The Chrysler Crossfire range, of which two derivatives are being launched in SA this week, will be expanded to include a soft-top and a Mercedes-Benz SLK-sourced four-cylinder compressor engine.
The Chrysler Crossfire range, of which two derivatives are being launched in SA this week, will be expanded to include a soft-top and Mercedes-Benz SLK-sourced four-cylinder compressor engines.
The Detroit Free Press reports that top Chrysler executives – including chief executive Dieter Zetsche, chief operating officer Wolfgang Bernhard and marketing chief Joe Eberhardt – are to undertake an eight-city tour in America this week to showcase nine new models to dealers. The execs intend to convince franchisees that Chrysler has an exciting new range of products to revitalize its sales, the report said.
The roadshow will introduce dealers to a supercharged Crossfire convertible, the 300C saloon (as featured in CARtoday.com earlier this year), a range of new MPVs (upgraded with flat-folding rear seats), the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, a long-wheelbase Jeep Wrangler, and the PT Cruiser convertible.
The Crossfire, which will initially be sold in South Africa in manual and automatic 3,2-litre V6 derivatives, will in future also feature Mercedes-Benz’s 120 kW- or 145 kW-output 1,8-litre four-cylinder Kompressor engine. This engine will also be offered in the coupé versions.
The Karmann-built convertible model (previewed in CARtoday.com in January) was not likely to have a metal folding roof like the SLK, however. It will have a fabric hood.
Meanwhile, the new Grand Cherokee, which will share its platform with the Mercedes ML-Class, is to be built in Detroit next year, and a luxury crossover version, a sister model to the Mercedes-Benz GST, is said to be on the way.