While unnamed sources in undisclosed locations continue pushing rumors about Chrysler’s marriage plans, the fact that Chrysler’s problems are rooted in one of the worst product lineups on the planet goes largely unnoticed. The AP’s Tom Kishner bucks that trend with his piece [via yahoo] No big sellers in sight to save troubled Chrysler. “Of Chrysler’s 26 models on sale in both 2007 and 2008, only four have sold more this year than last, and three of those are small-volume niche vehicles such as the Dodge Viper. The company’s market share has dwindled from 16.2 percent in 1996 to 11 percent this year, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank.” The main blame for the heaping pile of losers in Chrysler’s showrooms is spoken auf Deutsch. “‘The truth is Daimler did them no favors,'” said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics of Birmingham, Mich. ‘They approved products that previous Chrysler management wouldn’t have approved if they were completely drunk and beaten crazy.'” Cerberus has done nothing to improve matters, and has given up on any plans to lead the turn around of a Once Proud American Company. The best of Chrysler latest products are the new Ram and recent minivan redesign. Nice try, but the redone Ram remains an also ran in the truck wars. Ford and GM certainly aren’t about the cede any share of the already soft truck market. About that much hyped minivan redesign? It has done nothing to salvage Chrysler’s share of an imploding market segment. Minivan sales peaked at over 1.3 million units in 2000, but are expected to end 2008 at less than 650,000. Outside of the Rams and the Vans, things are even worse! Sebring, Nitro, Commander, Avenger, Caliber … the list of crap products goes on and on. Cerberus-Chrysler has more heads on it’s portfolio of dogs than even hell would sit still for.
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This is probably the best point for Chrysler’s problem.
Daimler took the best parts of Chrysler and spit out the rest.
If/when Chrysler files C7/C11 or is bought out, the blame and fault is about 85%-90% on the former German owners.
Give me an honest opinion. Have there ever been any good Chrysler cars? I mean best in class or almost.
I’d love a list.
I think the Journey and Patriot are decent cars and a good value.
I like the Commander, Nitro and Durango/Aspen too but I really just like the way they look. There may not be anything special about them.
Product dearth, indeed. Had a Nitro rental last week while on biz in the DC area. What a POS! Motor shook and vibrated (and sounded) like a possessed dildo. Interior was like sitting inside my mom’s Tupperware cupboard, only not as nice. Just awful. Why did they even bother?
“If/when Chrysler files C7/C11 or is bought out, the blame and fault is about 85%-90% on the former German owners.”
And let us never forget to hold up Robert Eaton (living comfortably in a gated community in sunny Florida) as one of the architects of this unforgivable alliance.
What about the 300c? I see a ton of those on the road, didn’t that help Chrysler at all?
I can’t deny that the current Chrysler product lineup is dismal, but I wouldn’t blame the Germans for their all but certain demise. Remember that in the high flying mid-90’s the products were at best on par with GM and Ford. Both of those companies have seen their market share slide without foreign help. Back when Chrysler was making waves they still weren’t leaders by any means of imagination. Even their most sensible mainstream car, the Dodge Intrepid, was dwarfed in sales by the Ford Taurus. The only real vehicle of the past 25 years Chrysler has been a leader in is the minivan, which as noted is a dwindling segment. I have no doubts that Daimler and Cerebus are both nothing more than robber barrons, but I also have no doubts that Chrysler would be facing a similar fate had there been no ownership intervention over the past 15 years.
If/when Chrysler files C7/C11 or is bought out, the blame and fault is about 85%-90% on the former German owners.
In all fairness, Chrysler was headed in that direction when Daimler swallowed them whole. I think Eaton took the best deal he could.
With the exception of the Patriot, Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Viper, Ram, and maybe the 300, what do they sell that Americans want?
Very little I feel.
So when they file chap 11 does that mean I can get a Challenger R/T for like 15k?
Steve_S…they actually have a Challenger SRT10 mule or two. Get one of those!
So when they file chap 11 does that mean I can get a Challenger R/T for like 15k?
