2005 Dodge Ram Daytona Edition 5.7 Hemi on 2040-cars

Auto blog

FCA is setting a five-year strategy: Here's how the last one played out

We're slightly more than four years removed from Sergio Marchionne last five-year plan for FCA, a tell-all where the Italian-American automaker divulged its plans for the 2014 through 2018 model years. It was a grand affair, where Sergio told FCA investors that all was right in Auburn Hills, Alfa Romeo and Maserati were making comebacks, and the fifth-gen Dodge Viper received a mid-cycle refresh. You can read every last one of those past predictions right here. We're on our way to Europe to see Sergio's sequel, coming out Friday straight from FCA's Italian headquarters. (Bloomberg reports a plan to expand Jeep and Ram globally, combine Alfa Romeo and Maserati into a single division for an eventual spinoff, and downsizing Fiat and Chrysler. Also, EVs.) But before we arrive in Italy and find out exactly what Marchionne has planned for 2019 through 2023 as his last act as CEO, let's take a minute to tally up the results of his last term based on the same scoresheet we used in 2014. Now, we're only five months into 2018, so much of this — including vehicles like the Ram HD and Jeep Grand Wagoneer — could still debut this year. For those, we'll mark things TBD. We're not going to draw any conclusions or make any objectionable remarks. We're simply going to let the stats speak for themselves.

2013 Dodge Dart gets brace of new special edition models

After almost a year on the market it, it is becoming more clear to Dodge how customers like to option out their Darts, so the automaker has combined popular features into three special edition packages and sweetened the prices. Start with a standard 2013 Dart and add either the SXT or Limited "Special Editions" or Rallye Appearance Group, and you'll save yourself a lot of box checking.
The $595 Dart SXT Special Edition takes the trim just above the base model and adds a new grille, dark-tinted headlights and projector fog lights, LED racetrack taillights, cruise control and audio controls on the leather-wrapped steering wheel. The Limited Special Edition starts with the top-end model and adds a power sunroof, heated front seats and steering wheel, dual-zone climate control and Nappa leather seats among other features, for $1,810.
The Rallye Appearance Group (pictured) is a package for the SXT, and it blacks out the front fascia, throws on 17-inch wheels and some badging for $395. The new special editions are reaching dealers now and could help the Dart's sales to further improve after a slow start. You can find out more about them in the press release below.

Dodge says three new variants of the Charger and Challenger are on their way

Introduced in 2008, the current Dodge Challenger is one of the oldest new cars on the American market. It's not ready to retire, and documents published by Canadian union Unifor confirm it will remain in production until at least 2023. Better yet, the company announced it will release several new versions of the car in the coming years. Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) narrowly avoided a costly strike by signing a new three-year agreement with Unifor, the union that represents most of its Canadian workers. It pledged to inject $1.58 billion Canadian (about $1.2 billion U.S.) into its local operations while creating 2,000 new jobs in the nation. Some of that money will be allocated to the Brampton Assembly factory located on the outskirts of Toronto, where it will be used to build three new variants of Dodge's Charger and Challenger models. Details about what the company has in store weren't included in the release, but Dodge has shown it's capable of mustering an unusually high level of creativity when it comes to keeping the Challenger and the Charger fresh. Hellcat, Demon, T/A 392, and Super Stock models have joined the range in recent years, and its efforts have paid off, as 60,997 units of the Challenger were sold in the United States in 2019. It even outsold the Camaro and the Mustang during the third quarter of the year. Annual Charger sales jumped by 21% to 96,935 units in 2019. With that said, Dodge's definition of a new variant is murky. It could be alluding to a trim level, an option package, a limited-edition model, or a face-lifted version. Regardless, we're betting they'll be exceptionally powerful. Chrysler will continue to build the 300 in Brampton through 2023, too, but there's no word on what the future has in store for the sedan. It's also relatively old, but it's not faring nearly as well as its Dodge-badged siblings. Sales fell to 29,213 units in 2019, a 37% drop compared to 2018, and the lineup was pared down for 2021. Moving west, the Windsor factory will be retooled to build plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, and it will be assigned at least one new model, but FCA didn't reveal what it will be, or when we'll see it. Industry whisperings claim that's where the production version of the CES-friendly Chrysler Portal concept will be built.