(first posted 9/9/2016) We started the working week with a unique Chrysler 300 sold only outside North America, so let’s end the working week with another foreign Chrysler 300. In 2011, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles decided to effectively merge the Chrysler and Lancia brands in Europe, creating badge-engineered models like this Thema, photographed and uploaded to the cohort by T-Minor.
As bizarre as it sounds, it almost made sense. In some markets, like the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Chrysler brand was stronger. Lancia had withdrawn from the UK in 1994, the brand having never recovered from reliability and durability scandals almost two decades prior. Conversely, in continental European markets like, of course, Italy, the Lancia brand was much stronger while Chrysler was a minute presence. Therefore, the Lancia Delta and Ypsilon became Chryslers in markets where the American brand was stronger, while in Lancia-friendly markets the Chrysler 200 convertible, Town & Country and 300 became the Lancia Flavia, Voyager and Thema, respectively.
Lancia’s range had become rather stagnant by 2011, with the exception of the B-segment Ypsilon and C-segment Delta. The Phedra minivan was almost a decade old, the cute Musa MPV was barely any younger, and the Thesis executive saloon had been discontinued. The Chryslers had all been heavily revised for 2011 with vastly improved interiors, and the Voyager and Thema both were available with diesel engines. The Thema was offered with the Pentastar 3.6 V6 and a VM Motori 3.0 V6 diesel in two different states of tune: the first with 190 hp and 320 ft-lbs, the second with 236 hp and a very impressive 410 ft-lbs.
Interestingly, the brashest and most American of the three Chrysler products was arguably the best fit for the brand. The Thema was Lancia’s flagship, a car for politicians and dignitaries and a rival for other executive saloons like the Volvo S80. It featured the beautiful leather-laden interior of the 300C Luxury Series including that model’s leather-wrapped dashboard and soft, two-tone color scheme. Reviews were rather positive, with praise from Italian, German and French journalists for the Thema’s refinement, interior quality and powerful diesel engines, although there was some criticism of the car’s ride quality as a result of its big 20-inch wheels. The positive reception must have impressed FCA: here was a big, bold, full-size American sedan that could compete on the world stage and wasn’t ridiculed mercilessly for daring to wear a European badge. American cars had receded in Europe and those that remained were generally off-roaders or niche vehicles; passenger cars like the Chrysler Sebring of a few years prior had received a frosty reception from critics and consumers alike.
But despite the influx of new, competitive product like the new Thema, Lancia sales continued to slide. The Delta was discontinued in 2014, while the Chrysler-based models were axed by 2015. All that was left was the little Ypsilon, Lancia’s volume seller. In 2015, Lancia was yanked from all markets bar Italy; the Chrysler brand was also axed from the UK and Ireland. FCA hasn’t officially signed the death warrant for Lancia but, given the money they are pouring into the much more global Alfa Romeo brand and considering the sprawling portfolio of brands in the FCA family, it seems to be only a matter of time.
It’s tempting to say these rebadged Chryslers were part of the ignoble demise of a brand with such a rich heritage, but the real tragedy was the dearth of fresh product afforded to the brand. A fairly large, V6 convertible was a less appropriate car for the European market, but was it really worse than selling two ageing people movers long past their due date? The Chrysler-Lancia cross-pollination was an intriguing if failed experiment. Only a sustained development and marketing program could save Lancia, and there are bigger priorities for FCA.
Related Reading:
Obscure Rebadges From Around the World
“A fairly large, V6 convertible was a less appropriate car for the European market, but was it really worse than selling two ageing people movers long past their due date?”
This is pretty spot on. Another great post from you.
Thanks.
I am not really sure but does this Lancia Thema/Chrysler 300 was still based from a decade old large Mercedes Benz platform/architecture when Daimler used to own Chrysler prior to the Fiat days?
Yes.
It uses the ‘platform’ which is a set of specs and dimensions, and at one time the 5spd transmission, but very few parts are the same outside of that. I never understood the difference either, until a Chrysler engineer laid it out on Allpar.
