No more big splashes at auto shows
From the article: “For several years the auto maker has unveiled new models in high-tech, theatrical events that have generated buzz and garnered heavy media coverage. At the Detroit auto show in January, it staged a cattle drive in downtown Detroit to present the redesigned Dodge Ram pickup. In past years it created an artificial blizzard at its stand to unveil the Chrysler Aspen sports-utility vehicle, and drove a Jeep through a glass wall.
But in an effort to cut costs and focus the spotlight more on its vehicles than pyrotechnics, Chief Executive Robert Nardelli and Vice Chairman Jim Press are pushing the company to plan more straight-forward introductions, people familiar with the matter said.
“It’s a shift in thinking,” said one person familiar with the company’s move. Special-effects productions, this person said, are not Mr. Nardelli’s and Mr. Press’s “cup of tea.”
Chrysler Rollouts to Have Less Flash at Auto Shows - wsj.com
April 24th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Just build great products with great interiors and great engines with great MPG and you wont need all that dumb shit.
Is it really that hard?
April 24th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
dumb move. millions of people saw the cattle drive on newscasts coast to coast and it made international broadcasts. plus was all over youtube you can’t buy that kind of media coverage. dumb, dumb, dumb. the one thing these guys were doing right and they can it.
April 25th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Its all about the product stupid. If you have great product at a price the consumer wants to pay, you have great sales. Chrysler has not found the
right combination of value vs. the dollar and has had to resort to smoke and mirrors to sell its vehicles. $8,500.00 of incentives on a Ram pick up tell me that the value/price is ratio is at least $10,000.00 out of whack. If not, Ram pick ups would be selling like hot cakes.
April 25th, 2008 at 7:16 am
mmmmmm…..hot cakes….
April 25th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Bad move!! Who cares if it is not their “cup of tea”? Yes they need to make better cars and trucks inside and out but without the bang introductions no one will come to look. Make better cars, then shock them with the introduction to get people into the showroom. Without showroom traffic improved interiors mean nothing! Without people coming to look then Cerebus will fail and Chrysler will be chopped up into smaller pieces and sold off to Tata and Nissan.
April 25th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Bye Bye Chrysler!
April 25th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Tom and Peter got it right.
We don’t need to waste money on “disciplined pizz-azz.”
Bottom line is that the product’s quality and design will sell not splashy introductions.
If you got the cash go ahead and splash, if not…..
April 25th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Substance trumps style always. Bring the goods, and the crowds will follow
April 25th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Tom, Peter, Mopar Dealer and Caliber Driver,
You and I are on the same wave length. Does anybody recall the gimmicky splash made at the auto shows by the manufacturers of the top half-dozen volume sellers in the industry? No, you say. That’s because they didn’t make any splash. All they did was show products that appeal to the customers.
The companies that make the best sellers do not need hoop-la and cattle drives to get the attention of buyers. And all the hoop-la and cattle drives has not moved the metal for Chrysler.
April 26th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing, as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it immensely. All art is useless.
—Oscar Wilde
April 27th, 2008 at 9:01 am
It’s all part of the rags to riches cycle of the domestic automobile industry.
Domestic auto manufacturer’s have a little success and then go out and spend money like drunken sailors: They forget what got them there in the first place good solid product!
The executive staff gets bloated; they sponsor Las Vegas acts, build play grounds, and generally spend profits ill responsibly.
Then things get a little tough; Time to fire the executive shoe shine boy.
They tell you what you want to hear, we are going to be more fiscally responsible; No more 3 martini lunches, first class travel, or happy ending massages on the company dime.
But as soon as things turn around a little bit the same executives that told you that they’re going to be fiscally responsible and focus on product get amnesia and go back to old spending habits.
MoPar dealer knows what I’m speaking about we’ve seen this cycle repeat itself over and over for as long as we’ve been dealers.
It’s the nature of the beast.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Here is another example from the Detroit News online:
Rick Wagoner of General Motors takes a pay cut in 2006; Oh what a fiscally responsible executive.
Then makes 14.7 million dollars in 2007; Wagoner has lost nothing but market share for GM and last year loses 38 billion dollars, but takes a pay raise.
Quit listening to what these guys are selling.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Hey Chrysler just build a better mousetrap and we mice (aka the car buying public) will beat a path to your products. No fancy gimmics, no fancy words just great products and we will buy your vehicles. Quit spending money on fancy gimmics and silly bells and whistles and put that money into stylish well built products. It’s the product that brings people into your showrooms not fancy gimmics or loud music.