About fourteen units of Chrysler Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will arrive in the San Francisco, California on August 2, 2011 from Chrysler who will take part in this automobile program that will last for three years.
According to the statement provided by Chrysler, San Francisco will be the one to evaluate the performance of these PHEVs in a real life setting.

The PHEV we’re talking about is the Chrysler Ram 1500 that comes with the combination of a 6.6 kilowatt attached charger, a 12.9kWhr lithium ion battery pack (liquid-cooled), a dual hybrid gearbox, and a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine that is equipped with a Multiple Displacement System (MDS).

However, Chrysler expressed that the RAM 1500 PHEV units are meant for demonstration purposes only for the assessment program. So far, there are no official plans for the production.

Still, the brand is taking lots of baby steps. There are also producing about 25 units of Town & Country minivans with the same plug-in hybrid technology for another automobile assessment program in other cities. While there’s still no official word that the brand will dive into this hybrid arena, the results of the assessment programs might change just that. We’ll just have to see what will happen in the next three years.

Chrysler will have the lower profiles of their vehicles as the hallmark of their future production.

Gilles makes the 2011 Dodge Durango as an example which gets a lower fascia compared to its older versions and getting a different approach compared to the Grand Cherokee. He also adds that the vehicle will be a more fuel efficient. The Durango RT will also come an inche lower compared to the Express to improve the handling.

The design executive of Chrysler also added that they may need new designers to help complete the work on 15 new vehicles. These new units will use platforms by their partner Fiat and are scheduled to roll out from the factories by 2012 through 2014.

The car manufacturer admits that they are looking for new designers but adds that they are also very picky when hiring new members of the design team. Aside from being a good artist, they are also looking for someone who can lead, who has some spirit, and someone who will fit in their company’s culture.

The CEO of Chrysler and Lancia in Europe disclosed that the company is planning to have a Lancia-Chrysler network of around 800 dealers and around 1000 dealerships by May next year.

The parent company of the brands, Fiat, notified the dealerships in all corners of Europe and informed them that contracts will be ending by May 31, 2011.

This will giveway to a new network of dealerships that will handle distribution and sales of the products of Lancia and Chrysler under the name of the former as created by Fiat. This will somehow benefit dealers since they will be able to market the full range of products.

The dealers which sell Jeeps will be re-branded as Jeep retailers while Dodge will play a role of a niche player importing muscle cars from the United States in small volumes.