when did a jeep become a Mopar?

[Slap Stick]

And Maserati.

 

[Hey-O]

And Maserati.

They destroyed that poor car. They put it on a lebaron platform and it was a piece of ****. They forced salary workers to lease them because they couldn't get rid of them. Those that had them knew they were driving a lebaron.

 

[YY1]

that was a one-off project (a hundred off?) before Maserati was actually an FCA brand.

 

[Slap Stick]

No, in 1984 Chrysler purchased a 5% stake in Maserati and later increased it to over 15%.

 

[YY1]

5 or even 15 per cent is not a controlling interest.

My research indicates Maserati became a Fiat brand in 1993.

...and of course we all know when Chrysler became an FCA brand.

 

[Slap Stick]

The fact remains Chrysler owned a percentage of Maserati in 1984.
That led to the agreement to build the Maserati TC which when discontinued Maserati had to pay off Chrysler.
How much of Mazda did Ford own? Jaguar?
How much of GM did the UAW own? How much of Nissan does Renault own?
Ownership is ownership.

 

[Hey-O]

The whole thing Lee Iacocca was trying to do was create a new image for Chrysler. Making a Maserati out of a Chrysler Lebaron was like putting perfume on a pig and charging three times more for the pork chops.............

 

[YY1]

...and the name of the car was actually "Chrysler TC by Maserati".

 

[66ChargerHI-PO]

Mopar mopeds.

That would be cool, and could be used at Carlisle!

 

[66ChargerHI-PO]

"Chrysler TC by Maserati"

I know this may be a dumb question, but what does the TC stand for?

 

[DeltaV]

I know this may be a dumb question, but what does the TC stand for?

Turbo Convertible as per this article:

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/1989-1991-chryslers-tc-by-maserati/

 

[YY1]

...and they were really nice Lebarons with puffy, heated leather seats before heated seats was a common option on anything besides caddies and lincolns

 

[Slap Stick]

My 88 vulv....I mean Volvo had bun warmers and were available on my 84.

 

[YY1]

Swedish winters.....

 

[Photon440]

AMC owned Jeep and was struggling. Mopar bought AMC (to get Jeep) and dissolved AMC cars. About the only thing they kept was their straight 6 engine which they used in the Jeep line for many years.

I'd have to say they kept a little more than just the six. Although people talk about the struggles, they were actually on the road to better times. AMC under Renaults' part ownership made over $20 Million profit in the last quarter of 1986, and more in the next two quarters. Chrysler's own cost analysis while doing the takeover estimated that AMC would have made $200 Million in profits for 1987 if they continued for the whole year.

It wasn't just cars and trucks, Chrysler also got hold of the brand new state-of-the-art Bramelea assembly plant in Ontario Canada which is now known as Brampton and builds our well known 300s, Chargers and Challengers. This factory was worth almost half of what Chrysler paid for the entire company. Iaccoca was also looking to expand the sales force, and they gained another 1500 dealerships this way.

AMC was making progress, the Jeep Comanche was introduced, and for the first time in years, a full sized car (the Premier) was in AMC showrooms. The Premier continued on as the Eagle Premier after Chrysler took over, and its platform continued as the Dodge Intrepid and then later with some Mercedes suspension parts turned into the RWD Chrysler 300. In 1993, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee went to market, originally designed by AMC and development work continued almost entirely with ex-AMC design and engineering staff. AMC engineers re-developed the Chrysler small block cylinder heads, creating the Magnum versions of the 318 and 360.

As an aside, a lot of Mopar M bodies started being built by AMC at their Kenosha plant in 1987, built for Chrysler under contract. Lee Iaccoca wanted to use some excess capacity that AMC had available. The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon were also scheduled to be built by AMC to help out with production, but before that happened the sale of the company took place.

All in all, American Motors managed to do quite a lot with a much smaller budget than the other Big Three.