Charger

Make
Dodge
Segment
Sedan

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that the Dodge Charger is quite long in the tooth. While the current seventh-generation model is technically a sprightly eight years old or so, in truth, the LD platform on which its based is little more than a mildly tweaked version of LX - a platform first introduced all the way back in 2004 with the arrival of the Chrysler 300. Those same aging bones were chopped slightly to create the LC platform, which underpinned the Dodge Challenger from 2008.

It's a wonder that Chrysler's muscle cars haven't all suffered severe hip dysplasia yet.

Thankfully, we may never have to wait so long for a clean-sheet Charger/Challenger/300 replacement ever again; as the Detroit Free Press reports Fiat Chrysler Automobiles says that the corporate reorganization now underway will help it bring new vehicle models to market faster.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which has at last struck a deal to merge with France's PSA Group to form the world's fourth-largest automaker by volume, is cognizant that the pace of innovation in the automotive industry is much faster than it once was. "The industry has never experienced technological change at the pace we are now seeing, so we're unleashing the creative energy of our engineers and technical experts for the benefit of our customers and stakeholders worldwide," says FCA CEO Mike Manley.

In the course of streamlining its product development process, FCA's headcount won't actually change much, if at all. Instead, the automaker will simply implement a new organizational structure that consolidates engineering, program execution, and management activities.

An especially important part of the reorganization will be the integration of powertrain engineering and vehicle engineering, FCA says.

"Previously, powertrain engineering was decoupled from the vehicle product development process. Now, it is embedded in a unified, global organization that promises improved cross-regional collaboration and more effective resource deployment," the company says. "The new, flatter product development organization will also enable speed in decision making and best use of technical competencies around the globe."

Greater unification between the American and Italian organizations that constitute Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is integral to the automaker's ability to implement the broader sharing of parts and platforms, helping cut costs and simplify development in an age of rapidly advancing telecommunications tech and ever-tightening efficiency regulations. As FCA prepares to merge yet again, gaining access to still more platforms and parts bins, the potential benefits of a flatter, more streamlined organization are multiplied.