I’m sure hoping so…
Seems to me their best volume selling car would have been the Neon – in the early 2000s it was a rather good vehicle for the market. They just left it to rot then killed it. Seems an up to date Neon would be exactly what they need now.
The rest of the product has generally been average at best.
Wouldn’t count on the 15k Challenger, Steve_S! There’s only so many produced, and everyone will want to get their hands on them.
Also, I thought they had to file Chap 7 for the cars to be super cheap? Bankrupcy is confusing
In the fall of 2006 I test drove a then-brand-new Chrysler Sebring. (I was buying a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, which I still have and it is a very good vehicle, so I’m not biased against Chrysler.) I planned a 10 minute test drive in the Sebring. I drove the car less than a mile, turned around and turned it back in to the dealer. I was afraid that driving such a big pile of suck, I would be swallowed by a black hole. The next day I sold my Chrysler stock.
Shortly after this, Daimler bailed on them. I am convinced that it is the sheer craptitude of the Sebring that convinced Daimler that Chrysler was beyond saving. No doubt the craptitude of the Sebring was at least partially Daimler’s fault, but they still bailed. How anyone could have greenlighted the Sebring to compete with a universe of good to great midsized cars is beyond me.
Last week I rented a Chrysler 300 for $18.99 per day, “upgraded” from the economy car that I paid for. The stripped rental car had virtually no creature comforts. It had the most industrial-looking fabric seats that I’ve seen in years. What happened to all the Gangsta-bling? It drove ok and got me where I needed to go, but I couldn’t put fuel in the stupid thing without the gas pump shutting off every five seconds. Oh yeah, the 300 is one of Chrysler’s BETTER cars.
I agree that much of Chrysler’s lineup is currently lacking when compared to their competitors’. I recently purchased my first vehicle, and I had around 20k of cash to do it with. I TRIED to purchase a Chrysler/Dodge vehicle that fit my grad student needs, and every time I made the comparo w/ other makers they came up short. It’s unfortunate, because I truly would have liked to purchase from them…
“Give me an honest opinion. Have there ever been any good Chrysler cars? I mean best in class or almost.”
Going way back, the Valiant was as good as it got in the early days (1960s) of “compact” American cars. The slant six was a bulletproof motor and the rest of the car was good for what it was as well. Later down the road, for years Chrysler made the best in class minivans. The problem is that the rest of the students in the class studied harder and eventually pulled ahead. There were zillions of second and third time Caravan buyers … except those who got royally ticket off about failing transmissions. The original cab-forward Chrysler LH series was also amongst the best in class of large moderately priced family cars. The Jeep Cherokee spearheaded the whole modern SUV revolution (even if it was a POS IMO). Likewise, the Neon was highly competitive when it was new. A cheap and cheerful American small car which was fun to drive.
So yes, over the years Chrysler has had some hot selling, segment busting, customer pleasing vehicles in the line up. They have rarely been a top-to-bottom leader, but have never before been as uncompetitive as they are today.
memor21- what did you end up buying? It would be good to know what they’re up against.
I’d probably get a Patriot with $20K but I don’t know what your “needs” were. Honda Element maybe.
Saturn Astra if I was buying a car.
Chryslers cars (sedans and low sitting vehicles) are the worst on the market. The trucks and SUVs and CUVs are OK.
Anyone else catch the Sebring joke on the Office?
I actually love the 6-knob, 20-button interior of my Magnum. Very little to fuss with or break.
The leather steering wheel feels fine to me, and the plastics look alright.
Yeah, I’m weird like that.
I actually love the simple interior of my wife’s ’08 Patriot. It’s refreshingly unpretentious and feels like it will probably hold up until the second coming.
I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Magnum, possibly the last of the full-sized wagons. I’d take the Magnum over just about any ungainly crossover.
Chrysler’s problems definately started with the the merger with Daimler. It almost seemed as if Daimler purposely downgraded the Mopar interiors to keep them from competing with Benz. Then they rubber stamped every SUV on the drawing board.
