May 8th, 2006 by CanadianJeepYJ
Today I would like to discuss the perceived image of Chrysler by comparing the vehicles that Chrysler produces to other luxury or near-luxury brands.
Below are the vehicles, along with Chrysler, made by Mercury, Buick, Acura, Lincoln, Infinity, Lexus, and Cadillac. Along with the vehicles I have placed the starting MSRP for the various trim levels offered (this may or may not be a complete list of start MSRPs).
For comparison’s sake, I have also averaged all of the starting MSRPs from each of the vehicles (since the list this may not be complete take the average price, as I stated above, take this average price with a grain of salt). Starting with the lowest average price I have listed the manufacturer along with their vehicles. I have also placed in bold the cheapest and most expensive starting MSRPs just for easy comparison sake.
I have also put the sales, for each of the brands, for the first 4 months of 2006. Numbers obtained by posts from hemidakota.
Mercury (6 models, 3 cars, 2 SUVs, 1 minivan):
Milan $18,995
Montego $25,130
Grand Marquis $25,555
Mariner $21,995 - $29,840
Mountaineer $29,795
Monterey $29,325
Average price $25,663
Sales 68,014
Buick (5 models, 2 cars, 2 SUVs, 1 minivan):
LaCrosse $22,490 - $27,990
Lucerne $25,990 - $34,990
Rendezvous $24,990 - $28,990
Rainier $31,290
Terraza $27,990 - $30,490
Average price $28,357
Sales 81,845
Chrysler (6 models, 4 cars, 1 SUV, 1 minivan):
PT $15,125 - $29,850
Sebring $20,730 - $29,595
300 $24,450 - $42,695
Crossfire $30,070 - $50,395
Pacifica $26,145 - $38,755
Town & Country $21,985 - $37,655
Average price $30,621
Sales 214,867
Acura (5 models, 4 cars, 1 SUV):
RSX $20,325
TSX $27,890
TL $33,325
RL $49,300
MDX $37,125
Average price $33,593
Sales 65,023
Lincoln (6 models, 3 cars, 2 SUVs, 1 truck):
Zephyr $29,660
LS $39,945
Town Car $42,875
Mark LT $39,555
Aviator $41,400
Navigator $50,145
Average price $40,597
Sales 42,571
Infinity (5 models, 3 cars, 2 SUVs):
G $31,200 - $33,200
M $40,840
Q $58,100
FX $37,800
QX $49,800
Average price $41,824
Sales 38,805
Lexus (8 models, 5 cars, 3 SUVs):
IS $30,580 - $36,030
ES $33,865
GS $43,845 - $55,595
LS $57,220
SC $66,050
RX $38,095 - $46,755
GX $47,330
LX $68,090
Average price $47,587
Sales 93,056
Cadillac (7 models, 4 cars, 2 SUVs, 1 truck):
CTS $29,990 - $51,395
STS $41,470 - $77,090
DTS $41,990
XLR $77,295 - $100,000
SRX $36,990
Escalade $57,280 - $59,680
Escalade EXT $54,210
Average price $57,036
Sales 68,845
The average “Average price” for the 8 different brands is $38,160 +/- $9,965. Chrysler, which has an average price of $30,621, actually comes in within one standard deviation of the rest of the manufacturers. However it still is roughly $7,500 away from the average starting MSRP of the rest of the manufacturers. Therefore, from this info, one could say that Chrysler could be thought as near luxury and not a luxury brand. Brands that are at or above this price point are Lincoln, Infinity, Lexus, and Cadillac. Missing the boat are Mercury, Buick, Chrysler, and Acura. (Is this division of brands a surprise to you…for some reason it does not surprise me.)
The average number of models of these 8 manufacturers is 6 +/- 1. Chrysler who makes 6 different models is right on average.
The average number of cars is 3.5 cars +/- 0.86. Chrysler who makes 4 different cars also fits into this average.
