Chrysler Just Killed Itself

Eric Peters Autos ^ | June 05, 2026 | Eric Peters

[Red Badger]

Well, that headline isn’t exactly right. Stellantis – the parent company of Chrysler (as well as the Dodge, Jeep an Ram truck brands) – just killed Chrysler.

As you probably already know, Chrysler has been dying for the past three years. The brand is down to just one model – the Pacifica minivan – because Stellantis decided to cancel the 300 sedan that arguably was the Chrysler brand for many years. It went away at the end of the 2023 model year – which was when Stellantis pulled the plug (so to speak) on the Dodge Charger sedan, which was the shared-platform vehicle the 300 was based on and introduced an electric Charger coupe that literally had to be plugged in. It sold like leprosy, in part because not many people want to plug in and also because the thing had a base price that was about $20,000 higher to start than the last (2023) gas-engined Charger sedan. The fact that it was only available as a two-door compounded the problem because coupes are a harder sell, even when they have engines (because they are less practical than sedans and most people need a practical car).

Chrysler was left with nothing – other than the Pacifica. Which probably ought to have been a Dodge anyhow – because minivans are the most practical of all vehicles and so selling one with a luxury-badge (and price) limited the prospective market to older empty-nester types. The current Pacifica starts around $44k. Back when Dodge sold basic family-hauler minivans such as the Caravan – last available in ’07 or about $19k to start – Dodge sold a lot of them.

Anyhow, it looks like Stellantis is going to rebadge some Fiats (Stellantis also owns that brand) and try to sell them as Chryslers. This is what’s going to end Chrysler, probably – because these rebadged Fiats are crossovers. They are apparently going to be called the Arrow and the Arrow Cross and they are basically re-skinned iterations of the Fiat Grizzly, a small crossover that Fiat will sell in Europe.

Just what the market’s been clamoring for . . . another couple of small crossovers (that aren’t even Chryslers).

Has Stellantis learned nothing from the Hornet debacle over at Dodge? Does anyone remember the Hornet? It’s been dropped from the Dodge roster, in part because the cost of Trump’s tariffs (which made this rebadged Alfa – another brand under the Stellantis umbrella) too expensive to sell here) but also because it wasn’t selling. Not because it’s a bad little crossover – you can read my review of it here – but because it fits in the Dodge lineup like lederhosen on an Eskimo. Dodge’s brand identity is not “euro.” It is boldly, distinctly American. The Charger – not the device – defined that brand. It was so American it’s surprising its fasteners weren’t standard rather than metric. In any case, its big car, rear-drive/front engine layout and V6/V8 lineup certainly were as American as it gets.

And so was the 300, the luxury iteration of the same thing. It was the un-Camry. The big sedan for Americans who wanted a big – and luxurious – American sedan rather than a front-drive sedan from Japan (or an overpriced luxury sedan from Germany). The 300 – when it was last available back in 2023 – came standard with a 3.6 liter V6 for $34,295. A same year Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan came standard with a 2.0 liter four and stickered for $56,750. (It is worth noting that Mercedes did not alter the badging to reflect the downgrade; i.e., why not “E250” rather than E350? Of course everyone knows why. No one trying to sell you less for more advertises the fact.)

The 300 was both brash and a bargain. It was also arguably better in many ways than generally similar (but much more expensive) Euro-luxury brand sedans like the Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series, etc. It was certainly – inarguably – different and that’s an advantage when you are trying to sell something. There’s not much advantage in trying to sell another crossover because everyone else already has a crossover to sell. Many of these are brands closely associated with crossovers. Chrysler has no history with crossovers. If Dodge can’t sell a rebadged Alfa crossover, what makes Stellantis believe that Chrysler can sell rebadged Fiat crossovers?

Meanwhile, there is a way to save Chrysler.

Dodge is in the process of trying to save itself, by offering the Charger as both a sedan and a coupe – and with an engine, too. Why not take the current Charger sedan, lux it up and sell it (with the new inline 3.0 liter straight six) as the new 300? The 3.0 liter inline six would be ideal in a Chrysler 300; much more so than under the hood of a Dodge Charger (which ought to come with a V8, because the Charger is supposed to be a muscle car and no matter how powerful a six is, it can never be the right engine for a muscle car). The six is smooth and quiet and powerful, too. It’s what’s available in the current Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series. If Chrysler were to offer it as standard – and for $20k less than what Benz and BMW want for something similar – with that handsome new body draped over it, the thing would likely sell.

It could save Chrysler.

Instead, it looks like the last Chryslers will be reskinned/rebadged Fiat crossovers. It’s a sad way to go out.

. . .

[Red Badger]

😁😂🤣😅😆..............................

[Made In The USA]

Probably about the same here. I’ve been looking at some classic cars for sale online, maybe pull the trigger next year.

[mewzilla]

Dodge Caravan. 1984-2020.

RIP.

[catnipman]

“so selling one with a luxury-badge (and price) limited the prospective market to older empty-nester types” who don’t need one in the first place ...