From the AP article: “The truth is Daimler did them no favors,” said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics of Birmingham, Mich. “They approved products that previous Chrysler management wouldn’t have approved if they were completely drunk and beaten crazy.”
OK, that’s good for a chuckle. But specifics, please. What were the good designs that Daimler rejected? Did the Germans demand tractor-like engines, gunslit windows and dysfunctional station wagons? (You know, like Mercedes has.) The truth, I suspect, is that Chrysler stylists and engineers were either incompetent or didn’t give a damn what went out the door. No, I can’t be certain of that. It’s easier to get information about CIA operations than the D3’s decision-making process.
“Give me an honest opinion. Have there ever been any good Chrysler cars? I mean best in class or almost.”
John Horner listed the Jeep Cherokee, Cab-Forward LH cars and the Dodge Neon.
The Cherokee was an AMC design with an AMC engine, The Grand Cherokee was designed and ready to go when Chrysler bought AMC, and I heard that the LH cars, an update of the AMC Premier, was designed by the AMC guys at Chrysler, (hence the longitudal front wheel drive car in a Transverse K-Car world… one of them was called the Concorde if that was not obvious enough) and I also remember reading somewhere that the original Neon was designed by AMC guys at Chrysler and was not an altogether awful car. Unfortunately I cannot remember where I read that though, maybe someone can back me up.
Its been twenty years now, are all the AMC designers retired? It seems like they really helped the company in the 1990’s
npbheights: That history may have been on Allpar
Daimler gave Chrysler the LX cars (very Benz intensive), the Dodge Sprinter, the Crossfire, 5-speed transmissions, engineering resources, and cash. And they lost their ass selling the company.
They re-invented the large RWD American sedan with the LX cars, and they kept the Ram and SUVs competitive. The minivan was given very conservative styling, but that’s German (the new minivan looks a lot like the VW Eurovan, especially as a Dodge).
Daimler ownership also brought the “Hemi”, and the halo Challenger is built on the LX platform.
The small and mid-size cars have been made horribly ugly, but who knows who is to blame for that.
Some of the cars have sub-par interior materials, but that was a Chrysler weakness way before Daimler got involved.
And what did Daimler get out of the deal? Really just this (which I have never seen on the road):
http://www.sterlingtrucks.com/SterlingBullet/
Although some people do claim that the previous generation C-class was based on the Neon (this is a joke).
I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Magnum, possibly the last of the full-sized wagons. I’d take the Magnum over just about any ungainly crossover.
I always thought ChryCo nailed it with the Magnum…everywhere except the grille. I just could not, no matter how much time passed by, accept the nose on that car.
br549:
A Charger or 300 front clip will fit on like legos, kind of like the dorks that put previous generation Jetta front ends on Golfs (Europe actually got the Magnum as the 300 wagon).
The Hemi was in development before the Dumbler folks came along.
no_slushbox
yeah, i saw that 300 wagon in a magazine, in SRT8 trim no less, and i have to say, while i’m no Chrysler fan, i thought that car looked great
If you want some real heartache, watch this old interview with Dr. Z about the “great products”.
Or this advertisement: “Dr. Z — what are the benefits of the merger between Daimler and Chrysler?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GwZbRs57Yw&feature=related
Then there is this, Dr. Z finding his real calling as a bartender in January 2007! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cPTRgLlIyo&NR=1
npbheights: I agree with you, the infusing of AMC talent into Chrysler made a huge difference for the good. It is similar to the way in which VW’s acquisition of financially struggling Auto Union (Audi, etc.) gave them the know how to build modern front wheel drive, water cooled vehicles which was absolutely essential for VW’s progress. VW had ridden the rear engine, air cooled technology horse at least five years after it should have been put out to pasture.
In the fall of 2006 I test drove a then-brand-new Chrysler Sebring….I planned a 10 minute test drive in the Sebring. I drove the car less than a mile, turned around and turned it back in to the dealer. I was afraid that driving such a big pile of suck, I would be swallowed by a black hole. The next day I sold my Chrysler stock.
My wife and I rented same car a while back. My wife, who pays little attention to cars, got in, looked around and said “who makes this crap?” Nuff said.
