Archive for July, 2006
July 28th, 2006 by Dave
The most interesting things about the new World Engine are now, to me, its distinctive flavor and its inability to produce satisfying low-rev power. Admittedly, my primary driver is a 2.4 turbo - a long-stroke engine that does get moving from low revs-per-minute - but I’m not so far away from the old ‘95 Neon to remember what an ordinary four cylinder is like.
The World Engine in the Caliber provides decent enough gas mileage considering the weight it has to pull around, but power is another story. Many blame the CVT, and even I singled out the CVT’s characteristics for making the Caliber seem sluggish, but the engine feels similar in the Kia Optima. Buzzy, reluctant to move at low rpm, and demon quick once it’s up in its small power band, near redline. That’s all kind of funny because Hyundai/Kia has rather different “dressings” on the engine - each company using these things uses their own heads, valve systems, and fuel delivery systems. Yet it feels the same with the Hyundai trim as it does with the Dodge trim.
The Optima I’m driving has the 2.4 liter engine, the top of the line until you get into the not-yet-produced turbo models, which promise far better power. Unlike the Caliber, the Optima is tuned with a steep tip-in, which means that a gentle touch on the gas pedal dumps a lot of fuel into the engine, which is all very nice for feeling like you have a powerful car but not so good for easy, gentle driving or stop and go traffic (I notice Volvo likes to do that now, too.) But when it comes right down to it, the Optima with the World Engine is not responsive at all, unless you shift yourself and stay in high rpms. The engine feels like there’s a huge rubber band between the gas pedal and the throttle, and once the band tightens you snap forward.
The Optima feels remarkably like the Caliber, though they are on completely different platforms, with darned little other than the basic engine block in common. The instrument panel is a mix of original thinking and 300M-style bright rings around big gauges, and is very attractive, much more so (to me at least) than that of the Caliber and certainly more than the Sebring’s mixed-metaphor interior.
Based on this experience, I can almost see why there’s no Dodge Caliber sedan. Reviewers are harsher critics of cars than SUVs in my experience; they even let the RX330 and Ford Explorer get rave reviews, while trashing the Ford 500 and, yes, the current Dodge Stratus. I can’t see them giving a thumbs up to a Dodge that acts and sounds like this Kia, and don’t tell me it wouldn’t, because the Caliber does. And it’s gotten some flack for that, with reservations that it does have an SUV shape and look, so it must hold a lot of stuff. (Note that I don’t necessarily agree with that positive assessment.)
So I have to say… Chrysler Group, don’t put the PT onto the Caliber platform. Adapt the current PT/Neon platform to flexible manufacturing somehow, make it work for safety and weight reduction, and then make a PT-based sedan using the 2.4 liter engine - not the World Engine, but the current one. Start a crash four-cylinder engine design program. Admit that using Hyundai as the genesis for a new block didn’t work out quite as you expected it to, and figure out something else. Apply the greatness that characterizes the Chrysler Group engine design department, that has always characterized that department, that has made practically every single engine every engineered at Chrylser into a winner, and get us a new four-cylinder. In the meantime, we have the Neon engine out there, ready to be adapted with variable-valve technology and kept alive for a few more years. We have the remains of the incredibly successful Neon chassis - successful in terms of low cost and high performance, not public perception - use it. Just whatever you do, no matter how much I ask you to do it, don’t tell me or anyone else that it’s from the Neon! Say, um, that Mercedes graciously came down to Earth and dropped it in Chrysler’s lap.
We won’t tell if you won’t.
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July 20th, 2006 by Rich
Lotsa talk about the newly running ads out there; here’s my 2 pennies.
In short, the worst part was the ‘german and american’ engineering, which they’ve reversed. The best part was the mustache joke with the little girl. That was cute.
Digging a little deeper, the pragmatic part of me says:
I’m not apopletic about the ads like DeLorenzo is (of course now that Vines slapped him back DCX & especially Chrysler won’t be doing anything right for some time, so we might as well get used to it). Their focus isn’t really on the vehicles themselves, it’s on establishing the relationship between Chrysler and Mercedes in the public’s eye using the vehicles as examples.
It’s probably a good idea to do that now, as it’s true, and it sets them apart from Ford & GM. Given the news and the fact that most people get their only information from the news, that’s not a bad thing. We sometimes have to sit back and realize John Q. Carbuyer doesn’t look at Chrysler, DCX, or the takeover like we do.
