DETROIT (AP) -- Chrysler thinks its future may be in a new lineup of smaller cars based on models from Italian partner Fiat. The question is how to make them for Americans put off by stiff suspensions, firm seats and - perish the thought - not enough cupholders.

The problem is further complicated because Americans generally are plumper and taller than Western Europeans, and they're used to driving fatter and longer cars on wider roads.

It's a dilemma faced by nearly all automakers as they try to hold down development costs by tailoring cars to sell around the globe. But at no company is the problem more acute than Chrysler, where a wholesale lineup change is needed quickly to boost sagging sales.

On Friday, Chrysler's board was to consider a new model lineup that would consist of reworked Chrysler products on the larger end and everything from mid-sized cars to minis built on smaller Fiat frames, a person briefed on the agenda said.

Through August, Chrysler's sales were down 39 percent compared with the same period last year, the largest decline of any major automaker. In the critical midsize segment, which often is top-seller in the U.S. market, the company this year has sold only 34,700 of its two entries, the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger. That's only 15 percent of the 238,000 Camrys told by Toyota, the perennial leader.

"They need better entries and they need them yesterday," said Michael Robinet, vice president of CSM Worldwide, a Detroit-area auto industry consulting firm. "They really are uncompetitive in that segment now."

Chrysler is banking on Fiat's smart designs and fuel efficiency to win over U.S. buyers.

The Sebring-Avenger replacement, the person said, would be based on Fiat's compact C-EVO frame and suspension, which is now being developed. Because of Americans propensity for larger cars, the frame would have to be stretched, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans won't be made public until November.

"The big advantage of this platform is that it can be stretched in terms of length, but also in terms of width," the person said.

Just how much stretching is unknown. Dimensions have not been publicly revealed.

The person said Fiat's product development process could bring the new car to the U.S. market as quickly as 18 months, something CSM's Robinet said would be unprecedented in the auto industry.

"That would be a Herculean feat," he said. "I'm not saying they can't do that. But frankly, it's never really been done before.

BOSTON—Hyatt Hotel Corp., under pressure after dismissing nearly 100 housekeepers from its three Boston hotels, promised Friday that the workers would be offered new full-time jobs elsewhere in the area.

Gov. Deval Patrick had urged state employees to stop doing business with Hyatt unless the housekeepers were rehired. A union representing about 1,700 Boston taxi drivers also threatened to boycott the hotels.

In a statement, Hyatt said the housekeepers would be offered jobs not with Hyatt but with a Boston affiliate of United Service Companies, a staffing agency. The workers would be guaranteed the pay that they received at Hyatt through the end of 2010, with Hyatt extending health care coverage through March, after which they could obtain coverage through their new employer.

"We are committed to supporting all of our associates, especially when they are negatively affected by business decisions made necessary by the most difficult economic environment in decades," said Phil Stamm, general manager of Hyatt Regency Boston.

Some of the 98 housekeepers and their supporters have claimed the workers were ordered to train their lower-paid replacements after being told they were only vacation fill-ins.

The Hyatt's offer of new jobs did not satisfy the local hotel workers union, which called it a "smokescreen" to make it appear the company was doing the right thing.

"These women have made it clear that they want to be returned to the jobs they have held for years, and Hyatt's PR scheme does not diminish their determination" said Janice Loux, president of Unite Here, Local 26, in a statement.

Kyle Sullivan, a spokesman for Patrick, said the governor was reviewing the proposal from Hyatt to ensure it would be fair to the housekeepers, who were "understandably hesitant" to trust an offer that does not restore their old jobs.

Fall may be New England’s most gentle season, with the weather just right, foliage bursting like fireworks, and only a faint foreboding of the coming winter gloom.

But in many parts of the region this time of year, particularly this year, the sky is falling - or at least it feels that way. Hard-shelled orbs are cracking windshields, thwacking gardeners, and tripping up joggers on their daily slog.

They are also making squirrels and other rodents pleasantly plump, leading to a potential bulge in their population.

Given this year’s bountiful rains and the mysterious cycles of nature, oak trees are producing one of the region’s largest crops of acorns in memory, forcing people to run for cover or gingerly avoid what can feel like a carpet of marbles on sidewalks and backyards.

On a recent afternoon along the Muddy River, the spike-tipped, leathery shells plunged like cluster bombs with every gust of wind from the surrounding oaks, leaving thousands of them littering the paved paths that connect Boston and Brookline.

“I’ve nearly broken my neck several times,’’ said Neil McIsaac, a Brookline contractor who was installing a fence along the river. “There are tons of them.’’

Like other outdoor workers this autumn, McIsaac and his colleagues are trying to get used to the random thuds. “Every time I hear one, I think it’s a kid throwing a rock at me,’’ said Greg Roberson, who was digging a hole for the fence. “They’re falling everywhere.’’

Scientists say oak trees produce bumper crops of acorns every two to seven years, but that the record snowfalls and rain over the past year have helped the acorns bloom larger and in greater numbers than they otherwise would have. No one in the state tracks the actual number of acorns every year, but observers from the Blue Hills to the Berkshires say they can’t remember a larger crop.

Wesley Autio, a professor who studies trees at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, said he learned his lesson from the last time there was a bumper crop, when acorns destroyed his windshield. He has been parking his car inside this fall, but has not been spared altogether. Recently he got hit on the head while painting his house.

“It hurt,’’ he said. “You stand outside and you can hear acorns hitting everything - cars, metal roofs, and it makes a tremendous sound. We get a good crop every few years, but I don’t recall one as heavy as this. We already have a significant coating on our lawn, and most of them still aren’t down.’’