Oh, and with about 3000 miles on it, the washer reservoir leaked, the turn signal stuck, and the front end rattled. Mmm-mmm, quality product.
John
Owned a 1996 Dodge Avenger – very innovative, comfortable sporty midsize coupe.
Recently rented a 2008 Sebring for a 10-hour trip: AWFUL, HORRIBLE… I actually became nauseous in that car because of the Grey plastic everywhere. I can’t look at that car now because it really, genuinely turns my stomach.
If we are apportioning blame, Iaccoca and Kerkorian certainly must be in the picture. It was they, who through their threat of a proxy fight for control of the company because the price of Chrysler stock was stuck at $50 and they figured it should be worth another $15 induced Bobby Eaton to flee into the arms of the German behemoth. Though Chrysler still had a weak balance sheet at this point, the car model lineup was generally thought to be pretty good. The vans, the LHs, the Neons, the Sebring convertible and the Grand Cherokees were getting good reviews and selling very well. The new front engine rear wheel drive coupe/sedan was already on the drawing boards and would probably have been built even if MB had not come into the picture. What Daimler seems to have done to the model lineup, as their first order of business, was hit everything in sight with the ugly stick.
bryanska:
Sadly your experience is not an endorsement for Chrysler, the coupe was a rebodied Mitsubishi Eclipse (the sedan was completely different, but also pretty decent, with a theoretically better double wishbone front suspension.).
The LH cars were nicer than the LX ones. There was too much change for change sake in that case. They should have kept the Intrepid and introduced the 300/Charger as upper level sedans.
The new Sebring is nicer than the old one.
Unlike most of this site, I don’t think that “product” has caused Chrysler’s demise.
The best Chryslers are unreliable and have been unreliable for decades. If you ask a former Chrysler owner they don’t go, “It ran OK but I didn’t like touching the dashboard”, they go “the POS needed brakes at 10k, a tranny at 30K and blew the motor at 50K! I’m never buying a Chrysler again!
I like the minivans. As used cars, they are awesome bargains.
I thought that a front wheel drive Patriot with a manual trans might be okay also, as a used car bargain.
If I were buying new, though, it would be the Hondas every time.
I think that’s Chrysler’s problem exactly.
I always thought this was under-reported because it was so patently obvious to everyone.
@ charleywhiskey
Iaccoca was the one who saved Chrysler from bankruptcy in 80’s. Yes he was disappointed with Eaton mishandling of the company, although he admitted that it was him who made a mistake and brought Eaton from GM to Chrysler. During early 80’s Iaccoca payed himself $1/year until company re-payed government obligations. It was done in 5 years ahead of schedule and on 1.5 billion investment Uncle Sam made $400 mils profit.
Say what you want, but in my book Lee Iaccoca is on par with Alfred Sloan as far as management expertise. And ahead of every executive who ever lived in terms of integrity. They don’t make them like that any longer.
I was born into a Chrysler family, worked for Chrysler, and have driven their products almost exclusively for 25 years. Got my first new one (a rather anemic 2.5 LeBaron) in ’89 and have had very good luck ever since. Never had a tranny blow, nor any drivetrain issues for that matter. But, I realize that in our current competitive marketplace, the lineup blows. In my opinion, though, if you want to see the true crap produced by Chrysler these days, look behind those big desks in Auburn Hills. I long for a leader like Lee.
As a rental, not as something I’d purchase (I want a car, not a truck, but need AWD due to Sierra snow), I’ve previously mentioned being OK with the Caliber as a compact vehicle.
I’ve also driven the Magnum and Nitro as rentals, the Nitro w/ 4WD, and been less than pleased.
I’ve ridden in a Hemi 300c and thought it was a nice car.
I thought the Nitro handled like a giant barge-mobile, and was appalled to find how unsteady this 4WD vehicle was when ice began to form underneath overpasses. Later, I was shocked when I parked my Subie next to one and found the “barge-mobile” wasn’t much bigger.
