The writer works for an automotive supplier.
Editor's note: The Lancia Thema is a rebadge of the Chrysler 300. The Chrysler 300C Luxury Series offers in the United States many features adopted in Europe for the top-trim Thema, thus it could be viewed as a rebadge of a rebadge.
To the Editor:
Perhaps I'm missing something, but the article "Top-line Chrysler 300 is a rebadged Lancia Thema" (Nov. 21) has me confused.
According to Saad Chehab, CEO of the Chrysler and Lancia brands, "It's a Lancia pitched as a Chrysler." But isn't the Lancia Thema a rebadged Chrysler 300?
According to Automotive News Europe ("With the Thema, Lancia adds affordable American muscle," autonews.com, Nov. 1), the Thema is exactly that: "The arrival of the new Lancia Thema -- a rebadged version of the Chrysler 300 -- gives the struggling near-premium Italian automaker a powerful large-sized car that it can sell for a mid-sized model's price."
So, who's kidding whom? Is Chrysler really going to try to sell us a rebadged-rebadged car?
What's going to be the tag line -- "Imported from Detroit, then shipped over to Italy, then exported back to Detroit"?
Did Saad Chehab hire Abbott and Costello as marketing consultants?
Heck, if this works out, maybe Chrysler can boost sales of the Fiat 500 by calling it a Dodge Colt and "importing" it back to Italy!
