Chrysler's Peapod

[compn]

On day two Arnell meets me in a Chrysler skunk-works building outside Detroit, where engineers are working on a little battery-powered vehicle called the Peapod. Arnell has overseen development of the Peapod and even put his initials—as in Peter Eric Arnell—into the name. He says it's not a car, but rather a new category he's invented, called a "mobi." He describes its design as "a mix of Darth Vader, a bullet train, and a Citroën deux chevaux." With no air conditioning and a top speed of 25 miles per hour, the $12,500 Peapod is basically a fancy golf cart.

from : http://www.newsweek.com/id/191396/page/2

[gravitymachine]

chrysler is doomed

[Bigb23]

I thought Chrysler/Benz was crazy for over producing Ram trucks a few years ago. Now this ?

Well, look in your rear view mirror, Tesla seems to be doing some real engineering.

With the Model S, Tesla is aiming for a broader range of customers, Musk said, saying the company was making the car "as affordable as possible." He expects the car to appeal to buyers of mid-range to premium sedans.

The Model S base price will include a battery with a 160-mile range, Musk said. Customers will have the option to upgrade to a battery with a 300-mile range.

The Model S has a top speed of 130 mph and can get to 60 mph in 5.5 to 6 seconds.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scien...52P72Y20090327
Attachment 275

[MoparDan]

This is the Charger they should've put into production, the '99 concept car.


That aside, they need to capture the youth market with an affordable Challenger. Use the base V-6 for the time until it's replaced by the Phoenix version, add the MDS system to squeeze out a few more MPG, put in a decent sound system, slap on a cheap spoiler & keep the price under $23k max. They won't clear much profit per model but they'll sell 'em like hotcakes.
As for that POS peapod, if this Fiat merger goes through, then that will help Chrysler with small car tech. Daimler is determined to run this company in the ground with what little interest they have left.

[Bigb23]

With no air conditioning and a top speed of 25 miles per hour, the $12,500 Peapod is basically a fancy golf cart.

Hell, the electric minibike I posted on the Ev thread went faster than that. We all can't retire to the Villages down in Florida, to use anything like the Peapod.


Although I don't think carjackings would be a problem up here, with that vehicle.

[MoparDan]

I'll tell you what really hurt Chrysler's cause: the lack of a replacement for the Neon. Daimler's solution? The Smart Car! I'll admit this, it will go over 25MPH. Damn that merger of "equals".
I'm sure Mopar will get the loans & hopefully this Fiat situation will actually work out. Otherwise...eh, I ain't gonna go there.

[Bigb23]

My bad - that is a Fisker photo that was labled as the Tesla S.

But I saw the Tesla S, and it's not too far off the mark from the Fisker photo. Okay, two up and comings in the rear view mirror.

Any corrections would be appreciated.

[Lorax]

If anyone is interested in what my dad thinks of this current situation, he's the inventor of the mini-van, Ramcharger, Club Cab, and the T-150 tank project for General Dynamics which Chrysler sold to competing factions in the many arab/israeli conflicts over the past thirty years- he says that only a full-tilt boogie embrace of the electric car, and investing in the development of battery technology will save the company, naturally as a shadow of it's former self.

Jeep may have to be spun off, as it's probably the most valuable of the company's nameplates. It's focus will have to be with Dodge, Dodge Trucks, mini-vans, and small two seater city cars. The Peapod will work in Europe if it's competitive with other golf cart sized vehicles, and could work here if kept simple, clean lined, and super efficient.

Since he probably will lose his Chrysler pension when the dust clears, he's hopping mad at the way the ship's been steered since he left in '87.

He left behind all the Dakota designs which he created, to be produced after he left, and unfortunately Chrysler being the rudderless ship it has been, could benefit from some of the knowledge of the old timers at this point.

Most of them, including his retired automotive friends are surprisingly very forward looking when it comes to what needs to be done to re-invent the industry.

[Bigb23]

the rudderless ship it has been,

I agree, they had the market by the balls at one time, [[ten years ago), but what have they done lately ? Believe me, I'm a Chrysler apologist, and I want them to survive, but the last three years have been hell.

