Latest Chrysler News

[douglasm]

In reference to the Dodge Dakota, I'm beginning to wonder if the small and mid sized pickup market is going away. All five major brand mid-sixed pickups aren't really mid sixed anymore as much as they're "small" big trucks. The compact trucks like my '78 Toyota are a dead segment now, and I'm wondering if the mid-sized are going the same way.

Maybe the thing to do is to turn the Dakota into a RAM 50 type truck and see if there's a market for a smaller pickup in the same way that there seems to be a market for the small van-lets that seem to be popping up everywhere.

[MoparDan]

Chrysler retail sales improving; execs look to new ads to aid recovery
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...o-aid-recovery

"While declining fleet sales will probably leave Chrysler 10-12 percent behind March 2009, Fred Diaz, head of the Ram brand and Chrysler’s sales chief, says retail sales are up about 51 percent and the improvements are across all four brands."
"Industry watchers note that the lack of advertising in the final months of Cerberus Capital Management’s ownership of Chrysler, combined with Cerberus’ crippling of new product developement, the bankruptcy, and long wait for Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne to release his plans for the company, hurt Chrysler’s recovery because the brand fell off consumers’ radar screens. A recent poll of industry experts by British auto resource just-auto.com showed they are more pessimistic about Chrysler’s prospects over the next couple of years than they are about any other automaker so the company’s imagemakers have their work cut out for them."

[MoparDan]

Maybe the thing to do is to turn the Dakota into a RAM 50 type truck and see if there's a market for a smaller pickup in the same way that there seems to be a market for the small van-lets that seem to be popping up everywhere.

The Dakota is definitely bigger[[bulkier actually) than it used to be; looking from the rear side-by-side with a Ram, the difference isn't much. The Ranger doesn't appear to be so, esp when put next to an F-150.
When you say "50" are you referring to the Mitsi built D-50 from the '80s? We had tons of those when I was in the Air Force; usually for maintenance OIC/NCIOC staff personnel, parts delivery & towing light support equipment.

[douglasm]

Yes, that was what I was refering to. There seems to be a lack of small pickups anymore. All the offerings from the Japanese have gotten bigger, and I'd think there'd be a market for a small truck like my '78 Toyota.

[MoparDan]

Yes, that was what I was refering to. There seems to be a lack of small pickups anymore. All the offerings from the Japanese have gotten bigger, and I'd think there'd be a market for a small truck like my '78 Toyota.

Chevy really got the ball rolling in the early 70s with the LUV[[an Isuzu) which I believe evolved into the S-10. I recall the flood of Datsun[[Nissan) small pickup trucks on the roads here in the late 70s. Ford also sold the Mazda-built Courier.
There probably is a market for a LUV-type vehicle using only a 4 or 6. Speaking of "6", I'm about to post a link to AllPar about the Trenton engine plant that'll be producing the new Phoenix[[Pentastar) V-6.

[MoparDan]

The Trenton Engine South plant for building the Pentastar V6

http://www.allpar.com/corporate/fact...ine-south.html

Has pics as well.

[MoparDan]

Update: Chrysler offers reinstatement to 86 dealers
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...-to-86-dealers

"While the automaker has not divulged specific requirements, standards for restoration of a franchise are said to be fairly steep. The company says all reinstated dealerships will offer all four Chrysler brands under one roof."

[MoparDan]

Chrysler's Gripe With Congress

Joann Muller, 03.30.10, 01:10 PM EDT
CEO Sergio Marchionne says lawmakers have unduly complicated efforts to reduce dealer numbers.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/30/chr...rtner=yahootix

"
As part of its bankruptcy reorganization, Chrysler eliminated some 500 dealerships in the hopes of making the remaining stores in its sales network stronger. General Motors, which also filed bankruptcy last year, eliminated more than 1,000 dealerships."
"But under pressure from dealers, Congress pushed both automakers to enter arbitration with its terminated dealers. GM has since agreed to reinstate more than 300 dealers, and Chrysler has offered to reinstate some 50 franchises. Arbitration for the others continues."
"To the extent that I'm producing cash, and I keep on investing in the brand portfolio," says Marchionne, "I feel a lot more comfortable today than I did 12 months ago--by far."

================================================== ======
I wrote my two US Senators down here last year about GM & Chrysler's bankruptcies & the effects it could/would have. One thing I pointed out was dealers possibly losing their franchises or completely going out of business, which would affect the local economy. What I received in return from both was the "company line" load of bull. When the dealer closure announcements were made, Hutchison went nuts talking about how this would affect the communities these dealerships were located in. All of a sudden, this was a "problem".

