Article Comments: How About That Chrysler?

8 messages, Last post on Jan 17, 2007 at 5:54 AM

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Article comments for How About That Chrysler? - How about that Chrysler?" people would ask only months ago in a tone similar to the way they refer to the Detroit Tigers, who went from nearly the worst record in baseball history to now being playoff bound. Indeed, for the last couple of years, Chrysler was the exception to the rule as the only one of the Big Three automakers to be thriving. (more)

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#1 of 8 Article Comments: How About That Chrysler? by KarenS HOST Oct 03, 2006 (7:24 am)
Is Chrysler on a downward spiral? Read Michelle Kreb's latest column and post your comments here. How About That Chrysler? Replies to this message: rockylee (Oct 03, 2006 8:48 am)
#2 of 8 Re: Article Comments: How About That Chrysler? [KarenS] by rockylee Oct 03, 2006 (8:48 am)
Replying to: KarenS (Oct 03, 2006 7:24 am) I'm glad the UAW, stuck it to LaSorda, one last time. The writings been on the wall for them for a long time. Rocky
#3 of 8 Chryslers U-turn by skierx420 Oct 03, 2006 (12:46 pm)
Chrysler had some huge hits, the Pacifica, 300, its minivan still dominates the market share over the others, but they have some flops on their hands. The Aspen will bomb, the Jeep Commander while being an awsome SUV has bombed, the restyle of the Durango a few years back bombed. The next generation of Chrysle products, the Sebring, the new Avenger, and the of course the new Challanger will bring the company back. The quality is there, they should bring back their 7 yr 70,000 mile powertrain warranty again. They also need to put the Germans back in charge again! Replies to this message: advequityguy (Oct 03, 2006 2:31 pm) flicmod (Oct 04, 2006 8:50 am)
#4 of 8 Re: Chryslers U-turn [skierx420] by advequityguy Oct 03, 2006 (2:31 pm)
Replying to: skierx420 (Oct 03, 2006 12:46 pm) I think Chrysler's problem is their long term strategy. Build unattractive 2nd rate cars, then approve a loan from anyone with a pulse for an extended term. It works great at first. People who cannot buy real cars will buy them. The problem is a few years down the road when the guy with the Ram 1500 quad cab hemi, or the P/T cruiser, or the Sebring convertible, or the Caravan (grand or otherwise), or the mega-cab, or fill in your favorite chrysler/dodge product here, with the horrible resale value and a 550 credit score tries to get out of his 8 yr Chrysler note and into something else. It's easy to con me once. It wont happen twice.
#5 of 8 Re: Chryslers U-turn [skierx420] by flicmod Oct 04, 2006 (8:50 am)
Replying to: skierx420 (Oct 03, 2006 12:46 pm) Notice all the vehicles you've mentioned that you've deemed as "failures" are SUV's. THAT is where Chrysler (and the other American companies) have it wrong. You CANNOT depend on a product to turn your company around if the demand of the product is buried 6ft deep. No one wants SUVs right now. At least not enough consumers to help the Big 3 turn around. They're basing their turn around on consumption trends from 10 years ago. This may have worked in 1998, but not in 2006. Remember, 1998 was pre-9/11, pre-Afghanistan, pre-Iraq, pre-Tsunami, pre-Katrina/Rita. Oil is a huge driving factor of the car industry. Right now it's sky high (albeit low as of late). SUV's are bound to fail. Even though I absolutely HATE the new Sebring because I think they could offer something much better for the price you're paying, I think it'll sell. It's not TOO expensive, it just doesn't offer anything over average for the price. The Avenger and Challenger will be hits based on their styling alone. The Caliber and Charger are already hits. I see Calibers all over the place and the Charger is Chryslers version of the latest Mustang incarnation. Another of Chryslers problems is their styling, they're either too riskque, or just plain too conservative. The 4 cars I mentioned above that are hits have the appropriate styling to be successful. Edgy and sporty, but still on the moderate side. The Durango is hideous and in the same vein the Aspen is as well. The Sebring is just plain average all around. I see nothing special with it at all. Create the style of cars people want! Sporty and edgy, not ugly and obtuse and plain. Lastly, the 7yr/70000mile thing was a joke. They were losing money on it because they couldn't design transmissions worth a crap. They lost out on that deal. It may have gotten people to buy cars, but selling them isn't the entire solution. If those new cars are wracked with problems, you're going to lose out on your warrenty. Which is what was happening to Chrysler. Bottom line is get people in charge who are capable of reading the latest trends of the market, design more appealing cars, and for Pete's sake design them up to the standard of quality that the Japs and Germans design them! The Big 3 won't get anywhere unless they start competing with the import competition.
#6 of 8 Its about competition! by iancar Oct 05, 2006 (7:29 pm)
Think about it, Chrysler is successful when it starts to do something new; when it starts to play safe, you can almost gurantee that it will fail. Now, the new Sebring is nice, inside and out, but wait a minute, so are Camry, Altima, Aura, Fusion, Sonata, Passat, and Impala too. You can't forget that Accord, malibu, Mazda 6, and so many crossovers are coming to challenge this traditional segament too. So what Sebring got to overtake those rivals? none. Not power, not space, not beauty, nor engineering brilliance. Similar stories are happening to American Big 3 in every segament. They are getting better no doubt, but they are no longer the top dog we used to see in our childhood. Should we suprise to see their sales continue to fall faster tape recorders? Not at all. Replies to this message: crazyb02 (Dec 14, 2006 4:22 pm)
#7 of 8 Re: Its about competition! [iancar] by crazyb02 Dec 14, 2006 (4:22 pm)
Replying to: iancar (Oct 05, 2006 7:29 pm) I think Chrysler has given up trying to compete with the Camry, Accord, Altima, Aura, Sonata, and others simply because they can't handle the heat in the kitchen of mid-sizers. I believe their strategy was to create a car that would be right at home on the lots of Enterprise, Budget, and others. That's the only way they are gonna get people to set foot into the new Sebring.
#8 of 8 How About That Chrysler? by rufnkz Jan 17, 2007 (5:54 am)
How about talking about the fact that Chrysler was doing great until the union told Chrysler their financial situation does not warrant the same cuts in healthcare as Ford or GM? Suddenly the company is in doom and gloom again. Sure looks like a well planned idea to get concessions from the UAW. Does the fact that the company is in trouble stop the executives from getting their fat paychecks? NO! How about a plant that lays off all but 7 workers but keeps all 5 bosses? Not once, by the way, but did the same in 2001. How about executives that get one to two hundred percent of their salary as a bonus while the worker gets two percent? What Chrysler needs is a managerial enema and fresh start. Then and only then can we weed out all the inefficiencies that plague the company!!!!