[MoparDan]

Lorax, a big thanks to your dad for his ingenuity & talent. I hope this works out so he can receive his full retirement. It's too bad no one's calling him & other former employees who have knowledge & energy to contribute.

For you & BigB, I still believe the Daimler merger was a boon for the Germans & a major screwing of Chrysler. Cerberus can't seem to discern from their butt & a hole in the ground. I hate thinking Mopar's ultimate fate is riding on this Fiat merger. I'd like to think that along with an economic recovery, these guys will find a way to rally.

[Lorax]

Right on, Bigby, even as late as the PT and the Jeep Commander, which I own and love, there was promise.

The truth in the entire industry, and we can even go back to the 50's with GM breaking the backs of the streetcar systems in many US cities, there has been a willful desire to consume our own tails.

When any entity begins to eat it's own, then the end is near. I saw it in the sub-prime mortgage crisis, in the fatal policies of the "new world order" of Bush41, and the debacles of NAFTA and CAFTA.

Remember, everything, including this current depression are planned events. Planned to destroy the middle class, bust unions, etc.

The goal is slave wages for all, so we can finally find out what it's like to work in a Chinese sweat shop.

Remember when auto workers could afford to buy the vehicles they built? And send their kids to college? And afford an annual vacation? All on one salary?

Well, corporatists, including those heading the big three were a part of this cabal, and are responsible for the outcome. A reorganization of the auto industry among others industries was inevitable given the current state of the economy. But always remember that this is being used as an opportunity to render us with less as a society as the end result.

American corporations began to eat their own when Reagan switched us from a tarriff based economy to one of "free trade" which as we all know is anything but free.

Unfortunately going back to a tarriff based economy will only be viewed as protectionist, not as sensible, which it is, and eventhough most other nations engage in it to this day, we'd be viewed as harming global trade policy.

Our only hope is to force our government to give us something in return for this planned affront to our stability as a society.

Free, single payer health care on the Scandanavian model, free education k-college, free utilities, and a permanent social safety net. Regulations on banks and corporations and capital gains taxes of 90% over the first 2 million bucks and no tax havens off shore- which by the way is how we used to operate after the second world war under Eisenhower.

If the 50's were the ideal times for most Americans, why not go back to the fiscal policies of that time? I'll tell you why, because the corporatists have decided a global interconnected economy is what they want- in other words, endless, unsustainable growth, where we never can be content with what we have- how we must build things to fail, erect buildings to last a decade or less, and generally throw away everything that has outlived it's usefulness and replace it with something less-than, and worse-than what came before.

This is why Detroit looks the way it does. This is why people are disposable commodities in our societies, especially our elders, and lately our youth as well.

How will things change? Take a page from the book our president learned from- take control of your destiny and don't look back. Believe in the rightness of what you do. Believe all things are possible. Believe in people and invest in THEM first. Education, health care, energy and sensible domestic policy. And finally, accountability. Without that, nothing meaningful will be able to take hold.

[Lorax]

MoparDan, thanks for the good word. Will relay that to my dad, whose health is tenuous at best these days, as it probably is for most people in their eighties!

I have known and dealt with many intelligent people, but my dad really knew his stuff, and still does. Age does have it's benefits I guess, just not so much the physical ones!

I too am a big MoPar fan- have owned and restored several 1950's era Imperials which are a particular favorite of mine, not so much the muscle cars, which I also love, but there is something about a finned land beast with a 392 hemi and four barrels that sets the heart aflutter!

I too think the Daimler take-over [[let's call it what it was) was a disaster for Chrysler, and Cerberus is just a bunch of wealthy investors trying to turn a buck with no regard or knowledge of the car industry. Look at Nardelli- he was paid handsomely by Home Depot to go away, and no doubt will do so again with Chrysler. This is the true sickness in our corporate set ups. Turning a profit on paper seems the only motivating factor to these guys. Chrysler could be selling gym socks for all they care. Short-term Charlies short on brains.

