Owners ask Sergio Marchionne to buyback their Dodge DPF-problem Ram trucks.
TIME magazine’s puff piece on Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FIAT, 
highlights the iron-fisted tactics used to take control of the ill-fated Chrysler corporation. Given the government’s desire to have him take the problem off their hands with a minor amount of political loss-job-shed, the company had limited value beyond the facilities and brand loyalty leftover from the Mercedes-Benz era.
However, the tough questions never got asked of Marchionne, and continued to be ignored by NHTSA, the unions and the future owners of FIAT/Chrysler products. When it comes to brand loyalty the Dodge Ram 2500-3500 Cummins Diesel had as high an owner love fest as the Porsche and Lexus crowd. If you consider the demands put on the three makes by their owners, the Dodge diesel clearly won out. Cummins, the famed engine maker was to thank for the famous Dodge 5.9L, and it’s well-documented history of going 250k+ miles. It was this heritage that claimed the economic lives of thousands of Dodge loyal owners anxious to have a 6 speed manual and ultimately an automatic with more horsepower in the summer of 2007.
Dodge 6.7L Diesel DPF problems cont…
2007, the year the federal government and EPA mandated a change of the diesel fuel mix to ultra-low sulfur burn and demanded a new engine be created by all diesel truck manufacturers in the light and medium duty weight-class. To be fair, the car companies had been given plenty of warning the requirements had to be met, but how they arrived at the new emissions level was up to the individual auto manufacturer.
Dodge pressed Cummins into action, and so the regeneration system utilizing a departiculate filter was born. The frustrated Dodge 6.7L Cummins Diesel owners know all about the DPF system. The horrors of idled work trucks, dealers demanding tens of thousands of dollars for NON-warranty problems alleged to be from bad gas, excessive oil overfill, not driving the truck properly and malfunctioning turbos among every other excuse, have cost the country millions of dollars in lost revenue and productivity.
NO NATIONAL RECALL
Somehow Sergio and his team have managed to avoid a national recall campaign or buyback of these lemons. How can this be? The liability of the Chrysler corporation seems to have shed it’s skin thanks to the bankruptcy courts. Yes, President Obama did say all the car companies involved in the public money bailout would honor their vehicle warranties, however, Fiat and its’ leader are claiming owner error to avoid responsibility.
NHTSA appears to be blind to the complaints, service bulletins and consumer protection they are entrusted with, using the: “the number of dead by model”, as the standard for requiring buyback or recall action on the part of the automaker. The EPA wanted better fuel economy and cleaner air, yet they’re lack of involvement in the engine design has clearly cost the truck owners and air quality more money in fuel consumption as MPG has gone down thus requiring more fuel to get to the same place.
As the Cummins-Dodge relationship strains under the pressure of this failed engine, finger-pointing and blanket denials regarding the number of buybacks (gag orders under contract) abound. Marchionne was never asked by TIME or anyone else, about the hundreds of thousands of loyal Dodge truck owners business’ destroyed by the DPF problem. As a business person he has shown a total disregard for the lives endangered and financial destruction caused by his companie’s actions. How does the offer of a lifetime warranty to the truck owner bring comfort, when your engineers can’t fix, deny responsibility, mis-diagnose the problem, or worse; allow your dealership network to steal thousands of dollars for repairs that should be covered and still won’t correct the underlying issues?
Thousands await judges’ decision.
As thousands of 2007-2011 Cummins 6.7 Dodge Ram truck owners await the verdict of the court regarding Chrysler’s attempt to have the class-action lawsuits dismissed, a new problem arrives. Dodge dealerships and Chrysler/FIAT corporate are knowingly allowing and in some cases directly participating in the resale of these trucks in the used truck market without disclosure of the issues.
Let the Dodge Cummins Ram DIE?
Is it possible Marchionne wants to kill CUMMINS in the eyes of Dodge truck owners?
Would this not provide an easy transition for the FIAT diesel when it arrives, presumably once all the 2007-2011 6.7l Dodge Ram trucks have quietly passed on to countries with no EPA, and all the Dodge truck owners have conveniently forgotten their last sheering?
FIAT offers a diesel engine vehicle in Italy, but does it meet USA standards?
Why has the FIAT CEO been so quiet about plans to expand the FIAT product line in the USA? Could it be he is waiting to see how the Fiat 500 and ABARTH make it through a summer in Las Vegas?
As Sergio the master manipulator is crowned the Savior-King of Chrysler, how will he handle the future customer complaints when the FIAT 500 fails to stay cool and run in hot climates like AZ, NV, CA, TX, NM, FL, LA, UT?
Without bankruptcy liability protection, will NHTSA hold FIAT to the same standard as Toyota, for “o death count” failures on future FIAT/Chrysler products?
As Chrysler records steady sales increases post bankruptcy, should the auto buyer of today be concerned about the car company’s intention to honor the reliability of their products when they have shown a record of not doing so thus far?
Who among us remembers Fix It Agian Tony? (the old acronym for FIAT).
In this case: BUYER BEWARE is the message for future Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and FIAT shoppers.
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Sarah Lee is a 20 yr. automotive executive writing on all things car related. A huge consumer advocate for better car deals and manufacturer responsibility.
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