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Fiat Chrysler trademark application hints at car subscription service

Who knows if this service would be for Jeep, Ram, Dodge or another division, if it comes to fruition?

Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.
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Sean Szymkowski
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FCA seems to have a subscription service in mind.

 FCA

Car-sharing and subscription services are a tricky business, and no automaker has truly ironed out the creases just yet. However, it looks like Automobiles may be prepared to dive into the waters.

CarBuzz reported on Tuesday that FCA filed to trademark "My Freedom" for what sounds a lot like a car sharing or subscription service.

In the trademark application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 17, the term is married with a description stating it would be used for "Motor vehicle subscription services, namely, providing temporary use of motor vehicles to members for their personal use." So, yes, it's certainly on FCA's mind for some sort of subscription service. The automaker told Roadshow it has no details to share at this time.

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FCA has flirted with the business in the past. It's launched three pilot programs: a car-sharing plot and two subscription pilots at low scales. The first focused on just 100 Jeep owners sharing their vehicles via a Turo partnership come to life. Through Turo, Jeep owners could rent their vehicles out to other drivers.

The pilot subscription service that most closely resembled car subscriptions as we know them today was FCA's work to introduce three-month-long subscriptions across the FCA lineup. A car-sharing program with Avis also previously came to life for the Jeep brand. It certainly seems like FCA has worked to experiment with different kinds of programs before moving forward with something new entirely.

The phrase "My Freedom" doesn't seem like the snappy kind of title one would associate with a luxury brand like or Maserati , so if I had to take a shot in the dark, this is an FCA-wide name or one specifically for Dodge , Jeep or Ram . That's of course if anything becomes of the trademark filing, as they're not always concrete pieces of information in the long run.

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