Pretty much. It always annoys me when people spread myths about the LX being some outdated platform Mercedes was “done” with (“here, take our crappy old platform, we don’t need it anymore”) – development of the platform as a whole was happening concurrently on the MB and Chrysler sides, with a lot of exchanging of ideas between the divisions. Allpar has a good explanation.
http://www.allpar.com/history/interviews/burke-brown-lx.html
It doesn’t use the MBZ W124/W211 “platform”. The LX was developed largely concurrently with the W211, and it was only natural for Chrysler to use certain components/assemblies and other resitting technology from Chrysler. But it’s really all rather irrelevant; frankly, suspension and body technology haven’t really progressed all that much since the time these cars were developed. The major changes since when companies develop new platforms is to improve manufacturing efficiency, or lighter weight for better fuel economy, or better aerodynamics, etc..
The 300 should be judged by how well it performs in its role, not how old certain components are.
True, and by that metric, The 300 still does it’s job.
United States buyers rarely get excited about thinly disguised rebadges, even if the underlying vehicle is competitive.
I guess it’s a world-wide phenomenon.
>> United States buyers rarely get excited about thinly disguised rebadges
I guess that’s why GM managed to sell the same cars across up to five brands for a number of decades?
Ford and Chrysler DIDN’T do that for decades too? Every major manufacturer does this.
Actually, the volume sellers in those 5 GM brands frequently offered significant differentiation. Interchangeable parts were often quite few. Hardly rebadges by definition. Try restoring a ’62 Chevy Impala to factory specifications from a ’62 Buick Electra and see how far you get!
What I was referring to is the many vehicles that have been offered over the years “to fill out a brand line” that were blatant rebadges where the selling brand likely had little long term interest in the vehicle.
A rogues gallery of vehicles that U.S. buyers found mostly pointless;
Nissan Frontier sold as Suzuki Equator
Dodge Dakota sold as Mitsubishi Raider
Ford Explorer sold as Mazda Navajo
Isuzu Rodeo sold as Honda Passport (What was Honda thinking!!!!)
Dodge Caravan sold as Volkswagen Routan
etc.
Not only do these oddball rebadges rarely sell well, I think they tarnish the brand that does the rebadge. It shouts “Hey, we don’t have the resources to build in this segment on our own.”
Buyers rightfully regard these rebadges as the imposters they are, and know that its the next worst thing to buying an orphan branded vehicle.
It seems fairly obvious that Italian buyers really weren’t interested in an old North American market Chrysler rebadged as a Lancia Thema, just as Americans have ignored so many pointless rebadges.
To say nothing of the Thema in particular, am I the only one who’s sorely disappointed in the fact that more hasn’t been done in the evolution of the 300/Charger/Thema/Etc Platform? I thought the 300 was a real ray of hope when it came on the scene back in 2005, but 11 years(!!!) later Chrysler is still peddling the same car, with a few little tweaks here and there, but not much more.
Taking the change in ownership, etc. into account I suppose we can forgive a bit of languishing as attention is directed elsewhere. To give credit where it’s due, my father’s first 300C (a 2006 model) had interior material quality sorely lacking, which has clearly been improved upon considerably over the years. Still though, it’s almost painful to see this car become an aging also-ran. C’mon FCA, do something with this platform or show us something new to get excited about.
Having a 1st generation 300 as a work car and a 2nd generation 300c as my personal car, they are almost completely different cars. The interior of my 2014 is leaps and bounds better than the 2008. The technology is considerably improved. The Pentastar with the 8 sp. Torque flight is very noticeably more powerful and though it’s a matter of taste, I think the outside sheet metal is classier on the ’14.
The 3rd generation (which I also happen to have at work), meh. I like the Audi style shifter better than the knob and I don’t think any of the style changes were improvements actually I think they are regressions. I do like the linen and indigo Platinum interior, but it also seems to be the rarest one, unfortunately.
But isn’t that a Chrysler tradition, to keep a platform going forever? 😉
…and a GM and FoMoCo tradition as well!
33 years of the Panther is proof of that (and would be a good name for a movie.)
