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Filed under: Coupes , Economy , Hatchbacks , Chrysler , Dodge , Nissan Click above for high-res gallery of the Dodge Hornet concept The Dodge Hornet was one of the best-looking concepts that Chrysler has produced the past few years, and thanks to a partnership with Nissan , the impressive-looking compact is inching closer to production. Chrysler and Nissan have yet to officially announce details of the upcoming Nissan Versa-based vehicle they'll develop together, other than to say that it'd be available as a 2010 model, but everyone is banking on a production Hornet. Chrysler vice president of international sales Thomas Hausch recently said that the Pentastar is working hard on a Hornet Study, and that Chrysler would "announce something" in the near future. The linked Automotive News article is further evidence that our suspicions were correct and that Nissan, rather than Chinese automaker Chery, will build it. [Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd] Read | Permalink...
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Filed under: Economy , Plants/Manufacturing , Hatchbacks , Chrysler , Dodge Click above to view high-res gallery of the Dodge Hornet Concept It's been so long since we've heard anything new regarding the Dodge Hornet concept from way back in 2006 that you could be forgiven for assuming it was dead on arrival. Not so, according to Thomas Hausch, ChryCo's veep for international purchasing, who says that the automaker is hard at work developing its Hornet model. Not that it's particularly shocking that Chrysler would be doing everything in its power to bring more small cars to market, considering that sales in that segment are so strong in the face of $4 per gallon gasoline. It has long been assumed that the tie-up with Chinese automaker Chery would yield the first Chrysler compact, but remember that Chrysler recently made a deal with Nissan. In that arrangement, Nissan would get a version of the Dodge Ram in exchange for a Nissan-built small designed and developed by Chrysler...
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Filed under: Convertibles , Economy , China , Chrysler , Dodge If you've been waiting on pins and needles for a small Chrysler that's due to be built in China by Chery, you're going to have to twiddle your thumbs a little longer. Though we've been hearing about a Chrysler/Chery Hornet or Demon for some time, execs from both companies don't believe the products are ready for North America, yet. Quality and safety are still a concern with the vehicles, but Chrysler's China boss Phil Murtaugh feels the challenges are far from insurmountable. Chery Chairman, Yin Tongyao, is also convinced that more work needs to be done to get the product up to US standards, saying the US and Europe are "very mature markets." Chery is dying to get its affordable vehicles into the US market, but both Chrysler and Chery seem to understand that any sub-standard Chinese vehicles are destined to take their place next to Yugo in the history books. Chances are that the two companies...
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Filed under: Economy , Trucks/Pickups , Chrysler , Nissan We just got off the phone with Frédérique Le Grèves, Nissan's VP of Corporate Communications, and had a chance to ask her some more questions about the Japanese automaker's recently announced partnership with Chrysler LLC . The partnership involves Chrysler building a full-size truck for Nissan at its Saltillo, Mexico plant and Nissan building a small car for Chrysler at its Oppama plant in Japan. While Le Grèves wasn't able to offer many specific details because the car won't arrive until 2010 and the truck a year later in 2011, she did shed some light on a few things. For one, when asked about what engines the next-gen Titan (we're not sure if Nissan will rename the truck) would use, Le Grèves remarked that partnering with Chrysler would allow Nissan to offer more options to its customers. Thus, the Titan may be powered by not only the company's venerable VK56 V8, but also...
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Filed under: Economy , Trucks/Pickups , Plants/Manufacturing , Chrysler , Nissan Following the announcement this past January that Nissan would be supplying Chrysler with a new car based of the Versa's platform, the two automakers announced today that more exchange is on the horizon, including a new small car for Chrysler and a Dodge-based pickup for Nissan. The unnamed small car will be built by Nissan in Japan utilizing a Chrysler design and will be sold in North America, Europe and other markets in 2010. On the other side of the spectrum, Chrysler will build a full-size pick-up for Nissan that will share design cues with the rest of the Nissan line and be built at Chrysler's Saltillo Assembly Plant in Mexico. Sales of the pick-up will begin in North America in 2011. The move is part of an effort by both automakers to utilize each other's global manufacturing facilities and finally gets Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's CEO, the American automaker partnership he's been looking...
