Chrysler Group LLC is preparing to unveil a five-year plan today that is heavily dependent upon products and technology from its partner, Italian automaker Fiat.

The meeting is taking place against a backdrop of plunging sales for the beleaguered company.

Chrysler said yesterday that October sales fell 30 percent below the same month last year. But they improved from September when the U.S. auto industry had a hangover from the government's summertime Cash for Clunkers program.

The maker of the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck brands said it sold 65,803 vehicles last month, up 6 percent from September.

Chrysler is aiming to show steady improvement from month to month as the U.S. economy starts to emerge from its yearlong slump. The automaker's sales dropped 42 percent in September following the end of hefty clunker rebates.

If reports coming out of Detroit are correct, Dodge will be the brand that will be hit hardest by the plan that Chrysler Group LLC executives will share with stockholders today. It is the first official glimpse at the road map that will steer the company's fate over the next five years.

Over the next couple of years, Dodge stands to lose just about all of its automotive products except the Charger and the Challenger, which reinforce the high-performance image that is expected to be the centerpiece of the marketing strategy for that brand.

Analysts say Chrysler is taking a tremendous risk with the move because as the years have gone by, Dodge has built a reputation as a blue-collar oriented brand.

"I really disagree with the idea of Dodge being made a performance brand," said Tom Libby, a Detroit-based independent auto analysts. "They won't have any brand that is a general mainstream brand. The buyers of Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Avalon are not performance buyers. They are reliability buyers. What product would Chrysler then have to reach that large part of the market driving Hondas and Toyotas? ... That's walking away from a big market."

The company also appears to be walking away from another big market: minivans.

Among the other Dodge models expected to be dropped is the Dodge Grand Caravan, a popular minivan, but admittedly not a product in keeping with a high-performance image.

"That decision would really be something," Mr. Libby said. "Even though the minivan segment is smaller, it's still about 4 percent of the market, and there were very few players left."

It is unknown what models, if any, will replace the Dodge products that are being dropped. Also unclear is what will happen to Dodge's high-performance Viper coupe and roadster.

Another open question is whether the American buying public will accept Fiat, a brand that had a reputation for poor quality years ago.

The one thing that may help is demographics, Mr. Libby said.

"Somebody mentioned to me that the buyers who are 35 and under have no opinion of Fiat."

As for Alfa Romeo's role in the future of the company, Mr. Libby suggested that it could be established as a niche luxury brand.

In the meantime, Dodge's storied Ram truck will become its own brand in an effort to strengthen the company's hand in the truck field.

The Jeep brand has the strongest, most iconic image of all the brands, as a rugged, well-built product line that popularized four-wheel drive sport utility vehicles.

But it, too, will lose a number of products, including the Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass, two compact products that Jeep aficionados long have complained were diluting the brand's image. Also out are the Jeep Commander, a relatively new SUV that was not selling well.

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