In the cosmology of the ancient Greeks, the universe would not tolerate a gross breach of justice. When a hero was killed with dishonor or without completing his destiny, supernatural forces would emerge from the cthonic realm to haunt the guilty party. These karmic enforcers were called the Erinyes, or Furies, and they are coming for Chrysler. The Detroit News has gone past mere Cassandra status, no longer satisfied with merely prophesying doom for the Pentastar brand. No, since its DCX gutting, private ownership, pathetic products and tiny scale reflect poorly on the other Detroit automakers and their bailout beggary, the DetN is actively calling the wrath of the Furies upon the house of Mopar. Interestingly, the Furies appear to have changed their name to CSM global forecasting. “It would be best for everyone involved if Chrysler were allowed to gracefully wind down and go away in a controlled, staged process, leaving a Detroit Two,” intones Michael Robinet, CSM vice president of global vehicle forecasts. There’s “not a whole lot of vehicle development going on at Chrysler,” Robinet said. “It has slowed down substantially and (is) just focused on core vehicles,” he said. “How long can it continue as a caretaker company?” asks Robinet, calling for the just vengance of the gorgon-headed Furies. CSM CEO Craig Cather argues that much of Chrysler’s weakness can be blamed on Daimler, which he says “handicapped Chrysler and its ability to expand internationally.” Whatever the sin against the natural order, when the Detroit News begins listing the crimes of a hometown automaker, you know their fate is nearing its end.
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As the fates would have it…
The exact same things could be said about GM these days. Chrysler just hit the bottom of the well first.
Well, if the feds hadn’t bailed out Chrysler in 1979 we wouldn’t have this problem. When the government interferes it only makes things worse in the long run.
Perhaps this “car czar” will give Jeep to GM and put Dodge and Chrysler out of their misery.
John
When I saw the title the first thing that came to my mind was a Plymouth Fury.
Chrysler only needs one decent platform. Most of us remember the K-Car platform. It wasn’t a great platform, but it did the job and spawned the entire Chrysler line-up of car models including the minivan. All they need is one brilliant mind to put it all together. Oh wait…he (or she) got downsized awhile go.
The North American Market is much more competitive than it was in 1979.
Toyhondissan had a limited product portfolio and for much of the 80s was limited by informal import quota. The Koreans were not in the picture nor were the Chinese and Indians approaching from the distance.
Even I if I were to wave my magic wand and give Chrysler a competitive quality small car that could be produced profitably with UAW labor today the company is still doomed as currently configured.
Its not just Chrysler!! Come on. The writing is on the wall for all 3. With or without bailout their cars will still not sell. Plants are going to close, or drop to single shifts. Consolidation is the key word. Less plants, less models equals less employees and cost savings. I have worked at an automotive plant under their temporary program and I can tell you first hand that these are unskilled jobs when it comes to line work. I worked from the chassis dept. to the trim dept. to the paint dept and none of the 60 jobs that I did warrant $25-$30 an hour. Labor costs are THE BIGGEST ISSUE that the 3 have to face. But the UAW will stand strong and would rather see their membership drop even more before they give consessions.(my opinion) Not bashing UAW members but it does not take any skill to put a fastener in an air gun and push the button. Would any UAW worker accept a paycut down to $20 or even $15 an hour?
Wal-Mart started as a single store in 1962 and now is the biggest company in the world. So the little guy can get bigger and better. Chrysler is the little guy and way down in the dumps now, but what could they do with a few billion dollars. Who knows?
Save the Challenger, Ram, minivans, and Jeep GC, Wrangler and Patriot. That’ll do.
I’m waiting for the bankruptcy, and then about a year later when the creditors cut loose any remaining Dodge Challenger R/T’s for sale at half price, sans warranty.
I’d take the risk at $15k.
My hopes of a 2010 Chrysler Cordoba SRT8 with fine Corinthian Leather, based on the Challenger platform, dashed.
I will say one thing. I really believe Chrysler does have the potential to be a great automaker.
They just need a brand new set of upper executives, a healthy amount of R&D, and the opportunity to be left alone.
Think about it folks…
This was the company that arguably made the best domestic models in each category during the 1990’s.
The Intrepid / LH Sedans were a world better than the Lumina and Taurus. I would argue that they were more satisfying daily drivers than the Accord until Honda got their act together in 1997.
