Fiat Chrysler Reportedly Showing Dealers Impossibly Fun Cars That We May Never See

by Aaron Cole

Updated: December 31st, 2020 Published: August 26th, 2015

fiat chrysler reportedly showing dealers impossibly fun cars that we may never see

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles may be showing off a Dodge Barracuda convertible, a next-generation Charger, Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and a Grand Wagoneer — they probably put root beer in the fountains too — according to multiple media reports.

At the dealer meeting in Las Vegas, FCA executives outlined the future for the brands (Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Fiat) that may include up to 30 new or refreshed products within two years.

According to reports, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne also addressed reports that the automaker was seeking a merger with another automaker, and any potential deal would be “to strengthen the competitive position of the companies involved,” he said according to Automotive News.

According to reports, the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk was shown with all-wheel drive and FCA’s 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat engine. It was unclear if the super SUV would be all-wheel or just rear-wheel drive.

According to reports, a next-generation Wrangler was shown, but not in truck form.

Future products for the Chrysler brand weren’t immediately clear. Aside from a new Town & Country minivan, Chrysler may not have much on its horizon aside from a redesigned 300, which could be based on the new rear-wheel drive Giulia/Charger/Challenger framework.

We reached out to an FCA spokesperson who predictably said that the automaker wouldn’t comment on confidential news from its dealer meeting.

#AlfaRomeo #Chrysler #DealerMeeting #Fiat #GrandWagoneer #Jeep #Maserati #SergioMarchionne #Trackhawk #Wrangler

Aaron Cole

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14 of 19 comments

Kyree on Aug 26, 2015

The next-gen Charger is the only reality out of all that stuff. From what I hear, it's going to use the same platform as the new Maserati Ghibli and Quattroporte. But---and bigtruck will kill me for this---FCA needs to start offering boosted four or six-cylinder engines in those cars as mid-grade options, to prepare its customers for the day when it has to say "no" to the HEMI for fuel-economy reasons...

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- 28-Cars-Later on Aug 26, 2015
  
  Hemi and the GM LS series motors are surprisingly fuel efficient, I'd wager in a medium size car platform with DoD type tech they could be more efficient in real world use than turbo fail. FCA doing the opposite of its rivals and giving people the bigger motors with RWD has worked well and should continue to as long as the rest of the lineup stays competitive. I think the long term future lies in an electric car which can be produced at a profit (with short term being hybrids).
  
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- Cdotson on Aug 26, 2015
  
  @28-Cars-Later 28-Cars, The Hemi already has "DoD" in the MDS feature (multiple displacement system). Because of this and the proliferation of manyspeed transmissions they're fairly efficient. I'd wager addition of GDI tech may help further.
  
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- Roberto Esponja on Aug 26, 2015
  
  The Pentastar V6 is quite fuel thrifty on this vehicle, and uses regular gas while at the same time providing good power. Boosted 4's and 6's that will likely require premium fuel? No thanks...
  
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- Kyree on Aug 26, 2015
  
  You all make great points. And it would be a shame if FCA spent time and money making boosted engines and they turned out to be like Ford's EcoBoost line up, which doesn't really save fuel, but does add complexity.
  
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- Pragmatic on Aug 26, 2015
  
  @28-Cars-Later Large pushrod engines are efficient, space efficient, weight efficient, cost efficient and fuel efficient. FCA needs to go all aluminum with the Hemi and design lighter cars. I still think Chrysler's answer to coming CAFE should be a baby Hemi designed with a displacement range of 3.0 to 4.0 Liters rather than turbocharged engines. This would still allow 300 or so hp with lighter weight, smaller package and most importantly for FCA lower manufacturing costs than the current 3.6. If done right I think the engine could present a lighter overall package than a 2.0 L turbo intercooled 4 cylinder.
  
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- 28-Cars-Later on Aug 26, 2015
  
  @cdotson Thx
  
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- MoDo on Aug 26, 2015
  
  The Charger AND Barracuda were both underpinned by the same bones as the Alfa Romeo Giulia. The Ghibli is just an LX (current Charger/300) with some aluminum bits and swapped geometry. It too will switch to the Giulia platform - its the new FCA global RWD platform. Further, the Charger apparently is going with boosted 4's and 6's in its next life with no 8 announced as of yet. Its also MUCH lighter than the current car with emphasis on "high speed track performance" I am thinking they want to turn the Charger into a 4dr GT-R.
  
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- George B on Aug 27, 2015
  
  @28-Cars-Later Yes! Imagine the Hemi redesigned with an aluminum block like many of the GM LS V8s. V8 goodness with less mass hanging out front. They're both relatively compact for their displacement and they make exhaust sounds with a pleasing 4/4 time signature. FCA would be foolish to give up the Hemi.
  
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Stuki on Aug 26, 2015

They _need_ a Barracuda, presumably Challenger derived, Hemi 'Vert.

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Mopar4wd on Aug 26, 2015

Over in the forums in allpar there is some more detail. It appears Wrangler Durango SRT Trackhawk and New minivan are pretty much finalized. The large presumbly minivan based CUV for Chrysler was less further along. Power wagon looks like a go as are the hellcat drag cars. (maybe with 800hp). The Dart Charger and Barracuda seem to have question marks on them. Some one asked about journey and one of the common source of shall we say well timed leaks on the forum said you should see a new one sooner then you think.

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Jezza819 on Aug 26, 2015

Ah yes the old annual New Car Show. I went to many of them back in my tenure. We could always tell how good Chrysler was doing by the size of the shrimp. Early 80's the shrimp were teeny tiny. Later after the loan was paid back they were big honkers.

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- Lorenzo on Aug 28, 2015
  
  All right! A new measure of corporate health. Are there any dealer insiders who can tell us the size of this year's shrimp?
  
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- Danio3834 on Aug 29, 2015
  
  @Lorenzo The crab was popular.
  
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