Renault may be back

FCA offered to sell itself to Renault. If Renault decides to make the move, they will be the third largest auto company in the world. I wonder if Renault would have more success selling cars in the US than Fiat has. Hey, you could even buy a Renault Lada! They own most of the company now. Not doing a good job selling the deal, am I? Still, it would be fun to see how it turns out. What do you think?

That may the funniest line I’ve read in months!

Renault Ladas for EVERYbody! :laughing:

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It’s sad to me that Dodge/Chrysler/Fiat is apparently so strapped to make a buck that they’re getting farmed out to every POS automaker that’s left. They make some pretty impressive stuff (Demon/Hellcat, anyone?) to be begging for a parent owner.

But ain’t that the way Chryco has always been? They’ve got the motor, the rest kinda sucks. Lol

Maybe not. I know a few people that love their Jeeps, even if they sometimes need a lot of repairs. I was talking with one this past weekend.

Are they going to offer that 56 Morris Ambassador? If so I’m in … :wink:

I’ve owned several Jeeps myself. And I loved them too. I owned a Daimler era Dodge Ram. I loved it as well. It’s a cult following type thing. There is no reasoning it lol.

What I really meant was Chrysler has usually seemed to be able to pull off the best engine. The old Hemi, the 360 Magnum in the Ram I owned (that had class leading torque at the time), the new Hemi (hellcat and Demon), etc. The reliability of the rest of the car (mainly the transmission) has always seemed to be questionable in my experience.

Fiat owned Chrysler may be different. I have heard the electronics are not the best, though.

Either way, I’m not a Chrysler hater and I wish them the best. Being owned by Fiat or Renault doesn’t inspire confidence, though. Nor does the bankruptcy every decade or so lol.

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I remember the Mopars of the 50s and 60s and their present plight makes me want to cry, Was there ever a stouter transmission than the three speed Torqueflight?

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The current Fiat /Chrysler problems reminds me of the time I was taking a neighborhood walk, and noticed a young boy, about 7 years old, playing in his front yard, putting rocks into a shoe box. He had a pile of rocks and a bathroom scale. He’d put some in, as many as he could, then pour them out and weigh them. Then he’d do it again. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was trying to get as much weight of rocks into the box as possible. I asked him his strategy. “Put the big rocks in first.”

You know, I don’t know. I used to want to buy an international scout II. I wanted one bad. They’re different. They’re just a box. They look like an appliance. There’s something very 1970ish about them. But I digress.

A lot of the ones I looked at that were sitting abandoned 20 years ago were abandoned when the transmission went out. And I’m pretty sure they were Torqueflite 727’s? Could be wrong. And the trans in that 98 Dodge I owned - I was under the impression it was basically a Torqueflite 727 version with an overdrive. And it failed twice before 200k miles. The engine was flawless.

So that’s my reasoning, and it may be flawed.

The electronically shifted 4 speed transmissions had nothing todo with the earlier 3 speed torqueflight. I remember when they were being used in dragsters. You did have to periodically0 do a band adjustment. I can’t speak as to what transmission was in the scouts.

If it wanted to be back in the US, it would have been back many years ago through Nissan

Are you sure? From Novak “guide to the Chrysler 727 Torqueflite”:

“In 1990 the 727 evolved into the A518 (later called the 46rh) by addition of an overdrive unit bolted to the back of the 727”

The “h” in 46rh signifies the trans is shifted hydraulically. In the later 90’s, Chrysler used the 46re (what my 98 Ram had). The “e” in 46re signifies the trans is shifted electronically, but I believe the 46rh and 46re are similar in design, similar to how GM 700r4 (4l60) and later 4l60e (1994-2008ish) transmissions are the same except the 700r4 shifts off hydraulics / 4l60e shifts electronically.

That was a mouthful, but I’m under the impression the Chrysler 4 speed transmissions (in the trucks) were basically Torqueflite’s with overdrive. Then they changed designs when they went to the 5 speed auto. The 4 speed AOD’s didn’t have a stellar reputation in the trucks. Maybe the overdrive unit itself is what caused the problems, I’m not sure. GM’s 4 speeds were known to be a weak link also.