The Neon was FAR more commercially successful than the Escort, Cavalier, Saturn, Tercel, and Sentra. Only the Civic was more profitable and perhaps, maybe, more fun to drive.
Their minivans were absolutely dominant. Not a single competitor came even close.
Then you have the Wrangler, the Cherokee, the Grand Cherokee, the 1990’s Ram which was enormously successful, Viper (wonderful), Prowler (unique), PT Cruiser (very popular for the first few years), and the leanest and most efficient product developer of the time short of Honda.
This company does have the history and pedigree to be a fantastic success. They just need a leader and a vision that will get them there. Oh, and about $8 billion to $10 billion for the next six months.
Sorry, but Chrysler can’t survive on nostalgia about the Intrepid and the LH cars. The Neon may have sold well, but it was a rat box, and a joke compared to the imports. The Minivan segment is dying. The Prowler may have been unique, but it was a terrible car. The fact is that Chrysler has survived this long only thanks to a few rare smash hits. It’s entire current lineup is awful, and the hits have stopped coming. Chrysler’s design leadership has evaporated. Game over.
I second the above. Chrysler is now awful. And the ’90s are far in the past. Chrysler was also great through the ’60s, and into the early ’70s, and by the end of the ’70s it was in the tank.
Chryslers of the 1990s were definitely lookers, and had good driving dynamics, but they weren’t more reliable than the GM and Ford competition.
The first-generation LH cars and the Neon, in particular, were terrible. Those LH cars recalled Chrysler’s 1957 models – stylish cars with great handling that fell apart within 2-3 years.
Everyone I know who had a first-generation Neon initially loved it, and then was ready to dump it by the time the odometer hit 40,000 miles. They swore “never again” regarding Chrysler products.
A 1990s Ford Escort was definitely a more boring car than a contemporary Neon, but it was also far more reliable and better built. Same with the Dodge Ram as compared to the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet pickups.
Chrysler lived off the Dodge Ram, minivans and the Jeeps in the 1990s, and the buzz created by the P/T Cruiser and 300/Charger in this century. But it never replicated the success 300 and Charger in the family sedan and compact segments, and it let the P/T Cruiser get stale.
When buyers were hit with high fuel costs and didn’t want a Hemi anymore, Chrysler only had the Sebring/Avenger and Caliber to offer them.
About a year ago I stopped by the local Dodge Chrysler dealership parts counter to get a few things. It’s a huge, modern place very friendly to shop.
Walking out, it struck me that at a time in my life when I finally reached the point I could literally write a check for anything sitting on their lot (short of a Viper) I saw nothing of any interest to me.
Thinking back to the 50s, 60s, and 70s, each year had several I’d love to own. Whatever happened to that?
Driving away in the wife’s 2007 U.S.-made Honda Accord, I thought…how sad.
I agree with many posters here that what happened in the past doesn’t matter going forward but I still believe Chrysler can survive.
The first thing to happen is to get the company away from Cerberus. A PE firm is only involved in a business venture to make money and move on; there is no passion. To be in the car biz these days, passion is what counts; you have to really want to do this business, what with the myriad of regulations, competition, financing,environmental issues and everything else you can think of ad nauseam.
Once that is done, the proper marketing segmentation needs to occur which probably reduces Chrysler to passenger cars, Dodge to trucks, vans, CUV’s and Jeep to Jeep-like things and SUV’s. They need to make sure that they are building what people want, not things like the Nitro, Caliber, etc. All three brands need to be sold under one roof and many fewer dealers will be needed.
Triage needs to be immediately performed to correct the most obvious things that turn car buyers off, $hitty interiors, transmission failure, goofy looks (Sebring!) etc.
What it takes is money, something that Cerberus has but has never been inclined to spend, at least on Chrysler, LLC. More importantly, it takes individuals and management that really want to do it and do it right. Can it happen? Yes! Will it happen? Unfortunately, probably not.
Maybe in a few years I can pick up a base Wrangler (no power windows, for God’s sake..what is wrong with these people?) two door for well under $15k…since I intend on keeping it until it dies, I’m not overly worried about depreciation.
Despite moments of relative success, there isn’t much left to Chrysler’s line up that I’d even remotely consider. I drive by the local dealership every day and it’s completely full…of new cars stagnating on the lot. I’m not seeing much rotation and the signs are all over that they’re willing to entertain offers. But then I think…what would I want with an Avenger? Ugh…maybe…maybe a new Challenger, but even that’s a dicey call.