(July 28, 2011) Take a freshened Dodge Journey, tweak the front and rear ends, toss in a diesel engine and pick up the pace at the plant in Toluca, Mexico with some overtime and what you get is a Freemont. A Fiat Freemont that is!

Fiat’s European dealer body is doing gangbuster business with the Freemont, something Chrysler’s smaller dealer body couldn’t do. Add to that an upgrade in handling and suspension plus the Fiat MultiJet-2 2.0-liter diesel engine choices of 140 or 170-horsepower positioned against the current, snoozer Fiat Ulysse that sells for 5,600 euros ($8,000) more than the Freemont and you get the picture for Freemont’s success. The Freemont is set to be the successor of the Ulysse.

As a Journey last year Chrysler sold a meager 6,300 units. After only a month on the market (in was introduced in June) Fiat dealers (1,500 strong) have banked orders for nearly 16,000 Freemonts. Annualized target for Freemont sales is 33,000. It should be noted that Fiat and Lancia dealers have taken over distribution of all Chrysler products offered in Europe.

Aggressive pricing has also pushed along the demand. The Freemont sells for a “relatively modest” 24,900 euros (in Italy), approximately $35,800 for what is considered a large, near luxury SUV, with three rows of seating and a large cargo area.

--- Ted Biederman