At a Fiat Chrysler dealers meeting in Las Vegas yesterday, dealers were given a taste of the products FCA has coming down the pipeline. The biggest announcements were the news of an upcoming Dodge Barracuda and next-generation Dodge Charger. The next-generation Charger is said to look very much like the swoopy concept sketch done by Tom Gale in 1999.
The Barracuda convertible and the next-gen Charger will be based on the rear-wheel-drive platform designed for the upcoming and highly anticipated of the Alfa Romeo Giulia. The Giulia, along with the 4C, are part of FCA’s $6 billion (or so) investment to resurrect and grow the Alfa Romeo brand to 400,000 units worldwide by 2018.
Also shown to dealers were coming Alfa Romeo and Maserati models, as well as a regular and Abarth performance version of the Mazda-made Fiat 124 Spider.
One dealer told Automotive News that the next-generation Jeep Wrangler “stays pretty true to its current form.” The same dealer also mentions the massive Grand Wagoneer luxury SUV that will seat eight passengers.
Dealers were also shown in the metal and flesh, the rumoured and anticipated Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Track Hawk. The SRT Track Hawk, powered by the same 6.2L supercharged V8 that powers the current Charger and Challenger Hellcat, is expected to be AWD and do the 0-60 run in 3.5 seconds.
Several dealers that were in attendance at the closed event, anonymously told Automotive News, they would be seeing as many as 30 new or refreshed products in their showrooms in the next two years.
Another juicy bit of gossip was a Jeep Wrangler-based pickup that was talked about but not shown. However, Alfa Romeo and Maserati models were shown, as well as a regular and Abarth performance version of the Mazda-made Fiat 124 Spider.
It looks like it’s going to be an interesting and good next few years in the automotive industry, with all the new desirable products from all the manufacturers coming up. If keeping up with the Jones’ means that all the manufacturers will be launching more and more enthusiast-based models and variants, I’m all for it!
