news and rumor forum | upcoming models | old news books and manuals| mike's jeep news

October 1, 2002: Chrysler, Ford sales - Chrysler up, Ford down

Chrysler sales are up 18 percent from last year - hardly surprising given the conditions of September 2001, but still a good sign, finally moving the company ahead (year-to-date) of last year's sales. Specific sales highlights, month to month, are provided courtesy of Bill Cawthon:

• Chrysler Sebring Sedan, up 5% for September, 18% Y-T-D
• Chrysler Sebring Convertible, up 8% for September, 5% Y-T-D
• Chrysler Concorde, up 43% for September, 17% Y-T-D
• Chrysler 300M, up 22% for September, just 152 units behind 2001 Y-T-D
• Chrysler PT Cruiser, up 9% for September, 7% Y-T-D
• Jeep Wrangler, up 67% in September, but still down 1% from 2001 Y-T-D
• Jeep Liberty, 37% in September
• Dodge Stratus Sedan, up 20% in September, just 82 units behind 2001 Y-T-D
• Dodge Stratus Coupe, up 19% in September, but still down 7% from 2001 Y-T-D
• Dodge Intrepid, up 35% in September, up 4% Y-T-D
• Dodge Neon, up 28% in September, up 17% Y-T-D
• Dodge Viper, up 178% in September, up 24% Y-T-D
• Dodge Dakota, up 16% in September, down 8% Y-T-D
• Dodge Ram pickup, up 82% in September, up 18% Y-T-D
• Chrysler total, up 18% in September, 1%Y-T-D

Meanwhile, Bill reports that "Ford bucked the trend. Every analyst thought it would be GM whose sales declined, but Ford's September numbers are down 5 percent from 2001. Ford Motor Company is now down 6.4% year-to-date. General Motors' numbers have not been posted yet."

September 30, 2002: Dodge M80, smart

Bill Cawthon wrote:

According to Wolfgang Bernhard, Chrysler COO, Dodge may build the M80 as a way to introduce Dodge to the European market. Bernhard made the comments at the Paris Auto Show. The company believes the smaller pickup would have a better reception in Europe than the larger American models.

Also, the story on Smart is changing. Now it's a bigger, government-mandated fuel filter that is the only thing keeping the Smart from the American market. This according to Andreas Renschler, head of Smart cars.

September 30, 2002: Two Southern cities try for DCX van plant

According to Bill Cawthon, Jacksonville is no longer being considered for the new Mercedes commercial van plant, which will make vehicles under the Dodge and Freightliner labels. Charleston and Savannah are still in the running, in a contest to see which city and state will donate the most taxpayer dollars (and the least environmental restrictions) to a German company in return for having a factory in their town.

September 30, 2002: Mopar does well in drag

Pro Stock rookie Gene Wilson led the way as Hemi-powered Pro Stock Neon R/T entries swept the top-three positions today for this weekend’s 75th Anniversary Craftsman NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

Wilson, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T, grabbed his first career No. 1 qualifier with a 6.819-second elapsed time at 201.73 mph. The Georgia resident backed up his round-two effort by also collecting the quickest elapsed time of the fourth round at 6.833 seconds. It’s the first time in NHRA history a Dodge has occupied the top-three slots in Pro Stock competition.

September 30, 2002: Jeep brand expansion in Europe

Jeep's European lineup will expand to largely match the American line and to include two diesels: a Cherokee (Liberty) with a 2.8 common-rail turbo diesel hooked up to a five-speed automatic (probably a Mercedes design, since the 545 is usually called a four-speed in Chrysler's current literature), and a Grand Cherokee Overland with a the 2.7 common rail diesel (an alternative to the normal high-output V8).

Past Jeeps sold in Europe have used Detroit Diesel engines, but the company is likely to substitute these with Mercedes diesels. The lineage of the Cherokee's diesel is unknown to us at this time.

September 30, 2002: Ford finally to make squads safer

On Friday, after years of denying any problems and then studying the problems that had not existed, Ford agreed to install shields around the gas tanks of about 350,000 "Police Interceptors" (Crown Victorias) in the United States. At least ten police officers have been killed in fires after crashes, and Ford has been the target of lawsuits aimed at making the squad cars less likely to catch fire after an impact. The Police Interceptor has been the most popular police car in America by a substantial margin since the more-popular Chevrolet Caprice ceased production - before that, the Dodge Diplomat was used by most agencies before it ceased production. Many departments have switched to the Chevrolet Impala and Dodge Intrepid squads, though it is difficult to say what the deciding factor has been - cost, maneuverability, braking, gas mileage, personal preference, etc.

September 26, 2002: Chrysler to have official profit

Bill Cawthon wrote: "At the opening of the Paris Auto Show, Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said the company will break even this year. Zetsche told reporters he expects profits in the next two quarters."

September 25, 2002: Rumor: Pacifica to be basis of next-gen minivan?

The latest rumors swirl around the all-important minivans, noting that the Pacifica was originally meant to be based on the Caravan, but has experienced many changes along the way. Just as we would suggest incorporating PT Cruiser enhancements into the Neon, from which it started, the rumors suggest that the Pacifica's upgrades will find their way into the next Caravan and Voyager minivans. These would include the removable, fold-flat seats, the 3.5 liter engine, and, presumably, the new instrument panel which includes a navigation control.

It has seemed incredible that Chrysler has done nothing to refresh its minivans as Toyota and Ford have announced redesigned versions of their vans, and as Honda has added to capacity as thousands flock to its high-priced "but Japanese" Odysseys. Perhaps this next version will finally include the 3.5 - or even the 3.7, which would be superior in most respects - and gee-whiz seats. It may even have some of those "Mercedes technological features" we keep hearing about, but have not seen yet on the Chrysler side.

September 25, 2002: Chrysler to have good September?

Bill Cawthon wrote:

Luckey Consulting Group, an automotive research company based in New Jersey, forecasts a 14% boost in Chrysler sales for September compared to a year ago. Luckey also thinks GM sales will rise 6.3% while Ford will resume its decline, dropping 2.1% (While August was generally pleasant for Dearborn, Ford's good numbers in July were almost solely due to outstanding performances from Jaguar and Land Rover).

Michael Luckey, company president, believes heavy incentives will overcome flat sales in the first half of the month. Other analysts have also predicted a strong finish.

Gary Dilts, Chrysler's senior VP of sales, thinks the gain will be more modest, in the range of 2%.

Click here to visit our 2001 and older news stories [large file, be patient]

Home - Cars - Resources - Repairs - Search - Forums -

=Please read the terms of use.Mopar, Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler are trademarks of DaimlerChrysler, AG. We are not affiliated with DaimlerChrysler. We are not responsible for the consequences of actions taken based on this site and make no guarantees regarding validity or applicability. Copyright (c) 1999-2000, David Zatz; copyright © 2001-2002 Allpar,LLC. All rights reserved. Owned by Allpar LLC. Recommend this page!