The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: Dave W on January 19, 2009, 01:37:10 PM
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Fiat??? (http://www.reuters.com/article/privateEquity/idUSLJ6486620090119) :o
Great. I can see it now-- a Hemi that won't start.
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When I saw the headline I thought you we're going to say FMIC. (Just kidding)
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Actually, once you think about it, it could make sense. No word has been more misused than "synergy", but these two would at least share the front wheel drive ( a big issue in the ill-fated Daimler merger as Mercedes has a rear wheel drive culture) plus have little cannibalizing model lines. Fiat SUVs are as rare as Chrysler mini cars.
Uwe
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I think they could bring complementary strengths to each other - and Fiat has been wanting to re-enter the US market. I like the idea!
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It would seem they want to make cars, which is probably more than you can say about GM these days.
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Fiat??? (http://www.reuters.com/article/privateEquity/idUSLJ6486620090119) :o
Great. I can see it now-- a Hemi that won't start.
Nah, more like a Jeep Cherokee with a 1.3-litre JTD Turbo Diesel engine in it :D
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Nah, more like a Jeep Cherokee with a 1.3-litre JTD Turbo Diesel engine in it :D
Don't laugh at this prospect. Back in the 70s there was a company pitching Chrysler their high performance diesel line. They had turbo 4 and 6 cylinder models and I believe they also had a V8. I had the opportunity to drive the 4 cyl CJ and the 6 cyl Cherokee several times and they were absolute screamers. They came off the line like my old Dodge Super Bee with about 425 hp. I was certain that Chrysler was destined to own the biggest of the big three title by 1980.
Their financial issues at the time , as well as several other factors , made them walk away from the deal. That also pretty much crushed the company that was producing the diesel engines. I'm not sure if they went belly up or if someone bought them, but they had a monster of a product and it just may have really changed Chryslers future way back then.
In any event , I wish them , GM and Ford the best of luck. They all spent several years doing some serious screwing up, but I (a Detroit boy) believe their products today can compete with the imports if the American public will give them a chance :).
Rick
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Don't laugh at this prospect. Back in the 70s there was a company pitching Chrysler their high performance diesel line. They had turbo 4 and 6 cylinder models and I believe they also had a V8. I had the opportunity to drive the 4 cyl CJ and the 6 cyl Cherokee several times and they were absolute screamers. They came off the line like my old Dodge Super Bee with about 425 hp. I was certain that Chrysler was destined to own the biggest of the big three title by 1980.
Their financial issues at the time , as well as several other factors , made them walk away from the deal. That also pretty much crushed the company that was producing the diesel engines. I'm not sure if they went belly up or if someone bought them, but they had a monster of a product and it just may have really changed Chryslers future way back then.
In any event , I wish them , GM and Ford the best of luck. They all spent several years doing some serious screwing up, but I (a Detroit boy) believe their products today can compete with the imports if the American public will give them a chance :).
Rick
With all due respect, I'm a little confused here. Chrysler did not acquire Jeep until 1987, when it purchased AMC for $2 billion. If you drove a pair of diesel Jeep prototypes in the 1970s, they would have been under the American Motors banner, not Chrysler.
With regard to Fiat, this isn't the first time Chrysler has partnered with a foreign manufacturer (Renault, Simca, Rootes-Hillman, Mitsubishi, and that awful Daimler thing). If this 35% deal enables Mother Mopar to build the stuff that's currently in the conceptual stages, I'm all for it. OTOH, Fiat hard starting was only the beginning - once it got going, a gem like the X1/9 would be plagued by rust, overheating, poor wet weather handling, and a propensity to not want to go in reverse. Let us not forget that the Fiat 128 was the basis for the Yugo as well.
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The Jeeps that I drove were indeed AMC. The company that built the engines used Jeeps for their prototypes. I guess I should have explained that.
I believe the name of the company was Aaddvo (not sure about the spelling). They were also pitching their product real hard to Ford. In fact that's how I got to know them. I used to own a carwash and detail shop near Ford World Headquarters and we prepped their two jeeps for shows and demos to the auto companies probably a dozen times or more.
I got to know a couple of their engineers and sales people prettty well. Scuttlebut was, Chrysler was very interested but money was tight, Ford was a house divided with some people real hot and others real cold. GM was not even a target as they had their own diesel thing going already, and even though their prototypes were based on AMC vehicles, I don't recall any talk about AMC being interested either.
Great piece of machinery, but nobody bought it and the company disappeared.
Rick
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I'm so old I remember when Kaiser acquired Jeep from Willys.
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We have a guy around me who drives around in an old Willy's pickup truck from the early 50"s.
You just do not see many old Willy's, Studebakers or AMC's driving around anymore, at least here.
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I saw an old pickup truck (which we dont really have here, due to the popularity of and tradition of the Ute) yesterday that had Willys on the tailgate. I just thought that the guy who owned it was named Willy!
I'm joking about the last bit but I did see one and I reckon that was only about the 2nd Willys I've ever seen in my life.
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They were still called Willys Jeeps for a number of years after Kaiser bought them.
