VIDEO: New Chrysler Ad Emphasizes the Importance of Style

In its latest commercial, Chrysler takes a trip down memory lane, showcasing some of its vintage models and wonders what ever happened to the glamour and style that these cars represented. And you guessed it; according to Chrysler, good 'ol American style is making a comeback on the firm's new models like the recently launched 300 sedan. Video available after the jump.

Chrysler 200 Convertible Photographer Lashes Out on Facebook, Calls the Person who Leaked the Pictures an "Arrogant D...bag"

If you've been following our daily posts, you'll remember that the first batch of photos of Chrysler's 200 Convertible, previously known as the Sebring, were leaked onto the net last Thursday (January 13, 2011). The following day, Chrysler posted the photos on its official website. End of story? Well, not exactly as we discovered a very interesting posting on the photographer's official Facebook page.

Webb Bland, the person who shot the admittedly impressive press photos of the 200 cabriolet accused a “misguided idiot somewhere outside of the fantastic marketing team at Chrysler” for leaking the images “weeks in advance of the meticulously scheduled unveiling”.

“Rage-induced”, Mr. Bland added that “it's goddamn infuriating that so many car blogs have already run many of the photos cropped awkwardly, without context or back story, and at a horribly compressed resolution, on top of that.”

While we can understand the photographer's disappointment, we think that his reaction was over the top. Leaks (intentional or...not) are all too common in the automotive industry and you just can’t accuse all blogs for the quality of the photos. Neither can you expect them to crop a photo just like a professional photographer. Furthermore, all sites posted the HD pictures once Chrysler decided to drop the ball.

Any website - be that a news outlet or a blog- jumps at such an opportunity in order to be able to convey the latest information to its readers. But in any case, we’re not the enemy of professional photographers and we’re pretty sure the online media wasn’t trying to sabotage Mr. Bland’s work.

Maybe Mr. Bland should’ve concentrated on finding out who was that “one selfish arrogant douchebag who got a hold of the digital files before the CEO was set to review the images”, rather than taking a shot at blogs and automotive websites that present his work to the public.

We don’t want to add any more fuel to this fire, but it seems that Mr. Bland has a good idea about who the culprit might be and maybe the fact that it could be a Chrysler exec is what caused him to lash out.

Granted, if someone inside Chrysler leaked the photos, there’s not much Mr. Bland can do, other than maybe re-evaluate his professional relationship with the automaker.

In any case, reporting the news shouldn’t be confused with wrongdoing.

Lancia to Unveil Chrysler 200-based Model at Geneva Show, may name it Flavia

*The above image is a Carscoop illustration

It appears that all those the rumors regarding future Lancia models are true as the Italian automaker is gearing up for this year’s Geneva Auto Show with several new additions to its line-up.At the Detroit Motor Show, Fiat Group execs revealed that along with the Chrysler 300-based Thema flagship, Lancia will also unveil its own version of the Chrysler 200. The mid-size model will be offered in both sedan and convertible body styles, and is destined to replace the Sebring in the European market.

“The new Chrysler 200 will come – cabriolet included – to Europe as a Lancia, and Flavia is a very good hint as its possible name,” Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said on the sidelines of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

It is believed that Lancia's version of the Chrysler 200 will feature only a few minor styling tweaks over its American counterpart including a unique grille and Euro-spec bumpers. However, Lancia-Chrysler CEO Olivier Francois told reporters that the Lancia model will gain a manual transmission and a diesel option.

The Chrysler...ization of Lancia will continue with a Town and Country/Voyager-based minivan that will go on sale in 2011 together with the Thema, followed by the 200-based sedan in early 2012.

The Italian company said it hopes the three Chrysler-based models will give Lancia an image boost and generate higher profit margins, as they’re going to be positioned above the Delta, currently the company’s largest offering.

Last but not least, the Geneva Show will mark the debut of the Ypsilon replacement that will hit showrooms in June. Offered for the first time in a 5-door version, Lancia plans to sell 130,000 units a year of the new Ypsilon and boost overall sales to 300,000 vehicles in 2014 from 112,000 in 2009.