2011 Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, and Jeep vehicles are updated and show promise

What did you accomplish this past year? If you're like many people, progress at home and at the workplace has been modest. Not the case for Chrysler. Since the company rose from bankruptcy flames, elevated by a partnership with Fiat and financial support from the Canadian and U.S. governments, it has been moving at a blistering pace.

You wouldn't know it from the low-profile the company has kept the past 12 months, but there has been a bustle of engineering work going on behind the scenes. Historically, the automaker has been at the center of the auto show three-ring circus. This past season the Chrysler Group opted to simply vote "present" at these vital, high-profile events while instead preparing to host its own attraction at your local dealership—assuming it survived the rapid downsizing last year, of course.

We recently had an opportunity to inspect and drive a range of products from Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, and Jeep brands, including freshened models and redesigned vehicles. There is no question that Chrysler has been busy, and what it has accomplished in so short a time is laudable.

Chrysler previews future Jeep pickup truck, Dodge Viper to dealers

Car enthusiasts and even casual shoppers always want to know, "What's next?" Idle curiosity and fuel for automotive passions are legitimate reasons for wanting a peek at the new hardware. Usually, auto shows satisfy this need but with Chrysler having been rather mute about future product during the last auto show season, consumers are left wondering.

As part of the automaker's restructuring, Chrysler has been rather open about its plans for imminent product freshenings, redesigns, and restylings. It just hasn't shown much to the public until this past month with the revised Chrysler Town & Country, all-new Dodge Durango, updated Jeep Wrangler, and tease of the freshened Sebring, recast as the 200. Now, word has it that dealers were shown two notable concepts at a recent meeting that give insight into future Jeep Wrangler pickup and a next-generation Dodge Viper.

Unveiled: Fiat 500 Sport

The Fiat 500, the first offering from the partnership of Chrysler and the European company, is set to go on sale at the end of the year. Chrysler just announced that a Sport version and two other models will join the base model.

The Sport will be powered by a 1.4-liter engine with MultiAir technology, which Chrysler claims reduces emissions up to 10 percent, compared to similar engines, while improving fuel economy and power. No official EPA fuel numbers or horsepower figures have been released yet.

The Sport will have a sport-tuned suspension and 16-inch wheels as well as a power sunroof and painted brake calipers. The 500 will also be available in Pop and Lounge versions, which will have different equipment options and exterior styling cues. More details on the differences will be announced in the coming weeks. A convertible version will be available in the spring.

Which? Car reliability news gives insight into future models

It would seem reasonable to assume that a vehicle with a history of good marks for reliability in the United States would get similar owner feedback from owners overseas. But hey, you never know.

Thanks to our friends at Which? magazine, whose annual car survey is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom, now we do. Like Consumer Reports, Which? does not accept advertising and gets its reliability data directly from readers who report breakdowns, unscheduled repairs, and minor issues with their own cars. Their methods differ from ours, and some of the cars in their survey are not sold here. Still, the findings are quite interesting.

End of the road: Chrysler builds last PT Cruiser

With retro-inspired styling and a versatile interior, the 2001 PT Cruiser proved that small and affordable needn't mean dull. Its initial buzz was strong and the PT quickly gained popularity. Over a long 10-year model run, the PT Cruiser introduced a turbocharged variant, a convertible, and many special editions, yet beyond a minor midlife interior freshening, precious little was done to update this distinctive model. With sales dipping and no announced replacement on the horizon, Chrysler has discontinued the PT Cruiser. The last example was built on Friday.

The Toluca, Mexico, assembly plant where the PT Cruiser was built alongside the Dodge Journey will be converted to build the Fiat 500 for North America, spearheading the return of that Italian brand. (See our Fiat 500 driving impressions.)

Fiat will have its own dealers

With the small Fiat 500 soon arriving on U.S. shores, Chrysler has announced that it will set up a new dealer network to sell Fiats here. The company will begin taking applications from dealers this week, and plans to set up as many as 200 Fiat dealerships in about 125 cities in 41 states next year.

