Is Chrysler getting charged up about electric vehicles? That's the word going around in Detroit this week, as the automakers confirms published reports that it is working up a line of extended-range EVs, often referred to as plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, or PHEVs.

Chrysler has taken its share of lumps from environmentalists for being slow to market with greener technology, and in the current environment of $4-a-gallon gas, buyers haven't been too pleased, either. The automaker's first hybrids, including a version of the big Dodge Durango SUV, will just hit market later this year. Meanwhile, the automaker will market a high-mileage diesel version of its Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was developed with its former partner, the German automaker Daimler AG.

To take things further, the automaker created a new unit last autumn, dubbed ENVI, to help it push into alternative propulsion systems. And one of its highest priorities is to develop a line of PHEVs, spokesman Nick Capa has confirmed, and possibly other forms of electric propulsion.

Specific details haven't been released. "It's too early to get down and dirty with this technology," cautioned Chrysler spokesman Nick Capa. But he pointed to three concept vehicles the automaker unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show last January, which can provide a few hints.

The little Dodge Zeo has a pure electric drive system, with an oversize battery pack to extend range. The ecoVoyager mates fuel cell and range-extender technology, while the Jeep Renegade's plug-in drive is backed up by a clean diesel.

It appears Chrysler's push into extended-range and related technology is driven, at least in part, by the overwhelming response to General Motors' own extended-range EV, the Chevrolet Volt. GM promises that sedan will get at least 40 miles on a single charge, more than enough for the typical daily commute. For longer drives, Volt's compact internal combustion engine will kick in, allowing it effectively unlimited range.

What's unclear is which technical path Chrysler will take. Conventional gasoline-electric models, such as the Durange Hybrid - or Toyota's best-selling Prius - are so-called parallel hybrids. That means their wheels can be directly driven by either the vehicle's gasoline engine or its electric motors - or both. Volt, however, is a series hybrid. The production version's wheels will only be driven by electric motors. When the battery runs down, the internal combustion engine will act as a generator, sending current to either the vehicle's battery or its motors.

How broad a range of plug-ins Chrysler plans has not been revealed, but given the shift in the American market, the automaker is clearly under pressure to expand a green lineup likely to include more conventional hybrids, next-generation clean diesels - and plug-in technology.

As to timing, Capa said it's unclear when ENVI will bring these new products to market, though, "We feel pretty confident...with three to five years."

Hit hard by the slump in sales of SUVs, pickups, and other light trucks - which normally account for two-thirds of its volume - Chrysler LLC plans to close an assembly plant later this year and sharply reduce production at another.

Chrysler's St. Louis South plant, one of two producing minivans for the maker, will close indefinitely, starting October 31. The neighboring St. Louis North factory, which makes the big Dodge Ram, will meanwhile go from two shifts to one, reflecting the huge drop in demand for full-size trucks.

The situation is all the more significant for Chrysler since it only recently launched a new version of its Town & Country and Dodge Caravan minivans, and is just now preparing for the rollout for an all-new version of the Ram pickup.

The cutbacks will idle 2,400 workers, according to Chrysler, including 1,500 at the minivan plant. A second minivan assembly line, in Windsor, Ontario, will continue operating.

"We see no need for the capacity in the future," said Chrysler President Tom LaSorda, during a conference call.

Meanwhile, LaSorda derided as "hogwash" growing rumors that Chrysler's private equity owner, Cerberus Capital, was preparing to sell the company off in pieces. Among the many reports that have circulated, Cerberus would close Chrysler's carmaking operations and keep its Jeep line, or sell the Jeep and Chrysler brands and keep Dodge.

Such plans are "absolutely not being considered at all," he forcefully declared, adding that, "I don't even want to entertain those questions."

LaSorda, who was bumped out of the CEO job after Chrysler was sold to Cerberus, last year, by its former German owner, Daimler AG, insisted Chrysler is meeting all its targets. But he did concede it was being forced to make "some difficult decisions" by the current automotive downturn.

Chrysler's crosstown rivals have also had to take some tough steps in recent months, including a number of plant closings and cutbacks of their own. Investors have responded by driving General Motors and Ford Motor Co. stock prices down to historic lows. As a privately held company, Chrysler and its parent, Cerberus, do not report their financial data.

Ford's turnaround plan is in tatters. General Motors must close four more of its plants. And Chrysler's biggest launch of the year, its new Ram pickup, has been all but aborted. Record fuel prices have been devastating Detroit. But the domestic automakers aren't the only ones feeling the pinch.

Asian manufacturers are feeling the pinch as well, and suddenly realizing that their own foray into light trucks now has a serious downside. Toyota, for example, has seen its incentives soar on the heavily promoted Tundra, yet even then, the full-size pickup has suffered a double-digit sales decline in recent months. The automaker has delayed the planned open of its new Tupelo, Mississippi, assembly plant, and scaled back sales expectations for the Highlander, the crossover/SUV that will be built there.

Then there's Nissan, which never quite connected to the U.S. market with its own big truck, the Titan. Overall, the automaker's light-truck lineup, including the Quest minivan and Armada full-size SUV, has suffered a 9.8 percent dip since the beginning of the year, but Titan sales have plunged a painful 44.5 percent.

