Car companies employ thousands and thousands of people. Many of them are directly involved with the product at some level, but far from everyone. So, it's only natural that some of them might not have an encyclopedic knowledge of cars and automaker history, nor would they need it. As it turns out, though, it could be handy for the parking security team at American Stellantis headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The owners of vintage Mopar owners would appreciate it, too.ajay_suresh/Wikipedia Evidently, Parking Staff Forgot About Old Brands At those headquarters, the various parking lots and structures have areas designated only for people with Stellantis vehicles. They're usually closer to entrances, so if you bought from the company, you can have a shorter walk into the office. As both Detroit Free Press and The Wall Street Journal have learned, if you park in those spots with something that isn't a Stellantis product, you can end up with a ticket from parking security. Those outlets also found that there usually aren't fines associated, but apparently it's possible for a car to be booted, adding some inconvenience.Cars & BidsNow, whether you agree with this practice or not, you would think it would be a fairly easy policy for security to manage. Most of the time it is. However, as a Stellantis representative told The Wall Street Journal, Stellantis does have a wonky brand history. That seems to be what tripped up security with a couple of ticketed vehicles in the last couple of months. Most recently, according to Detroit Free Press, the owner of a 1987 Plymouth Gran Fury came out to find a ticket, and before him, The Wall Street Journal reported that an Eagle Talon owner had a similar experience.Cars & BidsWe might be able to cut security a little slack on the Eagle Talon. The brand only existed for a brief time in the 1990s, and the Talon itself was really a Mitsubishi Eclipse, which was rebranded for both Plymouth and Eagle. Just as a quick aside, the basic platform was also used for the original Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring coupe. The Plymouth is harder to excuse, since the brand had an extensive history, entirely under the Chrysler umbrella, and it wasn't killed off until the early 2000s. Don't Be Too Harsh On The Parking Team So, it's pretty evident that Stellantis should give a seminar for the parking team about the company's brands past and present. In fact, a representative told The Wall Street Journal that it will be doing something to rectify the situation. Plus, as we mentioned, there's a good chance that many parking employees aren't hardcore car enthusiasts, and the history of Stellantis is legitimately a mess, and it brings some weird possibilities.At one point, Lamborghini was part of Chrysler, so a Diablo could hypothetically park in company vehicle parking. Peugeot is now part of Stellantis, so maybe if someone has a 505 or 405, they should be allowed to have preferential parking. How about this for a deep cut? Back in the 1970s, Chrysler had connections with European brands in the Rootes Group, and it sold something called the Plymouth Cricket, which was a British Hillman Imp.LamborghiniIt's easy for more informed car enthusiasts to not know some of these things, so we think the parking team can get some slack, and Stellantis should probably set aside a day for some history lessons. That, or the company could just do away with the competitive parking spaces.
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