Ideally, DCX will best succeed with a true mixing of MB and CG, where and when appropriate, and since it’s been awhile since the takeover, people have moved on and any general ill will has possibly been replaced by ‘well, they make Mercedes too, so….’ Might as well run that up the marketing flagpole and see if it salutes.
The ads themselves? Frankly I think they’ll prove unmemorable. They’re cute and kind of ‘haha’ funny, but they’re not really hilarous or particularly attention getting. I get the feeling they seemed a whole lot better on the drawing board. This is, however, a step up from some of the dreck they’ve served up in the past, so…
There’s been talk about the ‘It’s a German thing, you wouldn’t understand’ in reference to Lederhosen…Hmm. I kinda thought it was just a toss away line. I didn’t think it was a tag line, and didn’t find it particularly offensive either. I also didn’t associate it with the “It’s a Jeep thing” line either, though as often happens after it was pointed out it suddenly seemed fairly obvious.
Of course, the other side of the scales contains the still-smoldering ire that the whole takeover thing happened in the first place, and tucked away there in a corner is the hope that one day Chrysler will stand on its own again. But the two dartboard-fodder execs that forged this organization are thankfully gone, and it’s probably much better to spend more time in the ‘now’ than in the ‘then’.
Although…I still can’t help but wonder…What If….what if Iacocca handed the reigns to Lutz instead? Maybe he did in some parallel universe….
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July 13th, 2006 by Dave
Chrysler invited a number of journalists and a few others to an event in New York, where we met the head of Chrysler marketing, the regional rep, and a few others - not to mention the Aspen, Sebring, and new Pacifica. Of course by now many have already seen the Aspen in person at the auto show, but it’s quite another story to see one at eye level and be able to climb in.
Outside, the Aspen, Sebring, and Pacifica are clearly of a single brand, with their ribbed hoods (those are speed grooves, in case you were wondering; six concave, one convex), rounded-trapezoid grille, chrome, and similar front-end lines. Inside, they could hardly be more different, with interiors that appeared to have been designed by three different companies with very different cultures.
The Aspen (due in September) arguably has the most elegant, upscale interior; the huge gauges are black on silver, with large shiny chromed rings that make quite an impression. The color scheme is restrained, with two-tone seats (darker suede inserts are the second tone) and a fairly uniform beige otherwise; while there is a preponderance of plastic, it is, by far, less noticeable than in the Sebring. Light woodgrain-style covers hide the center storage bin and cupholders; the center stack bezel uses this same material, as do strips on the doors and dash and the top half of the steering wheel. The interior of the Aspen is by far the most upscale of the three. The main surprise-and-delight feature, to use Chrysler terms, is the easy flip-and-fold middle-row seat design, which lets people easily climb into the third row. There is decent room in all three rows. The Aspen feels surprisingly open for a large vehicle, with good visibility.
The Pacifica remains much as it was, with a large black driver pod and a two-tone passenger pod, both featuring curves to personalize the dashboard to the occupants; there is light woodgrain on the wheel, with strips on the dash and door. As with the Aspen, care was taken to provide an unobstructed 180 degree view from the driver, for a light, spacious feel. The Pacifica is largely an enhancement of the current version, and it carries forward things that worked while making the appearance more distinctive. Pacifica will start at $25,000 and go on up to about $36,000.
The Sebring is a troublesome car inside. Though the front is attractive to many people when viewed in person, and the Audi side view is not unattractive, the interior is an odd mix of Caliber and Aspen, and doesn’t really seem to succeed as a whole. The three colors seem to clash a bit, and combine to be rather busy on the door panel and inside the front of the cockpit; the rear is much more restrained. There are acres of blocky gray plastic, with tortoise-shell plastic inserts on the wheel, doors, and glove box, along with the other-shade-of-gray and silver plastic. Doors also have a chunky feel.
The lighter side of the Chrysler Sebring interior is a number of clever features, including a front passenger seat that easily flips forward to provide a table at the same height as the center console (the doors have map pockets for rear-passenger storage); the 20 GB built-in stereo complete with easy to reach port; and easy to reach controls for the trip computer / personalization center.