That the “American” badge was stronger in the UK than the “European” badge would on it’s face seem odd, Untill one considers the “love” that Buick gets in China.
It’s not so odd when you consider that the UK just voted to leave the EU, many Brits are highly suspicious of the French and the Italians, and some Europeans roll the Brits and Americans into a ball labelled “Anglo-Saxon”.
By the time Lancia pulled out of the UK, they were selling about 80 cars a year, due to British paranoia about rust (at that time they were about the best rustproofed cars you could buy).
It’s mildly amusing to me that Fiat had to choose between Lancia and Chrysler in the UK, given that the name “Chrysler” in the UK raised memories of clapped out Rootes products, not actual Chryslers. It’s a bit like AMC deciding to use “Renault” for the Encore and Alliance – seen as the least worst option.
There was also a dealer network to slot them into (because of Chrysler’s early 90s entry into the UK market with Jeep) which had a very thin model range.
I hadn’t thought of the Renault in US part, But You’re right perhaps just calling them AMC might have been better. I suspect that the concept of “furrin is better” in the early ’80s played a part.
I hadn’t thought of the Renault in US part,
iirc, the early Alliances had the Renault diamond on the grill, but had both AMC and Renault badges on the trunk lid. Renault owned about 48% of AMC, and had poured hundreds of millions into new equipment in Kenosha and an entire new plant in Brampton, so I would suggest Renault could call the cars anything they wanted.
They could have called them “Skyrocket Potato Salad”…….I wasn’t saying they couldn’t calll them whatever they wanted, I was talking about from a marketing perspective. Ironically, I’d think a guy with using the AMC logo would have agreed.
I recall reading that whatever market research they conducted suggested the Renault brand edged the other options.
I did think it seemed strange, I find it hard to believe many people had a particularly positive view of Renault in the US at that time. Then again, it all depends on how you frame the questions you’re asking.
I wouldn’t even say it’s a nationalism thing—dealer network from Chryslers 90s push (I remember reading imported Car magazines which featured the 300M) + Lancia having dropped out of the UK rather ignominiously over a decade in the past meant keeping them Chryslers was the natural choice, even if it was a bit odd to have a Chrysler Ypsilon (if anything that’s stranger than rebading the 300 as the Thema, where the name was at least attached to a big-ish car with a big brash engine).
While its true that more development should be done with the “300”, It’s still the only “American” (in concept,) RWD available. And the latest sedan I’d actually consider buying. (unless Buick or Cadillac would do something similar…)
FCA will be dead in 24 months. Jeep and Ram brands will be sold, Pacifica will remain for rental fleets and google autonomous vehicle application. Charger/Challenger will fade into oblivion as obsolete models….and finally, we will be rid of Sergio Marchionne.
Ummm….NO.
[Citation needed]
This has not aged well…LOL
Seems to be taking a wee bit longer…..
I remember being happy when this platform got a second lease on life in 2011. But that must have been in the works during the Cerberus era, with FCA batting cleanup to get it into showrooms. I have been chagrined about the amount of time this car has hung on without much change.
I had high hopes for some synergies out of the FCA deal. But at least here in the US, new products have been largely disappointing, and this car is becoming quite old.
I can see why it is not exciting Europeans as a Lancia. This is one of the few cars built in the US that screams “I am American!” Where you might have been able to turn any one of a number of other US platforms into a Lancia, this one would be problematic. And is, apparently.
Thing is, even though the platform is 11 years old, its still class leading. The Charger/300 are top sellers in their respective class. It gets a lot of criticism for soldiering on, but a lot of improvements have been made. And while others in the large sedan class may be newer and nice enough if you like a roadsofa, only the LXs have any kind of enthusiast following. That says a LOT when these cars are as likely to be found at the dragstrip (racing, not spectating) as at your work’s parking lot.
And in the storied career of the GM B bodies or the FoMoCo Panthers at the same point (1988 & 1990, respectively) were they as relevant then as the 300 is now? Except for Town Car, those platforms were relegated mostly to fleet service at the 11year mark. The 300 OTOH is still desired by retail consumers. For whatever anyone thinks about the “300” It qualifies as a winner in my book!
