Dodge News

Building the Alfa Romeo and Fiat brands are the priorities for the man charged with overseeing the Fiat Chrysler group in the Asia-Pacific reason. And that rules out a right-hand drive version of the Dodge Dart compact sedan, at least for this generation of the car, given it shares much of its undperinnings with the Alfa Giuletta already on sale here. Mike Manley wears many caps within the Fiat Chrysler group. As the boss of Jeep and Asia-Pacific head of Fiat and Alfa, he’s also the man responsible for the vehicles coming to Australia. And the Dodge brand doesn’t figure in that planning as he looks to rationalise the number of marques and models in the group’s line-up. “Dodge has basically become a North American brand,” Manley says. “Progressively I’ve removed Dodge from markets around the world. I’ve taken it out of Europe, I’ve taken it out of China. That said, Dodge is a loved brand in Australia, whether it’s the American heritage or the muscle cars … so the theory is yes, in practice you can never say never. “We’re looking at how we develop the portfolio with which brands to make sure we have a viable product plan for our dealers and us to grow our business. And I think in that area, Alfa Romeo has huge potential. “The jury is out in terms of right-hand drive Dart, because there are other options for us. You take Giuletta, Viaggio at the moment is only left-hand drive, but that’s a great car too…” The Fiat-badged Viaggio is a restyled version of the Dart, meaning it also owes its existence to the Giuletta platform. The Viaggio is the spearhead for Fiat’s push into China and goes on sale next month. A move into India - and another 1.2 billion aspirational auto owners - is the logical next step for the Viaggio. Indian cars are right-hand drive, which would give Fiat’s Australian operation access to a vehicle that would be much easier to base a business case on. Fiat Chrysler Group Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher is more open in the company’s aims. “If it has a steering wheel on the right hand side, we’ll look at it,” she says. “We’re doing that now as part of the takeover (private importer Ateco sold the Fiat and Alfa brands until May 1 this year) process.”  

..to be joined by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge product. Belcar Group managing director Bob Corradini says the new brands are a more compact direction for the company. "We're dealing direct with the manufacturers now so it's a good direction,'' he says. "It's a fantastic future for the Chrysler Jeep Dodge brand, we're hitting our targets. The group is also expanding its other brands, with French brand Citroen now based solely at the Walkerville showroom to be joined by a Chinese ute next month. "We'll have from September 1 the Foton utility, we're facelifting the showroom to accommodate the two brands,'' he says. The light-commercial side for Belcar will be further expanded, with growth planned for the Isuzu ute showroom. "We still have the Isuzu ute franchise as well, they are just over the road and we have recently acquired the property where the utes are now and we've bought the corner block to revamp it to house Isuzu . . . there's a lot going on,'' he says. After more than four decades in the automotive trade, Mr Corradini says the industry could still face a tough couple of years given the European financial situation, but he remains confident. "I think our new franchises and Fiat and Alfa, I think our future is pretty rosy,'' he says.  

General sales manager Bruce Partridge said the sales, service and parts teams had a wealth of experience and knowledge in all things automotive, combined with an unrivalled enthusiasm for the brands to share with every customer that visits."At Salters Chrysler Jeep Dodge we pride ourselves on exceeding the expectations of our customers, providing the best in service, sales and care,'' he said. "From buying the perfect car for a customer and their family to providing its 200,000km service, Salters Chrysler Jeep Dodge will be there every kilometre of the way."We look forward to welcoming customers to Salters Chrysler Jeep Dodge.'' The Salters brand lives on at Moorooka following the acquisition of the iconic car yard by Centenary Motors last year. After 37 years on the Moorooka Magic Mile, Alex Salter retired, but the dealership continues to trade under the Salters name, including new and used Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles. 

Spearheading the return of a factory-backed SRT Viper Racing team to the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the SRT Viper GTS-R is also intended to add a lot of halo effect to the SRT sub-brand under Fiat ownership. The team is fielding two identical GTR-S cars, each powered by an 370kW/680Nm 8.0-litre V10 instead of the 477kW/813Nm 8.4-litre V8 that powers the street-legal versions.

The shock news comes as Fiat looks at making the Fiat Freemont a niche model in Australia after its successful launch into Europe.In Beijing this week, Fiat's global boss Olivier Francois says the death of Dodge was "likely''. Dodge remains in Australia with only one model, the Journey people mover. Its clone, the Freemont,  is intended to become Fiat's second model here, but there could be a time delay as Fiat allocates time to first establish the 500 as its volume seller. But it is believed Dodge will remain a brand name in one market - the US - purely for historic reasons. Mr Francois says Freemont was a "surprise'' seller in Europe. The car is a seven-seat copy of the Dodge Journey - still sold in Australia - that hit the spot with European buyers because of its simplicity and functionality. But Mr Francois has made it clear that Dodge doesn't have a place in the new Fiat-Chrysler alliance. "To us, the Freemont was an opportunistic car,'' he says. "It was never born a Fiat and we knew it was an American product, so how could it fit into Europe? "Well we have sold 35,000 Freemonts in Europe, built in our plant in Mexico, in less than 12 months. "It is so successful that we now have to lift production.''The Freemont could be in  Australia before the end of 2013, depending on its demand in other markets and the progress  of a roll-out of new cars based on the Fiat 500. 