The Sebring appears to be an eminently practical car, with a large rear seat featuring good leg room and an abundance of head room, coupled with a huge trunk and decent gas mileage; the base engine, a 170 hp 2.4 liter four-cylinder with all sorts of technology but little low-end torque, is available even on the most loaded version for those who like the features and comfort but don’t need more acceleration. The engine most enthusiasts will be awaiting is the 3.5 liter, designed for the Chrysler Concorde way back when, but coupled to a Chrylser-designed six-speed automatic; according to Dave Rooney, head of Chrysler marketing (who once headed Eagle marketing!), it’s dead quiet at 90 mph. We won’t ask how he knows. Gas mileage is 19 city, 28 highway according to EPA estimates. It’s hard to say what that means for the real world, but we suspect that the Sebring will easily beat 300M and 300 Limited mileage due to the wider range of gear ratios and the lower first gera that makes acceleration easier without heavy pedaling. (The 2.7 V6 has identical EPA ratings, while the 2.4 liter is 2 mpg higher.)
Dave Rooney, by the way, was quite friendly and open, though as you might expect he didn’t give away too much when asked about future diesel powered Chryslers or for that matter the Dodge Avenger. If a theoretical Avenger were to be built, Rooney believes the Chrysler version would largely be differentiated via features and styling.
Rooney also noted that the 4 liter engine new to the Pacifica was designed to have more low-end torque and to provide a better off-the-line launch than most vehicles. He said that about 25% of Chrysler owners leave the brand to get an SUV, and only about 25% of those people get a Dodge or Jeep, so the decision to launch a “real” SUV in addition to the Pacifica seemed to be practically a given to capture their own owners. He also felt optimistic that the Aspen would sell reasonably well, in part to those moving down from larger SUVs; and as he said, “we don’t need to sell a hundred thousand of these” because much of the investment had already been made in the Durango. The Aspen is clearly different in styling and appearance from the Durango, and, indeed, those who do not follow Chrysler by reading Allpar and other publications would not be aware, from looking at them, that they had much in common. The Aspen will only have V8 engines - 4.7 and Hemi.
Allpar regulars are aware of the constant discussion around the positioning of the Chrysler Brand. Rooney reiterated that they already had Mercedes at the high end, and noted that Chrysler had not competed at the Cadillac/Lincoln/Mercedes end of the market even when Walter P. Chrysler was alive; several times he repeated that the Chrysler mantra was to understand what the customer really wants and give it to them, and to provide a good value by doing that. According to Rooney, Chrysler strives for “presence, a refined and even glamorous look,” with “purposeful technology, not just technology for technology’s sake - it’s been that way since Walter P. Chrysler, 80 years ago.”
We’ll have photos and updated pages for these three vehicles.
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July 10th, 2006 by Matilda7016
We begin on a warm Friday morning. Although the temperatures were somewhat unseasonably cool for Pennsylvania, it was still a wonderful way to begin the 16th Annual Carlisle All Chrysler Nationals.
We arrived at 9:30 Friday morning… and what a sight to behold. Literally thousands of cars from every time period were represented. The smell of Carnuba wax filled the air as we were serenaded with the sound of finely tuned engines as we entered the Fairgrounds.
We arrived at the Allpar tent, and were warmly greeted by Bob and Theresa O’Neill. Bob had his 1986 Dodge Daytona parked next to the tent, so this was a special treat for me. I got to finally get an up close and personal look at a car I had admired since coming to Allpar back in 1999.
He has done several modifications to the car, including a hydraulic hood opener and reinforced trunk floor. He has also repainted the car himself, and I’m here to tell you… this looks as good as ANY factory paint job I have ever seen.
Sadly, Friday was the only day we got to see the car at the tent. Since this was Allpar’s first year as a group, we were assigned our individual spots according to category throughout the fairgrounds. I’m told this may change next year, based on attendance/popularity this year.
Most of my day Friday was spent in the tent, greeting people, and handing out Allpar name badges to members. I was amazed at the number of people who stopped by as soon as they saw the Allpar banner. We also created a sign-in registry for members. This way, we had something to provide to Dave, and to the Carlisle officials as a record of attendance to the event.
Greg, Mike, Bob, and Theresa walked through the fairgrounds, gathering pictures, and talking to those interested in what Allpar is all about. Greg even got to meet Bill Goldberg, and had a look at his 1968 Hemi Dart. Sadly, I didn’t get to meet Mr. Goldberg… but the picture (and autograph) Greg brought back for me was indeed a treat.
