Article Comments - Chrysler Does Some Pruning

31 messages, Last post on Aug 28, 2008 at 5:38 PM

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Chrysler Does Some Pruning, But Where Are the New Seedlings? - Chrysler announced last week that it is dropping from its product portfolio four slow-selling models. Going away in 2008 will be the Dodge Magnum and the Chrysler Crossfire, Pacifica and PT Cruiser convertible. These are the obvious models to clear away from among the overlapping models in Chrysler's line. (more)

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#25 of 31 Re: That's news to me that the new [writer] by dtownfb Aug 22, 2008 (6:13 am)
Replying to: writer (Aug 20, 2008 9:29 pm) I'm not sure re-badging Mitsubishis would have been such a great idea. Their first alliance wasn't the best for Chrysler and cost them quite a bit if I recall correctly. Also many analysts weren't sure if Mitsubishi would even survive in the US just a couple of years ago (still not in the clear). Anything Cerebus does now is just making itself attractive to a potential buyer. The fact that they have forged an extensive alliance with Nissan leads me to believe it's only a matter of time before Nissan buys Chrysler. Replies to this message: writer (Aug 22, 2008 7:45 pm) writer (Aug 25, 2008 2:15 pm) dtownfb (Aug 26, 2008 6:34 pm) and 2 more...
#26 of 31 Re: That's news to me that the new [dtownfb] by writer Aug 22, 2008 (7:45 pm)
Replying to: dtownfb (Aug 22, 2008 6:13 am) "I'm not sure re-badging Mitsubishis would have been such a great idea. Their first alliance wasn't the best for Chrysler and cost them quite a bit if I recall correctly. Also many analysts weren't sure if Mitsubishi would even survive in the US just a couple of years ago (still not in the clear)." As far as their histories are concerned, I think you are only looking at one short part of it. As far as I know, the rear wheel drive "Dodge Colt" era was quite good for both companies. I can say with some certainty that the Mitsubishi products sold well in the Chrysler dealerships and were about as reliable as the Nissans and Toyotas of that period. Honda back then was not a big factor. The problems seem to have come during the transition to front wheel drive. There were reliability problems, and apparently the head of Mitsubishi tried to cover it up. That was a big mistake. When this was discovered, the head of Mitsubishi was "suddenly changed" (I do not want to say what I think happened because my memory is vague on the point -- I was not really interested at the time). Since then, the reliability problems were tackled and they extended the warranty and have worked at rebuilding their image. Sales dropped out as the reliability issues became known (starting before the scandal broke out in public) and rebuilding has been slow. But the latest Eclipse has proven popular enough in its segment (which has not been a big segment lately anyway), and from what I have seen, the Lancer is doing very well. There are a couple of things stopping it from being a huge success right now. First, you have the established Toyota Corolla and Honda Civics, and that is a huge obstacle because, putting it bluntly, there is just nothing wrong with those cars, except maybe price, or you cannot find one in a dealer lot. And secondly, there are not enough Mitsubishi dealers to sell huge quantities. But if you start selling Lancers in Chrysler dealerships, then suddenly you have enough dealers to bring up the sales into Honda/Toyota territory. But the reason to get the Lancers into Chrysler is that Chrysler can start making them. Again, I am just guessing about the difficulty of adapting a Calibre production line to a Lancer production line, but, as I said, they are theoretically the same "platform". So compared to any other existing car on the planet, it should be the easiest/cheapest car for Chrysler to start producing. How soon? Maybe next year? And that is significant no matter who buys who over the coming years. As for Nissan buying Chrysler, I think that would be Renault would it not? It does not matter that much. There is also speculation that R/N could buy out Mitsubishi too, so that fits even better. Thinking about Renault, the "Clio" is about the same size as a Hyundai Accent (which I would class as "big sub-compact to small compact") and I think is a big success in Europe. It would be a nice car in the Chrysler dealerships too. Replies to this message: writer (Aug 25, 2008 2:15 pm) dtownfb (Aug 26, 2008 6:34 pm) graphicguy (Aug 28, 2008 5:53 am) and 1 more...
#27 of 31 Re: That's news to me that the new [writer] by writer Aug 25, 2008 (2:15 pm)
