The Sergio Surge: Chrysler's New Lineup Takes Shape

Next week, on November 4, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is scheduled to lead a six-hour presentation on the future of its American division — yep, six hours. Today, however, I'll provide a special service to Krome on Cars readers by summarizing that exposition in just six words: 2012 is a long ways away.

And that's how long it will be before the "new" Chrysler product portfolio approaches completion. Certainly, one of the biggest questions Marchionne will face will be, "how can Chrysler survive until then?" But even once Fiat and Chrysler have more fully integrated their vehicle plans, maintaining a viable business in the U.S. will be a challenge.

News of a probable new lineup was recently broken by the "Wall Street Journal," and here's the way the pundits there think things will shake out.

First off, let's peek at Chrysler proper, which currently offers the PT Cruiser, Sebring, Town and Country, and 300. The thinking is that the Cruiser and Sebring will get the axe, with the Fiat 500 coming on board. I'll call the trade-off between the PT Cruiser and the small Fiat a push: They're both essentially "gimmick" vehicles. The Chrysler — at one time on "Car and Driver" magazine's Ten Best list and a former North American Car of the Year — helped to drive the retro theme of the early 2000s, and the Fiat acts as sort of a miniature Italian MINI. In the U.S. market, the Fiat 500 — a Smart-sized city car, just so we're all clear on its size — would also likely be Chrysler's mpg leader as well.

But the loss of the much-maligned Sebring will open a pretty big hole for Chrysler, leaving the division without a competitor in the important midsize segment. Traditionally, the Sebring also has been available as a relatively affordable convertible, giving the company a clear differentiator when compared to rivals like the Ford Fusion or Chevrolet Malibu.

Now, I'm no Sergio Marchionne, but I would have thought the better solution to the Sebring problem was to build a better one, not give up on this vital segment of the industry.

Next up is Dodge, which is supposed to split off its truck business into the newly formed Ram division and then carry on as, essentially, Chrysler's sporty brand. This removes the current Dodge Caliber, Dodge Nitro, Dodge Avenger and Dodge Grand Caravan from the roster, leaving the Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Journey.

Again, there's a gaping midsize-sized hole left in this lineup, and, for a division that's supposed to be all about "agility" and "excitement," the lack of smaller entry, one that is more Eurocar than muscle car, is even more glaring. It's just barely conceivable this is where the Dodge Circuit could fit in, assuming the Lotus-based all-electric coupe ever sees the light of day.

From a positioning standpoint, leaving the Journey with Dodge is a bit confusing, as the rather staid-looking crossover doesn't seem to have much in the way of sportiness about it. But I suppose it's not truck-ish enough to be a Ram, and, given the growing consumer market for crossovers, it had to land somewhere.

Which brings up another problem. Unless the Ram division does end up selling a crossover or two — which could risk diluting the whole Ram trucks positioning right from the start — the Journey would actually be the only crossover the Chrysler company sells.

That's because Jeep is supposed to be ending its own journey, so to speak, among the soft-roaders. The division will leave behind both the Compass and the Patriot, the latter of which was just named "Compact SUV of Texas," for what it's worth, and also delete the Commander. The fate of the Jeep Liberty seems to be yet up in the air, but, as the smallest "real" Jeep, it would make sense to keep it. That way the division would be able to do a standard small, medium, large take on things with the Liberty, Wrangler and highly anticipated new Grand Cherokee.

But just to get back to the crossover thing, I'd say Jeep without one is a good thing; Chrysler with just one is a bad thing.

Of course, to really accentuate the Italian flavor of the new Chrysler, Alfa Romeo will make its long-awaited(?) return to the American market with the MiTo, a small three-door hatchback that's basically the next size up from the Fiat 500 and more of a true competitor to the MINI Cooper; the Milano, a three- or five-door hatch that's still nearly a foot shorter than a Honda Civic; the 8C Competizione, your basic six-figure (about $240,000) Italian supercar; and an upcoming mid-size sedan that could very well be built on the same platform as the next-generation Chrysler 300.

And I say that as Alfa goes, so goes Chrysler. If the former is really considered part of the Chrysler "team" and sold through Chrysler dealers, and if the demand/quality of Alfas is a bit higher this time around, and if American customers are ready to embrace smaller, more European vehicles in general, then the outlook for Chrysler shows at least some glimmers of hope.

But if Chrysler and Dodge dealers have to go without a mid-size sedan on their lots, and if the company as a whole doesn't add to its presence in the crossover segments, well, that's a different story. I'm not going to go all "let's check the Aztec calendar" here, but maybe there's more than one reason for expecting 2012 to be a key date in Chrysler history.