As we’ve argued before here at length, Chrysler’s current “worst of the worst” predicament boils down to one word: product. And it’s not just that Chrysler’s current batch of products suck, there’s not much coming down the pipeline that shows any real promise. But that’s not stopping Auburn Hills from rolling out a new hype offensive, touting the awesomeness of Chrysler’s forthcoming 2010 lineup. Leading the charge is President and Vice Chairman Jim Press, who sees the Chrysler turnaround in historical terms. “For our company, we’re going to have a product renaissance in 2010 … just as the market is coming back,” Press is quoted as saying in the Detroit Free Press. “We’re not on the ropes,” he insists. “We’re not worried.” Why aren’t ya worried Jim? Because Chrysler’s going to be launching seven new vehicles in 2010, according to Press. Pinky swear. But then supply-chain philistine John Campi chimes in to promise “eight or nine” new Chryslers in the mythical 2010 model year. So which is it? Ask an analyst, and he’ll tell you that Chrysler is likely to have five new models for 2010: a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Dodge midsized SUV possibly called the Durango, a refreshed Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, and a reskinned Nissan Versa. Ask the same analyst (in this case Erich Merkle of Crowe Chizek and Co) where Press and Campi came up with their numbers, and your expert will suddenly be out of answers. “Maybe there is some variant that you could start counting. There are ways to double-count some things sometimes. It’s a bit of a stretch,” admits Merkle. Possibly indicating what the Cerburian dog might pull out of its “product pipeline” in 2010, Jim Press is going after the Chevy Volt. Having shown three “post prototype” EVs to its dealer council, Press notes “We don’t have enough money for a PR stunt. All we have is enough money to build a car that we can sell.” Luckily Chrysler still has the Freep for fawningly credulous no-cost PR. After all, getting a Chrysler dealer to publicly admit that “I am more excited about their product line than I have been in years and years and years,” is surely worth some kind of consulting fee. Or ad revenue.
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I work very close to the Chrysler Tech Center, and See absolutely nothing in camo, nothing cobbled together (like i did in the early stages of the Avenger/Sebring “development”)
So they either have nothing, or are hiding their future products quite well.
Why the claim that Chrysler’s current products suck?
Seems a bit over-broad and very subjective.
I can think of quite a few Chrysler vehicles I would be personally interested in if I was in the market.
I always had a soft spot for Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep products as they are the only “regular” US car that you can buy in Germany and they also have their own dealer network.
Personally I don’t think that the cars are all crap. The Voyager and the Cherokee / Grand Cherokee are vehicles that are not so uncommon on European roads and I noticed some Calibers out there lately.
The interior of the Dodge Avenger is total crap. The 300 is not much better.
Good thing they got a new Fuel Door Supplier (I know who they are). Go look at a first off Charger and a new Charger and you will see the difference.
@ davey49:
overbroad? Have you sat in, oh..maybe a Nitro or Sebring lately? My God…my 1997 Toyota Tercel has better build quality, and it’s running up over 180,000 miles on the original engine and tranny! The Caliber is a Tonka-toy on wheels. Durango? Is it even a player any more (answer: NOT!)? I love Jeep, but the new Wrangler seems a bit off when compared to the proportions of the previous version. So where are the desireable vehicles from Chrysler? Maybe the low-volume Viper and new Challenger, but that’s about it. If you look at sales figures, apparently nobody else sees the desire in them, either.
The Treasury Dept. just nationalized the mortgage quangos, and Chrysler expects the market to rebound in 2010?
Dee-lusional.
threer- those are all opinions, so are mine and so is the article. It’s in the news blog, opinions shouldn’t be included. There’s no “truth” here.
Just because you and a few others don’t like Chrysler’s current product doesn’t mean that others don’t like them or that they “suck”.
I like the Nitro/Liberty, Patriot/Compass, Journey, Minivans, Dakota, Ram, Caliber, and Durango/Aspen. I like the styling outside and in for the Sebring and Avenger but I did notice that the seats were somewhat uncomfortable.
I have no desire for the Challenger or Viper at all. I don’t like cars that are useless.
Chrysler’s biggest problem is quality and reliability. Not product, the product is good and even a great value.
They did make a big mistake only selling the Caliber as a wagon but they seem to be solving that with the Nissan deal in order to get a small compact sedan (a guess here)
threeer :
September 10th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I love Jeep, but the new Wrangler seems a bit off when compared to the proportions of the previous version.
Get real! The new Wrangler JK is awesome. No other stock vehicle ever will out do a Rubi JK in the woods. Jeep did a great job improving what everyone thought [the TJ] was the perfect Jeep. I have a TJ and it’s been tough not to upgrade to a JK. Check out these guys and where they wheel: http://project-jk.com/jeep-jk/jeep-jk-videos/
Anyway, I also have a 2004 Liberty. Both Jeeps have been problem free and well built. I do not regret either. However I did just order a Civic so I can build up my TJ. I went with the Civic for two reasons… One for mpg, and two because it wasn’t built by the UAW. ;)
Chrysler’s problem is that they really only have two cars that are unmatched by the competition: The Dodge Charger and the Chrysler 300.
And those cars are only unmatched so far as interior space is concerned. The interior build quality and mpg are far surpassed by newer cars.
Another problem is that Chrysler’s cars have dated exteriors. GM had to go to the Germans to help them design both their interiors and their exteriors – it paid off.
Chrysler’s cars seem stuck in the past with boring sheetmetal and lackluster everything else at a price that barely competes with FORD and GM.
The 300’s are dead. Everyone has em now so they aren’t cool anymore. The Charger too.
