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Dodge Charger and Challenger will live on, but a new Viper is unlikely

BALOCCO, Italy — As FCA's latest five-year plan was presented last week, most of the day was focused on four brands — Jeep, Ram, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. That left a lot of people wondering about the future of the Chrysler, Fiat and Dodge nameplates. At the last five-year event, Dodge was one of the main features. We heard plans for an expanded lineup that included refreshed versions of the Viper, Challenger and Charger, the last two riding on the Alfa Romeo Giorgio platform. Times sure have changed. Dodge isn't going away, but the brand will be narrowed and focused. Performance is the name of the game, but don't look for a new Viper anytime soon. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne simply said it's "not in the plan." Marchionne thought it was a great idea but that it couldn't live on as a standalone product. If it does eventually return, expect it to share parts with other FCA products, possibly with one of the upcoming Maseratis. On the other hand, Marchionne confirmed that both the Dodge Challenger and Charger will continue to live on. In the last five-year plan, FCA said that the pair would share underpinnings with future Alfa Romeos. That was promising news for those hoping for smaller, lighter versions of each model that would be better suited to fight models like the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro. It seems the Alfa Romeo platform is off the table. Marchionne said the current LX platform would indeed live on, though it would be "unrecognizable" compared to what we have today. The LX architecture is ancient, and, although it's been continuously updated, its basic bones date back to the DaimlerChrysler days. Marchionne said that the Alfa platform just doesn't have the character American shoppers are looking for in those vehicles. It's unclear when the next iteration of the Charger and Challenger will arrive, but expect another refresh sometime before 2022. Look for an updated version of the tried-and-true Hemi V8. Rumors continue to swirl about a larger and more powerful 7.0-liter variant dubbed the Banshee, but we'll have to wait and see how that pans out. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Fiat 500e order guide shows $32,500 starting price for the U.S. market

UPDATE: After publishing this post, Fiat announced its Fiat Pass with some images of the 500e Red, one of the initial trims to ship to U.S. dealers. The pass is "a digital collectible that acts as a social VIN to unlock fun rewards and extraordinary experiences that celebrate the FIAT brand’s iconic heritage and its shared, sustainable future." The benefits of signing up for an as-yet-unknown price include priority access to order the 500e Red, digital art, "mobility credit" for driving the 500e, and "priority access to future vehicle releases." Here's a photo of the 500e Red, followed by the original post: Last year, Fiat said its cute, dinky 500e electric hatchback would go on sale here at the beginning of 2024. We're not far from the calendar's big turn. Fiat's U.S. site opens with a banner telling us, "Get ready to revel in the details," December 5 being the day to unlock 500e specs and to "Take a closer look at all-electric Italian engineering." While we wait, Cars Direct did its usual, finding an early order guide with an MSRP for the 500e: $32,500, excluding destination. If that's the number that ends up on window stickers, the electric two-door would fall between the two trims of the single ICE four-door Fiat currently sells here, the $30,245 500X Pop Techy Traveler and the $33,275 500X Sport Sporty Socialite. All prices exclude the destination charge unless noted. This MSRP also puts the 500e under all but four EVs on the market at the moment, the $28,140 Nissan Leaf, the $26,500 Chevrolet Bolt, and the $27,850 Bolt EUV, and the $30,900 Mini Cooper SE. In fact, $32,500 is less than the price of the bygone 500e; when it left the market in 2019, it cost $33,210. That's an ostensible difference of $710, however — and this might be the most frightening sentence we write all day — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator tells us that $33,210 in May 2019 is equivalent to $39,898.76 in October of this year. We only have European specs to go on until December 5. In Italy, the 500e runs on a 42-kWh battery powering a single motor on the front axle capable of 117 horsepower but restricted to a maximum power rating of 94. Range on the WLTP cycle is 199 miles. Our EPA-rated range will be lower, although it should handily beat the 84-mile estimated range of the old car.

Fiat Chrysler's Q3 profit boosted by strong North American earnings

MILAN, Italy — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reported a 17 percent jump in third-quarter adjusted operating profit on Tuesday, helped by a strong performance in its key North American market and improving operations in Europe and Latin America. The world's seventh-largest carmaker still makes the lion's share of its profits in North America, so improving, or at least maintaining, its margins there is a key focus. The carmaker reported an 8 percent adjusted operating profit margin in the region, up from 7.6 percent a year ago, despite a drop in sales and shipments. "FCA's profitability in North America remained strong in the quarter despite a weakening market there," a Milan-based analyst said. FCA's profitability compares with an 8.3 percent North America margin reached in the quarter by bigger U.S. rival GM , showing CEO Sergio Marchionne making progress towards his goal of closing the margin gap with GM and the company's other U.S. rival, Ford, by 2018. The company's confirmation of its full-year outlook also pushed shares higher, a trader added. The stock was up 2.8 percent by 1129 GMT, outperforming a 1 percent rise in the European auto index. FCA has been retooling some U.S. factories to boost output of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and trucks while ending production of some unprofitable sedans to strengthen profitability as the U.S. car market comes off its peak. The company said a drop in North America shipments due to lower fleet sales and discontinued models was partially offset by higher deliveries of Ram trucks and two models from the Alfa Romeo stable: the Stelvio sport utility vehicle and Giulia sedan. Profitability also improved in Europe, helped by sales of the Stelvio and the new Jeep Compass, and Latin America, while margins at Maserati remained strong at 13.8 percent due to strong demand for its first SUV, the Levante. In a later conference call, investors are looking for hints on the new strategy to 2022 which the company promised to unveil early next year. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said earlier this year that FCA would streamline its portfolio and that components businesses, including Magneti Marelli, would be separated from the group, possibly via a spin-off. While FCA confirmed its targets this year, doubts remain about its exposure to a weakening U.S. market, recall costs and potential fines over emissions after it was targeted by European and U.S.