The day got even better with the arrival of Dave and Kate Zatz. This was my first time meeting Kate, and I was truly honored. They arrived with Allpar T-shirts, hats, bigger banners for the tent, and lots of other Allpar-related goodies to pass out to those stopping by the tent. I never thought a PT Cruiser could hold so much.
We had a special treat at the tent on Friday afternoon. An entire family of Allparians stopped by. They had created their own Allpar T-shirts, and we were told they wear these to every car show they attend. They are truly the All American Allpar Family. I have more on this family later in this letter.
Friday is more or less a day of walking through the grounds, taking in the sights, sounds, and food… and getting to meet like-minded Mopar enthusiasts.
Saturday was more of an event-filled day. We got somewhat of a late start, but arrived just in time to take in Bob O’Neill’s discussion on paint, and body work. He went over the various steps he took to do his Daytona… as well as provided us with a wealth of information, tips, and tricks to do the job right.
The special Allpar Event took place at about 2:30 PM. We, as a group, walked through the grounds, looking at, and talking about one another’s cars. The respective owners talked about what they had done to their car, and did a little “proud parent” showing off. We were given the judging forms (provided by Bob O’Neill), and we all voted on the various actegories within. prizes were awarded about an hour later at the Allpar tent. This was a grab bag of sorts with some really interesting prizes. I’m happy to say everyone who was entered won something.
The list of winners are as follows:
*Best Exterior- Bruce (Brewster) for his 1977 Charger (Cordoba style)
*Best Ordinary Car- Greg Henry/Matilda Patterson (Legend7016/Matilda7016) for our 1992 Dodge Shadow ES
*Best Muscle/Sports Car- Mike DeSantis (New Member Via Carlisle) for his 1993 Dodge Stealth R/T
*Best Overall- Chris DeSantis (New Member Via Carlisle) for his 1990 Dodge Daytona
*Best Daily Driver- Bob Lincoln for his 1993 Dodge Daytona
*Best Interior- Justin (Juma1998) for his 1985 Chrysler Fifth Avenue
*Best Preserved- Michael Stanhope for his 1983 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible
*Best Engine- Jim Hamby (Wannahemi) for his (Jim, I apologize for not remembering the year) Dodge Charger/Daytona
*Best Mods- Bob O’Neill for his 1986 Dodge Daytona
*Best truck- Rick Hess for his (Rick, I apologize to you as well for not remembering the year) Dodge Dakota
At 4 PM, we had the honor of havine Marc Rozman, CEMA Secretary, present a talk on CEMA, the Chrysler Employees’ Motorsports Association; he talked a little about engines and engine testing in general as well, from his perspective as a CEMA member and Charger owner.
At 4:45 PM, we discussed what we, as a group, can do to gain Allpar an official Car Club status. Many wonderful ideas were tossed into the ring, and we plan on using many of these.
What we are looking at for the immediate future is getting in touch with various (already well established) car clubs, and doing a sponsorship or sorts. Those with web pages would link Allpar, and we, in turn, will link them to our pages here. Dave is considering creating a special page specifically for this purpose. Both Bob and I spoke to some clubs which were present at the event, and they are agreeable to doing this for us.
I plan on sending out letters to the various clubs in Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas, just to introduce Allpar to them, and see if they would be willing to sponsor us. This is how many clubs grow, and gain status. I’m also going to visit as many local car shows as I can in an effort to promore Allpar.
Everyone can do their part if they wish. Contact the clubs in your area, and let them know what we want to do. Then, please send the information to Dave, Bob O’Neill, or me, and we will be happy to do whatever we can with it. Thanks in advance.
Saturday wound down with a cookout in York, hosted by Mike Stanhope at York Auto Repair (my home away from home… lol). The turnout was somewhat small, due to family, and business obligations… but a good time was had by all. What we are planning on doing next year is hosting the event in Carlisle, right at the show. The Carlisle Officials provide tents for such purposes, and we feel this would be better for those attending.
Sunday was a short day as the weather did not co-operate with us. We had rain about 2:15 PM, and this led to a lot of people packing it in and leaving early. Greg, Mike, and I stayed for the announcement of the Giveaway Car.
Now remember I said I had more to report on the All American Allpar Family? The winner of the 1968 Fury was Chris, a member of that family! Greg and I got pictures of this, and he did in fact have that Allpar shirt on at the time of winning the drawing. He chose to take the $5000 prize instead, stating he has a 1972 Charger he is restoring, and this will go a long way to make this happen.
