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New CEO Putting European Stamp On Reborn Chrysler

Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler's new CEO, is "quickly bringing clarity and direction" to the automaker, Greg Gardner reports, not only by compressing eight layers of management into five but also in making decisive product decisions that were delayed by the company's bankruptcy.

Based on interviews with employees and internal documents he obtained, Gardner writes that Marchionne has shared with employees a detailed vision to use Fiat models as the basis for future vehicles branded as Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. He's also positioning the upscale Alfa Romeo to compete against established luxury European cars in North America.

The tiny Fiat 500, which will be introduced in mid-2011, will be sold through Chrysler dealerships as a 500, much as BMW maintained its Mini as a separate brand. "The Fiat name doesn't play in the U.S. and Fiat knows it," says veteran automotive analyst Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics.

Fiat's C-EVO platform will be the base for the next Jeep Liberty, a small crossover that replaces the Dodge Caliber, and the Jeep badge may also go on the boxy Fiat Panda, now assembled through a joint venture with Ford in Poland.

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