2008 Fiat Idea

Now, I don’t mean to trash Fiat, especially since they look to be the only lifeline Chrysler has left. But can their cars look ANY more foreign? If you purchase a Fiat you should get a bottle of Merlot, a baguette and some friggin pasta sauce with it! And people have accused Chrysler of uninspired design. But we get it, Fiats aren’t exactly built with Audi styling – they are meant to be functional in a city setting – needed to travel down narrow, crowded Italian streets, with windows that come down fast enough so you can inappropriately whistle as a female’s behind.

So now, with the Chapter 11/Fiat merger announcements at Chrysler this morning, and the idling of ALL plants in North America (12 total, we fear our favorite Dodge vehicles (Charger, Challenger, you get the picture) will be erased from existence. I know, for now all they can focus on it the survival of a brand, they’ll worry about design later. But there’s a niche market for American muscle still, and fans (ie: car buyers) may turn their noses up at what’s to come. Can a company like Dodge still produce a little bit of muscle after all the eco-friendly, compact cars are done? This may be a narrow mindset, I’ll admit. We where at Dodgepedia want Chrysler and its parent company to flourish, obviously…maybe we’re feeling a bit nostalgic. Or nervous.