GM is well ahead of the game, with FORD in hot pursuit. Now that Ford has the MKS, they are about to put out a Taurus based on that design. Both GM and Ford are focusing on fuel economy this time around. Chrysler is doing NOTHING.
I There are so many options out there now when you’re shopping for a car that it really shows how poorly Chrysler is competing. I say they should be taken over by Ford. Or perhaps, they should do something radical like Hyundai did with the Genesis.
Press notes “We don’t have enough money for a PR stunt. All we have is enough money to build a car that we can sell.”
GM doesn’t have enough money for a PR stunt, either but that’s not stopping them.
@ davey49:
I think it is fair to say that Chrysler’s current lineup sucks. This statement is backed by objective sales statistics, independent quality data, and subjective opinions of TTAC authors and commenters.
Reskinned Versa prediction.
Good News: nicer sheet metal.
Bad News: Cheaper interior (Don’t ask me how, but I am sure they will manage).
Unfortunate News: They won’t be doing a commercial bragging about it’s German engineering. THAT would be a hoot.
Davey49:
What guyincognito said. Plus, our news blog exists to present an editorial take on news stories. We are not objective journalists, we are commentators. As such, opinion is well within the scope of our news blog.
If you really like the Sebring’s styling “inside and out,” we’re probably just going to have to agree to disagree about a number of issues.
Seven new vehicles in one year? How many plants are affected? I reckon that a vehicle launch is a big thing – it doesn’t just happen over a weekend – there are people involved and lots to do – while keeping the ‘day jobs’ ticking over.
Maybe the reason Scottie’s not seen nothing in the Tech Centre is that they’ve outsourced the launches.
Reskinned Versa is ok, but why spend a lot of effort on the others? They need a decent mid-size car to replace the Sebring
sorry davey49. I’m really pulling for Chrysler, and want to see them make a turn around, but i sat in all their models and the interior plastics are just horrible. It’s sad when a $17K Hyundai Sonata has better interior plastics than a $30K 300. In all fairness though, supposedly they have better interior grades coming in the next couple years, so we’ll see.
The interiors don’t bother me at all. They’re usually well laid out and have lots of storage compartments. Feel doesn’t mean much to me.
Color means a bit. The 1990s GM cars with the grey on dark grey was quite bland.
I wonder what Chrysler cars has anybody that reads TTAC liked? It almost seems like they’ve insulted people personally by producing cars.
It could be that people just hate everything.
Hmmmm
Chrysler seems to be saying, “It wont be long now, right around the corner”!.
They said that back in the 80s when the K cars were becomign fashionable.
They said that in the 90s when they wanted everyone to drive an LH car.
They said that 8+yrs ago when the current excuse for driveable garbage appeared on the streets. Now they gonna turn around and say.. oh its finally here! Someone needs to start throwing WOLVES to the dealerships.. cause thats all they seem to be CRYING!!!
Only so many people can tolerate the design inadquacies of a 300. Only so many people can deal with looking at a Dodge Nitro, and the lies faced when ads tell ya that the Durango is a midsized vehicle (And the Nitro is compact) aimed at the Tahoe / Burban set.
Everything they have.. is a lie and stinks of disgust and filth. From the fierce competition of the dirt ends “Jeeps” (Compass / Patriot / Liberty, to the top most congested.. COMMANDER AND GC, compared to the Wrangler unlimited.) Then ya got the most disgusting.. the Sebring and the Caliber, who should have been shot on site.
Ya cant ignore the blatent BS that is the Aspen.. I’d love to see someone hung for that embarrassment!
Not a single vehicle of theirs is nice to look at, will stand the test of time.. OR LIVE PAST A THEIR OWN OR A HONDA MOTOR COMPANY MODEL CYCLE.
The real question is not whether they will launch 5, 9 or 11 new vehicles, but rather will their sales be down 10, 15 or 25% in 2010.
It’s a tough business, will they survive?
Davey49:
“The interiors don’t bother me at all. They’re usually well laid out and have lots of storage compartments. Feel doesn’t mean much to me.
Color means a bit. The 1990s GM cars with the grey on dark grey was quite bland.
I wonder what Chrysler cars has anybody that reads TTAC liked? It almost seems like they’ve insulted people personally by producing cars.
It could be that people just hate everything.”
I’m sorry, but to claim that people are being harsh on Chrysler’s interiors is just too much! When a Nissan Versa (SL) has more soft-touch surfaces than a Sebring Limited (that costs over $10 grand more), you’ve got a problem.
Cheap plastics are mostly ubiquitous these days – but everything from the center console, door panels, and seatbacks are covered in stuff that wouldn’t meet Fisher-Price quality standards. That’s not subjective, that’s just the truth. And just because material quality isn’t a benchmark you subscribe to doesn’t diminish that.
My bro recently bought a year-old Sebring Limited to replace his wife’s Pacifica. Ugh. Talk about faking smiles and compliments when you take it for a spin. The best part? It’s starting to make noises while steering that sound eerily similar to their Pacifica before the steering rack (!) gave out. The Pacifica had less than 50k on the clock, and the Sebring is under 20k. Too bad he never listens to my car suggestions (Altima, Accord, heck Malibu).
Aside from the pending mechanical issues, the interior is just plain cheesy. The gauges are made to look like some sort of aged paper and have indiglo backlighting. The analog clock is hopelessly plastic. The door panels are rock hard. Did I mention the plastic? Even with the leather, economy cars outclass this thing.
The confusion probably stemmed from the fact that hybrids of existing models at Chrysler are sometimes considered new models, and sometimes not.
It’s ridiculous, yes, but it makes sense because there’s two hybrids that are supposed to be coming soon: A Ram Hybrid, and a hybrid version of the minivans.
Hope that answers the question.