Dodge Could Get New MPV

Interesting....C'mon Honda, bring the Honda Stream to North America! Listen to what people are asking for!
In April, Fiat rolled out its latest strategy for the revival of the Chrysler Group and loosely outlined the products the automaker is expected to roll out over the next several years both in Europe and the U.S. One interesting tidbit in the presentation was the announcement of a new seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) being developed for the U.S. market that is slated to roll into showrooms sometime in calendar year 2012.

The new MPV, which will reportedly be built on the Fiat Group C-compact platform, and is said to be positioned to do battle with the Mazda5 and Ford's coming Grand C-Max. While it's conceivable that the vehicle could be badged as both a Chrysler and a Dodge, a Dodge-branded vehicle makes more sense -- especially when considering the recent news that Fiat plans to fuse Chrysler and Lancia at the hip.

A Dodge MPV would also mean that Fiat could arguably take a more expressive approach to the vehicle. It's no secret that the Journey and Grand Caravan aren't exactly reflective of where Fiat wants to take Dodge, and a sport-themed MPV along the lines of what is depicted above could be just the ticket to help transition the brand away from its bland people-mover offerings.

It would also allow Dodge to go after younger buyers looking for a vehicle with a blend of practicality and efficiency on top of a sporty character. Any U.S.-market MPV would have to have flexible packaging and offer room for bicycles, snowboards and the like. We'd expect any small MPV to be powered by one of Fiat's efficient MultiAir engines. Of course at this point it's hard to say which brand will actually get the vehicle outlined in the plan, but the addition of the coming MPV to the Dodge stable certainly makes sense. We'll know more over the next year as the Fiat plan begins to take shape.

Source (via autoblog);
http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1006_dodge_could_get_new_mpv/index.html

Chrysler to get $15-billion in government aid

Financing from Canadian and U.S. governments will help car maker operate through Chapter 11 bankruptcy
JACQUIE MCNISH AND GREG KEENAN
Globe and Mail Update
April 30, 2009 at 9:25 AM EDT

U.S. and Canadian governments will provide about $15-billion (U.S.) in financing to Chrysler LLC to help keep it operating through bankruptcy protection, sources said Thursday.

The federal and Ontario governments will provide about $3-billion, the sources said, which will cover debtor-in-possession financing and exit financing when the beleaguered auto maker emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The governments will hold a 10-per-cent stake in Chrysler, with the Canadian governments' stake sitting at 2 per cent.

Chrysler is expected to file for bankruptcy protection on Friday.

Talks between debt holders that were insisting on a higher cash payment than major banks accepted, broke down early Thursday, although the deadline for a deal is still 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.

A key piece of the Chrysler plan is in place, however, with the signing of a strategic alliance with Fiat SpA imminent and expected to be announced late Thursday morning by U.S. President Barack Obama, sources said.

Fiat will take a 20-per-cent stake in Chrysler.

If the No. 3 Detroit auto maker goes into bankruptcy protection as expected, it will be split into two companies, with its key Canadian operations being placed into the part of the company that will emerge from creditor protection and form the basis for the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance. Unwanted assets will be hived off into another company.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090430.wgovs0430/BNStory/Business/home