Chrysler to kill 5 nameplates within the month
From the article:”Chrysler LLC could cut as many as five nameplates within the month as part of its quick and dramatic makeover as a newly private company.
Auto industry analysts predict the Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Dakota, and Jeep Commander and Compass could face elimination. A company insider included those vehicles among a list of vehicles facing review. The source and another familiar with Chrysler’s design pipeline also questioned the future of the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Durango.
The Chrysler Sebring is being considered for a complete makeover, though if that is not feasible, the car will probably be eliminated, the company insider said.”
Chrysler set to ax models - freep.com
October 17th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I’m surprised the Aspen isn’t on the list. Would C drop the Durango and keep the Aspen? What about the Nitro now that the Journey is on the way? More importantly, are these products that would be axed immediately or killed at the end of their cycles?
Dropping the recently redesigned Dakota still makes little sense, especially with a V6 diesel potentially on the way. But the model might be bleeding cash just to produce.
October 17th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
(1) If JZ was going to be little more than an upscale version of the Dodge Journey, then killing it would be consistent with what Jim Press and Nardelling have been saying—-there is little reason for overlapping vehicles with no substantial difference between them. (2) The first two paragraph of this Wall Street Journal article says all that needs to be said about Sebring! The same thing has been said on this weblog ever since Sebring first hit the street much to the distress of those who don’t want to see think they are doing Chrysler a favor by overlooking cheap interiors, hard plastics and lousy styling that doesn’t live up to the competition; (3) Newark is scheduled for closure in ‘09, and there ain’t gonna be any more Durango or Aspen..
October 18th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
The quickest way to market elimination is product reduction. Consider when Chrysler was one of the “Big 3″ (the 1950s to 1980s) and it had dozens of vehicles in each motor division from which to pick. If Chrysler expects to soon close its doors perminantly eliminating models is the correct procedure.
One would hope the Company wont reduce itself to making one vehicle per division. Remember Chrysler, Boomers and Busters like choices (lots of choices) when they purchase, yes even in buying cars and trucks!
The death-nail will be when no one wants to buy the only thing you offer…
October 18th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
just dropping a few models isn’t gonna do much for for chrysler alone. my opinion for models chrysler can drop or at least make significant revisions are as follows…
1. aspen…the market is for fullsize suv’s is dropping and chrysler does not have the credibility to market the aspen as full size luxury along with the escalade…either drop the aspen or if and when a next generation durango comes out, there must be a significant upgrade in content and price to market it with more of a purpose
2. nitro…even though its not on that list, what the hell is dodge thinking!?! it goes completely against the market, granted its not a super ute but its still not a crossover..chrysler should focus their non-crossover suv investments on the liberty and grand cherokee
3. speaking of those 2 jeeps…
a. liberty…the new design is awful, plain awful but i believe there is a sizable market for the liberty from those looking for a small but rugged suv that doesnt cost too much
b. grand cherokee and commander…just get rid of the commander since it does nothing but cannibalize the g/c…as far as the g/c they should make it in 2 versions, one normal wheelbase like the current one and the other an extended with a 3d row seat
4. compass and patriot…i really believe that the compass should stay since its great for young female drivers who want a jeep as well as for catering to consumers who want an inexpensive and very carlike suv…the patriot is great as an entry level vehicle to bring people to jeep so no change needed
5. sebring and avenger…now here is where they can follow toyota and honda’s lead…position the avenger to go against the camry and accord and redo the sebring to play the role of lexus es and acura tl…obviously quality and content will have to be significantly (thats being subtle) improved to have a prayer
6. magnum…honestly its no longer the big news it was when it came out and the market for it is almost nonexistent so chrysler should use the money saved to improve the charger and 300
7. durango…i still feel that dodge needs a fullsize suv to compete against the tahoe and expedition…sales numbers will be lower then several years ago but if they can sell bw 80-100k of these annually then its worth it as long as its not too expensive to produce..that might require keeping the dakota or using the rams platform for cost savings
8. dakota…im not too sure how to proceed with this vehicle so i guess the market will really dictate it
9. pacifica..the pacifica should be redesigned to take on the enclave and mdx…chrysler does not need a journey with a chrysler badge on it since that goes against press’s statement above
10. the pt crusier is not really needed anymore unless chrysler can make it cheaply
for all the previously mentioned possibilites and the rest of the lineup, chrysler must keep them competitive, attractive, well built, and feature laden…the phoenix engines, new diesels, and new trannies will help
October 18th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Ralph W,
You have good sense and good judgment when it comes to products, though I’m not as confident as you are about the need to keep Durango in order to compete with the SUVs from GM. Ford and GM will no longer complete in minivans, and Chrysler has to respect its size and not try to compete in every segment of the market.(And remember, the decision has already been made to close Newark AP.) With that exception and maybe some nit-picking on a few other things you wrote, I like your views enough to wish that you would be offered a job the product development staff of Jim Press. Then, you could be groomed to take over when he retires.
