Fiat Embarks on a New Journey with Dodge-based Freemont 7-Seat Crossover

Sergio Marchionne's plans to infuse the Fiat Group' portfolio with North American models and the Chrysler Group's lineup with European products are starting to take shape with the presentation of the new Fiat Freemont, which is nothing more than a re-badged Dodge Journey.

The first Fiat vehicle to come out of the partnership with the Chrysler Group will make its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March and go on sale in the second half of the year.

The Freemont is based on the refreshed Dodge Journey with the only visible changes on the outside concerning the Fiat styled alloy wheels and front grille. In fact, Fiat didn't even bother to redesign the front bumper to accommodate the shorter grille simply opting to add a body-colored extension underneath.

There are no photos of the interior, which keeps the Journey's 7-seat layout, but chances are it will remain unchanged.

What Fiat did do is replace the pre-facelift Dodge Journey's VW-sourced 140HP turbo diesel with its own line of oil-burners. At launch, the Freemont will have front wheel drive with a 2.0-liter MultiJet diesel available in two states of tune with 140HP and 170HP. Later on, the crossover model will also be available in 4x4 versions with the 170 HP 2.0 MultiJet diesel and Chrysler's 276 HP 3.6-liter gasoline engine, both with automatic transmissions.

The Freemont will be offered in two trim levels. The base model offers 7 seats, triple-zone automatic climate control system, keyless entry system, cruise control, advanced trip computer, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), fog lights and touchscreen radio with colour screen and controls on the steering wheel. The better equipped metropolitan version will include 17-inch rims, touchscreen radio with 8.4” screen, SD card and DVD reader, Bluetooth system, rear parking sensors, fold-down door mirrors, automatic headlight activation, darkened rear windows and roof bars.

All models will be equipped with 7 airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS) with Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with Hill-Holder and electronic roll mitigation (ERM) as standard.

Production of the Fiat Freemont will take place in the Mexican plant of Toluca, where the 500 is produced for the US market.

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Triple Recall for Dodge Affects Over 144,000 Journey and Ram Vehicles

The Chrysler Group is recalling certain Dodge Journey crossovers and Ram trucks in three separate actions to repair defective steering wheels, airbags and noisy rear axles.

The largest of Chrysler's recalls involves 65,180 Dodge Journey vehicles manufactured from November 1, 2007, through September 7, 2008. According to a posting on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], the wires within the front door wire harnesses may fatigue and break. If this happens, the side-impact sensors may not work resulting in inoperative side airbags. Chrysler said it will replace the left and right door wiring harnesses free of charge.

The second recall affects a total of 22,274 Model Year 2008-2011 Dodge Ram 4500 and 5500 trucks to address a problem with the steering system. NHSTA said these vehicles may experience a weakening and fracture of the left ball stud on the tie rod resulting in the potential loss of steering. The Detroit automaker will fix the aforementioned issue by replacing the left outer tie rod free of charge.

Finally, the Chrysler Group is recalling 56,611 Ram 1500 trucks manufactured from September 2009 through December 2010 to fix components within the rear axle. "Some vehicles may experience a noise (growl, grind) coming from the rear axle bearing which could eventually seize," said the NHTSA posting.

All three recalls are expected to begin in February 2011.

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Dodge Journey to be Sold as the Fiat Freemont in Europe

The Fiat Group, which currently owns a 20 per cent controlling stake in Chrysler, is planning to rebrand the Dodge Journey crossover to the Fiat Freemont in Europe, according to a report from Autoweek citing inside sources from the Italian company. The sources said the American automaker will stop selling the Journey in Europe and that the Fiat version, will get its world premiere at the upcoming Geneva Salon in March 2011 with sales set to start in June of the same year.

The styling changes over the recently refreshed Dodge Journey are believed to be kept to a minimum, however, the Freemont will get Fiat's 2.0-liter turbo diesel unit with 170HP in place of the Journey's VW-sourced 140HP 2.0-liter diesel engine.

It is reported that the Freemont will also act as a replacement to the Fiat Ulysse, which ended production this month.

According to data provided by JATA, Dodge sold some 8,400 Journeys in Europe last year. Fiat believes that the recent updates along with the more powerful diesel engine and more importantly, the Italian firm's 5,000-strong European sales network which is significantly larger than Chrysler's, will help boost sales of the 5+2 seater crossover wagon.

The Fiat Freemont will be manufactured alongside the Dodge Journey at Chrysler's Toluca, Mexico plant.

Source: Autoweek

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Pentastar V6 to Find its Way Into 13 Models Across the Chrysler Group Range, Including 2011 Challenger

The Chrysler Group's new Pentastar V6 gasoline engine will either replace current six-cylinder units or be introduced for the first time on a total of 13 vehicles across the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep range by 2013, the company announced this week.

The 3.6-liter V6 unit will be offered with different levels of output, the most powerful [for now] iteration being the one fitted on the upcoming 2011 Dodge Challenger, which will be rated at 305 bhp at 6,350 rpm and 268 lb.ft. at 4,800 rpm, representing a 55 horsepower increase over the previous 3.5-liter V6.

On the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Pentastar V6 produces 290HP, while on the forthcoming 2011 Dodge Avenger, and Chrysler 200 sedan and Town & Country minivan, it will deliver 283HP. The soon-to-be-launched 2011 Dodge Charger will feature a 292-horsepower variant of the 3.6-liter V6. Other models to get the Pentastar V6 include the new Dodge Durango and Journey.

According to Chrysler, the new Pentastar V6 is not only more and fuel efficient than the six-cylinder engines it replaces, but is also significantly lighter. For example, the new 3.6L V6 is 94 lbs. lighter than the 3.7-liter engine it replaced in Jeep Grand Cherokee and 42 lbs. less than the 3.5-liter it replaces on the Chrysler 300.

"The Pentastar engine is suited to meet the requirements for a full range of vehicle applications in terms of power and fuel efficiency (average savings up to 7 percent across the model range) including passenger cars, mini-vans and sport utilities," said Bob Lee, vice president of engine engineering for Chrysler Group LLC.

"It has been designed for today and many years to come. Already, we are looking forward to adapting future technologies as they become available to the Pentastar V-6 for even more fuel efficiency and performance."

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