No argument from me on any of this. I’d just like to see more evolution in the packaging and the bodywork, I think. Admittedly, the Charger has evolved nicely over the years. A 2006 Charger is a wallflower compared to the current model’s sheetmetal, which has been re-sculpted to stay relevant. There’s been nothing Earth-shattering however, just a progression of changes. The Challenger is a dead end, design-wise, and the 300, while improved over time still presents itself very much the way it did back in ’06 aside from trim bits, headlight and taillight treatments. I think a large segment of the buying public, no matter how impressed they might be when they drive the cars, just won’t bother because they’ve been looking at them for so long. A dozen years is a long time, especially when there’s not a whole lot else exciting in FCA showrooms either. Hell, Chrysler is now the 300, the 200 (soon to be gone) and the Pacifica. I’m a 3rd generation Mopar customer and even I can’t get too excited about what I’m seeing.
Maybe the next generation of 300 will get a proper Italian suit of clothes, some Italian tinkering with the suspension, and be ‘worthy’ of the Lancia name?
“Screaming I’m an American” on a “European” car being a bad idea is why I’ve been calling “BS” on the concept that faking “Euro” on American cars for decades. But somehow that crap is OK?!? The ”mystique” of foreign brands still astounds me. People think that a Toyota Avalon is for example better than a random Buick because It’s “imported” still affects buyers, Even though that same Avalon is more American in fact than many ”American” branded cars. Ironically the opposite is true in tech: I know people who have Apple iPhones BECAUSE it’s “American”, While my “European” Alcatel phone was made in……..China same as Apple.
The original 300C with the 3.0 V6 Benz diesel did much better commercially, that’s for sure. Engine compartment below.
If you want a luxurious FCA sedan with the V6 VM Motori diesel these days, you can choose between a Maserati Ghibli or Quattroporte. 275 hp / 443 ft-lbs. Adequate.
My major problem with the Ghibli is me constantly pronouncing it “glibly” LOL. I have literally no idea what the name means, I at least understand “Quarttroporte” ?
My sources tell me that “Ghibli” is a hot, desert wind in North Africa noted for blinding dust storms. So, it appears that VW was not the only manufacturer to name cars after gusts of hot air.
Well I guess using obscure words does add intrigue (no Olds pun intended). But it’s a good idea as “Hot Air” is a lousy product name!
Maserati had a tradition of naming cars after winds. Bora is a wind as well.
Then VW hijacked that tradition with Golf, et. al.
Golf is an ancient Scottish game (or a contemporary one that makes me suffer frustration.) Gulf is either the winds, or an ancient Pittsburgh Oil company. (that in the Jurassic period I once was employed in the “distribution chain”) LOL!
True, they’re wind obsessed, viz. the Khamsin, the Mistral, the Biturbo… er… no, not that one…
Doesn’t Biturbo translate to “Twice the Hot Air”! LOL!
And VM Motori can do good engines when they want. If I’m not in mistake, they were the source of the 1.5 CRDI 3 cylinder in the Hyundai Getz. And from what I’ve heard they do 500,000 km with no big problems…
Ma Mopar and VM Motori go back a long way. The 2.5 -later 2.8- liter 4-cylinder diesel engines were (and are) used in the minivans and in the Jeep Wrangler and Cherokee. VM Motori’s 3.1 liter 5-cylinder was in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, before the Benz 3.0 V6 was put under the hood.
Fiat now fully owns VM Motori, so they’ve become one big family after all. The 3.0 V6 is in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Ram 1500 pickup and in the Maserati sedans mentioned above. Quite an all-rounder !
If I owned a Chrysler 300, I’d be tempted to order Lancia badging from Europe, just to be a little bit different!
I’d actually never realized that these were sold as Lancias. Now, I like the 300, and I’ve long loved Lancias, but the combination of the two just doesn’t excite me for some reason… just too much inauthenticity, I guess.