The average number of SUVs is 1.875 +/- 0.6. Chrysler, who only has 1 SUV the Pacifica, is outside the standard deviation for this particular grouping. With the addition of the Aspen, this will help bring Chrysler inline with the rest of the industry. (Note: all crossovers or anything as such has been classified as an SUV).
The average number of minivans is 0.375 + 0.48 - 0.375. The brands which carry minivans are only Mercury, Buick, and Chrysler. They also happen to have the lowest average start MSRP prices…any thoughts why this is so???
The average number of trucks is 0.25 + 0.43 - 0.25. The brands that carry trucks in their lineups are Cadillac and Lincoln. One a clone of the F-series and the other a clone of the Avalanche. They are both asking around or more than $40,000 for them…is this something or a market that Chrysler needs to get into? The pimped out/chromed out truck? A Chrysler version of the Dodge Ram anyone? The Chrysler Citadel?
The average sales for the first 4 months of 2006 for the given 8 brands is 84,128 +/- 52,222 units. Chrysler, which sells the most cars in this grouping of brands, sells more vehicles by 2.5 standard deviations then the average. Chrysler alone with Lexus are the only 2 brands that are above the average mark. (This tells me I should be using other forms of statistics…but I am too lazy for that). Chrysler also outsells the next leading brand, Lexus, by 120,000 units which is more units then even Lexus has sold. Does this mean that Chrysler is the best near luxury brand or is it a slow selling general brand á la Chevy, Ford, Honda, Dodge, Toyota, and Nissan?
Being DCX’s armchair CEO, this is my plan for moving Chrysler upscale:
1. Get rid of the PT. It is the lowest price vehicle from all 8 brands and with many Chrysler/Jeep dealers and with the addition of the Compass and Patriot to the Jeep brand there is no reason to have a low priced vehicle in the Chrysler lineup. The PT can be moved to the Dodge brand (they may or may not keep the grill) since the Dodge brand is the only mass-market brand in the DCX lineup (that is all I will say on that).
2. Get rid of lower trim levels of the 300. That means getting rid of the base with the 2.7L and the Touring edition with the 3.5. Keep the 300 on par with the Avalon in terms of beginning price range say $29,995 starting price point well equipped.
3. Keep the starting price point of the next Sebring at $20,000. And I mean 20k, not a starting MSRP at 20k with 5k dollars worth of rebates. If you want to roll with the big boys then you need to walk and talk like you’ve got it.
4. Include the Aspen to the line up. This is going to happen so nuff said.
5. The next generation Pacifica should be able to go toe to toe with the FX, RX, MDX, and MKX. Engine, price point, no base models, lower sales expectations, and don’t call it something that has an X in it.
6. Get rid of the Crossfire and replace it with the Chrysler engineered Firepower. Add the Hemi and have a starting MSRP of 45K for it. This will be on par with some trim levles of the Crossfire, but this time worth the money, IMO.
7. Don’t produce a Chrysler truck á la Mark LT. Who buys $40,000 trucks anyway?
8. Keep the minivan. Although most of the luxury or near luxury brands do not offer this particular type of vehicle…it will be able to set Chrysler apart from the rest. Minivan doesn’t mean cheap and hopefully the next T&C will show people this. Oh, did I say no base models…that is what ***cough cough*** Dodge is for.
9. Interior, interiors, and interiors. All interiors of Chrysler vehicles should meet the standards set the the above 7 other brands. Go and take a drive in a Lucerne or a Mountaineer just for starters. They all, for the most part, have really nice interiors. Most people at allpar say they love the interiors of say the 300, well most of us at allpar would buy a garbage can with 4 wheels and a Chrysler badge on it….just like the general public would buy the same with a Toyota badge owwww ahhhhhhh.
So those are my 9 suggestions for moving Chrysler up-market and upscale. Along with my suggestions I have also place some statistics to try and back up some of my points and why some of these changes needs to be accomplished.
Any thoughts, any suggestions???
