QOTD: Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram-Dream Fodder?

As you learned yesterday, Fiat Chrysler and France’s Groupe PSA have agreed on a merger plan, paving the way for the creation of the world’s fourth-largest automaker. FCA boss Mike Manley calls it a “compelling” opportunity. PSA chief Carlos Tavares claims it heralds a “bright future” for the combined entity.

Renault is left wondering what could have been.

Should the marriage come to pass, it opens up an opportunity for North American buyers to have greater access to a range of French cars, not to mention models built by the formerly GM-owned Opel. What would you like to see at your local Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram dealer?

It’s true that we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. PSA already has a long-range plan for the introduction of the Peugeot brand to the U.S. and Canada, and the automaker’s North American boss, Larry Dominique, has signalled in the past that it may offer a unique arrangement for the selling of those vehicles. However, a merger with FCA opens the door to the brand making use of the Italian-American automaker’s established dealer network.

While this may not be the route PSA takes, and it may not be a scenario FCA wants (cash-saving synergies and joint electric vehicle development rank high on the two companies’ list of concerns), it remains a possibility.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the merger does open the European floodgates, allowing a pathway for currently-unattainable PSA exotics to reach the hands of long-suffering North American buyers. We’re not just talking Peugeots here, but any vehicle sheltered under the PSA umbrella. (In this thought exercise, FCA-PSA makes a worthwhile profit off of each model it imports, regardless of volume. There’s no local production in PSA’s U.S. reentry plan).

You’ve been longing for French cars for some time. Tell us what you want.

[Image: Groupe PSA]