The 500, which is expected by the end of this year, will be the first Fiat sold here since the early 1980s. That will be followed by the 500 convertible in 2011 and an electric version of the 500 in 2012. The Fiat dealerships are expected to have their own showrooms separate from Chrysler’s.

Chrysler releases post-bankruptcy earnings

In their first financial-earnings announcement since Fiat took over operations in last June, Chrysler LLC CEO Sergio Marchionne reported a positive operating profit and cash flow for the first quarter of 2010 and a net revenue increase of 3 percent over the prior quarter. However, the automaker still lost almost $4 billion since it emerged from bankruptcy last year and $197 million the first quarter. The company expects to reach its financial targets throughout the year, including breaking even with its operating budget.

Chrysler has been quiet since it emerged from bankruptcy as we observed from their muted presence at this year’s auto shows. The automaker is said to be making changes to a number of vehicles in their lineup, which will be unveiled in the second quarter. These vehicles include the highly anticipated 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee (due out in June) and the Fiat 500 (an electric follows in 2012). The automaker will also unveil updates of the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. A freshening for the Chrysler Sebring, a new crossover vehicle, and a replacement for the Dodge Durango SUV are also in the works.

2010 New York Auto Show: Chrysler remains a sleeping giant

Chrysler again had nothing new or notable on display at a major auto show. Back in January, I was baffled at how the highlights for the large joint Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Fiat/Ferrari megabooth counted just a couple trim packages and an obligatory novelty color for the Dodge Challenger. As a ward of the federal state, doesn’t Chrysler owe it to the hundreds of thousands of show-going tax payers to trumpet the great potential the company now has? It owes it to its employees, as well. Instead, the signal it has been sending has been anything but optimistic.

In speaking with several senior managers, it is clear that Chrysler has product in the pipeline--vehicles that are truly show worthy. Yet, the once proud automaker has become show shy.

Certainly the glory days of breathtaking concept cars are behind us for most car companies. There is no need for a Viper-engined motorcycle or twin-Hemi-powered Jeep Wrangler to take a stage. But what about teasing a few models going on sale this calendar year? Given how consumer sales have been plummeting for Chrysler, as it pads its monthly figures with fleet sales, getting potential customers to hang in there for a few weeks or months for a new or updated vehicle would seem to be smart strategy.

Fiat 500 electric car headed to U.S. market

Chrysler has announced that the electric version of the Fiat 500 will hit U.S. shores in 2012.

The 500 EV will be developed at the company’s headquarters in Michigan, and it will use a lithium-ion battery. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but Chrysler says it will competitive with similar electric vehicles. When it arrives, the 500 EV will compete for early adopters with the Mitsubishi iMiev and Nissan Leaf electric cars.

The first vehicle from Chrysler and Fiat’s union, the gasoline-fueled version of the Fiat 500 is scheduled to debut at the end of 2010.

In other Chrysler news, the company has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive a grant up to $48 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Vehicle Electrification program. Chrysler plans to build 140 electric Dodge Ram pickups for a three year test in real-world conditions.

2010 Detroit Auto Show: The Chrysler product black hole

Chrysler has a long-standing reputation for putting on dramatic, headline-grabbing press conferences at the Detroit auto show. In years past, cattle was herded down Washington Blvd. in front of Cobo Center with the new Dodge Ram; a Jeep Wrangler concept crashed spectacularly through the front glass at the convention hall; arctic storms were once simulated for the Chrysler Aspen unveiling; and in the 1990s, a Dodge Grand Caravan famously leapfrogged over the stage. While such eye candy and entertainment added grandeur to the Motor City event, it was always the plethora of new vehicles and concept cars that kept journalists’ pens scribbling. This year the reconfigured multi-brand Chrysler booth was decidedly subdued and a virtual black hole of show-worthy vehicles.

Coming off a painful year, Chrysler has emerged from bankruptcy and is working hard with new partner Fiat at rapidly developing the strategy and vehicles that can carry the company forward to profitability. Having taken billions in federal assistance, it is incumbent upon Chrysler to demonstrate that the faith America expressed in saving the troubled corporation was well founded. Messages of hope and promises of exciting, new product were expected at the Detroit show. What we heard and saw was total silence.