I feel old. There was a time when the automaker CEOs I interviewed had maybe 10 or 15 years on me. But I've just spent a day talking to the execs running Chrysler Group's key brands, and every damned one of them is younger than me. By traditional Detroit management standards, they're still in nursery school. But they're emblematic of an amazing transformation happening at Chrysler under hard-charging Canadian-Italian Sergio Marchionne.

Ralph Gilles is articulate, energetic, and a passionate car guy. He's also only just turned 40, heads Chrysler Design, and is now CEO of Dodge as well. His vision for Dodge will warm the heart of any enthusiast: "There's a reason Viper came back into the fold," Gilles says. "I needed a flagship performance vehicle. And then I looked at my entire portfolio and said: 'Well, if I'm going to have that car at the top, then every car should have something that they can claim as real performance'."

So even the new Dodge Grand Caravan minivan gets retuned suspension, revamped steering, and wider tires. "Tuning a car doesn't really cost anything," Gilles explains. "It's more about the choices you make." Hallelujah.

Like Ralph Gilles, 49-year-old Frenchman Olivier Francois holds down more than one job at the new Chrysler. He's CEO of Lancia, Fiat's near-luxury European brand, as well as chief marketing officer of both Fiat and Chrysler. And he's CEO of Chrysler. Don't ask me what he does in his spare time. Francois is implementing Marchionne's ambitious plan to supply Lancia and Chrysler with common hardware. "Both brands share a lot of commonality in their DNA, their history, their target markets," he says. "If you take a Chrysler and make it fun to drive, with European handling and absolutely over-the-top quality, you easily get a Lancia. Which is good news for the American consumer, by the way." Chryslers with European handling? Sounds good to me.

Jeep is being run by 46-year-old Brit Mike Manley, who cut his teeth in the business as a car dealer in the U.K. before moving to America with DaimlerChrysler eight years ago. Manley's vision for Jeep includes a new Grand Wagoneer, built on a lengthened wheelbase version of the new Grand Cherokee's platform. "Grand Wagoneer would be the pinnacle of Jeep," he says. "We still have work to do to be able to confirm we can do it, but it is very much in my plans." Also on the agenda are diesel engines for the U.S. market, and a new baby Jeep, smaller than Compass, for the European market. "What we want to do is be the complete SUV brand. So as we think about the portfolio, we're thinking about expansions in those areas."