Fiat's Guy To Run Chrysler Powertrain; Hemi Future Cloudy
September 23, 2009
Chrysler Group LLC 20 percent owner and managing partner Fiat S.p.A. continues to import 
its home-grown management to run Chrysler's U.S. operations, Tuesday naming another Fiat executive to a key Chrysler management position.
The company said a "realignment" of Chrysler's powertrain department brings Paolo E. Ferrero as senior vice president of Chrysler Powertrain. Ferrero apparently replaces Bob Lee, a popular Chrysler executive who has spent his entire career at Chrysler and most recently was head of powertrain engineering. Chrysler told Automotive News late Tuesday that Lee remains employed by Chrysler.
Lee, who holds mechanical engineering and MBA degrees, is widely recognized as the "father" of the new-age Hemi V8, which was launched for the 2003 model year and went on to become an icon for the company and a performance benchmark for the industry.
Ferrero's installation as vice president of Chrysler Powertrain comes as no particular surprise, as a linchpin of Fiat's arrangement with the U.S. government to acquire its Chrysler stake -- including the role of managing partner -- was a pledge to share its vital fuel-efficient engines and other powertrain technologies with Chrysler.
In his new role, Ferrero, most recently Fiat's vice president of product engineering, "is directly responsible for all powertrain activities for Chrysler Group, with a focus on technology-sharing with the Fiat Powertrain Technologies organization," Chrysler said in a statement.
"Additionally, he will provide indirect oversight of powertrain manufacturing, testing, quality and international operations while also ensuring strong integration and alignment with the Chrysler Group vehicle engineering organization and other supporting functions," Chrysler added.
Hemi Yesterday's News?
For a few years after its launch, Chrysler's Hemi V8 was the closest thing to a pop-culture happening the industry's powertrain sector has had since the muscle-car heyday (or at least since General Motors Co. made its "Northstar" V8 something of a household name in the early 1990s).
"That thing got a Hemi?" became an anthem -- probably the last -- for an America captivated 
by gas-slurping pickups and SUVs and increasingly bombastic engines. But last year's economic crisis and gasoline-price explosion quickly defused the public's taste for blatant consumption. Chrysler and the Hemi were out of sync with the new environmental -- and frugal -- mood adopted by much of the car-buying public.
As sales of Dodge Rams and Durangos dwindled and Chrysler edged toward bankruptcy, Fiat's proposal was to take over the company and merge its fuel-efficient powertrain technologies with Chrysler products, many of which also are slated to come from Fiat engineering.
Engine Manufacturing a Key
Chrysler already has taken sole control of a key engine-manufacturing plant in Dundee, Michigan, that currently makes Chrysler's latest generation of dual-overhead-cam four-cylinder engines -- but the site has plenty of room to manufacture the Fiat-designed engines that seem certain to come.
Fiat's deal with the government stipulates the company can acquire another 5 percent of Chrysler if Fiat engines are manufactured in the U.S.
And Fiat also is likely to introduce its own dual-clutch automated-manual transmissions for U.S.-market Chrysler and Fiat models. The fuel-saving transmission, becoming more widely used throughout the industry, could replace the dual-clutch transmissions Chrysler expected to make itself in what became a contentious joint venture with Germany transmission specialist Getrag that eventually dissolved.
Fiat has other efficiency-enhancing innovations that might also be expeditiously adopted for Chrysler vehicles, including stop-start engine systems and various hybrid technologies. 
Although Fiat small-displacement engines seemingly are the most crucial component in the rejuvenation of Chrysler's powertrain lineup, the company has said little recently of another vital powertrain development, its Pentastar new-generation V6, scheduled for launch next year. It is rumored Chrysler's weakened financial situation and bankruptcy may have delayed the 3.6-liter V6's introduction, along with 2011 models the Pentastar is slated to power, such as the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Chrysler said earlier this year the Pentastar V6 is slated to be produced in Trenton, Michigan, and Saltillo, Mexico. -- Bill Visnic, Senior Contributing Editor
Photos by Chrysler
1 - Hemi 5.7-liter V8 one of Chrysler's few major successes in recent years.
2 - Hemi-powered vehicles like the Dodge Durango fell out of favor with higher gas prices.
3 - The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is the first Chrysler vehicle slated to be powered by the new Pentastar V6.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:38 AM under Business , Chrysler , Commentary , Companies , Featured , Personalities | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
We'll no doubt get to a point where we have 750cc (45 cu.in.) single cylinder engines that run on ambient air pollution and develop 450 SAE net hp. In the mean time, there already exists a vast cottage industry of motorheads who can provide you with anything and everything from a chrome dipstick handle to complete turn-key cars.
If or when we can no longer buy V8 cars from the Factory, the Tuners are already there, ready to build you a 8.2L V8 Town & Country or whatever you desire.
I can imagine a bailment pool arrangement similar to what exists now for fabricators of ambulances, hearses, cargo vans, etc. A reputable tuner would order complete rolling chassis/bodies from the OEM and then install formula or custom order powertrains.
Any V8 can be built to satisfy emissions regs, but CAFE standards will become harder and harder to do. But this way, the OEM's could keep such vehicles off the books for CAFE calculations,
Relax. The very last complex hydrocarbon molecule on the planet will probably get combusted in an American V8.
Posted by: fulcrumb | September 23, 2009 at 6:44 PM
This article is either way off the factoid sheet or Fiat has lost their mind. Hemi owner's only concern is the vehicle having a hemi, not the environmental wacko concerns. If Fiat drops the Hemi in favor of its own engines, then Fiat can kiss the Ram / Charger / Challenger product goodbye.
Posted by: canddmeyer | September 24, 2009 at 2:35 PM