October 19th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Ray W. makes good sense–especially with Pacifica. This has been a relatively popular car in the past. It’s refresh didn’t help it much. The design is now long on the tooth. Chrysler should do a quick re-design and put the dual-phase hybrid here instead of trying to prop-up the dying Durango market. Keep Chrysler with a large cross-over and Dodge with a mid-size Journey cross-over–strong in both segements and no overlap!
October 20th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Actually from my view inside the service department; Nitro is doing quite well along with Magnum. Pacifica has always been a fairly weak seller despite the fact that it is indeed a nice unit. As far as the “mess” at Jeep, what you need to realize is the only “real” Jeeps are Wranglers, Grand Cherokees, and Commander. All other Jeeps are really just rebadged Nitros and Calibers, so they don’t really cost much more to produce, they are just there to give the Jeep dealers something to offer in those segments. The fact of the matter is that we are heavy with names, but we only have a few platforms that we can be flexible with. Crossfire, Sprinter, and Viper are currently the only platforms with one name, other than the ones in the Jeep family.
October 21st, 2007 at 10:23 am
the dakota is going no where. it will stay..
October 21st, 2007 at 1:00 pm
http://www.rrstar.com/business/x857473159
The Rockford (Ill.)Record Star of Oct. 20 carries this very thorough and interesting article about the Belvidere cars….It’s sad to read in it that Consumer Reports’ annual survey of its readers places Caliber along with VW Jetta among the least reliable small cars. Anybody know if that’s largely due to the cvt and/or world engine? Most everyone acknowledges that they are poor performers,but that doesn’t necessarily equate with mechanical reliability. Or, does that poor customer satisfaction ranking from CR have to do with parts furnished by suppliers or with engineering or production problems that are often caused by rushing a product to market without the kind of patient, time-consuming testing that hurts the bottom line of publicly-held corporations whose quarterly reports impact stock prices and investment decisions on Wall Street…..Now that Chrysler no longer faces that kind of financial pressure to please investors, I’m hoping that there will be no more rush during product development that results in poor reliability ratings by CR or J.D. Powers.
October 21st, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Jake the Dakota Sales are also going nowhere!
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 am
DaveS,I bet it is due to the cvt trans mostly..has anyone driven one I personaly find it odd,and most of the complaints are there as well(noisey engine revs at highway speed).I heard Chrysler is going to add direct injection to its world engines to increase power and fuel economy,now ditch the cvt or make it an option offer a 6 speed auto,manual .The Caliber is on par sales wise with other small cars,but a little fixing it would help increase sales.
