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Part of what killed the Neon was the original styling. When women walked up to the first generation Neon and exclaimed, "Oh look how cute it is!" then real men won't buy the thing. It became a "chick car". Dodge later tried to cut out that image by putting out an SRT version. Though it was fast and styled differently, it was still a Neon and that extra speed and stiffer suspension highlighted just how cheaply the car was made. The original Stratus and it's sister cars were OK when they came out but were quickly left behind by the competition in build quality, fuel efficiency, and performance. Had they tightened the seams and improved the engine, they could have had a continued performer with the 300M. Sad to say, but the closest thing Chrysler has to the 300M is the current Sebring. In it's Limited form, the optional engine is the same engine as the 300M.
1. Chrysler posted an operating profit of $143M for Q1 2010. This is before interest, taxes, depreciation and debt amortization ("BITDA").
2. They're not out of the woods just yet, though. "AITDA," the company posted a quarterly loss of $179M. The good news is, this is their smallest quarterly loss since 2006, and a much, much smaller loss than they posted in 4Q 2009.
3. Revenue for the company in Q1 was $9.6B, which means that there was roughly $9.8B in total expenditures.
4. Cash flow nearly doubled between 4Q 2009 and 1Q 2010, with earnings BITDA of $787M for 1Q 2010 versus $398M for 4Q 2009.
5. Chrysler's market share improved from 8.1% in 4Q 2009 to 9.1% in 1Q 2010.
6. CEO Sergio Marchionne attributes the operating profit and the vast reduction in AITDA losses to strict price discipline, plus a successful launch for the new Dodge Ram Heavy Duty trucks.
What the press hasn't told you
1. Chrysler's new Pentastar V-6 has been rolling off assembly lines since last month. This pair of engines will replace seven old V-6 engines, and offer greatly-improved power, refinement and efficiency over all of them.
2. The all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee begins rolling off assembly lines in two weeks.
3. The all-new 2011 Chrysler 300C begins rolling off assembly lines in six months.
4. The Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring both get massive interior overhauls -- and the Sebring a massive exterior overhaul -- in six months as well.
5. "Multi-air" engine technology will be available on Chrysler vehicles sometime during 2011, which will further increase fuel efficiency.
Bob, any chance the Challenger will be built on a lighter platform and back in the USA where it should be built if Chrysler want to sell mor eof them? I ask in that way because I know of over a dozen Mustangs that were bought because it was the only one made in the States, not an imported car. The other issue is of course the car needs a diet to be competing with the mustang and camaro. I also think that could allow the 300 as cool of a designed car as it was to finally get a trunk in the redesign? One last thing, Why doesn't Chrysler advertise better on their cars?
My wife's daily driver is the 2007 Chrysler Sebring with the 2.4L engine. My aunt drives a 2010 Dodge Avenger with the same engine. First the plus. My aunt's 2008 Avenger was in a head on crash with a Dodge Ram truck and all she suffered was a broken collar bone. Why didn't anyone with Chrysler engineer the engine so that the buzzing nature was removed and made to be a smooth ride? Another thing that would improve these models is handles above the doors for support and for ease of getting in and out. My wife's former car, 1996 Mazda Protege' had this and it made it easier for her father (now 84) to get in and out the vehicle. The vehicle seat height and wide door opening is fine. Glad the Sebring and Avenger price is pretty close since they're the exact same car but with different body cladding.
If the Lancia Delta is going to be the Chrysler Delta (or whatever name they pick), how much more will it cost compared to the outgoing Caliber and will it ever be built in North America? Can Chrysler ever get back to being a luxuary brand? I loved the look of the prototype show car, the Chrysler 200.
Chrysler has had a long relationship with Mitusbishi. Will this new deal with FIAT mean the end of the Mitsubishi relationship and if so, could this potentially lead to the end of Mitsubishi in the USA?
I have several friends that work as designers at Chrysler. They have been working 70-80 weeks and have just been slammed with work. Things will start happening at Chrysler.
Google "chrysler nassau" that is the Sebring replacment. It's a very cool car. The new 300C has been a very long time in coming out, I actually worked on the center console for it almost 4 years ago , when the bankruptcy happened many programs got put on hold or cancelled.
Bob, any chance the Challenger will be built on a lighter platform and back in the USA where it should be built if Chrysler want to sell mor eof them? I ask in that way because I know of over a dozen Mustangs that were bought because it was the only one made in the States, not an imported car. The other issue is of course the car needs a diet to be competing with the mustang and camaro. I also think that could allow the 300 as cool of a designed car as it was to finally get a trunk in the redesign? One last thing, Why doesn't Chrysler advertise better on their cars?
First, let me state that I have only worked in the past for Chrysler within Vehicle Engineering (Jeep/Truck Engineering and TCC- the Technical Computing Center- directly or as a contractor/consultant), so marketing is a bit out of my area of knowledge. I have opinions, just like anyone else, but I will not foist them on anyone.
Challenger: As it stands today, the LX platform was a Daimler ordered rework of the Chrysler designed LX. The governing board did not like the original, so it was reworked to utilize the suspension geometry of the, then current, E class Mercedes (however, do not make the major mistake of thinking the car is BASED on the E...it is not and shares no SUSPENSION COMPONENTS OR PLATFORM DIMENSIONS). Chrysler developed the car to meet the corporate requirements. Another requirement was 5 star crash ratings for all variants of the platform, or better. This little fact, coupled with the size difference between Mustang and Camaro account for the weight difference between the original Challenger.
I cannot comment on future plans for confidentiality agreement reasons. My OPINION is that the car will not get lighter due to the mechanical requirements of regulations, consumer required equipment, and simple physics (if you have a car of "x" size, with "y" amount of equipment, and it must meet "z" crash results, all for under "a" amount of money....it is going to weigh what itt ddoes today).
Contrary to popular belief, no manufacturer adds weight simply because it's there. Every ounce of weight is there for a reason (you may not agree with the reasoning, but that has no effect on the weight). The Challenger was not intended to "compete" with Mustang or Camaro at all regardless of how many people compare the 3.
As far as a plant in the US for the LX variants, not likely, due to cost. With the existing design parameters, the Canadien plant is it.
One addendum to my previous comments. The most obvious error in the general public, including the Oenthusiast crowd" is the misuse of the word "platform". Platform does NOT have anything to do with hard parts of any type.. The term platform means the set of SAE J1100 dimensions that make up the space claim of the vehicle. A "part" is part of the architecture of the vehicle, NOT the platform.
The current style of the FIAT 500 makes it a natural fit for Chrysler over Dodge to compete with other mini cars on the market. While some here focus on the performance coupes, Chrysler/Dodge needs a winner in the midsize and compact catagories for mass market appeal. Dodge Ram competes well in it's segment. Some think of the Chrysler 300 as a budget priced Bentley they can afford. The 300 and Charger also attracts fans of RWD cars since this is about the most affordable RWD car available. However, the current Sebring/Avenger is so far down the totem pole of the midsize segment that many car magazines don't even bother to include them in comparison test against it's segment leader competition. These two share with Mitsubishi Galant and Lancer. Who benefitted from this sharing because it sure wasn't Chrysler/Dodge. When it first came out, I loved the Chrysler 300M. But instead of improving upon a good thing, it completely went away except for the engine which is on the Sebring/Avenger as the top of the line optional engine. My personal opinion, an evolution of the 300M would have made a great Chrysler Sebring level vehicle.
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