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Chrysler Airflow being redesigned and renamed for production

The Chrysler Airflow concept is dead in name and form. Motor Trend spoke to Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles, who said brand CEO Chris Feuell "wanted a statement that had literally zero to do with anything that you have seen today, even the Airflow concept car. It is evolving in a new direction." When MT spoke to Feuell about the name, she said, "There is a group of people who love the Airflow name and just as many who beg us not to use it." The magazine believes a new-to-the-brand name will get the nod, Chrysler perhaps hoping to perform a hard reset on buyer perceptions. The redesign is far enough along to have been previewed in Los Angeles earlier this year, Feuell saying reactions tell them "we have a hit on our hands," Gilles saying "It blew the doors off." We won't see it until next year, and no one at the brand has offered a clue about how it's changed from the Airflow concept now a couple of years old. We know Feuell is plotting a remake of the entire the Chrysler experience, from shopping its products online and at dealers to after-sales care. She's said before she wants Chrysler to become Stellantis' "startup brand," offering "clean mobility, seamless technology," and affordable pricing. Affordable doesn't mean what it used to mean, so we don't know where product planners intend to slot the coming vehicles. Tesla buyers have been mentioned as one of Feuell's targets, but we're clearly still in the early days of transformation when marketing Venn diagrams encompass aspirations and projections that will be whittled out as production nears. Even for all that, the Airflow didn't scream "Chrysler transformed!" save for its battery-electric powertrain. Chrysler's tracking like Jaguar at the moment, with a lean range for dealers until the EV revolution begins in 2025. And as with Jaguar, considering how long Chrysler's plateaued, putting it kindly, it's not surprising the boss wants a more compelling wrapper. When the Pentastar's two-row crossover debuts, it will sit on the STLA Large platform, offer 400- and 800-volt electrical architectures, and pack batteries that power up to 400 miles of range. More important, it will establish the baseline for the product overhaul leading to an entirely new portfolio by 2028. We'd love to see Chrysler get it right. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Auto bailout cost the US goverment $9.26B

Depending on your outlook, the US Treasury's bailout of General Motors, Chrysler (now FCA) and their financing divisions under the Troubled Asset Relief Program was either a complete boondoggle or a savvy move to secure the future of some major employers. Regardless of where you fall, the auto industry bailout has officially ended, and the numbers have been tallied. Of the $79.69 billion that the Feds invested to keep the automakers afloat, it recouped $70.43 billion – a net loss of $9.26 billion. The final nail in the coffin for the auto bailout came in December 2014 when the Feds sold its shares in Ally Financial, formerly GMAC. The deal turned out pretty good for the government too because the investment turned a 2.4 billion profit. The actual automakers have long been out of the Treasury's hands, though. The current FCA paid back its loans six years early in 2011, the Treasury sold of the last shares of GM in late 2013. According to The Detroit News, the government's books actually show an official loss on the auto bailouts of $16.56 billion. The difference is because the larger figure does not include the interest or dividends paid by the borrowers on the amount lent. While it's easy to see fault in any red ink on the Feds' massive investment, the number is less than some earlier estimates. At one time, deficits around $44 billion were thought possible, and another put things at a $20.3 billion loss. Outside of just the government losing money, the bailouts might have helped the overall economy. A study from the Center for Automotive Research last year estimated that the program saved 2.6 million jobs and about $284.4 billion in personal wealth. It also indicated that the Feds' reduction in income tax revenue alone from Chrysler and GM going under could have been around $100 billion for just 2009 and 2010, significantly more than any loss in the bailout.

Fiat Chrysler wins top Total Quality Award for first time

The Strategic Vision Total Quality Awards are 20 years old in 2015, and Chrysler has never topped the awards before. Until now, that is. Fiat Chrysler takes the overall award on the corporate level with six segment leaders from Fiat, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. The Fiat 500 won Small Multi-Function Car, the 500e won Small Alternative Powertrain, the Dodge Challenger tied at the top in the Specialty Coupe category alongside the very un-coupe Mini Cooper Countryman, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited took the Entry SUV category, the Dodge Durango won in Mid-Size SUV, and Ram took the overall in Best Non-Luxury Brand. The accolade means FCA has gone from one segment winner in 2010 to overall victory in five years. Cars have gotten so good, says Strategic Vision, that it is harder than ever to win. In fact, says the group, 18 years ago 85 percent of all vehicle brands had more than half a problem per vehicle. This year, no brand has more than half a problem per vehicle. The organization measures "over 155 specific aspects of the customer's experience," and scores are based on input from more than 46,000 customers. Other notables in and near the winner's circle include Volkswagen and General Motors, who tied for second place on the corporate scale, one point behind FCA. The Mini Cooper Roadster scored the highest of any model, the Corvette Stingray Convertible and Coupe scored the second- and third-highest. The Chevrolet Colorado is the first domestic Standard Pickup winner in more than ten years, and the Nissan Titan carried the Full-Size Pickup category. The press release below has all the details on how winners and losers are selected, and the full list of automakers and how they finished. "The Customer's 'Total' Experience Defines Quality, Fiat Chrysler Scores Highest in Total Quality," says Strategic Vision The 2015 Total Quality Awards® SAN DIEGO, Friday, July 17, 2015 — Unknown to many, when some consumer research firms rank a car company's quality performance they often do so by simply "counting problems." In the past, this may have been acceptable, but in today's modern and efficient manufacturing world the difference between the worst brand and best brand is LESS than half-a-problem per vehicle. Thus, any "quality ranking" based on this method is severely lacking in the complete picture of the "Total" Quality experience that customers actually use to judge their product ownership.