[Janizary]

From our friends at:

It was rumored earlier this month that Chrysler execs have been discussing the possible killing off of their slowest selling models.

Well according to The Detroit News, Chrysler execs are going to decide today to kill off the slow selling PT Cruiser, Pacifica and Dodge Magnum.

PT Cruiser sales are off 27 percent this year, and Pacifica and Magnum sales are off 30 and 32 percent respectively. These cuts are likely to be the first of many within the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lineup. It is rumored that the slow selling Jeep Commander and Dodge Dakota will be the next vehicles to receive the ax. The Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger are also in question.

http://www.thetorquereport.com/2007/10/chrysler_kills_off_the_pt_crui.html

 

[ibanez37]

Lol..the Avenger was just released this year wasn't it?

 

[AllShowNoGo]

id say chrysler just needs to do away with themselves period.

 

[Janizary]

I'll disagree. I am very interested to see how Chrysler is reorganized now that it is privately held. Do they shake things up and come up with the 'new American' auto, or do they fail and sell off their assets to Cherry? We'll see.

 

[Hondasi15]

all american car companies should retire...lol..j/p..In miami most people drive imports..(germans and japs)..you rarely see american car enthusiasts down here..

 

[Si4Life]

id say chrysler just needs to do away with themselves period.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

 

[Snake-eyes]

not a mopar fan but loosing them would hurt the economy greatly. Them and ford are in a lot of trouble...
truth is they need to break the UAW and reorganize. Those models should go as they are horrible. The PT cruiser served its purpose and now the desighn is dated

 

[ibanez37]

Indeed. I'm pretty excited to see how the Challenger will do, but that, the 300 and the Charger seem to be the only thing keeping the mopars afloat. That and the Ram.

 

[xtant21]

I think what we are seeing is the same exact thing Motorola did to the RAZR. They found a niche product...and rode that ***** like zorro until everyone got tired of seeing it. Now they have seventy iterations of the same vehicle and it doesn't sell anymore.

Let me explain.

PTCrusier - is there any better example of a craze that has found its end? I mean come on...this thing should have died years ago. Same for the volkswagen equivalent...yeah I'm looking at you Beetle.

Pacifica - overpriced, has no real options...looks like a BIG station wagon. Who wants to drive a station wagon? This isn't the 70's.

Magnum - ummm...see above about the 70's. But also...this is lipstick on a pig at its best here...a wagon...with a HEMI. If we can't sell wagons...we'll throw HEMI's in them and the Tim Taylor's of the world will buy them in bulk. Well...maybe for a year or two. I mean the only thing that helped this car last past year 2 was when DUB got a few and started shoving 22 inch rims in the wheel well.

Avanger - a year old...but the look is already 5 years old. What'd they do take the coffee stains off the design print for the dodge dakota and think they had a winner?

Chrysler Sebring - ummm...I thought this was the Avenger convertible but with the Premium interior for the Geritol crowd.

Bottom line...let's face it Chrysler is in a rut right now. But...to write them off is silly. These guys are the first American automotive group to actually BUILD concept vehicles for the mass market.

GM and Ford will show you concepts at every auto show...but they never build THAT vehicle. They build some completely abortionized down-played version of what they showed us and they wonder why the car flopped. Well...if you'd have built the car you showed us and not the red-headed step child sibling you created we'd buy it but the big 2 haven't learned that yet.

Chrysler on the other hand has been able to show us a design and deliver about 90% of that design to us within 1 to 2 years of showing it to us. Yes it is a tad different but all in all it really looks like the concept. We are all jacked about the Charger right now...I hope this car is as cool as it looks. I also hope they don't ride it into the ground and beat this horse to death so that it stays past it's cool factor.

I'll give Chrysler a chance still...but they need to get off the ropes and stop beating their dead horses.

 

[kenchan]

they still made those ugly things, huh?

 

[Drew303]

Chrysler sucks.

 

[NIGHTHAWKSI]

PTCrusier - is there any better example of a craze that has found its end? I mean come on...this thing should have died years ago. Same for the volkswagen equivalent...yeah I'm looking at you Beetle.

dont forget about the chevrolet HHR...same idea. ugly retro styling.

+1 on everything you said!

 

[ct20]

If chrysler doesn't make some changes quick, including killing off the above listed models, it won't matter. The privately held company will liquify the assets and walk away with millions and chrysler will be a thing of the past. Around here, you can give a dodge/chrysler away, I think kia outsells thems here. maybe they can make some changes...but it is not looking good.

 

[GoHuskies]

Unlike GM or Ford Chrysler doesn't even sell many rental or fleet cars. On the other hand dodge does have a customer base in their pickup series.

Other companies go on as smaller motor companies. Chrysler could linger on as such if they can solve the issue of healthcare and retirees.

Its sort of like comparing big Delta to small Jet Blue. Its not like Jet Blue is any superior to Delta, but they don't have the massive overhanging ghosts of costs past.

 

[autumnalfalls]

It's about time they axe the aforementioned vehicles. Did Chrysler actually get someone with a brain to run the place or what?

 

[drahgon]

Unlike GM or Ford Chrysler doesn't even sell many rental or fleet cars.

this may have been true a few years ago, but now i see nothing but chryslers on rental lots... sebring's, 300's, caravan's...

 

[Janizary]

I am sure there was a reasonable rationale for the Avenger as a mid-like compact, however, if they could have kept the engine options and made it RWD like its large sibling, it might have generated more interest.

 

[xtant21]

dont forget about the chevrolet HHR...same idea. ugly retro styling.

+1 on everything you said!

Thanks.

But yes...the HHR was some high-end managers knee-jerk reaction to "we gotta cut into Chrysler's market on this thing". The fugly thing doesn't even have one ounce of appeal to it. The HHR is a never was category...but...what it did prove is the same thing that Ford proved with the Edsel. No matter how ugly a car is someone will buy it...and pay good money for it. Why? We'll never know...but the statement holds true.

 

[firmhonda]

I'm with Janizary, I seriously hope that after these cars get dropped (Please God let them get dropped) Chrysler turns around and starts producing good cars.

As for the Sebring.. Didn't it almost win the record for lowest selling resale value like 6 years in a row?

 

[atruhondagrl]

I like the Magnum with the Hemi. That's the only one. All the other cars SUCK!!! Massively. The Sebring is an eyesore and always hated that thing. It's the poster car for late life divorcee realstate agents with big solid hair.