Fiat Chrysler close to merging with Renault.

[CKN]

Originally Posted by Bjornviken
Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver
The quality of some of the new Renaults is shocking ( -ly bad )


What model?



I don't know if they are bad or not. What I can tell you is that I saw small (newer) Renaults all over Denmark, and the Baltic states.

 

[KrisZ]

I had a Renault Clio as a rental few years ago. It was a 1.2l or maybe 1.3l gasser. One thing they impressed me was the ride quality. Very planted at high speeds despite it's size and not a bouncy ride.
It also averaged about 40mpg with me flogging it every gear.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted by KrisZ
I had a Renault Clio as a rental few years ago. It was a 1.2l or maybe 1.3l gasser. One thing they impressed me was the ride quality. Very planted at high speeds despite it's size and not a bouncy ride.
It also averaged about 40mpg with me flogging it every gear.


That model is what I saw many of, now that you mentioned them.

 

[PimTac]

Some interesting news from Japan; Renault wants Nissan Mitsubishi to be part of the new merger with FCA.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190529_43/


It's interesting because outside of Japan nobody is really reporting this. The general news is focused on FCA and Renault. Nissan still approves of the alliance but is wary of a full blown merger. They still want their own control.

 

[WyrTwister]

I presently have no plans to purchase a Chrysler product , so it does not matter to me . Although I hate that Chrysler is partially owned by off shore interests .

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Some interesting news from Japan; Renault wants Nissan Mitsubishi to be part of the new merger with FCA.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190529_43/


It's interesting because outside of Japan nobody is really reporting this. The general news is focused on FCA and Renault. Nissan still approves of the alliance but is wary of a full blown merger. They still want their own control.


I think Nissan and Mitsubishi should go their own way. Part of their problem has been that they realize they need to revisit the values that made them great back until the mid 90s.....I expect them to break away soon.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

They deserved each other.

 

[KrisZ]

If it means having more models and competition in the marketplace vs having a company go away, then I don't see why so many seem to be so negative about it.

I know a lot of people would like to see only the cars they like on the road, but in actuality it would be a very bad thing.
What drives people and companies forward is competition. What you don't like, someone else does and vice versa.

 

[WyrTwister]

That is VERY true . With out competition , companies become lax .

 

[addyguy]

It's sad, bc I'm sure that Renault makes good vehicles these days, but Renault left the NA market after Chrysler bought AMC from them, and at that time, they didn't make the best cars. They weren't atrocious, but I'm sure they left a bad taste with some people.

So today they make much better cars, but NA people hear about Renault and only think of the Alliance, Le Car, or rust-prone 1970's models.

 

[addyguy]

I went to school with a kid whose parents had a 1970's Renault 12 sedan. I noticed it, bc it was different, and even at that young age I remember thinking it was a very old-looking car when it wasn't that old!

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by addyguy
It's sad, bc I'm sure that Renault makes good vehicles these days, but Renault left the NA market after Chrysler bought AMC from them, and at that time, they didn't make the best cars. They weren't atrocious, but I'm sure they left a bad taste with some people.

So today they make much better cars, but NA people hear about Renault and only think of the Alliance, Le Car, or rust-prone 1970's models.


It depends how they decide to market themselves. Just look at Hyundai and Kia, they were making junk well into 2000s and no one seems to remember that.

 

[GMBoy]

Regardless of all the bad opinions of FCA - they make a darn good product. I have a 2016 RAM Limited, love it and no problems. Wife's 2014 Grand Cherokee Overland, now has 106k miles and still looks new and never been back to the dealer except for the stupid shifter reflash which I wish I didn't get done. The new RAM trucks are top of the line in quality and features. They are the only company making V8 muscle cars and V8 sedans that we can afford. GM nor Ford has rear drive V8 coupe or moderately priced V8 sedan like FCA. FCA is almost like an American company looking at their vehicle line-up!

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted by KrisZ
Originally Posted by addyguy
It's sad, bc I'm sure that Renault makes good vehicles these days, but Renault left the NA market after Chrysler bought AMC from them, and at that time, they didn't make the best cars. They weren't atrocious, but I'm sure they left a bad taste with some people.

So today they make much better cars, but NA people hear about Renault and only think of the Alliance, Le Car, or rust-prone 1970's models.


It depends how they decide to market themselves. Just look at Hyundai and Kia, they were making junk well into 2000s and no one seems to remember that.


Except Hyundai/Kia stayed in the NA market, and continually improved their products year after year. You could see them getting better, and therefore people trusted them more.

Renault vanished from the NA market, and no-one has seen anything out of them here since...so all people have to go on is what they sold here last, which was the Renault Medallion sedan and Alliance. As I said, they weren't the worst cars, but they certainly had issues more often than not.

Unless you followed Renault product development, that is the last Renault vehicle in the memory of people in NA. Sad, but true - they are unlikely to succeed.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Lots of FCA police cars around here in the Northeast, though it does seem many are getting replaced with Ford Explorers. Like any manufacturer, there are better models and worse ones. Same with Renault, Fiats, etc. The thing I would worry about is that mergers often seem to produce unintended consequences when the financial types start ruling over divisions they have no history or experience with. It is hard to merge company cultures in any business.

 

[PimTac]

The current trend is towards bigger multinational companies. The ones that have significant research and progress into autonomous driving vehicles will either command the most attention either by buying capacity or by being targeted by large companies trying to get into this area.

When it is all settled I would expect some big names to go away.

 

[KrisZ]

Nah, people remember what they want to remember. Chrysler, Ford and GM never left this market and people always bring up horror stories their friend's, second cousin from a third marriage had in the 70s or 80s.

Never fails, but when it comes to Japanese and now Korean makes, everything is forgiven and forgotten pretty quickly.

 

[addyguy]

Chrysler already had this lesson. The Dodge Dart was a re-badged Fiat car.

Did it do well? Not a chance, gone within 3 years, and not missed.

I'd bet part of that is people remembering 1970's Fiat cars, which were good mechanically, but fell apart otherwise.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by addyguy
Chrysler already had this lesson. The Dodge Dart was a re-badged Fiat car.

Did it do well? Not a chance, gone within 3 years, and not missed.

I'd bet part of that is people remembering 1970's Fiat cars, which were good mechanically, but fell apart otherwise.


They hyped the Dart up, and then massively under delivered... the 200 was at least decent if you got the v6 version.

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by Skippy722


They hyped the Dart up, and then massively under delivered... the 200 was at least decent if you got the v6 version.


The odd thing about the Dart was why did they mess with a good thing, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta?

The Dart was an extensively reworked Giulietta, but the Alfa was a FANTASTIC product and they should have just offered it as it was with
changes for DOT/EPA and built in the USA. Sure they could have named it a Dodge Dart, but it wasn't and should have been
placed against Mazda 3, VW Golf/Jetta,Honda Civic, ect....

The Dart Project was the dumbest thing I've seen in years!

I agree that the Chrysler 200 was actually a VERY nice well made car, that with the 6 cylinder was competitive with some of the better cars in that class.
They should have just never offered the 4 cylinder at all, and lowered the price of the 6 cyl. It would have sold much better.