That's leading the Japanese maker to cut light-truck production at its Canton, Mississippi, assembly line back to one shift - though it will also add a third shift at the plant for the increasingly popular Altima sedan.

Earlier this year, Nissan announced a major realignment of its truck fleet. Instead of building a next-generation Titan on its own, Nissan will team up with Chrysler to develop a version based on the Detroit maker's new Ram. Production of the Infiniti QX56 luxury SUV will be shifted back to Japan, and it is likely that major changes will be made to the Armada program, as well.

"Quality is no longer a differentiator. It's the price of admission." Or so goes the word of advice I got, many years back from Dr. David Cole, today the director of the Center for Automotive Research, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

It wasn't an easy lesson for Detroit to learn. An old friend, Denny Clemens, told me stories about his days as a West Coast regional manager for Ford, in the early 1980s. His bosses insisted that fuel economy was all that mattered, back then, but the normally affable Clemens got into a series of bitter arguments trying to tell management that quality was what was giving the new Japanese makes their real edge. He quit, in frustration, and wound up going to work for the long-time quality king, Toyota.

These days, the Big Three certainly talk the quality talk, and for the most part, they walk the walk, according to the latest surveys, including this week's Initial Quality Study, from J.D. Power and Associates. With one notable exception: Chrysler. The smallest of the Big Three didn't have a single brand that scored near industry average, according to the IQS and its Jeep division ranked dead last, with nearly twice as many problems per vehicle as the industry leader, Porsche.

What's wrong at Chrysler? It's certainly not because the company doesn't take quality seriously. And that's not just spin from the top of the corporate tower. But something clearly went wrong, last year, as most of the Chrysler brands tumbled sharply in studies like the IQS.

Dave Sargent, the man in charge of the IQS, for Power, was surprisingly sympathetic, cautioning that "Chrysler has gone through a very difficult period. They are launching a lot of new vehicles, (and) launches are problematic."

Traditionally, new cars suffer a lot of problems during their first year on the market - which is why so many people wait until year two before buying. But that's not a hard and fast rule. Infiniti's new EX was the winner in its category, in the latest IQS, as was the new Chevrolet Malibu.

It didn't help that Chrysler was launching so many new products. And even worse, some of those products were the result of distinctly different manufacturing systems. Take the completely redesigned Jeep Wrangler. It rolls out of a new plant, in Toledo, Ohio, where Chrysler workers are only responsible for final assembly. The rest of the production process, such as stamping and chassis build, is handled by three affiliated suppliers, including a division of Korea's Hyundai.

Solving problems at the Toledo plant can be a bureaucratic mess, though the new production system is highly efficient. Indeed, it helped push Chrysler to the top of another new chart. It tied the vaunted Toyota according to the latest annual Harbour report, a measure of factory floor productivity.

That's unusual, said the eponymous analyst Ron Harbour, as "Those making the biggest gains in productivity (normally show) substantial gains in quality." Fixing defects traditionally requires lots of extra workers and wastes a lot of time on the assembly line.

In a post-conference chat, Power and Chrysler officials both indicated they're trying to address the company's bad performance. But at least Chrysler does have some internal role models to look to in its bid to improve quality. It was one of only a few makers to win more than a single one of the 18 categories in the 2008 Initial Quality Study; the Dodge Dakota was the number one midsize pickup and the Dodge Durango was named best among midsize multi-purpose vehicles. Meanwhile, the PT Cruiser grabbed second in its category.

That's better than nothing, said Sargent, but he added, "Chrysler has some way to go."

In recent weeks, sales data show pickups have fallen from about 11 percent of the U.S. motor vehicle market to just 9 percent, and there’s little chance of a recovery, certainly anytime soon. That’s too bad, as the new Ram has a lot going for it, from the new design to its first true Crew Cab model. The big, 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 has been improved, delivering 380 horsepower and a boggling 404 pounds of cargo-hauling torque – yet fuel economy is up about 5 percent. A coil spring rear suspension improves the ride significantly, and there are literally dozens of new storage bins and hidey-holes all over the vehicle, including a lockable hold built into the rear fenders.

“This is the best Ram Dodge has ever built,” insists Mike Accavitti, the director of the Dodge brand.

From everything I can see, he’s right. And that’s likely to win over some followers who’re not wedded to the better-known offerings in the segment, namely the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-150. But, as I said, timing is everything. If the crisis in the overall truck market isn’t bad enough, remember that Ford is readying an all-new version of that powerhouse F-Series, and there’s a lot of great things to say about that truck, as well.

Chrysler can’t afford to have anything less than a hit on its hands, not considering its current financial shape. But the automaker has long depended on light trucks – which account for roughly two-thirds of its total volume. And with pickups and SUVs, in particular, slumping, it’s no surprise the automaker’s market share is off about a point so far this year.

The new 2009 Dodge Ram has been designed to carry a heavy load, but whether it can carry Chrysler itself is a question buyers will be asked to answer.