Autoblog: Next Chrysler Sebring to be built in Italy?

Blind_Io

Blind_Io

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If ever there was a model in the Chrysler line up that needs updating, it's the Sebring. While the car was a perfectly capable competitor when it debuted way back in 1995, subsequent generations have left it as nothing more than rental-fleet fodder. But if a report from Automotive News is to be believed, that may change significantly when the next iteration of the sedan debuts in 2013. According to AN, Fiat has its eyes on producing a new mid-sized four-door in Turin, Italy just for the Chrysler brand, with the new sedan being sold exclusively in the U.S.

While it may no longer carry the Sebring name once it hits our shores, the car will likely be a spiritual successor to the company's Camry-fighter. Beyond that, details are scarce as to what will be under the hood, what gearboxes will be offered or how much it will cost.

Fiat also made mention of the fact that starting in 2012, the company will build a new small sedan here in the Land of the Free that will be sold under the Chrysler banner. That may mean the company is looking toward sending the near unlovable Dodge Avenger out to pasture or eying a replacement for the Dodge Caliber. Either way, Chrysler is getting a much needed infusion of new metal sooner rather than later.
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A Chrysler built in Italy...Why? Unless they're using something that can't be moved out of Italy, like machinery for an old Fiat/Alfa platform, it feels a bit pointless, short of some internal Fiat politicking. It's not even worth posting a pic of the TC by Maserati at this point if they're so deaf to history.
 
Design it in Europe, build it here. It's almost impossible to make money selling inexpensive European-assembled cars in North America. That's why VW engineers their lower-end models in Germany but assembles them for the US market in Mexico.
 
Yeah, why assemble a US-only car in Italy? Import taxes + shipping = $$$
 
It worked befroe...

Allante.jpg


err maybe not.
 
OK, maybe it's worth a reminder after all:
chrysler-tc-by-maserati.jpg
 
It's not like it could be worse.
 
Strange concept, but perhaps there is logic behind it that we do not know of. Where does Chrysler have production plants at the moment? Are they efficient? Are they flexible? Are they economical? Is there capacity for a new car in existing factories? Will it cost more to retool a Chrysler plant for production than it will a Fiat plant?

Lots of variables. Common sense says it's a stupid idea. But the auto industry is a complex beast.
 
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