[MoparDan]

Toyota joins Fiat-Chrysler partnership
http://www.allpar.com/weblogs/2010/0...r-partnership/

April 1st, 2010 • by David Zatz
Today, Toyota announced that it would be joining the Fiat-Chrysler partnership. In a new deal, Toyota will provide all four cylinder engines over 1.4 liters to the triumvirate, along with its hybrid-electric technology. Chrysler will provide V6 and V8 engines, and Fiat will provide car diesels and small four-cylinder engines. Transmissions will come from each of the companies, with Fiat handling dual-clutch and extralight models, Toyota providing its highly regarded car transmissions for B, C, and D class cars, and Chrysler handling E class and truck automatics.
Fiat will continue to be the A-and-B class car supplier for the three companies, playing to its strengths, while Toyota will take over the C segment. D-class cars [[Camry and Avalon) and minivans will be jointly engineered by Toyota and Chrysler at Toyota’s Ann Arbor, Michigan, design center, using a modified Fiat C-EVO platform.
Chrysler will lead engineering for full sized pickups, with the Tundra moving to the Ram platform, while Toyota will share its Tacoma with Ram, replacing the Dakota. The popular Toyota SUVs will continue with Sequoia moving to the Ram platform.
Lexus will continue unchanged and will not share its cars with Chrysler as a new Imperial lineup, contrary to past rumors. Where Lexus is unknown, Lexus models will be sold as Lancias, according to Sergio Marchionne.
Scion will either be dropped or will switch to selling Fiat models at existing Scion dealers, according to Marchionne, who added, “This deal resonates with me, because in addition to being a French-Canadian working for an Italian company after leading a Swiss company, I’m also 1/64th Japanese, 1/32nd American Indian, 1/64th Indian Indian, and 1/64th Armenian.�
Toyota leader Akido Toyoda said in a prepared statement, “Toyota continues to have the highest quality of any automaker in history. However, we believe our expertise can be better shared with the rest of the world by partnering with inferior companies which have some special styling skills in other areas where we have been less than fully successful.�
Toyota will switch to Chrysler and Fiat electronics in all of its retail vehicles, using the Chrysler systems in larger vehicles and Fiat systems in smaller ones. Conflicts between Iveco and Toyota’s heavy truck division have yet to be worked out.
The deal will give Toyota better access to Europe and Canada, where they have been less successful than in the United States, and will give Fiat and Chrysler better access to Asia, where they have failed to make strong inroads.
No stock will be exchanged. “The future is not financial linkups, but product and engineering sharing,� said Sergio Marchionne. “Also, we couldn’t afford Toyota stock.�

[MoparDan]

Chrysler sales up vs. February, down from 2009
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...from-last-year

"Chrysler Group announced promising March sales results, posting a 10% increase compared with February 2010. New and improved vehicles had both month-over-month and year-over-year sales increases."

Ram Heavy Duty pickup truck sales increased 20% from March 2009 and 56% from February.
Chrysler Town & Country and Chrysler Sebring had year-over-year and month-over-month increases
Jeep® sales increased year to year and month to month
DodgeChallenger gained 36% over March 2009 and 50% over February 2010.
DodgeCaliber, newly revised, increased 30% over last month

[MoparDan]

Chrysler Canada sales up 22% over March 2009
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...ver-march-2009

Sales Highlights
Two of the Top Five-selling nameplates in Canada were Chrysler Canada vehicles: the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Ram.
Sales of the Ram Heavy Duty pickup, the Motor Trend Truck of the Year, helped propel the Ram Truck to its best March ever, with a gain of 101 per cent on sales of 4,841 units.

[douglasm]

I wonder if part of the sales increase for Chrysler [[and the decrease for Dodge) had to do with advertising. For the first time in a long time I've seen consistant buys for the Town & Country, advertising that not only increases brand awareness, but was pitched to sell the product itself and not the promotional price. I thought it was a very effective campaign.

Wish I could say the same for the Ram pick-up ads, but that's just my opinion.

[MoparDan]

I wonder if part of the sales increase for Chrysler [[and the decrease for Dodge) had to do with advertising. For the first time in a long time I've seen consistant buys for the Town & Country, advertising that not only increases brand awareness, but was pitched to sell the product itself and not the promotional price. I thought it was a very effective campaign.

