Ferrari Designer Called Upon by Fiat to Create a Common Styling for Chrysler and Lancia

Platform sharing is nothing new in the automotive world. Everyone does it as it enables companies to reduce development costs across the board. For example, if it weren’t for the VW Touareg, Porsche probably wouldn’t have the means to develop the model that effectively made it a cash cow: the Cayenne.

And truth to be said, most of the times, your average buyer doesn't know what's hiding under the sheetmetal nor if the vehicle in question is identical in many ways to a model bearing a different badge, because what he or she sees and feels are indeed different.

The trouble starts when carmakers engage in blatant badge engineering, simply placing a different grille and a new logo on the steering wheel and calling it something else.

And that's where the problem lies for Fiat and Chrysler. The automotive alliance recently revealed a trio of Lancia models in Europe: the Thema sedan, Flavia Cabrio and the Voyager MPV, which are nothing more than rebadged versions of the Chrysler 300, 200 Convertible and Town & Country respectively.

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“See it Through” with “Mannish Boy” in an “Imported from Detroit” Chrysler 300

We'll admit that the title may seem like yours truly forgot to take his meds today – but for better or for worse, that’s not the case. You see, all three quotes come from Chrysler's new 60-second ad that will air on Thanksgiving Day during the Lions-Packers football game.

“See it Through” is a 1917 poem by Michigan poet laureate, Edgar A. Guest. The carmaker says that it's appropriate since it exemplifies the comeback of Detroit and Chrysler.

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It's a Detroit Thing: Chrysler 300S 426 HEMI V8 Concept Growls at the LA Auto Show [Video]

Once a staple motto of the American muscle car industry, the "there is no replacement for displacement" school of thought has become somewhat obsolete in today's high-tech world.

Of course this does not mean in any way that we don't appreciate some raw American V8 power, and there's a lot that going on with the conceptual Chrysler 300S 426 that is on display at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The concept is a joint project between Chrysler and its Mopar brand, which basically dropped a 426 cubic-inch [equal to 7.0-liters] Hemi V8 crate engine under the hood of a Chrysler 300S.

The company didn't release any performance figures, but our guess is that it's either the all-aluminum 426 Generation III Hemi V8 that is rated at 540 horsepower and 530 lb-ft of torque, or the more recent 426 Gen III High Output HEMI V8 with a monstrous 590-horsepower on tap. Either way, that's a whole lot of ponies…

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Chrysler Debuts New Imported from Detroit Commercial Starring Dr. Dre

And the beat goes on for Chrysler's much-talked about Imported from Detroit campaign with the release of the latest spot of the series called “Good Things” starring hip-hop artist, producer, record executive, and occasional actor, Dr. Dre.

The famous rapper is seen driving the 2012 Chrysler 300S sedan through the streets of Los Angeles while showing off his signature Beats by Dr. Dre audio system that is optionally available in the car.

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Research Firms Says Chrysler May Build Lancia Thesis Replacement and Challenger-Based Alfa Romeo in Canada

After last week's [official] announcement that the Fiat Group will drop the Chrysler nameplate in Europe as its models will be rebadged integrated into the Lancia brand, a forecasting firm now says that the automaker will begin building Lancias and possibly Alfa Romeos at its Brampton plant in Canada beginning from 2012.

U.S.-based industry research company AutomotiveCompass said that Chrysler will produce a Lancia Thesis replacement based on the soon-to-revealed 2011 300 sedan, which will continue to make use of the previous generation Mercedes architecture .

Doug Shepard, forecasting manager for the research firm said that the Lancia version of the redesigned Chrysler 300 won't differ radically in appearance from the American sedan.

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