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Chrysler design chief Trevor Creed better watch his back. According to Wards, Creed's obsessed with producing the Dodge Demon, the small, inexpensive roadster his team designed to take on the firmly entrenched Mazda MX-5. "Building a production version of the Demon is 'foremost in my mind,' Creed confessed. If that wasn't enough of an alarm bell for boss Boot'em Bob Nardelli– whose company needs a mainstream hit more than Los Del Rio– Creed said there's no rush to build the Demon. Its "classic proportions" give it "plenty of shelf life," just like… the Chrysler Crossfire. Low margins. Niche model. Declining niche. Another Crossfire. I'm thinking incubus.
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It looks to me like he thinks a “halo car” will break Chrysler out of its doldrums, or at least get people into the showrooms.
It is of course much easier to create these low-volume, low-utility ego trips than a decent mid-sized sedan that sells 300k copies a year, so why wouldn’t Creed go for it?
I think the Crossfire’s failure could be attributed to the lack of aftermarket support. Other niche vehicles, like the MazcaSpeed3, Acura NSX, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution carry plenty of aftermarket support and give buyers a reason to cinsider one, if only to make it into a better car than it is in its stock condition.
With this car sharing the same 2.4-litre turbo engine that powered the Neon SRT-4, the Demon already has a leg up on the Crossfire, which no tuner wanted to touch.
Somehow it does not seem that the introduction of the Dodge Demon will be the savior of Chryslerberus. Mr. Creed and the Chrysler brand would be better served by putting some design energy, and some engineering into the terminally ugly Sebring and Avenger models in addition to an update on the 300, Magnum and Charger.
I may be out on a limb here, but I don’t find the Demon to have anything like the class of the Miata or the drama of the well-styled if overweight and poorly detailed Solstice/Sky. A GM update on the Solstice/Sky (can we get a folding roof which doesn’t mimic British Leyland engineering?) could well kill the brutish and ill-proportioned Demon. Trevor’s baby seems to bring nothing new to the market unless they’ve got the weight down to 2200 pounds or so, and the “styling” must have brought a smile to Chris Bangle. It must’ve been challenging for Trevor to find a design idiom that makes even the Z4 look handsome.
Good, gawd, is that thing ugly. What is it with American cars and huge grills? They look somewhat appropriate on large trucks, but completely out of place on cars.
Another note, unless you are an arab sheik with a Rolls, a pimp daddy gold car makes you look the fool.
Could this be a car that helps Chrysler’s EPA ratings while simultaneously being seen as desirable by potential customers?
All of Chrysler’s core products are slated for redesign by 2010 (MiniVan, Ram, LX, Liberty) or have just been redesigned in 07. Why not try to capture sales in new markets? An inexpensive, cool roadster with good gas mileage sounds like a winner if they execute it properly.
“I think the Crossfire’s failure could be attributed to the lack of aftermarket support. Other niche vehicles, like the MazcaSpeed3, Acura NSX, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution carry plenty of aftermarket support and give buyers a reason to cinsider one, if only to make it into a better car than it is in its stock condition.”
The Crossfire failed because it was expensive and there were better options available. I don’t think people usually buy new cars to mod them. Besides, isn’t the tuner craze dying down now that people are getting hip to the downsides of doing such things?
Which magazine was it that had the Demon on the cover saying that it was the American Miata killer? It doesn’t even exist. Irresponsible journalism, really. I’m thinking it was either Automobile or Motortrend.
Have the Solstice and its Saturn cousin saved GM? I doubt it. Two seat convertibles are just not practical for most people. They’re fine for people who take day trips on the weekends and … well, who else? Single people, I guess, who don’t have a lot of friends. Most people I know (single and not) have sedans and that’s where the money will be made.
How long has the current iteration of the 300 been around? Update, refine, make it better (you know like the Accord) and you may have a chance, Chrysler.
Put the money into updating the interiors of the existing vehicles, adding 5 and 6-speed automatic transmissions and improving the crappy 4-cylinder and V-6 engines. Let’s see Chrysler work on improving the cake, instead of giving us more empty calories in the form of icing.
I’ve got to agree with edgett: this thing looks bland and uninteresting against its intended competition. On a positive note, though, this is probably the least-ugly new Dodge, which really isn’t saying much.
A lot of the mainstream media is hyped about this car but I just can’t get over the styling. Even if Dodge could make this perform well, I wouldn’t be interested. If it does ever see the light of day, I’m thinking it will just be another Prowler.
Two-seaters appear to have limited market appeal. Well, everybody wants one but few follow through and buy a car with just two seats.
Could Chrysler steal a trick from their minivan line and build it with a fold-flat second row of seating? That might do the trick.
Sometiems you feel like a roadster, sometimes you don’t.
I doubt Chrysler, or GM/FOMOCO has the time or money to spend on improving the breed, as opposed to searching for profit-laden HITS that might take off….or not. I doubt they have the patience to cultivate anything resembling a decent, sustainable product like the Camry/Accord.
The era of short-term thinking will have to come to an end, and it’s not just the U.S. auto industry that’s guilty of it.
Given how Chrysler seems to rely on a halo car after every doldrum-infested period, they may in fact be due for one about now.