continue as is or adopt an Alfa-based rear-wheel drive platform as reported by Automotive News last August. The new platform should yield a third Dodge model, Barracuda (‘Cuda), a sport coupe convertible.

Rumors that FCA might eventually kill off Dodge seem like just that — although the Dart in its current form is doomed (as is the slightly large Chrysler 200), other models such as Viper, Charger, Challenger, ‘Cuda, Durango, and the eventual replacement for the Journey should keep this brand relevant.

2015 Chrysler 200

Chrysler 200 production is winding down.

Other FCA Products and News

The 300’s future isn’t the only FCA news of late.

The next-generation Jeep Wrangler may get a twin-turbocharged, four-cylinder engine making 300 horsepower, supplementing the standard 3.6-liter, V-6. Further, production of the all-new Ram 1500 pickup truck will begin by Jan. 2018.

Production of the Dodge Dart will cease by year’s end as the Belvidere, Illinois plant where it is produced is converted to build the Jeep Grand Cherokee, now built in Toledo, Ohio. Ohio production will focus primarily on the next Wrangler as well as a Jeep-based pickup truck. Also, just as the company’s Sterling Heights, Mich., plant loses the Chrysler 200 by early next year, it will be retooled to supplement future Ram 1500 capacity.

As for the Dart and 200, Marchionne is still holding out hope that a partnership with another manufacturer to build replacement models will happen. Those models would be based entirely on a competitor’s technology. For example, Volkswagen Jetta and Passat models might be tapped and rebadged as the Dart and 200 respectively, although there has been no mention VW is even considering such a relationship.

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