[Flip]

hi Lorax,
Your dad invented the mini van ?? i thought that was a lee Iacocca Design and nurture ?? maybe it me ? I know many designers are involved in the Design and production process, is that what your saying ??
I work for the sad state that chrylser is in, right now, and they have Executive-Itis, Thay wory about Bottom line [[as should be) but For that inovation and Styling is WHAT SELLS !! some of the money wasted by diamler is just criminal ! when Bob Eaton sold [[HA !) chrysler to daimler, the thought came to me,"Well it's been a good run, but i guess thats done!,and i wasn't far off !
If your a mopar man, don't read"How diamler Drove off with chrysler " IT will make your blood boil !
Too bad though, Mr Iacocca brought that company from Bankruptsy to giving the Largest ever Profit Sharing Checks Ever Given to Blue collar guys EVER !
This guy was a maverick among CEO's and those Ego tripping Dufus's over at Daimler couldn't even mimick That !

GRRRRRRRR !!! too far from Retiring too old for new Career !

[Lorax]

Hi Flip, I feel your frustration as well. Yes, my dad did invent, conceive the mini van, and in fact did it in 1975 on a cocktail napkin when having a 'power lunch' at JoAnn's Restaurant on 8 mile & Sherwood. It was presented to J.J. Riccardo, then head of Chrysler, a year later as a concept vehicle.

It was deemed too far ahead of it's time, and in fact was rejected as unbuildable. Industrial espionage being what it was in those days, by the time Iacocca came in, plans for it were known to exist, and were taken, without modifications, and re-presented to the board, where Iacocca was prepared to give credit for it to Gerald Greenwald, his Ford crony he brought with him.

When my father got wind of it, he protested, and threatened to expose the two of them. It was a difficult time for my father, but in the end, he was able to get what he wanted out of the deal, and is the designer of record of the minivan, as well as the other vehicles I mentioned.

Committee design took over in the 60's from single-designer vehicles, though my father was given a pass due to his continued capacity for creativity, and was in fact the last of the old guard allowed to design vehicles from concept through production.

The SAE even recognized my father as the designer, and he has several awards to his credit.

Eventhough Iacocca did some good things for Chrysler, he was a real SOB in many ways, and didn't mind stepping on people's toes to get what he wanted.

Chrysler today is only a shell of it's former self, and the Germans did a number on it, and the Nardelli character, now CEO, was paid by Home Depot to go away from his last job for the louse-up he foisted on that company.

[Ltdave]

JoAnn's Restaurant on 8 mile & Sherwood

that building is still there but i understand [[from this forum) its now a gay massage parlor or something along those lines...

where did your dad work? at the warren offices and warehouse kitty corner from JoAnns or at the old Outer Drive Manufacturing and Technical Center [[now called Mt Elliott Tool and Die) on outer drive and mt elliott? i suppose he could have been in highland park [[plymouth road i think) but the fact that JoAnns is so close to the other places i thought he might have been at one of those...

[Lorax]

Hi Ltdave, yes the plant opposite JoAnn's Restaurant is where the magic happened! Advanced Design & Engineering Truck Division for Dodge was located there during those years.

My dad had meetings elsewhere, including Highland Park, and indeed worked in other locations for Chrysler during his nearly 40 years with the company.

I remember he hated going to Highland Park, especially after being attacked in his car while stopped at a light on Oakland Boulevard by a drug crazed zombie back in the early 70's. He had to blow off the stop light and was unharmed, but shaken- and the car was badly damaged by a baseball bat.

[compn]

Yesterday, GM and Segway, maker of a motorized upright scooter, demonstrated a new two-wheeled vehicle that they aim to develop by 2012. Designed to provide urban commuters low-cost transportation, the pod-shaped, battery-powered vehicle is supposed to travel 35 miles on a single charge, with a top speed of 35 miles per hour. GM called the prototype the PUMA, for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and said it should cost a fraction of what a regular car would cost.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040701226.html

save that $25bn for high speed rail. this is the best idea they can come up with? a two person segway + tent?

[Blarf]

Anyone with the balls to "drive" one of these things deserves respect. They will be laughed at very hard.