As for the models that should be dropped,I dont know…BUT the Sebring should have a complete redo,fix whats wrong,so it sells above 20,000 a month alone and do the same to the Avenger so it will do the same,easier said then done,but they need a mid size car.. its the market that sells the most cars.I believe they stopped production on the Pacifica a few weeks back who knows if they will restart..too bad a quality/reliable vehicle should have a restyle though.The Dakota should add a diesel,but hopefully the little restyle and the 302 horse 4.7 will pick up a few sales. The Durango/Aspen maybe they will wait till 09 to see,with its hybrid coming out if it sparks any interest,advertise it let people know…I guess these ones I mentioned would be on the chopping block .Oh yeah I think for sure the Crossfire is gone..One more Sprinter what a joke,build a real Dodge Ram van again for people who need one,the R.V conversions were everywhere until cancelation in 03,build a new Ram van add a dually cube van,diesel,Hemi’s,good style and take over the Ford econoline sales .
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
http://www.accountability-central.com/single-view-default/single-view-lexis-nexis/article/dealers-finally-feel-heard-at-chrysler-they-love-its-new-direction/
Hey, California Mopar dealer (and your buddy in Florida), take a look at this USA Today item about Chrysler dealers feeling great and let us know what the inside skinny really is.
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Hey ChryTech,
How many dealers are stand alone Chrysler/Jeep dealers? Are ther any solo Chrysler or Jeep dealers left? The trend seems to be 3 brand dealers. We have 2 C/D/J dealers in the Las Vegas area, and 3 C/J dealers and 3 Dodger dealers.
I am curious if the new management will continue the 3 brand trend.
October 24th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Dealers feel great Dave if they are making money.
Many are enthusiastic but the jury is still out.
We have been given a “Nardelli Challenge” to sell one more car than we did last year.
Mr. Nardelli hasn’t earned the right to issue us a challenge yet and I am not sold that he is the right leader.
Press is awesome and if Nardelli stays out of his way we shoud be ok.
Chrysler is still “at war” with many dealers but it does appear as if they are trying to bury the hatchet.
They still are building too many cars and putting them into storage or “sales bank” and they are trying to slip cars past dealers by assigning them to their inventory without telling us and hoping that many will get by.
Here is my angle. Cerberus will fix the ship and flip the patient to…….Renault.
Renault/Nissan is the only real “buyer” out there and they want a North American partner.
Give it a few years but I predict that Nissan–Renault—Chrysler will be a combination/partnership.
Bob
Palm Springs or Palm Beach take your pick
October 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
California MoPar Dealer,
VERY INTERESTING! Thanks for the inside skinny from the dealer’s showroom…Sure hope you are right about Nardelli staying out of the hair of Press so that he can get product development shaped-up and that woman who came from Toyota before Press can get sales and marketing moving. Sure hope are wrong about flipping it to Renault/Nissan. I’ve been down that road before with AMC— which Renault bought and wrecked. (Please don’t anybody tell me that it was Renault that built Brampton AC. BS! Brampton–then referred to as Bramalea—was under construction when the deal with Renault was closed.)…My hope and prayer is that Chrysler remains an American company. Rather than being sold to foreigners, I’d even prefer to go public again. But having to sweat those quarterly financial reports and keeping investors happy is a recipe for domination by bean counters who dictate hard plastic, cheap interiors, and piling up inventory. Maybe the UAW could buy it from Cerberus with all the money in the VEBA and let Press run it. Just a thought. It isn’t to be taken seriously because they will need all the money in the VEBA to pay the health care claims of retirees.
October 25th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
California MoPar Dealer nothing has changed at the dealer level with this God forsaken company.
I’ve spoken to many California dealers over the past several days that are under harassment from Chrysler field representatives and many stores are in danger of closing before years end.
More dealers have been added to the closed auction non-participation list and the best part is that no one informed the dealers that they could no longer participate in the closed Chrysler auction.
I know of one dealer that drove several hours yesterday to participate in a closed factory sale only to find out that he was band from the sale.
The Nardelli challenge is a joke; I don’t need another piece of crap award from Chrysler.
So far I’m not impressed.