The reborn 2013 SRT Viper was one of 66 different models and variants shown during the Las Vegas dealer meeting.
Chrysler is getting strong marks from dealers who attended the maker’s product sneak peek in Las Vegas this week, an event that revealed dozens of new and upcoming models designed to “completely rejuvenate the product line-up.”
The preview was intended to not only show Chrysler retailers what will be landing in showrooms in the coming months but also give a hint of what’s on tap further down the line. CEO Sergio Marchionne and his team are hoping to prove that the broad Chrysler revival plan they laid out in a day-long session in November 2009 is coming to fruition and that the maker will defy skeptics who thought it was only a matter of time until it would collapse once again.
“We are less than two years away from having an almost completely rejuvenated product lineup compared to what we could offer customers when we began this journey in June 2009,” Marchionne told the dealers gathered in Las Vegas.
The skeptics were many when Marchionne – then the CEO of Fiat – assumed control of Chrysler following its 2009 bankruptcy and U.S. government bailout. The executive, who now manages both sides of the trans-Atlantic alliance, acknowledged it would take several years to begin rolling out the products Chrysler needed.
That process began with updates of the Chrysler 200 sedan and Jeep Grand Cherokee, more than a year ago, and follows for 2013 with the all-new Dodge Dart which is showing solid momentum in the market.
But the dealer meeting revealed that Chrysler and its various North American brands will both update most of the rest of the line-up while also covering new “white space” with models like the upcoming Chrysler 100 subcompact and a subcompact crossover for the Jeep brand.
Just two years after its high-profile launch during a Super Bowl ad campaign featuring rapper Eminem, the 200 model will be completely replaced with a new vehicle sharing its platform with Fiat’s Alfa brand.
In fact, that is one of the most significant developments at Chrysler as it merges its product development program with that of its Italian partner. The 2013 Dart – as well as the planned Jeep subcompact crossover and the replacement for the bigger Jeep Liberty – are all relying on Fiat-based platforms, though many of those have been tweaked for the U.S. market.
Also on display during the Las Vegas dealer meeting were two models that will be used for the belated U.S. revival of Fiat’s upscale Alfa-Romeo brand. That launch was delayed when Marchionne decided earlier Alfa products just wouldn’t cut it in the market because they weren’t distinctive enough from other Chrysler offerings.
Fiat itself is going to be expanding its North American line-up with the new 500L, a stretched version of the current 500 coupe and convertible. A crossover is also in the works based on the 500X being launched in Europe.
While Fiat will provide the foundation for some offerings – especially smaller models – Chrysler will continue to develop many basic platforms and products at its Auburn Hills, Michigan headquarters and technical center. That includes a new full-size, three-row Jeep that will be based on the recently dropped Dodge Durango.
In all, 66 different models and variants were on display for the dealers – whom Marchionne thanked profusely for “upholding your end of the bargain” and sticking around when Chrysler appeared destined for failure. “You did so despite the hard times and the uncertainty that surrounded our fate.”
In fact, Chrysler lopped 100s of dealers off its roles as part of its post-bankruptcy strategy – though it eventually pared back the list under pressure from Congress which ordered an arbitration program to allow both Chrysler and General Motors dealers to fight for their franchises. GM also ordered sharp cuts in its dealer count post-bankruptcy.
But those in attendance said the mood in Las Vegas was more celebratory than recriminatory. Dealers were reportedly buoyed by two new products coming to market for 2013: the low-volume but high-profile Viper and the newly remade Ram 1500 pickup.
In a conversation last month, Marchionne told TheDetroitBureau.com the strategy he and his team laid out in November 2009 is “dead-on” with what Chrysler is now accomplishing.
Nonetheless, he also acknowledged there are a number of things up in the air. The newly approved 54.5 mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard will drive development of newer, lighter, smaller models using technology such as the 9-speed automatic transmission that will debut on the upcoming Jeep Liberty replacement.
As for vehicles like the Viper, with their big, high-performance engines? Products like those, Marchionne warned, could soon become “as rare as white flies.”