Cerebus to buy Chrysler?
05-14-2007, 11:33 AM
#21
Maybe I am way off base here, but I think if Chrysler is going to survive long term they need to change just about everything and not just be the US red headed stepchild. Instead of being the "me too" brand, look for other niches.
You build a giant truck? Me too! Suv's? Me too!
They have never been able to differentiate themselves and were at there best when they created a market niche. When no US automaker was building small efficient cars, the K cars and Omni's saved the company. (even though they were crappy) They created the minvan and reaped huge benefits.
Instead of looking at everything GM does, (new Camaro? how bout a CHALLENGER!!!!! Soltice and SKy? Here's the DEMON!!!!) break new ground. Otherwise they will always be too late to the party and seen as second best. And for pete's sake, if you are gonna copy somebody, copy the Japanese.
To me that would be make a world class minivan, family car and small car. Exciting? No. Profitable? Absolutely. All that other crap is secondary.
Gas is heading towards $4 a gallon. I bet Vipers, Ram's, Grand Cherokees, and Hemi rear drivers are sellling like hotcakes.
You build a giant truck? Me too! Suv's? Me too!
They have never been able to differentiate themselves and were at there best when they created a market niche. When no US automaker was building small efficient cars, the K cars and Omni's saved the company. (even though they were crappy) They created the minvan and reaped huge benefits.
Instead of looking at everything GM does, (new Camaro? how bout a CHALLENGER!!!!! Soltice and SKy? Here's the DEMON!!!!) break new ground. Otherwise they will always be too late to the party and seen as second best. And for pete's sake, if you are gonna copy somebody, copy the Japanese.
To me that would be make a world class minivan, family car and small car. Exciting? No. Profitable? Absolutely. All that other crap is secondary.
Gas is heading towards $4 a gallon. I bet Vipers, Ram's, Grand Cherokees, and Hemi rear drivers are sellling like hotcakes.
05-14-2007, 12:23 PM
#22
05-14-2007, 12:53 PM
#23
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Originally Posted by vader1,May 14 2007, 02:33 PM
Maybe I am way off base here, but I think if Chrysler is going to survive long term they need to change just about everything and not just be the US red headed stepchild. Instead of being the "me too" brand, look for other niches.
You build a giant truck? Me too! Suv's? Me too!
They have never been able to differentiate themselves and were at there best when they created a market niche. When no US automaker was building small efficient cars, the K cars and Omni's saved the company. (even though they were crappy) They created the minvan and reaped huge benefits.
Instead of looking at everything GM does, (new Camaro? how bout a CHALLENGER!!!!! Soltice and SKy? Here's the DEMON!!!!) break new ground. Otherwise they will always be too late to the party and seen as second best. And for pete's sake, if you are gonna copy somebody, copy the Japanese.
To me that would be make a world class minivan, family car and small car. Exciting? No. Profitable? Absolutely. All that other crap is secondary.
Gas is heading towards $4 a gallon. I bet Vipers, Ram's, Grand Cherokees, and Hemi rear drivers are sellling like hotcakes.
You build a giant truck? Me too! Suv's? Me too!
They have never been able to differentiate themselves and were at there best when they created a market niche. When no US automaker was building small efficient cars, the K cars and Omni's saved the company. (even though they were crappy) They created the minvan and reaped huge benefits.
Instead of looking at everything GM does, (new Camaro? how bout a CHALLENGER!!!!! Soltice and SKy? Here's the DEMON!!!!) break new ground. Otherwise they will always be too late to the party and seen as second best. And for pete's sake, if you are gonna copy somebody, copy the Japanese.
To me that would be make a world class minivan, family car and small car. Exciting? No. Profitable? Absolutely. All that other crap is secondary.
Gas is heading towards $4 a gallon. I bet Vipers, Ram's, Grand Cherokees, and Hemi rear drivers are sellling like hotcakes.
The PT Cruiser reinvigorated the small, economy car market with it's incredibly unique styling and functionality that was unmatched in its class at the time.
RWD passenger cars were all but left for dead in the US until Chrysler struck gold with the 300C and that platform's other incarnations. Chrysler single-handedly brought back the RWD American sedan.