Replying to: writer (Aug 22, 2008 7:45 pm) Since we are discussing Mitsubishi, I looked over at the Mitsubishi topic and the recent messages confirm a couple of important points: 1. The Lancer sales are doing quite well. Car sales are significantly up for Mitsubishi, while (as is typical for all brands lately) trucks are down. 2. The latest J. D Powers rankings for reliability have Mitsubishi above average overall, and both the Lancer and the Eclipse are particularly highly ranked. Keep in mind that these are rankings for 2005 products, the old Lancer was ranked "Runner Up" in its class, under the Toyota Prius and possibly above Toyota Corolla (not clear in the MSN report). That does clearly beat the Civic. The Eclipse is runner up under the Chevy Monte Carlo and possibly the Toyota Solara (again, the latter is not stated clearly). Again, it beat the Honda "whatever" (probably the Accords, and maybe even above some of the Toyota Camrys) -- again, not entirely clear. I would expect some "teething" problems for the first run of the Lancers, so I expect that the 2008 Lancers will drop off a bit in these rankings, but clearly Mitsubishi products are back in the game. Replies to this message: dtownfb (Aug 26, 2008 6:34 pm) graphicguy (Aug 28, 2008 5:53 am) dtownfb (Aug 28, 2008 5:38 pm)
#28 of 31 Rebadged Mitsubishis... by andre1969 Aug 25, 2008 (4:17 pm)
I don't think the rebadged Mitsubishis were so bad back in the day (relatively speaking), but the real problems came when Chrysler started using Mitsubishi components in Chrysler cars. Stuff like the 2.6 "Silent Shaft" 4-cyl, or the 3.0 oil burner V-6. But I think the more recent Mitsu products are okay, and I think their engines are pretty good nowadays. I'd really like to see Chrysler come up with something decent to replace the Avenger/Sebring. I think these cars are just a mess inside and out, style-wise, and I don't think there's anything spectacular about the way they perform. The 300C/Charger are getting a bit outdated, and with the way fuel prices are, they're a bit of a throwback. But I still like them. It would be cool if Chrysler would keep them around, as sort of a niche product for those who want them, but then come out with something to replace the Avenger/Sebring that would be a good contender for the Accord, Camry, Malibu, Altima, etc market.
#29 of 31 Re: That's news to me that the new [writer] by dtownfb Aug 26, 2008 (6:34 pm)
Replying to: writer (Aug 25, 2008 2:15 pm) Sales are up but I wouldn't consider their overall numbers all that great. They are selling about 9,000 - 10,000 a month (based on about two months I could find). That's only about 120,000 units a year. Chrysler is a very different company and so is Mitsubishi. What was done in the 80's and 90's cannot work with these two companies now. Plus Nissan has a wider reach and better technology to utilize. Either way, I still think Chrysler is destined to become a member of the Nissan/Renault family. Replies to this message: graphicguy (Aug 28, 2008 5:53 am) dtownfb (Aug 28, 2008 5:38 pm)
#30 of 31 Re: That's news to me that the new [dtownfb] by graphicguy Aug 28, 2008 (5:53 am)
Replying to: dtownfb (Aug 26, 2008 6:34 pm) I still think Chrysler is destined to become a member of the Nissan/Renault family I think that's the only way for Chryco to survive. Unless there's some super secret development going on from a depleted engineering dept, that's the best thing that can happen to them. It's a shame really. They were in good shape before Daimler stepped in with their so called "merger of equals. Daimler drained their, at the time, sizable cash on hand. They stuck Chrysler with old Mercedes parts. Then they blamed Chrysler for their own malaise. Unceremoniously, they dumped them. Jeep brand is one that's out of favor right now via their fuel economy. Dodge is putting out uninspired products, with the possible exception of the Challenger. Chrysler has aging designs, for the most part....300, PT. Sebring is relatively new, but who wants them. Without resources like what Nissan/Renault has, how do they possibly get out of this mess? A merger is their only way to survive. Replies to this message: dtownfb (Aug 28, 2008 5:38 pm)
#31 of 31 Re: That's news to me that the new [graphicguy] by dtownfb Aug 28, 2008 (5:38 pm)
Replying to: graphicguy (Aug 28, 2008 5:53 am) You have to wonder why Daimler was willing to dump Chrysler for so little. They knew there was very little in the works as far as product development. The current car market has accelerated their decline. I bet Cerebus figured they had a few years to get things straightened out before selling. Now the only division worth anything is Jeep. I don't hear much about the "Hemi" engine anymore. It's sad but American businesses (big business) tend to set their model based on the best years and not prepare for the lean years. And the Big 3 has no vision what so ever. they bet the farm on SUVs and pickups and allowed the imports to control the car market. Sad but I don't think Chrysler will be the only US automaker to go down. Every time I think GM is in the clear, their quarterly reports bring me back to reality. The next two quarters should be interesting......