The Magnum was an involuntary “upgrade”, and it just pulled gas station dollars from my wallet offering nothing in return.
In the past I’ve also had rental companies inflict the Neon on me. What an execrable piece of crap. I guess that one pre-dates Daimler.
Daimler gave Chrysler the LX cars (very Benz intensive),
Not entirely true. Mercedes gave Chrysler some suspension bits and the five-speed transmission from the prior-gen E-Class: or, in other words, sloppy seconds. Everything else was Chrysler.
This rumour has been going on a long time. The LX cars were mostly done by the time of the merger, save for the rear suspension, which Chrysler was having some trouble with because they had little rear-drive experience outside of trucks.
the Dodge Sprinter,
Not a bad car, but not exactly an engineering wunderkind, either. Basically, they slapped a Dodge grille on a preexisting product.
A product, I might add, that hasn’t managed to make significant gains against the ancient Ford E-Series.
the Crossfire,
Or, as it was also known, a decontented, first-generation SLK with better styling amortized over a longer period.
This was a loser when it hit the market. It rotted on Chrysler’s lots and did nothing other than allow Mercedes to better it’s balance sheet with regards to the losing investment that was the SLK.
The best part of the SLK was Chrysler’s styling. Everything Mercedes about this car is a waste.
5-speed transmissions,
Which they would have gotten anyway, eventually. It’s not like Aisin or Getrag won’t sell you one, if you ask them.
engineering resources,
Pah! This is perhaps the greatest of the Merger Of Equal Lies.
Mercedes forced a ill-concieved software-and-process change down Chrysler’s throat at a time when they were in mid-design of several vehicles, resulting in Chrysler having to go back to the drawing board on the Sebring/Stratus and Neon/PT replacements. This torpedoed the small-car partnership with Mitsubishi and effectively put Chrysler five to seven years behind in development of it’s bread and butter vehicles.
Did you ever wonder how the five-year-old PT Cruiser could have been better than the Caliber, or how the Sebring could be so patently awful? That was Mercedes’ doing.
and cash.
How? In reverse? Chrysler had the healthiest stockpile of cash of the North American marques going into the merger. Mercedes effectively smashed the cookie jar to pay for their model expansion.
And they lost their ass selling the company
I think it’s more accurate to say that they wrecked Chrysler and couldn’t admit it was their own fault for a) doing so or b) not getting out quickly enough. Schrempp did the worst of it, and Zetsche was lucky to find a patsy in Cerberus to take it off his hands.
I have no pity for GM: where they are is purely their own doing, but Chrysler’s current state is about 80% Mercedes’ fault. I have no idea how Mercedes’ management hasn’t found itself at the business end of lawsuits and/or public-relations campaigns. What they did to Chrysler bordered on criminal, and Cerberus’ attempted parting out of the corpse pales in comparison.
Let’s not forget that it was Mercedes’ management that brought forth the Compass, Patriot, Caliber, Sebring and Avenger. Or that it was Mercedes who killed the ME Four Twelve because it would have made the AMG CLK and SL look bad, or that Mercedes benefited greatly from Chrysler’s (!!!!) QA and design work, turning the ML from Recall Queen of All Time to a reasonably decent performer.
Chrysler cancelled the Pacifica and the Crossfire (plus one other that I thought was pretty good). They either replaced them with…nothing, or a vehicle so non-descript and poorly advertised that we didn’t know it existed until we stumbled across it on the web (Aspen/Journey).
My wife and I were particularly intrigued by the Pacifica, because it was a cross between a minivan, wagon, and sports car — an un-SUV. Heck, we even considered a Dodge Caravan, but all they are selling these days are *Grand* Caravans, and the reskin in butt-ugly. Oh, well, we went with a Mazda 5 instead.
Way to misjudge the marketplace, guys. Their lineup is crap these days. What’s so shocking is that 2 years ago I thought they had the best lineup of the Big 3.
Give me an honest opinion. Have there ever been any good Chrysler cars? I mean best in class or almost
The neon-based SRT4. This was an honest car that set out to be a fast, decent-handling compact car. It succeeded, being faster than the Mazdaspeed Protege and Cobalt SS in a straight line. Its unfortunate that the new SRT4 doesn’t seem to be any better.