When I was growing up, there was hardly anything as uncool as a station wagon, and the most uncool wagon of all was the Willys Jeepster. If your parents owned one and you had to ride in it, you most likely wanted to slink out of sight. And yet the Jeepster was really the inspiration for the modern SUV. Go figure.
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I always thought the Jeepster was / is really cool!
And maybe if Chrysler and Fiat's deal works out, there will be better parts supply for the 1958 Fiat Roadster in my garage. (Fiat ad...)
(http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j306/apowell1/Cars/1957-fiat-1200-spider.jpg)
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You have one of those in your garage? :o
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I'm so old I remember when Kaiser acquired Jeep from Willys.
If you're not farting dust yet, then you're not that old ;D
Rick
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Fiat's ad slogan in the US in the late 50s was "always have at least one Fiat." I think that was to give you better than even odds that one of them would start. :)
Times have changed. Fiat and Chrysler both put out more reliable cars now.
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You have one of those in your garage? :o
Sure do - it was my high school graduation present. It's been in a very slow restoration for years, but it's just waiting for paint now. And if I ever find a windshield, I'll replace the one in it - there's a vertical crack from top to bottom on the passenger side.
Mine's white with red & black interior, white top - and since it has been stored mostly indoors since I got it in 1968, believe it or not, it has the original top and the original rear window is still intact.
Mechanically it's not wonderous. The 1200 CC engine is a design invented in 1938 as a 1100 CC unit, expanded slightly in the 50's. The driveline is Fiat 1200 series, it's just the body that's cool...and body pieces are really, really, really hard to find. It's all of 64 HP, but it has an alpine-geared rear end of about 4.10, so it will get up to 50 MPH pretty well. But if memory serves, at 5300 RPM (really screaming along) it's traveling all of 72 MPH. It's a town and mountain car, not a freeway car.
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We have a guy around me who drives around in an old Willy's pickup truck from the early 50"s.
You just do not see many old Willy's, Studebakers or AMC's driving around anymore, at least here.
One of these days, I'm going to have to get me an old Avanti II. Not to hijack the thread, but my great-great-great(?) grandmother was Mary Studebaker. Her two brothers were wagon makers. Their sons went on to become early automobile makers. My lineage is listed in their family tree, right down to my two kids.
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One of these days, I'm going to have to get me an old Avanti II. Not to hijack the thread, but my great-great-great(?) grandmother was Mary Studebaker. Her two brothers were wagon makers. Their sons went on to become early automobile makers. My lineage is listed in their family tree, right down to my two kids.
Wow, you're like automotive royalty :mrgreen:
I'm a car guy and I love those old Studebakers. The early 50s Super Hawks and Golden Hawks, are to this day, some of the finest looking cars to ever hit the highway.The Avanti was sweet too, but I love those old Hawks.
The Studebaker Bros were true pioneers in the industry. I've even seen a couple of their wagons. They were first class pieces of work too.
At Henry Fords Greenfield Village Old Car Festival last September, they fired up one of the old Studebaker race cars from the early 1900s and ran it around the village a few times with a bunch of other race cars from that period. It was my absolute favorite. Sounded great, ran great and the guy who restored it had a hand written manual from the crew that built and raced it. Might have even had some notes in there from family members.
Rick
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The early 50s Super Hawks and Golden Hawks, are to this day, some of the finest looking cars to ever hit the highway.The Avanti was sweet too, but I love those old Hawks.
Count me as a member of the Studabaker Hawk club. I always wanted one. Lets not forget the bullet nosed coupes.
Lets all sing the theme song together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzE71PVeGQ8
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For many years, my mom's car was a 1950 Studebaker Champion convertible. It had been sitting for 20 years (inside storage) when she and dad moved from the 'big" house in the country to a smaller house in town. In about 2000 we sold it to a couple in Canada, but my brother (who had been storing it) asked for first option if they ever sell it.
This photo I found is pretty much identical, including color:
(http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j306/apowell1/Cars/Stude-champion-convertible-1950.jpg)
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One of my uncles had a first year Golden Hawk in black. It was very fast in its time. He bought it from Mosehart & Keller Studebaker in Houston, who claimed to be the world's oldest auto dealer. They had started as a carriage shop founded about 1890.
I just found a nice Hawk and Avanti photo gallery here (http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Studebaker/Hawk.html).
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Studebacker Commanders were very cool as well and used for hot rods
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I'm so old I remember when Kaiser acquired Jeep from Willys.
Well, you are pretty old.
:mrgreen:
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Pilgrim,
Awesome car, I hope you'll finish it up and share some pics of it with us. ;)
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Well since this is a Mopar thread...
This is my toy - no Fiat DNA anywhere ;D
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/300lo.jpg)
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Well since this is a Mopar thread...
This is my toy - no Fiat DNA anywhere ;D
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/300lo.jpg)
.......YET!
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Is that a Magnum?
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No that's a '79 Chrysler 300 - built off the Cordoba body - they only made about 4000 of them. Good eye, though - the Magnum was Dodge's sister car, virtually the same body, but the nose and taillights are different.
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Well, you are pretty old.
:mrgreen:
I was at the Social Security office in Seguin today to get some info. Seriously. :o