Chrysler future products: 2 cars coming from Fiat, minivan's future considered

The Chrysler and Lancia brands will be joined at the hip in the coming years. The two brands will sell similar versions of large, mid-sized and compact sedans and possibly a minivan.

Chrysler will be sold predominantly in North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland; Lancia will be sold in continental Europe.

Compact sedan: Chrysler is scheduled to get a new compact sedan built on the same Fiat CUSW platform that supports the new Dodge compact. The Chrysler compact, scheduled to arrive in 2013, likely for the 2014 model year, will fill a segment in which Chrysler currently has no entry.

200: For 2011, Chrysler restyled and re-engineered the unloved Sebring so extensively that CEO Sergio Marchionne decided a new name was in order. So out went the rental-car favorite Sebring and in came the 200.

The 200 is scheduled to be replaced by a Fiat-based sedan in 2013. The Fiat-based sedan is set to be the first vehicle to get Chrysler's six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

300: The flagship 300 sedan was redesigned and re-engineered in 2011. More improvements are in store for the 2012 model year, including an eight-speed automatic transmission supplied by ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The eight-speed will debut in the new S series 300.

The 300, which got some interior improvements in 2011, will get further upgrades in 2012, including a new instrument display. Going on sale this fall is the 300 SRT8, powered by a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that cranks out 470 hp. The SRT8 also gets a 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.

Town & Country: The next generation of Chrysler's minivan is due in 2014, according to Chrysler's planning documents. Chrysler Group has said it wants to eliminate duplicate vehicles in showrooms, which implies that either the Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan will be deleted or modified as a crossover. The Town & Country has been Chrysler's answer to upscale versions of the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. The Grand Caravan has been positioned in the below-$30,000 price bracket. Deciding the minivan issue will be one of Chrysler's most difficult challenges.

Luca Ciferri contributed to this report

By Bradford Wernle- Automotive News