Wish I could say the same for the Ram pick-up ads, but that's just my opinion.

For a long time, it seemed the one vehicle advertised in these parts was the Ram. Period. Granted, it was effective because I see tons of them on the road. It's only been fairly recent they've branched out to include the Charger, Journey & Caliber. I do recall some years ago where they advertised the daylights out of the Caravan/T&C when they introduced the "Stow 'n Go" feature. The Challenger seems to sell itself but you think they'd push it to give the Camaro & Mustang a little more competition.
I'm about to post a link for the 2011 Sebring replacement & Avenger models. Pics included!

[MoparDan]

2011 Chrysler 200C cars [[Chrysler Sebring replacement) and the 2011 Dodge Avenger
http://www.allpar.com/cars/chrysler/200C.html

Has pics.

[douglasm]

Nice styling. Looks a lot better than the current car.

But back to my initial point. I haven't seen any advertisements for Dodge products out here [[the Ram trucks excepted), but the one thing that had bothered me over the past few years is that North American automakers in general and Chrysler Corp. in perticular is that they forgot how to sell cars, most of their advertising being devoted to selling financing. Toyota, Honda, and to some extent Nissan [[except for year end sales) advertised automobiles, and it's only Toyota's reaction to their recent problems that have forced it [[and Honda in reaction) to sell financing.

Used to be it was the dealer's job to tell you what a great deal you could get. National advertising brought you IN to the showroom, it was the dealer advertising that told you you'd get a "great deal". It's good to see Chrysler LLC back into the business of selling cars.

[MoparDan]

In reference to the Dodge Dakota, I'm beginning to wonder if the small and mid sized pickup market is going away. All five major brand mid-sixed pickups aren't really mid sixed anymore as much as they're "small" big trucks. The compact trucks like my '78 Toyota are a dead segment now, and I'm wondering if the mid-sized are going the same way.

Maybe the thing to do is to turn the Dakota into a RAM 50 type truck and see if there's a market for a smaller pickup in the same way that there seems to be a market for the small van-lets that seem to be popping up everywhere.

Thought you might like to check this out.
The 2012 Dodge Dakota pickup truck
http://www.allpar.com/trucks/ram/dakota-2012.html

[douglasm]

Thank you for posting that, Dan. It's kind of like re-inventing the wheel, in the same way that every 10 years or so, auto makers re-discover [[or re-invent) the subcompact car.

[MoparDan]

Thank you for posting that, Dan. It's kind of like re-inventing the wheel, in the same way that every 10 years or so, auto makers re-discover [[or re-invent) the subcompact car.

Reminds me of the saying, "There are no bad ideas, just poor marketing."
They're on the right track about putting the Dakota on a diet.

[Fury13]

Are they going to make that 200C in a two-door? I don't buy four-door cars.

[MoparDan]

Are they going to make that 200C in a two-door? I don't buy four-door cars.

I couldn't find anything about a 2-dr on AllPar. The Avenger/Sebring predecessors had 2-dr models, but that's about all I can tell you.

[MoparDan]

Stallkamp: control was the problem at DCX
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...problem-at-dcx

Thomas Stallkamp, the respected final president of Chrysler Corporation, wrote to Automotive News to discuss the Daimler-Renault-Nissan pact. Referring to Dieter Zetsche’s claim that he had learned from the failure of DaimlerChrysler and would now focus on “cost savings and car development projects rather than control,� Stallkamp wrote,

Funny, I thought those were the stated objectives of our infamous marriage “of equals.�
I have been waiting 12 years for someone at Daimler to admit that Daimler’s quest for absolute control was a primary factor in the failure of DaimlerChrysler. The fact was only too obvious to the many people who worked at the company and tried to make it a success.

He finished: “And to Carlos Ghosn: Watch your back.�

[MoparDan]

Chrysler sees April sales up 20% over 2009
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...p-20-over-2009

April 24th, 2010 by Bill Cawthon


April sales figures won’t be reported until Monday, May 3, and we don’t generally post forecasts this far in advance, but this news is too good to keep under our hats.

