As we reported the other day, Chrysler is working as hard as possible to get its gas-guzzling fleet more in line with consumer desires. These days, that means fuel efficiency, so it comes as little surprise that Dodge is renewing its efforts to get the Hornet small car up and running. Up until this point, it had been assumed that the Chrysler joint venture with Chinese automaker Chery would produce the Hornet, but it seems that the Chinese company may not be quite ready for prime time. Instead, Chrysler's recent tie-up with Nissan is now expected to result in the new Dodge vehicle.

Chrysler still has plans to introduce a budget line of vehicles with its Chinese counterpart. Dodge's upcoming Hornet, though, will not be an entry level model at all. The Hornet is expected to compete with upper level small cars such as the Mini, which has seen excellent sales as of late due to its fuel efficiency.

[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]

The folks at Chrysler have finally come to the realization that it's time to stick a fork into that whole gas guzzler thing. They're done. Panicked about what to build instead, they have searched through the company's closets and drawers looking for the plans for a small car that might get them out of the hole they've been digging. Apparently this is all they could find, the Dodge Hornet concept from the 2006 Geneva auto show. And although they are "...working intensely on the Hornet study..." it may still take a couple of years before it sees a driveway. We think Chrysler's designers may be conferring with their Chinese counterparts in an attempt to make the Hornet more "unique".

Ok, maybe it's not that bad. The box shape certainly worked for the Scion XB 1.0, yielding a lot of space inside a small package. The internet forum at the website that the company set up for the concept even had a few people show up and rave about the styling for a week or two. Of course, the new product won't look like the Hornet exactly. When asked, Thomas Hausch, the company's vice president for international purchasing, couldn't even say whether it would even wear the Dodge insignia. He did, though, intimate that there would be a Chrysler smaller than the 2-liter Sebring coming. Hit the jump to see a video of the Hornet buzzing along.

Small cars often come in handy, especially when writing the initial check to purchase it and when pulling up next to the gas pump. For obvious reasons, the smaller the car and the smaller the engine, the less it costs and the less gas it uses. Anyway, Chrysler has been after a small B-Class car of their own for a while now, and appeared to have a deal in hand with the Chinese carmaker Chery for a car in that segment, namely, the Dodge Hornet. We have brought you quite a few news stories since then regarding that deal, which seems odd, considering that a deal had apparently been struck already... but, it seems that Chery might think that the deal is off based on the new owner of the Chrysler group. According to this story on Autoblog, Chery wants to renegotiate the deal with Cerberus, the new owner. I guess we'll just need to keep an eye on this one for now and hope that the vehicle gets built at some point.

Previously on AutoblogGreen:

• Chrysler VP talks about Chery and the Hornet
• Dodge Hornet, Chery S12, the QQ, and more updates on the Chery/DCX allianace
• DCX board approves small car partnership with Chery

[Source: Autoblog]

Late in 2006 Chrysler announced a deal with Chery Automotive to develop and manufacture small cars. Everyone hoped this meant that the Dodge Hornet which was shown at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show as a concept would be produced out of the deal. Unfortunately, the two companies have been shy about releasing details, apparently because they had yet to work those out. Chrysler Executive VP of product development Frank Klegon spoke to a group of Asian journalists and the subject of the Chery deal came up.

According to Klegon they are close to finalizing the deal, and it may start with "a Dodge-branded product that Chery manufactures and engineers, all the way through to cases where we could engineer and design a product that they manufacture, and things in the middle." The Hornet or something based on that design may or may not be part of that deal, including using the body design on a Chery developed chassis.

[Source: Chrysler]

A while back, we posted that Dodge had officially chosen Chery as the company to manufacture their Hornet small car concept. Is that still true? It's a little hard to say at this point.

Chery and Chrysler/Dodge have issued conflicting press releases these last few days. When Chery does actually start to make vehicles for Chrysler, will they be like the Hornet concept, or will they be more like rebadged Chery's? Again, hard telling. Chery says it will be the A1, as pictured above, while Chrysler has said both we don't know which car it will be, and we know, but we have not announced it yet. So, that clears things up, right? No? I didn't think so. Wait and see!

[Source: Autoblog]