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Filed under: Economy , China , Plants/Manufacturing , Hatchbacks , Chrysler , Dodge The Dodge Breeze is A #1. Or, rather, it's an A1. Chinese automaker Chery's deal with Chrysler LLC to produce small cars for Chrysler's three brands begat the little buzz-about you see above. The photo appeared on a Chinese forum and is supposedly the Chinese Plymouth Dodge Breeze, one of the aforementioned adventures in rebadging. The cars produced as a result of the agreement would not be limited to China, as the low-end rides would be sold in other developing markets, and high-end cars will be destined for others. The Breeze would be a Chinese-built car that gives Dodge a presence in the minicar segment. It also has the honor of dragging (if obliquely) The Brand Formerly Known As Plymouth back into our lives, though we really wish they would have gone with Volare. [Source: Carscoop] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Podcasts , Economy , Hatchbacks , BMW , Chevrolet , Chrysler , Ford , Jaguar , Jeep , MINI , Toys , Australia , FPV , Tata UPDATE: Back by popular demand, direct download of the podcast has been added as a link below. The biggest news of the past week: the suckfest that was the Knight Rider movie. Alex liveblogged it so that we didn't have to watch. Sure it was crap, but was it really that bad? The original was a clunker, too, remember. There's car stuff going on, too, and we move on to covering what's in our respective Autoblog Garages . Keep an eye out for some new reviews, and John has a podcast-exclusive announcement, too. We spin off into a small car smackdown, postulate on who should buy Jaguar if Tata flips them , and boomerang back to our MINI vs. Aveo sales number deathmatch. In this week's installment of "Fords We Don't Get," there's a new Austrailian Falcon that is available in full-on sinister. It's badass in FPV...
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Filed under: Economy , Plants/Manufacturing , Hatchbacks , Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep After a five-day shutdown due to a mechanical glitch at Chrysler's Belvidere stamping plant, the facility will again be able to resume building the Dodge Caliber , Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot . In the short term, Chrysler will keep the assembly facility running smoothly by outsourcing stamping to other nearby plants. The shutdown came only weeks before the Belvidere plant permanently drops one shift, which will result in the indefinite layoff of 1,000 workers. With a tough economy in which automakers are struggling to sell units, it's unlikely many people will have difficulty finding a Caliber, Compass, or Patriot as a result of the temporary shutdown. [Source: Auto News (subs. req'd)] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Detroit Auto Show , Economy , Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , SUVs , Green , Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep Click image for a hi-res gallery of Chrysler's concepts We're back from the Chrysler press conference that saw the Detroit Auto Show debuts of the Jeep Renegade , Dodge ZEO , and Chrysler ecoVoyager . As we have mentioned already, each is born out of the automaker's ENVI program, the focus of which is on new, environmentally-friendly electric propulsion. As such, all the concepts share the same 200 kw (268 hp equivalent) electric motor powered by a currently nonexistent lithium-ion battery pack and augmented by a secondary "range-extender" in the Renegade and ecoVoyager. That includes a vaporware fuel-cell in the latter. It's all okay, though, because as Chrysler's Frank Klegon pointed out, these are "pure concepts." He then went on to say that these "pure concepts" would be seen "in future production vehicles...
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Filed under: Green , Chrysler , Earnings/Financials Detroit's sharp intake of breath over the very real possibility of increased federal fuel economy standards apparently doesn't include Chrysler's voice. CEO Robert Nardelli has told The Car Connection that rather than waste lots of time and energy opposing the likely increase to a 35 mpg fleet average, Chrysler will put its head down and get it done. Attaining the goal will not be without pain, however. Cuts will be made, and the books are still in the red. There is hope, though, if Chrysler and parent Cerberus Capital can stick it out. A new contract with the UAW eases some of the automaker's financial burden, allowing that money to be plowed into development of more fuel efficient vehicles. There's a new two-mode hybrid system, co-developed with Daimler, GM, and BMW, which should help lift the fleet average without Chrysler abandoning their bread and butter moneymakers. With a lineup heavy in less-frugal vehicles...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Motorsports , Podcasts , Economy , Sedans/Saloons , Crossovers/CUVs , Chrysler , Dodge , Ford , Jaguar , Misc. Auto Shows It's car debut week, apparently, for Autoblog Podcast #76. As we start winding up for the car show season...
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Filed under: Economy , Chrysler , DaimlerChrysler , Dodge , Misc. Auto Shows Information is more than scant, but Chrysler will be kicking off the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise by pulling the wraps off a new vehicle later this morning. Not just any new vehicle...
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