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To nobody's surprise, given the ramp-up of Vipers, end of the LH series, and the introduction of the Crossfire, the Prowler has been given the heave-ho by Chrysler as of February 2002. Some would have let it die with Plymouth, rather than making it into a Chrysler for less than a year...but some would have kept a division that sold 250,000 cars per year, too.
The plant that makes the Prowler also makes the more popular and more aura-inducing Viper. The Prowler was to usher in a new face for Plymouth, but yanking the PT Cruiser over to Chrysler spelled the end of that initiative - /opinion/ a hallmark of Chrysler management through the years being indecision and inability to carry concepts through over the long term. /end opinion/
An unusually well-written and comprehensive view of Mercedes minivans, including those to be sold in the US by select Dodge dealers under the Freightliner name, is at Promotex. We recommend it for Dodge and Chrysler fans partly because it tells of a future not especially favorable to Chrysler, and also partly because it cuts through much inaccurate reporting.
Chrysler is recalling 1.6 million Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth minivans in the 1996-2000 model range due to potentially leaky gasoline lines which have resulted in severe fires and gasoline leaks. Three deaths have been attributed to these fires. Chrysler delayed the recall, claiming that they did not have replacement parts ready - in the interim, there were an additional six reported fires and 56 reported leaks. The fault is in the O-rings at the fuel rail (info from Detroit News).
Dieter Zetsche, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chrysler Group, said or wrote:
"Since its introduction earlier this year, the Chrysler Group turnaround plan remains a solid, yet flexible initiative that is helping our company return to profitability. However, we can tell you that there are no plans at this time for any layoffs beyond those already announced. Because of the spirit demonstrated by all Chrysler employees, we are experiencing significant progress in our efforts to reduce costs and enhance revenue. But with additional constraints from the economy, we know that we have to accelerate our cost-reduction efforts, just as we did throughout this year. Our plan is flexible enough to do this without further layoffs."
Our additional note - they don't need to resort to layoffs if they sell their parts and assembly plants. That should provide some nice short-term revenue to reinvest in Mercedes.
In addition to the Austrian assembly plant, Chrysler has announced that it is selling a Dayton, Ohio parts plant, and industry insiders are saying that other parts plants will also be sold to "cut costs." We interpret this as meaning that Daimler-Benz has no intention of building Chrysler back up again, and is cannibalizing the company while it waits to see if profits will be available in the future for redistribution to Mercedes-Benz.
Chrysler unveiled a fuel cell-powered minivan today that runs on sodium boro-hydride, a compound related to borax, the naturally-occuring substance used in laundry soap.
The concept Chrysler Town & Country Natrium, named for the Latin word for sodium, has a range of 300 miles and produces zero emissions.
Thomas Moore, a Chrysler vice-president who directs fuel cell research and development, noted "there are no hydrocarbons to contribute to greenhouse gas buildup, no smog-producing emissions and the fuel can be recycled."
Chrysler has no plans to build the Natrium and used the project to study alternative fuels.
Sodium boro-hydride is nontoxic, nonflammable, recyclable and readily available in the United States. It comes in powder form and can be mixed with water to create a fuel mix. In the Natrium, the fuel mix passes through a catalyst that extracts the hydrogen, which is combined with oxygen in the fuel cell stacks to create electricity that drives the minivan's electric motor. The byproducts are water and borax, which can be reprocessed into sodium boro-hydride and reused.
Bill Cawthon wrote about odd happenings at Isuzu: "Japanese truckmaker Isuzu will end production and sales of SUVs for the home market. The Big Horn (Trooper), the only Isuzu SUV sold in Japan, will be dropped. The Isuzu models sold in the U.S. will be produced by Isuzu's majority shareholder, General Motors, and sold as Isuzus here and Chevrolets in Japan (go figure)." (Isuzu once sold sporty cars in the US, including the respected but slow-selling I-Mark, and may have been the last pickup maker to use a carburetor in the US. The company may be best known for its ad campaigns featuring "Joe Isuzu.")
Parts maker Magna International announced that it is discussing the purchase of Eurostar, Chrysler's Graz, Austria plant which assembles the Chrysler minivan and PT Cruiser for sale outside North America. Bill Cawthon noted: "Magna Steyr already assembles the Mercedes G-Wagen, 4WD E-Class and other vehicles....Eurostar was originally a joint venture between pre-merger Chrysler and SFT. Magna has since acquired SFT... If this purchase goes through, all non-North American Chrysler products would be assembled by Magna. This is the ultimate outsource where the name on the vehicle has nothing to do with the manufacture, it's just a marketing brand." This also backs up Daimler's decision to restrict Chrysler to North America - an ironic decision since most analysts believed that the primary benefit of the merger would be giving Chrysler access to European and Asian markets.
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