Worried that Chrysler has lost touch with young buyers? Worry no more! Chrysler’s Tim Kunisis tells Automotive News [sub]
There are two paths: the traditional Chrysler path and the S path. There’s a huge customer base for chrome and wood. There are also people who want something a little edgy.
As a result, Chrysler is introducing its “S” line, a trim level that stands for Style rather than Sport, which will encourage these edgy Chrysler customers to tart up their Mopar metal with non-traditional accessories. Nor is “S” a top-level trim designation, but will be available on the standard 300, the 300 Limited and the 300C. And though Chrysler is showing an “S” version of its outgoing 2010 300, the first new “S”-branded vehicle will be the 200, which should look something like the Moparized 200 shown at the Detroit Auto Show. And if the whole “what’s in-what’s out” question is giving you some trouble, AN [sub] provides the hand guide below.
You mean to tell me that all the vehicles nowadays without wood accents, chrome and beige leather are “edgy”?
Well I’ll be.
Makes an old VW Beetle seem trendy!
It’s the late 80s all over again!
Remember the Chevy Celebrity “Eurosport”?
Yeah, good times.
Squint a little, put a bowtie on tha grille, and with slightly different tailights… it’s like the Europsport VR version never died, I’m picturing what a Pontiac 6000 STE would look like…
The Sebring S is not edgy, it’s ugly.
Yes but the study group said it was appealing PLUS it has elements of the Genesis Coupe and the Suzuki Kizashi so you know it is chock full of win. Oh wait a sec, the 200 appears to be Sebring aka the Mitsubishi Galant but warmed over, then let cool… and once again warmed up in the microwave then kept warm under a heat lamp where it is going to wither and die.
If they really want to catch the kiddies, throw out the entire center stack and console (including the shifter) and replace it with an ipad.
I could see those details on a Charger or a Challenger, but not a 300. If I am buying a 300, I want elegant and stately, not edgy.
"There are two paths: the traditional Chrysler path and the S path. There’s a huge customer base for chrome and wood. There are also people who want something a little edgy."
Plastic?
I like beige leather than the black that I see on every car. Let’s get rid of black interiors and actually get some color.
Good for Chrysler. Changing colors and materials for the finishes isn’t terribly expensive and can differentiate them from other autos in a relatively short time.
I’m seriously considering a used top of the line Mustang simply because the interiors are available in actual colors. I saw a 2005 GT the other day with an interior that was black except the steats which were red leather. Stopped me dead in my tracks. That made it special.
Honestly automakers if you’re listening, just even offer different color seats in your standard black and gray interiors. I was on eBay and saw a late 70s LTD coupe with a red interior and white vinyl seats, the combo was so striking it made me nostolgic.
By God, King, that’s Pontiac’s music!
Chrome grilles are out? Jeez, it was so -sudden!-
And if there’s one thing that kids crave, of course, it’s factory approval. Personally, I don’t buy a huge, worthless fiberclass wing unless both the factory -ad- my mom approve. If I’m going to be street racing at midnight, on wet streets with no rain, I should at least be sure I’m accessorizing in a socially-acceptable manner.
Why would young buyers want a frumpy 4 door ? Whatever happened to 2 door hatches and coupes ? They seem to be going the way of the manual transmission – out the door .
I dont think they do…
Why would you want to invest any more money than you had to in a Chrysler?
Hey CHRAPSLER…
Plymouth/Eagle are on line one..
Oops they hung up.
If I was a youth, I wouldn’t get excited about the 200. Chrysler has brought back the Charger and Challenger…both big cars. What about something smaller like a late 60s two-door Dart? Make a cool, small muscle car.
1969-dart-GTS.jpg
I’m not at all suggesting anything like a Neon, which I’m sure guys that tricked out Neons did call them edgy. (lol)
Shelby Omni GLH
I do wish more cars were two-toned like that. I think that looks good even on the 200.
Isn’t “S” the designation that Nissan and probably many others use to denote the bottom-rung cars?
Umm…What’s Dodge for then?
+1. We all know what happened when Saturn, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile all tried to compete against each other.
Looks like Wil Castro and the boyz down at Unique Whips got their hands on that 200. Blech, what a rolling cliche. Give it a solid black paint job, and do away with that bling wing on the grill and then maybe it would have something going for it.
It looks like the Missing Link between the Cavalier and the GTO.
I suppose it’s interesting that neither of those are Chrysler products.
When will manufacturer’s learn that manufacturing “cool” does not work? Once it’s “mainstream”, it becomes normal. Once it’s normal, it’s not cool.
You want something that’d catch the younger generation’s attention, give your cars a low price and make it easy to modify. Your low-priced car with a 100 hp engine can take on a huge turbo? That’s cool. A suspension that doesn’t take a rocket scientist to modify? That’s cool. An overweight “sports car” that’s as fun as the family sedan it’s based on, except with less utility and a gigantic butt? Not cool.
It’s like putting lipstick on pigs… Do they really think young ones will flock to Chrysler 200s just because they put on some black trim pieces and red leather? Really? Wow, they must not think highly about our youths… I thought youths are very internet-savvy, and probably will do a ton of research before getting a car? Then they’d read about what the 200 really was like, and there’s no way in hell they would even get into one.
You’ve all missed the point. It’s not the “youth” market they are after. 20 something’s don’t buy Chrysler anymore than they buy Buick. They are trying something to appeal to a younger customer than they have now. Like Buick the avg customer age is 60 or so. They are trying to get down in the 50’s (where Toyota is now) and maybe the 40’s. Will it work? I don’t know. I think I’m already too old for this sort of thing because it doesn’t appeal to me.
I say it’s a prudent move by Chrysler. Quite a few people couldn’t care less about performance, as much as they do about looks (think Volvo, R-Design). And honestly, it doesn’t cost Chrysler that much. If they are going to make a buck or two by selling this to douches and idiots, I say go for it!