Like the look of the freshened Jeep Patriot soft-roader that's presently relaunching here?

If so, best not to muck about with your deliberations. In a strange twist that could only befall a US brand, the car that has just been given a new lease of life here might be just a day from being sentenced to death row.

As part of its recovery from bankruptcy, Chrysler-Jeep seems set to drop some of its own models in favour of vehicles from Italy's Fiat, its strategic partner.

Exactly when the axe falls, and the order of execution, is not clear.

But according to leaked detail of the new plan, the facelifted Patriot that the recently reshaped New Zealand distributor hopes will help drive the much battered brand back to (hoped-for) better times here is definitely among the all-Americans on Fiat's hit list.

All will become crystal clear tomorrow when Chrysler Group capo - er, I mean chief executive - Sergio Marchionne, also president of Fiat, presents a product plan detailing how current and future Fiats are about to take American citizenship as Jeeps, Chryslers and Dodges.

The strategy will also make clear how many of Detroit team's current models are to be ditched as well.

If leaked information published in the Wall Street Journal is accurate, then the Patriot that Jeep showed select New Zealand writers just a fortnight ago is a goner.

According to the leak, so too are the biggest Jeep of all, the cumbersome Commander, as well as Jeep's other lite-roader, the Compass, two models that failed to drum up much Kiwi custom.

Goners from the Dodge lineup include the Caliber, the Nitro, the Avenger sedan - another brief holder of NZ residency (along with its more-glammed Chrysler equivalent, the Sebring) - and their version of the super-sized Voyager MPV.

The PT Cruiser, which recently won a stay of execution, and the Sebring are set to disappear by 2012.

In their place will come Fiat product re-engineered and restyled as Chryslers, and also reintroduce the Alfa Romeo brand to America.

It is already apparent the baby 500 is going to become a Chrysler in North America in 2011. It's also thought a medium-sized sedan shared between the two marques will be released in 2012.

Meantime, the Patriot is being repositioned here as an affordable alternative to the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Mitsubishi Outlander (which has had the same drivetrain and platform as the Jeep).

The relaunch is the first significant Jeep job for Sime Darby, which only took over distribution rights for the US brands recently. It is best known here as the Peugeot distributor.

The big attraction for Patriot might be the sharpened price - it now starts out at $35,990.

While the mechanicals remain unaltered (125kW/250Nm petrol with a CVT) there's a redesigned cabin, with much improved materials and a one-piece dash, centre stack and entertainment systems, including sat nav. New materials, a rejigged boot space, more sound insulation and a revised exhaust tune to reduce noise are reported.

It has four airbags (add two more for $750), and electronic roll mitigation.

Meantime, tomorrow's product announcement comes four months after the Chrysler Group exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Fiat currently holds a 20 percent stake in the company and, as the plan shows, is leveraging its own technology where possible rather than channelling funds into current ageing model range.

US media reports say the challenge was to keep Chrysler afloat until 2012, when the bulk of the new offerings will arrive.

Until then, it will rely on current models and minor upgrades, such as a face-lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300C sedan.

What this means to you: Head office decisions will surely hardly help lift brands' already battered image here.