FCA is Ending Passenger Car Production in the US to Focus on Jeep SUVs and Pickups

Posted on July 27, 2016 by baysideadmin

Fiat-Chrysler has been making some major changes lately. They’ve been looking at how to meet the demands of vehicles and have come away with a new focus on the Jeep and Dodge products. So much so that now FCA will be looking at no longer producing passenger vehicles in the US, instead shifting their automaking resources over to SUVs and pickups.

The Detroit Free Press covered this interesting news story today. The Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 haven’t been doing as well sales-wise as other vehicles in the FCA line-up. Seeing the trending demand for their SUVs and pickup trucks, FCA is signaling that they’ll be putting their efforts into being a primary producer of Jeeps and Ram pickups.

The Dodge Durango SUV will still be made in the US. It’ll be produced next to the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Sergio Marchionne spoke on the announcement saying, “By the time we finish with this, hopefully, all of our production assets in the United States – if you exclude Canada and Mexico from the fold – all those US plants will be producing either Jeeps or Rams.”

If you’re looking to find out more about the current line-up of Jeeps, click the link and see the selection on Bayside Chrysler Jeep Dodge. Be sure to like the dealership on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel, to stay up to date on auto news and our special monthly offers.

Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer Will Be Premium SUVs

Posted on July 5, 2016 by baysideadmin

The Jeep Wagoneer isn’t here yet but it is hard not to get excited. While it hasn’t hit the showrooms yet, that hasn’t stopped the news from what it will be like. Automotive News is reporting that both the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will be due after 2019 and will “push the premium boundaries of the brand” according to the head of Jeep brand Mike Manley.

“The Wagoneer name represents, historically, the pinnacle of premium for the Jeep World,” Manley is quoted by Automotive News. “But in the same way as you may have an Overland and a Summit, you have different trim levels. So you could imagine the use of Wagoner to denote a really premium vehicle, and Grand Wagoneer takes it to the very next level. If you were to use that as your naming strategy, that’s exactly how I would use the trims.”

Manley is definitely pointing to the Wagoneer being one of the more ambitious vehicles Jeep is producing. With how good Jeep has been in sales, it appears that Jeep is wanting to have a long range of different types of SUVs to pick from. The Renegade at the entry level and the Wagoneer for the premium buyer.

The Wagoneer and the upscale Grand Wagoneer will be sharing a platform with the next-gen Grand Cherokee and will be assembled at the Warren Truck Assembly plant in Detroit.

Jeep Wins Big in Total Quality Impact!

Posted on June 17, 2016 by baysideadmin

The Strategic Vision has put out their 22^nd Annual Total Quality Impact and four vehicles from the FCA family make the list concerning their quality.

Strategic Vision is a researched-based consultancy that has over 35 years of looking at consumers’ and their buying habits. Their Total Quality Impact (TQI) is based on the responses from more than 39,000 viewers that have a new 2016 model year vehicle. They are asked about 155 different aspects of their experience with the vehicle and that list is then compiled to get a big picture image of the vehicle’s quality.

So what were the winners? In the least surprising, two Jeep vehicles top their segments. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited won the ‘Entry SUV’ and the Jeep Grand Cherokee won for ‘Mid-Size SUV.’ The other two were the Fiat 500 for ‘Micro Car’ and the Dodge Challenger for the ‘Specialty Coupe.’

“We see time and again that for consumers, innovation does more to communicate quality than an absence of problems does,” said Christopher Chaney, the Senior VP at Strategic Vision. “Whether it comes in the form of breakthrough technology, re-engineering a vehicle or creating a new model, consumers feel the positive impact of bold new directions taken by manufacturers.”

If you’re looking to join the Jeep Club, click the link and see the selection on Bayside Chrysler Jeep Dodge. Be sure to like the dealership on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel, to stay up to date on auto news and our special monthly offers.