The truth is I never hurt you. Or at least that's U.S. Representative Candice Miller's take on Chrysler's back-in-black Thursday. Here's the full text of the Michigan Republican's statement on the issue. (Justin and mine below.) Look for more of this in the days to come. “It is a shame that Chrysler has decided to cancel the second shift at their Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. I had a chance to visit the plant recently and was impressed by the enthusiastic and innovative approach to manufacturing that the workers at that plant have exhibited. Simply put, these workers are second to none. I fully understand the challenges our manufacturers, particularly the automakers, have in adjusting to the global marketplace. Just yesterday in Washington, I voted for an expansion of job retraining for workers displaced by global competition so that outstanding workers such as those at Sterling Assembly can find greater opportunities in the future. Times are tough and my heart goes out to the families of the workers.”
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What’s the 2nd Chrysler-brand car worth keeping. The Town and Country?
Here’s what I came up with:
Chrysler
1. 300
Jeep
1. Wrangler
2. Wrangler Unlimited
3. Grand Cherokee
4. Patriot (I think it is a good, well-styled, and affordable vehicle despie its platform twins and CVT)
Dodge
1. Viper
2. Grand Caravan
3. Ram 2500 and 3500
4. Charger (Until the G8 comes out it has no direct competition. Even after the G8 debuts, a price drop or meaningful improvements would keep the Charger worthwhile.)
No matter what anyone says I am still a Magnum fan. Compared to the sedan it offered a lot more utility. I don’t need a truck, but I need more than a trunk. It was the ol’ sport wagon thing. I must be the only person that thinks extending the roof is a good idea since you get a car you might want but the plus of being able to fit more but no real negatives. But I guess I’m sold on that already since I drive such a vehicle.
I don’t blame Chrysler for cutting jobs, models, and plants…they did what they had to do.
Look, I’m sad for people losing their jobs, but as Mr. Farago pointed out, it was no surprise.
And you have at least 4 listeners…I eagerly await each new podcast.
I totally agree that Chrysler should have cut much deeper.
Still in production: Compass, Dakota, Aspen, Durango, PT Cuiser coupe, Caliber. These should all be canned as well.
It seems that they are keeping the newer crap around for a little longer. They’re just slowing the bleed. They NEED to pull out some big hits to overcome this hard time. To my knowledge, there isn’t anything in the pipeline worth noting, I think that’s the scariest part of this entire situation.
No matter what anyone says I am still a Magnum fan. Compared to the sedan it offered a lot more utility. I don’t need a truck, but I need more than a trunk. It was the ol’ sport wagon thing. I must be the only person that thinks extending the roof is a good idea since you get a car you might want but the plus of being able to fit more but no real negatives. But I guess I’m sold on that already since I drive such a vehicle.
I liked the Magnum too, but it wasn’t the non-Volvo wagon cargo space that kept me from buying, but the visibility. I could not see good out the front, back, or sides due to the wagon’s dimensions.
If you go back in the reiviews you can read that Mr. Farago did enjoy the Magnum RT and seemed to really like the Magnum SRT8. Most that drove the V8 Magnums thought it was a fun car.
Overall, I think that the lesser utility, bad visibility, shifted consumer preferences away from big cars, and the avalibility of two very similar sedans killed it.
Beetlebug,
The only drawbacks I can think of for wagons are weight (barely), length of time for the cabin to warm (for those of us living in the snow-belt or Canada), and associated stereotypes. I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing more wagons on the road. Can anyone else think of anymore cons?
manufacturers did make station wagon versions of their 4 door sedans at one time, the accord wagon was a sharp car and are highly sought after today. The taurus wagon was real popular, along with it’s sable clone, and ford sold tons of them.
Now we have SUVs instead of wagons, the wagons got better mileage for sure and handled better. Subaru still sells wagons, and although i would not buy one I respect their decision to keep making them
ajla:
You got it exactly right about me having the t&c in mind. I’d say:
Chrysler: Town and Country, 300
Dodge: Charger, Ram
Jeep: Wranglers, Grand Cherokee. Fine, throw in the patriot if you must, but it needs a real transmission (6 speed auto).
Oh, and just for kicks, the Hemi should be optional in the Wrangler. It’s available aftermarket, but it’s a fortune. http://www.aev-conversions.com/
Plenty of wagons still out there
GM Lamba triplets
Saturn Vue/XL-7/Equinox
Ford Edge/CX7/CX9/MKX
Ford Escape/Mariner/Tribute
Jeep Compass/Patriot
Toyota Highlander/Lexus RX
Toyota Rav4
Nissan Murano/Infiniti FX
Honda Pilot/Acurua MDX
Mitsubishi Endeavor
Mitsubishi Outlander
Granted, they’re marketed as SUV’s (or CUV’s or whatever today’s term is), but if you can’t scale a 45 degree incline or hop a curb at 30 without breaking/damaging an axle, it’s a wagon.
Of course, for actual station wagons
Mazda 6 wagon
Suburu Legacy wagon
Suburu Imprezza wagon
Ford Taurus X
Volvo XC70/90
Toyota Matrix/Vibe
Mitsubishi Lancer wagon
Maz 6 wagon is now dead unfortunately.
here, here for the hemi in jeep, man i would buy one tomorrow in the 4 door wrangler, at least if the the fuel mileage sucked you could enjoy the power off road,now all you can do is hate it because it aint got no juice and the fuel mileage is still bad.
I will miss the idea of the Magnum at least. I’d like to see a hemi Wrangler as well. Might as well have fun if you’re going to get crappy mileage.
No overlap/badge engineering:
Chrysler: 300, T&C
Dodge: Ram, Challenger, Viper
Jeep: Wrangler (2 door, 4 door, pickup)
I’d put the Grand Cherokee on there but I just saw it on the Biggest Bargains article.
Of course I have no idea how they’d meet CAFE with this.
Mazda 6 wagon
Subaru Legacy wagon
Both canceled for 2008.
However, the VW Passat wagon is still in the market as are the slow selling Saab wagons.
I think you might want to ad that the WRX wagon is gone now too. Although the new hatch is pretty similar.
Intriguing. This move is seen as a step in the strip and flip direction? Seems like the right move period, and we can theorize about the whys all we want. Long or short term investment strategy, too much capacity is bad. I hope it is just a part of the recovery. I would expect it is.
Chrysler has been castigated for their lineup, and now that they seem to be taking measures to turn the show around I struggle to see how it is a bad thing. Yeah they should never have gotten here but they are here. They won’t be able to take the money and run with the current lineup. So if they downsize, rebuild and sell, then I guess it is arguably a strip and flip no matter how long they hold em.
I see the removal of the third shifts at the respective plants as prudent based on volume (belvidere 3rd shift as we know are temps).
The models which were cut (barring the magnum) were no surprise.