Fred Diaz, Chrysler’s sales chief, has told dealers the company forecasts a 20% jump in sales compared to last year. This would mark the largest increase in more than two years, easily trumping February’s one percent gain. Chrysler spokeswoman Kathy Graham confirmed the comments yesterday.
The good news comes shortly after Chrysler posted better-than-expected results for the first quarter and generally positive reactions to plans announced earlier this week by Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

[MoparDan]

Analysts see Chrysler April sales up 15%

http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php...il-sales-up-15
May3rd, 2010 by Bill Cawthon
The April 2010 sales numbers won’t start coming out for several hours, but the analysts have already peered into their crystal balls and tea leaves and made their predictions.
Bloomberg News polled industry and financial analysts and their visions averaged a 15% sales improvement over April 2009. Average estimate for Ford was 28% and for GM it was 7.2 percent. According to remarks made by Fred Diaz, Chrysler’s sales chief, last week, the automaker itself is looking for a 20% jump in sales.
Breaking the predictions down by individual analyst, Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank, the most optimistic, sees Chrysler posting a 22% improvement over last April, not quite as big a gain as the 25% jump he sees for Ford, but much larger than the 4% he forecasts for GM. Himanshu Patel of JPMorgan is not far behind, predicting a 20% gain for Chrysler, a 36% leap for Ford and 14% for the General.
Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds.com is looking for Chrysler to beat its April 2009 numbers by 19% while looking for 26% and 4.1% gains for Ford and GM, respectively. Her predecessor, Jesse Toprak, now with TrueCar.com, looks at Chrysler’s results being 11% better, the same as Brian Johnson of Barclay’s Capital. Toprak thinks Ford will knock one out of the park reporting a 32.1% improvement but looks for just 3.4% from GM. Johnson is slightly less optimistic on Ford, which he thinks will come in 30% ahead, and more favorable to GM where he is looking for sales to be up 5% in April.
Christopher Hopson of IHS Global Insight is the most pessimistic of the analysts polled. Hopson thinks sales at Chrysler will rise just 9% while those at Ford will improve only 17% but he is more favorable to GM, predicting a 13% gain. Hopson is the only analyst who thinks GM will post a larger gain than Chrysler.
As far as the overall sales picture, the analysts predicted the seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate [[SAAR) will come in at about 11.4 million cars and light trucks, short of the 11.78 million from March 2010, but far better than the abysmal 9.23 million SAAR posted last April.

[56packman]

They really haven't addressed how cold and indifferent the marketplace has been to the Caliber, which was the wrong product at the wrong time. At the exact moment gas shot up to the momentary [[but informative) $4/gallon figure Chrysler introduced two "good mileage" cars that the public really was indifferent to: the Caliber and the Sebring. Initially ythe Caliber was only available with a stick shift in the R/T model, which didn't give a lot of options for those who could look past the styling but didn't like the snowmobile transmission. If I am focused on mileage, I want a manual trans, and as the bottom of the line car I'm expecting that the base model will come with a manual gearbox, but that wasn't the case.
The Sebring didn't make a lot of friends with its styling, and may have caused Trevor Creed's retirement. The Dodge Avenger [[same car, different skin) is far more pleasing to my eye, but they were on such a rampage to cheapen the interiors on those cars [[well, everything but the 300 and the profitible SUVs and trucks) that I couldn't have stomached the interiors for long.
As in the early 80s, when this new Fiat-based compact is introduced, it's going to be one at bat, one swing, sink or swim.

[MoparDan]

They really haven't addressed how cold and indifferent the marketplace has been to the Caliber, which was the wrong product at the wrong time. At the exact moment gas shot up to the momentary [[but informative) $4/gallon figure Chrysler introduced two "good mileage" cars that the public really was indifferent to: the Caliber and the Sebring. Initially ythe Caliber was only available with a stick shift in the R/T model, which didn't give a lot of options for those who could look past the styling but didn't like the snowmobile transmission. If I am focused on mileage, I want a manual trans, and as the bottom of the line car I'm expecting that the base model will come with a manual gearbox, but that wasn't the case.
The Sebring didn't make a lot of friends with its styling, and may have caused Trevor Creed's retirement. The Dodge Avenger [[same car, different skin) is far more pleasing to my eye, but they were on such a rampage to cheapen the interiors on those cars [[well, everything but the 300 and the profitible SUVs and trucks) that I couldn't have stomached the interiors for long.
As in the early 80s, when this new Fiat-based compact is introduced, it's going to be one at bat, one swing, sink or swim.

Chrysler suffered a lot under Daimler's management not to mention fell into a free fall with the Cerebrus takeover. I am still skeptical but Marchionne is making moves at getting things straightened out. If nothing else, they're not bleeding as badly as they were a year ago.
Where interiors are concerned, perhaps the Italians will add some flair. The Sebring may be renamed Nassau, but I believe there is a copyright issue between new & old Chrysler.