They’ve had some very good cars, even recently, but almost every one has had its fatal flaw.
The 1993 LH sedans (Intrepid/Concorde/LHS) were very well received upon their introduction, but issues with the 2.7L V6 sludging and the severe cost cutting that led to issues made sure that even after the refresh this car could never keep momentum
The first (1994) Neon was a slap in the face to the compact world. It competed with the class staple, the Civic, on almost every level. Once again, severe cost cutting and this time an issue with the head gasket on the 2.0L I4 made sure this car also couldn’t keep momentum. The second Neon in 2000 was a better quality car, but the driving dynamics of the Neon (the part that made the first one great) were just gone. I think we got a picture of what could have been with the Neon SRT-4, but the damage was already done by that point.
The “Cloud Cars” (1995 Stratus/Cirrus/Breeze) were also well received (MT COTY 1995, C&D 10 Best 96/97), but they suffered the same cost cutting as Chrysler’s other cars of the time. This time around they let the car die on the vine. As the new Altima, Camry, and Accord came out, Chrysler literally did NOTHING with the car to keep it relevant. The Stratus/Sebring refresh in 2001 was way too litte, way too late.
The 1994 Ram and 1996 minivans are also good examples.
Chrysler was basically destroyed by it’s German overlords who later bailed. It was a costly divorce for Daimler but for Chrysler and all of it’s employees it’s near certain death. It didn’t have to be that way.
Chrysler has had it’s ups and downs over the years, but it wasn’t so long ago that things were going pretty well. A few years ago they had a product lineup that was fairly solid and could have been built upon with wise management, excellent redesigns, and good marketing.
The second generation big-rig styled Ram was best in class, it debuted Chrysler’s new HEMI engine resurrected a legendary brand name and making it the most powerful truck at the time. They produced modern, distinctive and thoroughly American fullsize cars that people actually wanted to buy. The Neon SRT4 lit the budget tuner world on fire like the Plymouth Road Runners, Dusters and Demons of Chrysler’s hey day. The Pacifica was a rich and expensive looking vehicle inside and out that made the crossover mainstream and featured Chrysler’s best modern interior. The previous generation Grand Cherokee and Wrangler were very good looking vehicles and true to the brand’s off-road heritage. Chrysler also founded SRT, which out of the Big Three American tuner knock-offs was the best. Every vehicle SRT got their hands on they turned into a fire breather, even the lowly Neon and goofy German Crossfire. They made the resurrectede four-door Charger thoroughly badass. They made a Jeep that wasn’t designed to go off-road but was so outrageously cool that people didn’t care. It made Ford’s dying SVT look weak and GM’s performance division (with no unifying brand name across GM’s products) look silly. When Mercedes was losing money for the merger years ago Chrysler was making it.
It’s amazing how just a few bad product ideas (Commander, Caliber, Patriot, Compass, Nitro) and horrific redesigns (Avenger, Sebring) and overproducing could take Chrysler from hero to zero in virtually one year. They pretty much pissed everything they had going for them away.
It is a real shame. The minivans are alright, the new Ram looks fantastic inside and out, the Challenger has finally arrived and it’s one of the best looking cars on the road, the Wrangler finally has four doors, the Viper has outlapped pretty much everything else on the ‘Ring and their fullsize cars are still good years after they released. But everything else they make now is highly undesirable and almost Chinese-like in their quality and embarrassing styling. I can’t believe it’s come to this.
I’ve read that there are still a few people at Chrysler today who also worked for AMC when it was swallowed up in 1987. My first automotive love was actually AMC, not only because they were the underdog when they existed but also because their cars had a certain quirky, unique charm to them. My first car when I was a teenager was a 1981 AMC Concord DL, then I got an Eagle wagon and a Grand Wagoneer.