That’s funny, I thought of buying a 300 and adding “Imperial” badging!
Going into town the other night to collect some friends from a hotel I followed a black 300 on the expressway no badges on it at all so it could have been anything it was just black and shiney.
Would be nice to see a CC week devoted to badge engineered cars, that is, of course if it hasn`t been done already. It always reminds me of that great line from “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” and “Blazing Saddles”. “Badges? We don`t need no stinking badges”.
We could start with the Austin 7. Funny part is “Badge engineering” is a negative, but “World car” is positive! To me it’s the same damned thing,! Give some people an inch and they’ll take 1.61Km! LOL!
I’d say more: Give some people 2.55 cm and they’ll do 1.61 km!
The Monteverdi Sierra I am not certain if it can also be considered a re-badge Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare’ 4 Door Sedan since it was based from those RWD Chrysler F-Bodied Cars and the styling cues screams that its a heavily pimped up Plymouth Volare’/Dodge Aspen. http://tocmp.org/monteverdi/sierra/Monteverdi%20Sierra%200102e.jpg
From my admittedly little knowledge, I do believe it is a Volare/Aspen derivative.
Covered on CC :
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/monteverdi-sierra-the-plymouth-volare-gets-some-italian-tailoring/
Shame they never certified the V6 diesel for North America, would have given them a unique niche when gas prices skyrocketed. Not so much of an issue now.
Rumor mill department: word I have seen is that in 18 or 19, the Charger and Challenger will be moved to the Giorgio platform that underpins the Alfa Giulia. The 300 will either be dropped, or moved to the Giorgio platform as well.
The Journey SUV will also become Giorgio based and production moved from Mexico to Italy.
The only surviving Mopar DNA will be in Ram trucks. Everything else will either be of Fiat or Jeep.origin.
A platform called George?
That means Giorgio gave birth to Giulia. To create a family, they could call the Charger the Dodge Mario (the fast one), the Chrysler 200 the Chrysler Joe (the most “average” one, the Dodge Challenger the Dodge Sam (“because ‘murica) and so on…
Assuming the 300 gets dropped, the Chrysler name will certainly die with it. Pacifica becomes a Dodge, or if they decide to go with the Dodge=Performance angle, then both the Pacifica and the Journey become Fiats. Sad end for a storied nameplate, but there is literally no new product in the works.
“My name is Dodge Journey, but everybody calls me Giorgio.”
I swear on my life I must know you in some way; this reference to Moroder seals the deal. From what I can gather from your posts (no I’m not a stalker) your from MN, possibly went to St. Olaf? I’m originally from MN myself and your level of snark and observations would mirror mine perfectly. I need details LOL
I’ve heard rumors of the Charger and 300 being replaced by a new model based on the front-wheel drive platform of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, with all-wheel-drive available as an option. (Hope they’re not true.)
I have the Luxury Series 300, and that interior is delicious. The materials are SO premium, the Luxury Series is in a whole different league. I’ve never had a car that felt so far removed from the base model. I wonder if the taxi Mercedes S Class in Europe feels as far removed from the S600.
The E-Class (and all of its predecessors) is the taxi Mercedes, not the S-Class.
I like the 300, but I agree it needs change. The car needs about a door more hood and two feet of trunk. Then it would look right.
The imperial concept should be built. Sergio been a to go and productions need to come back to the USA.
Sounds like the fiat shitboxes are taking over.
Lancia Thema SRT-8 when? I wanna buy a 300 SRT-8 and put Lancia trim on it someday. Oh, these itches …
Those Lancia model names! Just waiting for them to bring out the Lancia Dilemma…..
Ha ha! thanks, Beer was coming out of my nose on that. Of course I once said Honda Quaalude and Chevy Snooz….
Almost: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Dilambda
I do really like the script for “Thema” on the badging. Very Mistral font.