[Getready]

Agree that lots of simplifications and improvements could be made. They had compressed air powered starters a long time ago.
Easily done DIY capabilities....e.g. spark plug, water pump, fuel pump, thermostat, headlamps replacement.
Built in OBD system with updateable codes.Large trunks. Fiber optic mirror system instead of cameras.

[Dr. Sivana]

Large trunks and bench seats . . . definitely.

I am probably one of the few who do not like the trunk release latch under the dash. With old style cars, valuables go in the trunk, and the car remains unlocked. Granted, it takes 30 seconds to hot wire the car, but if you get three-on-the-tree, few could drive it away.

fuel pump replacement on slant-six Dart, 20 minutes

water pump replacement, 40 minutes

No serpentine belts for the alternator either. Once I was able to get it to work temporarily with some clothesline I had in the trunk.

[dznutz]

Now, carb adjustments and points can be a nuisance. The old single cavity master cylinders were a bona fide safety hazard And on Mopars, the voltage regulator (separate from the alternator) liked to fry every so often.

Cleaning and gapping points isn’t very hard or time consuming, and you can keep a set of points and condenser in the glove box just in case they crap out on you while driving, it is easy to swap out on the side of the road. If an electronic ignition goes out you will be calling for a tow truck. I wanted to keep my 64 Dodge as close to stock as possible but am changing out my single for a dual master cylinder after the pedal went to the floor.

The charging systen is the Achilles heel of old Mopars.

[Zuriel]

**I hate that, but it was to influence and entice the female buyers.....**

Yep, and the soyboy types that don’t have a clue about mechanical function and repair.

[Dr. Sivana]

I had to explain to a young mechanic who didn’t think that alternator gauges were useful. I have a 2004 Chevy Venture that has a needlessly complex electrical system, and an alternator gauge would have been useful in diagnosing the problem. He had confused the Mopar alternator gauge with the comparatively worthless GM Battery gauge. I had to explain to him that the gauge didn’t measure voltage as much as it was describing whether the battery was being recharged or not.

The downside is it worked by “running hot”, so when the gauge fails, so does the car. Fortunately, I had a cheater cable with alligator clips on hand to bypass the gauge altogether. That was on a ‘66 Dart.

[x]

That’s the downside of foreigners taking over US companies. Stellantis does most of its business in Europe and sees greater opportunities outside the US.

[Prov1322]

We are volunteers at our local world-class auto museum, savoymuseum.org, where we have the joy of being up close with manufacturers that I was never aware of...Graham (Sharknose and Blue Streak), Cord (Beverly 812), Diamond T, American Bantam, Crosley, etc...of just the museum-owned cars, not counting the ones we see every month with a gallery changeout.

[spintreebob]

The Pacifica mini-van was greatly inferior to the Dodge mini-vans. They were on the same platform. The Pacifica just had modern climate friendly features. Every feature on the Pacifica only was inferior to the Dodge caravan.

[Honorary Serb]

I once had an old, reliable Dodge Dart.

It’s very sad what has happened to the Chrysler Corporation!

[Inyo-Mono]

Back in 2023 I rented a 300 in Texas. I was never a fan of Chrysler products (Though I do like my Ram 1500 Classic). I was impressed with it.

I rented a 300 back in 2012 and like you was impressed with it. I still drive my 2005 Jeep Wrangler two door Unlimited with the straight six engine that I bought brand new. In 21 years of driving it, only problem I ever had with it was when the oxygen sensor went out. I like it, hand crank windows and no dash screen.

[tflabo]

Why not bring back an old reliable slant 6 cyl. from the past and modernize it some but not too much. Modern vehicles with so many electronic sensors and over dependence on computer modules. Design a simple, reliable, affordable but attractive daily rider for working class people. Now is the opportune time for it with all the way overpriced modern junk they’re peddling.

[dznutz]

Yes with the Mopars, the alternator ran through the bulkhead connector into the dash ammeter and back out through the bulkhead to the relay then battery, the ammeter itself rarely fails, usually the bulkhead connectors get corroded and old wiring tended to fry. When you bypass the ammeter with a shunt wire you could still burn the car down without adding fusible links.

With all of their quirks, I still prefer the old cars over the new.

[Dr. Sivana]

old wiring tended to fry

The nice part was that there was less of the old wiring. My 1966 Dart with no power steering and no power brakes had four or five fuses. (there might have been a fusible link or two under the hood, and maybe a single circuit breaker).

On my wife's '73 Dart I installed some sweet Hella headlamps, with relays and new wiring that was doing the heavy lifting for the current.

[Red Badger]

All that electronics is to meet the Fleet Fuel Economy Averages and the Clean Air Act pollution regulations.

SO even if they were to redevelop the venerable Slant Six, the engine would be unrecognizable..............

[dznutz]

When I was a teenager I owned a 72 Dart Swinger with the 225 slant six, most worry free car I ever owned.

[Organic Panic]

No more 300?

Pimps hardest hit.