Chrysler's SRT brand not going anywhere

Just because you can buy a Charger SRT8 for under $35,000 after incentives and rebates doesn't mean Chrysler is liquidating its SRT cars to get rid of the brand. In fact, Chrysler has said specifically that its high-performance division is safe from the current budgetary cutbacks.

Unlike General Motors' now-canceled High Performance Vehicle Operations, Chrysler's SRT is "sticking around", said VP of global planning Steve Bartoli in a chat posted to the Red Letter Dodge blog.

The Charger, Challenger and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 versions are all still alive despite the company going so far to save money as to get rid of its clocks to save the money spent adjusting them twice a year.

In fact, an all-new SRT model based around a sedan is in the works, though exactly which car it'll be based around isn't yet clear. One obvious candidate is the re-worked 300 sedan leaked in the company's viability presentation.

Marchionne confident Fiat can help Chrysler

The Fiat-Chrysler partnership has been brewing since well before the economic meltdown and federal loan bonanza of late 2008, but it's still taking shape as the carmakers find ways to work to their mutual benefit. Today Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reaffirmed his confidence that Fiat will be able to help Chrysler out of its hole.

In fact, Marchionne thinks Fiat will not just help Chrysler out of the red, but add significant value to its operations. Technology, products and design are some of the ways Fiat will bolster Chrysler's business situation, he says.

Far from the picture of the out-of-touch and clueless management the mainstream media portrays of Detroit, Marchionne told White House officials he was impressed with Chrysler's recognition of their problems, reports The Detroit News. "The feeling that I got from them is that they recognize the magnitude of the problem and there's an absolute determination to finding a solution. At least, they're engaged."

Whether being 'engaged' is enough to save the day, however, is another matter. There are many in the industry that point to Chrysler's performance over the past decade as evidence that it is rotting from within. Even Daimler's infusion of technology and resources didn't improve Chrysler's position in the market.

So what makes Fiat's partnership different? It will essentially be giving its "technology, platforms, engines, know-how" and more to Chrysler for free, saving billions in R&D over the next 7 years. With the new products and technology, Fiat thinks Chrysler will be armed with the size and variety it needs to not just survive the coming decade, but reach profitability.