That’s my pic up the top and at the time I was considering getting one as the dealership was loading them off at stupid discounts. I did not, and the below which is where I used to park might explain why. Here in Vienna even well-off middle class people do not have a place to park their cars other than the standard VW Golf-sized spot. Driving into and out of that yard involved a short and narrow tunnel as well as a sharp 90° left turn, not fun in anything larger than said Golf. And then you’d have to find a place to park it when out and about. This may sound like a prosaic reason, and it was not the only reason, but it explains why these were a failure in Europe. Had it been 200-sized, maybe.
But if I had the place to park it… Hmmm.
I live in a very expensive building here in France but my garage is very small. My last generation Golf just barely fit. “Do I really have to go out today? Do I really have to run to the store?”
Just changed cars and discovered the latest Golf would not have fitted at all. I can’t figure out how anyone could have gotten their 2cv into that space when both were new.
Makes me wonder if we’ll see 300s badged as Lancias here in Australia? Plenty of Chev badged Commodores and the odd Holden Corsa rebadged as an Opel.
I believe Paul (?) covered cars of Tintin a while ago, but an earlier Lancia/Chrysler interaction was beautifully covered in one of the many chase scenes in “The Calculus Affair” (“L’Affaire Tournesol”).
The Chrysler 300 being sold in Italy as a Lancia reminds me of how, way back in the 1960s, Renault sold the Rambler Classic and Rebel as the Renault Rambler Classic and the Renault Rambler Rebel in France as a replacement for their top-of-the-line Renault Fregate.
Lancias looked like Chryslers in the 90’s.
I also like this “Pontiac Town&Country”, the Lancia Phedra. The designers from Lancia always put an American taste in their creations.
Reading the comments from 6 years ago, including my own musings, my take on this is now slightly different.
While I previously lamented the lack of change, I now applaud it. In light of the 300 being basically the only one if its kind on offer here nowadays, I’m very comforted knowing it’s still out there and apparently still being refined and improved upon incrementally. I just perused Chrysler.com briefly, and I still think it’s a very handsome car. It may have a somewhat dated presence about it, but in a sea of CUVs and Euro sport sedans it an unapologetic homage to the “Banker’s Hotrods” that preceded it. I still kinda want one.
If you want one, I suggest you buy one now.
Since this article was first posted, Stellantis has doubled down (or tripled down, or more) on Lancia, asserting it has a place in the company’s future; planning to expand their model range to three vehicles and sell them in several European countries focusing on “Italian elegance” as its theme. I personally think Stellantis’ resources are being stretched too thin and amongst too many brands to work – is there really room to build up Lancia’s brand of Italian sporty elegance and not step on the toes of Alfa Romeo, or Maserati, or even Fiat? Not to mention all the non-Italian brands in the Stellantis portfolio like Opel, Vauxhall, Chrysler, DS, and Peugeot? Offering 10+ marques and keeping them distinct and profitable proved unsustainable for General Motors and British Leyland. But Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano thinks they can return to its former glory if given the next 10 years to work on it.
https://www.media.stellantis.com/em-en/lancia/press/lancia-renaissance-starts-today
It brings joy to my heart.
I only wish a new RWD ICE 300/Therma was part of it.
Few cars planned that far out in the future will have IC engines; however RWD is a distinct possibility, indeed is very likely. Surprisingly little has been written in the automotive press about how along with the EV revolution is a widespread switch from FWD to RWD, not just in SUVs and luxury/high-performance cars which have featured RWD often with available AWD for years, but also the replacements for Camcords, C-segment hatchbacks/sedans like the Golf/Civic/Corolla, and small crossovers where front drive has dominated since the 1980s.
Just don’t think about introducing that so slick Thema model in the USA. There are too many areas here where that name Thema, which is supposed to sound so sophisticated, would be associated with the woman’s name Thelma, which is not so much.
I did see a 300 here with a Thema grille, which the owner likely found was an easy way to customize it.
I had no idea. Thanks for this info – I love it.
What if Chrysler reciprocated when it was the correct time ? Example : best design of lattest (gone) Lancia was the Lancia Kappa coupe . Why not they tried the chance and could sell in the U.S. any Lancia Kappa rebadged as a Dodge ? Too late for a good idea