[Bigb23]

I'm now a broken 54 years old. Congressman John Dingle has wanted a single payer health system for that long. Other countries have surpassed us in manufacturing and health care. We need to find a fix to this problem.

[Lorax]

Hi, Lorax!

Wow our dads might be a lot a like! While your dad invented every car Chrysler built the last 30 years mine invented great things like air, TV, the modern cell phone [[he might have invented those brick phones but i dont blame him for not taking credit), clouds, the sun, computers ramen noodles, grilled cheese sandwiches, the olympics, the internet [[ Al Gore tried to steal it) and all antibiotics!

That is too bad that even though your dad made Chrysler trillions of dollars he is going to lose his pension.

/sarcasm.

Thanks for comparing my dad to God [[your dad), though that may be stretching it a bit.

Actually my dad was responsible for the conception of Chrysler truck products, yes, all of them, and to correct you, it was more like 37 years, ending in 1987, though his mini-van and Dakota creations of the last year or two didn't get produced until after his retirement.

Yes, it's a shame he may lose his pension after creating the products which pulled Chrysler's ass out of the fire on more than one occasion, and saved it from bankruptcy the first time around. However, he did his part during along career- I wonder how many of us since have even had the chance for a long career or to make such an impact?

[Fury13]

Hey, Lorax... first, I have to say your father has a lot to be proud of. Growing up, I was always a Chrysler fan [[my two brothers gravitated toward Ford and GM products). Very cool that you're a fan of the finned '50s Mopars, which were clean and striking for their time. GM really ruined the whole fin thing with its hideous '59s. I myself am especially into the '57-'58 Plymouths, which I consider the pinnacle of the Forward Look. But I like those Imperials too!

I wonder what your dad would say about the systematic, decades-long marginalization of the Plymouth brand [[to the benefit of Dodge, which moved down in the Chrysler hierachy from a lower-medium-priced car to a low-priced car)... it got to the point in the late '90s where Plymouth was a skeleton marque with few products in the lineup. Seems like Plymouth was set up for doom by internal forces since the late '70s... a shame, in my opinion, since it was once Chrysler's bread-and-butter nameplate.

[Flip]

you know ALL of these so called experts running, the american Dream car compaines Should ALL be ashamed of them selves !!
they tell us [[with their actions ) that americans can no longer bring to the world, Great innovation, or Great Manufacturing techniqes, and that the foreign car makers are the benchmark !!
WELL I SAY BULLS---- BABY !
GET REAL Americans who want to prosper and Bring Great product to the market place !
Kick out the BUMS al of them !!
Where's the likes of Lee Iacoccaa when you need him ??

Where the Henry fords of harvey firestones ??

where have they all gone ??

[Bigb23]

Where the Henry fords of harvey firestones ??

Please lord, forgive us.

[Flip]

To all who Read my Rants ! Sorry about misspellings and half completed Quotes !
the wife was running me out the door, and i was P.O. !!

It seems, many americans have forgotten what being an american means !
Our so called business leaders and business men [[and Women) are content with, being second, and letting someone else make the Bench mark, for Anything, as long as they get rich, and being a luke warm leader, AND a poor role model for any young and upcoming new generation !

Innovation is what made this country, [[and the whole World too) what it is today !
The Henry Fords, The Lee Iacocca's [[Who by the way , Took and american car company, from bankruptsy, to giving out the LARGEST ever profit sharing check, to the blue collar employee's in a single decade) The Harvey Firestones, The George Westinghouse's, The Nickoli Tesla 's !

WHAT HAPPENED ??
Did our greed get the better of us ?
Did we get lazy ?

All I'm saying is that the CEO's that would have us believe that we are NOT a great nation of manufactures of Products is Just Shameful !
We have farmed out all of the labor to third world countries in the name of corperate profits, and here we sit losing all that made america Great !

[Lorax]

I couldn't agree more with one exception- Iacocca's only meaningful contribution to Chrysler's pullback from bankruptcy was the ability to secure loan guarantees from the feds- if it hadn't been for my dad's already 7 year old design for the mini-van which was shelved by J.J. Riccardo before Iacocca was even on the scene, there wouldn't have been a recovery, or for that matter any profitsharing.