2013 Fiat 500 Abarth 2 Door Coupe Red 10k Miles on 2040-cars

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Does the future of Fiat-Chrysler include Dodge?

Wards Auto reports the future of Dodge is looking uncertain. Fiat has more or less laid out it's game plan for the next few years, and while the Chrysler, Fiat and Jeep lines are set to receive plenty of love, Dodge isn't so lucky. Fiat has already hobbled Dodge significantly by splitting off the brand's trucks into a separate Ram line.
Wards says that after the Avenger rides off into the sunset early next year, Fiat-Chrysler won't replace the model, leaving a gaping midsize hole in the Dodge lineup. The report also cites unnamed sources as saying that at least two other current Dodge products will move to the Chrysler line.
One of those could very well be the Grand Caravan. Chrysler has already made it clear that it plans to trim redundancy between its minivan offerings, but it has yet to clarify which other vehicle could sail under the Chrysler banner moving forward. Either way, such changes to the product line would theoretically leave Dodge with just four models.

Junkyard Gem: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport

Fiat left the United States after selling its last Stradas, 124 Sport Spiders and X1/9s as 1982 models, taking Lancia with it. Malcolm Bricklin continued importing the 124 Sport Spider and X1/9 (with Pininfarina and Bertone badging) for a few more years, but it just wasn't the same for American fans of the venerable Italian manufacturer. Fast-forward to Chrysler's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 and Fiat's investment in the company and it wasn't long before the announcement came that Fiat was returning to our shores. The first Fabbrica Italiana Automobil di Torino product to hit our streets as part of that deal was the 500, which debuted as a 2012 model. That's serious automotive history, which is what this series is all about, so I have documented this first-year 500 in a Denver car graveyard. I've written about many, many discarded Fiats over the years, including some respectably old cars, but the Nuova Cinquecento never sold very well here, and the surviving examples tend to be too valuable to end up in a Ewe Pullet. That car was built from 1957 through 1975 and was a huge success in Europe, with nearly 4 million units sold, and its name reminded Europeans of its just-as-beloved 500 Topolino predecessor. A retro-styled modern 500 made a great deal of sense, and Polish-built 500s hit European showrooms beginning in 2007. While the 500 name didn't conjure up happy childhood memories with American car shoppers, so what? The car looked adorable and those old enough to have unpleasant memories of the temperamental Fiats of the 1970s probably weren't going to care what old Fiat model it looked like. I am old enough to remember those 1970s Fiats (my parents bought a pair of new Fiat 128s when I was in the first grade), but I was excited about Fiat's return in 2011 and reviewed a 500 Sport in April of that year. It wasn't a great fit with the tastes of mainstream American vehicle shoppers, sadly, and it got the axe here after 2019. A new electron-fueled 500e should be available any minute now, so the American Fiat 500 story is nowhere near finished. This car has the Sport trim level, so its MSRP was $17,500 (about $23,959 in 2024 dollars). It has the optional six-speed automatic transmission, which added $1,000 to the price ($1,369 after inflation). The engine is a 1.4-liter MultiAir straight-four rated at 101 horsepower and 98 pound-feet. Members of this engine family have powered everything from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta to the Jeep Renegade.

Ralph Gilles named Fiat Chrysler head of design

The amalgamation of two major automakers like Fiat and Chrysler inevitably means that there'll be some redundancy. There can't be two design chiefs for the entire group, for example, so the Italian-American automaker has named just one to oversee all design for its various divisions – and that one individual is Ralph Gilles. A Chrysler group veteran, Gilles has been at Auburn Hills since 1992, and has held a number of key positions along the way. He has until now served as senior vice president in charge of what's now known as the FCA North American Design Office – a position he assumed in June 2009 when it was still just the Chrysler design office – and has previously run the Dodge and SRT brands and headed up the company's racing activities. In assuming his new role as the group's Head of Design, Gilles will also step up to the FCA Group Executive Council. Meanwhile Lorenzo Ramaciotti, who joined Fiat as head of design in 2007 after serving the same function at Pininfarina, is now set to retire. Along with the Gilles appointment and Ramaciotti retirement, FCA has named Mauro Fenzi as group COO Systems and head of Comau, Fiat's robotic machinery division. FCA Announces Executive Changes - Appoints Gilles as Chief Designer - Names Fenzi COO Systems and CEO of Comau April 1, 2015 , London - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU / MI: FCA) today announced that Ralph Gilles was named Head of Design and member of the FCA Group Executive Council (GEC). He currently leads the FCA North American Design Office as Senior Vice President, a position he was named to in June 2009. The GEC is the highest management-level decision making body within the FCA organization and is led by the FCA Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Gilles succeeds Lorenzo Ramaciotti, who is retiring after several years of dedicated service with the Company. Ramaciotti will continue to lend his expertise to the group serving as a Special Advisor to the CEO. "We extend our sincere appreciation to Lorenzo for his unwavering dedication, service, leadership and many contributions to the organization," said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. Gilles previously served as CEO – Motorsports; President and CEO – SRT Brand and CEO – Dodge Brand for FCA US in addition to his leadership role in Design. He joined the Company in 1992.