A multicultural compact car with connections to Italy, the USA and China could become Fiat's new star for Australia. The Fiat Viaggio is an Italian rework of a car developed for the USA as the Dodge Dart, which was originally born with Alfa Romeo DNA, and will be unveiled this week at the Beijing Motor Show. It is already being considered as an addition to the local lineup of the new Fiat-Chrysler import operation, which was created when the Italian company resumed control of its local future - previously in the hands of Ateco Automotive - and merged it with its Chrysler outpost. The Dart was high on the shopping list for Australia when it was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in January, but since then Fiat-Chrysler Australia has decided to cull the Dodge name and badge from its local lineup. A lack of right-hand drive production is also a major hurdle. Switching to the Viaggio would make more sense and, with the Dart just confirmed with a $15,999 starting price in the USA, it could easily make it to Australia in the second half of 2013 with pricetags starting around $25,000. Fiat-Chrysler admits the Dart thrust has been blunted but will not be drawn on the Viaggio. "The Dart is still a very attractive car. But at the moment it's not made with the steering wheel on the correct side for Australia," says company spokesperson, Lenore Fletcher. "We need to team up with some right-hand drive markets and see what we can do." So, is the Italian connection a more likely link, particularly as the Fiat Fremont - a re-badged Dodge Journey with some extra European flair - is already a near-certainty for Australia. Because the Viaggio has original Alfa Romeo DNA, it would also be easily tweaked for right-hand drive production and Australian design rules and customer preferences. "It's too early to comment on the Viaggio," Fletcher tells Carsguide. The Dodge Dart lineup points to the various options with the Viaggio, with a range of engines including Fiat's 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo, five trim levels up to the R/T at $23,290, and a potential high-performance SRT car. Dart deliveries begin in the USA in June.  

Ford is now selling a high percentage of turbo V6 engines instead of traditional V8s with its F-Series range and Chrysler has announced a raft of fuel saving technology for its Dodge Ram 1500 large pick-up. It is now available with an ultra efficient eight-speed automatic transmission, the first time an eight-cog gearbox has been in an American pick-up. A new 3.6-litre petrol V6, which Chrysler says is at least 20 per cent more efficient, is being introduced along with electric power steering, stop-start technology, grille shutters that close when not needed and suspension that adjusts on the run for optimum aerodynamics.

The Mopar-branded system will appear first on the Dodge Dart, and uses an integrated charging-grid bin installed at the front of the centre console, with charging activated when you place a smartphone fitted with the charging case into the bin. Charging is available while the car is running, and is able to juice up a range of devices including iPhone, Blackberry, MP3 Players and Droid-based devices The new technology will appear as a $200 option on the Dodge Dart as it rolls out in overseas markets from 2013, then progress to other vehicles in the Chrysler stable. "At Mopar, we look for every single opportunity to make our customers' lives easier," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand. "Our industry-first in-vehicle wireless charging system is the perfect solution for those connected customers who are always on the go."

Forget it fellas, the venomous new SRT Viper V10 sports coupe is not coming to Australia. Street and Racing Technology (SRT) boss Ralph Gilles has quashed any hope of sending the lighter and more powerful fifth-generation Viper to our shores.“It’d be a $20 million dollar investment to engineer the Viper for right-hand drive. And we’d need at least 500 units per year to make that viable.”Which means Australia would need England and Japan to take the lion’s share of that volume, and that’s not likely given both countries’ road rules allow for low-volume left-hand drive cars.So, we miss out on the new, lighter Viper and its all-aluminium 8.4-litre V10 engine good for an estimated 480kW. Gilles further estimates the Viper will hit 100km/h from rest in under four seconds.Both the power and performance are 'estimates' because SRT doesn’t actually know yet. The car revealed at the New York motor show is an early prototype. Actual production doesn’t start until later this year.The Viper is the first official ‘SRT’ model, which is why it no longer carries the ‘Dodge’ moniker. This is part of a plan to set SRT up as its own performance brand, similar to HSV and FPV.It’s also the most advanced car ever from SRT, says Gilles. “It’s got ESC and launch control. It’s got adaptive suspension, variable valve technology, 4-channel ABS. We wanted to include all that but not at the expense of its performance soul. The car has the ability to turn all that off and go back to its roots with the flick of a couple of switches."The Viper will be sold in two guises in America, Viper and Viper GTS, the latter with two-mode adjustable suspension. The Viper will also form the basis of SRT’s entry into the American Le Mans racing series.It’s almost enough to make you want to move to America… but not quite. 

The Dodge Journey R/T arrives with a host of significant upgrades to styling and equipment. And the Journey R/T scores a powerful 3.6-litre Pentastar 206kW/342Nm V6 Pentastar petrol engine from the SXT variant — the most powerful fitted to an MPV in the Australian market.Both SXT and R/T models gain a fresh new exterior look to compliment the Journey's styling, as well as a new interior featuring a dramatic new dash, along with restyled trim and upgraded equipment.Over and above that, the Journey R/T model enhances customer appeal with an array of new features adding up to more than $3000 extra value over the previous model. However the $43,500 price of the new Dodge Journey R/T is $1500 dearer than the previous version.Standard equipment in the new Journey R/T includes the Pentastar V6, but also leather seats, 8.4-inch touch-screen satellite navigation, second-row overhead video with wireless headphones, a reversing camera, heated front seats and 19-inch alloy wheels.