The Dodge Calibur has also been a huge hit so far for Chrysler, again reinvigorating the compact market by showing that economy car styling doesn't have to be wimpy looking.
All three of those car products were huge surprise hits for Chrysler. They could not build them fast enough. Each one sold well in excess of Chrysler's initial forcasts. On paper, all three were risky ventures with unsure market demand. But Chrysler made the bet on each, and that wager paid off with surprisingly robust sales.
Andrew
05-14-2007, 03:08 PM
#24
Originally Posted by aklucsarits,May 14 2007, 02:53 PM
The PT Cruiser reinvigorated the small, economy car market with it's incredibly unique styling and functionality that was unmatched in its class at the time.
RWD passenger cars were all but left for dead in the US until Chrysler struck gold with the 300C and that platform's other incarnations. Chrysler single-handedly brought back the RWD American sedan.
The Dodge Calibur has also been a huge hit so far for Chrysler, again reinvigorating the compact market by showing that economy car styling doesn't have to be wimpy looking.
RWD passenger cars were all but left for dead in the US until Chrysler struck gold with the 300C and that platform's other incarnations. Chrysler single-handedly brought back the RWD American sedan.
The Dodge Calibur has also been a huge hit so far for Chrysler, again reinvigorating the compact market by showing that economy car styling doesn't have to be wimpy looking.
I don't know that big rear drivers are something revolutionary in american car buying. I see it more as a flash in the pan. The weakness in those models is if you want the V8, you shell out big money and get lousy milage. If you like the style and get the V6 model, milage does not exactly reach great heights, and it is also not exactly quick so you still pay for lots of gas but don't get any performance, and lots of people in the snowbelt won't buy rear drive. To those people it screams "Go look at a Camry, you'll get nice V6 power, front drive bad weather safety, and better milage and resale." (although some people are fine with big and slow just to get the room)
I see issues with Caliber styling being an economy car that does not look wimpy be cause there was an article about three or four months ago some market reasearch firm had found that more than half of all women were completely turned off by Dodge's butch styling direction. Now, I kind of like the 300 and Charger style, although not nearly enough to buy one, but find the butch styling of everything else kind of ugly. Is it bold? Yeah. But to make all of the lineup look butch and turn off 25% of the buying public before you even get them in the showroom is risky. People would say if you go bland, you turn people off too but that has not been an issue for Toyota.
I had one Caliber as a rental and did not care for it (even though I wanted to like it) just because it was overly cheap and plastic-y inside. And had a LOUD harsh engine. If it is selling well, fantastic, as a CEO I would keep it in the lineup. I would also get ANOTHER economy car in the lineup poste haste because most economy car buyers are women and I would see the need for something "Mazda3 cute" very quickly.
05-14-2007, 07:11 PM
#29
Originally Posted by aldo90731,May 14 2007, 07:59 PM
At a time when there hardly any differentiation across FWD midsize jellybeans like Camrys/Accords/Tauruses/Impalas, the 300C made large sedans viable again, offering RWD European handling characteristics with American presence (w/out being retro), (Hemi) power with up-to-date cylinder deactivation. The end result is a large sedan that delivers 340hp (stock) and (realistic) 25 mpg.
The only review I read of the SRT8 loved the car but said "expect milage of low double digits." Its not a bad car, but its not a big seller either. They were discounting them by about 8 grand up here, but that much power in a rear driver scares the crap out of people in a Nov-March snowfall.
05-15-2007, 05:07 AM
#30
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I got 21 mpg on a 2,400 mile round trip from L.A. to Vancouver, BC, without cylinder deactivation in the SRT-8 --my 2005 Nissan Xterra, with 200 FEWER horsepower, rarely broke 18 mpg on the freeway... And 300C has an AWD option for winter blues...
Regardless, VW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Hyundai and Kia are all struggling in some shape or form these days. The auto industry is in real need for a fresh business approach. It will be interesting to see what Cerberus will do.
PS: isn't Lotus in private hands too, these days...?
Regardless, VW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Hyundai and Kia are all struggling in some shape or form these days. The auto industry is in real need for a fresh business approach. It will be interesting to see what Cerberus will do.
PS: isn't Lotus in private hands too, these days...?