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Chrysler-Fiat quality chief out after another poor Consumer Reports showing

Fiat Chrysler has announced a management change following the company's woeful performance in the latest Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey. Of the 28 brands surveyed, FCA's marques occupied the five the seven lowest scores, while Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Fiat were the four lowest scorers.
Doug Betts, FCA's 51-year-old head of quality "left the company to pursue other interests," which, considering the aforementioned paragraph, means he was sacked. According to Automotive News, Betts joined Chrysler in 2007, defecting from Nissan, and, insiders report, had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with new boss Sergio Marchionne.
His replacement is the newly promoted Matthew Lidane (shown at inset), who was formerly VP of systems and components. Lidane has been at Chrysler since 1987 and was previously chief engineer of the Jeep product team as well as the vehicle line boss for the compact US wide platform which (ironically) underpins two of FCA's lowest scoring vehicles, the Dodge Dart and Jeep Cherokee.

Watch how one man finds contentment in his Fiat 2300 S Coupe

At least once a day we hear about the glory of cars of years past, whether for their light weight, their simplicity, their manual transmissions or the way you could order options without ordering packages. But we know that we - and yes, even we here at Autoblog - romanticize plenty of it; that light weight meant atrocious NVH, those options sheets didn't include any of the things we take for granted in a Ford Fiesta today.
Nevertheless, there are those classics that make it worth it - for them it is no problem to endure the constant draft of bad window seals, the need to add another quart of oil every couple hundred miles. Petrolicious has found one such car and owner, Pierantonio Micciarelli and his Fiat 2300 S Coupe in Milan, Italy. His Ghia-bodied two-door can't be driven during the day and cost him 800 euros in gas for a 2,500-kilometer trip to a wedding, but the payoff is that moving beauty that makes him "feel like an emperor."
But there's no reason to listen to us tell it - enjoy Macciarelli tell his own story in the video below.

Chrysler's Woodward Dream Cruise festivities include Ram concept truck debut

The streets will be crowded next weekend along Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, Michigan for the 19th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise. As part of the run-up to the festivities, Chrysler has announced that all of its brands - Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat, SRT and Mopar - will bring along their latest vehicles. Also included will be a collection of classic American cars and various activities for attendees at the official Chrysler location on the corner of Woodward and 13 Mile Road.
Special to this year, Ram brand director Bob Hegbloom and head of design John Dehner will unveil a Ram concept truck on Saturday. Chrysler will also bring Ryan Friedlinghaus of West Coast Customs fame along to show off a few custom Chrysler-made vehicles of his own. Fans of the brand on Facebook will get the chance to virtually customize a vehicle from the automaker's portfolio, with the winner getting their dream car built for them by Chrysler. Pretty cool stuff, no?
As in past years, Ford and General Motors will have an official presence at the event as well, and you can expect to see plenty of cars of all makes and models from all parts of the globe. The madness starts this Friday, August 16, from 4:30 PM to 10 PM, with the main event taking place on Saturday, from 9 AM to 9 PM. For more details on the show, including events and their times, check out the press release below.