A big misconception is that the LX cars were based on Mercedes. That’s not true. The LX program was underway prior to the big merger. The LX’s are 100% US engineered and if you’ve driven one you’d be hard pressed to mistake it for anything remotely German. Chrysler did copy some of Mercedes’ suspension design and some electronics for the car but that’s really about it. They drive big and American, as they should
Damn there are a lot of good posts with this thread.
These book have now aged a bit, but they get into great detail about the K-Car, Lido’s “revolution” and then inability to see the writing on the wall, the Neon and LH cars – get your hands on “The End of Detroit” and the older “Comeback: The Fall and Rise of Detroit.” “Comeback” has a very eye opening section on the Fiero and also how Lee wanted what seemed like a million designs of the becoming ancient K-Car platform.
For car buffs, these are excellent reads – one that you won’t want to put down.
For VW fans, “Getting the Bugs Out” is another good one.
“Anyone who witnessed the rebirth of Chrysler under Lee Iacocca knows that one of the best product decisions he made was to invest in the K-Car, the basis for all the new passenger cars introduced in the 1980s. It saved the company from ruin. Then, in the 1990s, he was willing to step back and allow some remarkable leaders like Bob Eaton and Tom Stallkamp and Bob Lutz and François Castaing to reshape the company.
A major focus was in product development, where vehicle centers (modeled after Honda) were created to realign the old functional organization into a product-driven organization. Engineers responsible for electrical components, body engineering, chassis engineering, and manufacturing engineering were all put together under one general manager, who took a role something like the Toyota chief engineer. These groups had a single focus—produce excellent vehicles that customers will want to buy at a low cost so Chrysler could make a profit.
This led to the LH series of vehicles (Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid, etc.), a modernized minivan, the Neon, an award-winning new Jeep Grand Cherokee, and even the quirky but popular PT Cruiser. Each general manager was learning from the last one and the organization, at least in product development, was getting stronger and stronger. In the meantime, Tom Stallkamp was revolutionizing purchasing and creating what a Harvard Business Review article called an “American keiretsu” (Dyer, 1996). Chrysler soon became the world’s most profitable car company in terms of profit per vehicle—not the biggest, but the most profitable per vehicle.
Toyota was actually concerned by these developments. Up to that point, no U.S. company had shown signs of getting it right and developing a culture that could compete with Toyota. But Chrysler was beginning to get it right.
Fortunately for Toyota, Chrysler was bought by Daimler.”
From The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer
Toyota was actually concerned by these developments. Up to that point, no U.S. company had shown signs of getting it right and developing a culture that could compete with Toyota. But Chrysler was beginning to get it right.
I remember Chrysler back in ’95. Heady days indeed.
With the exception of the Patriot, Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, Viper, Ram, and maybe the 300, what do they sell that Americans want?
Someone wanted a Patriot?!
autonut:
Yes, Iaccoca was the Chrysler hero in the ’80s but after his retirement, he supported Kerkorian’s takeover attempt circa 1995 which was the proximate cause of Eaton’s frantic search for a white knight.
It still astonishes me that a foreign company can acquire an American company, lay waste to it, then abandon it to die. I am no socialist, but there is something deeply wrong when the people behind this disaster can simply walk away. How about closing the borders to Mercedes for oh, a decade or so. I’d love that.
I sense a little revisionism here, guys.
By 1995 the bloom had started to come off the Jeep/AMC acquisitions. It was those that saved Chrysler a second time, even as the K-car and minivan magic was winding down. The only other thing Chryco had was Mitsubishi/DiamondStar (e.g. Colt, Ram D-50, Laser, Conquest, Stratus, etc) products.
The LH series vehicles, Neon, and Grand Cherokee were all AMC legacy, already in development when Chryco took over. Even the new Ram was AMC personnel designed. Chrysler had nothing of its own, as others have pointed out earlier in this post, and an American keiretsu plus vehicle centers or not, Chrysler still made vehicles with detonating transmissions that couldn’t keep their paint. Throw in Capt. Kirk and Iaccoca’s attempted coup, and Eaton could see the writing on the wall well enough. The Germans badly overpaid, saving the “Crisis Corporation” once more, only to see it slip away under their watch.