All in all, this was a wonderful weekend, and I am looking forward to the next Allpar gathering… no matter where it is located.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Dave, Kate, and Bob for making this happen. Y’all are the best.
I hope you have enjoyed my accounts of the 16th Annual Carlisle All Chrysler Nationals.
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July 5th, 2006 by Dave
General Motors was created in a series of mergers engineered by one of the most stubborn men in the auto industry, William Durant, who nearly bankrupted the company twice and was ejected from it both times. However, as the world’s largest automaker, one would think it would be time for GM to stop and work on internal repairs rather than continue to buy out other companies. Kirk Kerkorian, though - one of the two men most responsible for the destruction of Chrysler Corporation (the largest American automaker to not make munitions for Hitler) - has other ideas. Presumably he has been trying to figure out a way to get a quick stock market list and sell his massive holdings in GM at a huge profit, rather than a huge loss, and mergermania naturally came to his mind.
Analysts have pointed out (with the 20/20 hindsight they are so good at) that the only merger in recent history to have really worked well has been Nissan and Renault, and the reason - in our opinion - why that worked out is because it was not an actual merger, but a stock-sharing agreement with close ties between both companies, but not a total devastation of one company’s identity for the sake of another. It’s no surprise that Mitsu backed out of the DCX deal, nor that Hyundai probably never even took it seriously as an option. Who outside of Mercedes really wants to spend their lives working for the glory of Mercedes, especially when they will never, ever get any credit for their work? (I don’t think it’s any secret that Mercedes, despite its terrible quality ratings, bumbling old-fashioned assembly techniques, and consistent losses over the years is still the sole raison d’être of DaimlerChrysler, and that all other companies live to support its lavish, wasteful lifestyle.)
The tie-up of GM and Renault, in contrast to Renault and Nissan, would apparently be one of total bondage, a megamerger of the DaimlerChrysler type. Which one would be dominant is hard to tell, though since GM is several times the size of Renault, we’d guess it would be GM.
The last study I saw on mergers, by the way, estimated that 80% fail. That’s not great odds. What makes Kerkorian so sure that GM and Renault would be a perfect match?
If Kerkorian is serious about long-term investment, then he’s guilty of the standard American sin of believing that CEOs are magical leaders who can save the world with their fairy dust, and that Mr. Ghosn, who helped turn Nissan around, can do the same for massive GM. In the real world, it requires more than one leader, even a great leader, to accomplish real change; indeed, the leaders who recognize that are the ones who achieve the most. So far the jury is really still out on Nissan long-term, and we really don’t think throwing Mr. Ghosn at GM will fix it any more than throwing Bob Lutz at GM fixed it. Perhaps this is Kerkorian’s way of trying to shove out Richard Wagoner; if so, it’s really overkill.
General Motors is the world’s largest auto company. Their fall would be devastating to America’s economy. Kerkorian should perhaps work on replacing Richard Wagoner with Bob Lutz instead of engineering yet another megamerger.
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July 2nd, 2006 by Dave
Does anyone remember those old Chrysler Crossfire ads, where they touted the car’s German engineering? No? Well, here’s the story - Chrysler ran a bunch of ads for the Crossfire, which is a Mercedes retuned and reskinned by Chrylser engineers so most critics preferred it to the more expensive original. It was still made in Germany with a German engine and transmission, so Chrysler ran a bunch of ads noting it had a great combination of German engineering and American style.
Gee, as an American, do you find that just a little insulting? The insinuation is that Germans are good engineers and Americans can make pretty sheet metal. (If you are from a different country, substitute your country’s name for “America.”)
They’re at it again, with a new series of ads that tested very well among their pilot audiences; Euro-accented Dieter Zetsche (the other Dr. Z, as I think of him) is going on the air to talk about how Chrylser is benefiting from the sharing of German engineering.
Here are the problems, again, with this approach:
1) The increasingly small number of buy-American people will defect to Ford.
2) By implicitly stressing the superiority of German engineering, these commercials will push potential Chrysler buyers over to a real German car - Volkswagen.
3) The commercials are once again insulting to Chrysler engineers - who, let’s not forget, came up with the technology to counter Germany in World War II, not to mention actually were able to get the company to make a HUGE profit pre-takeover, not to mention got a better quality product out there than the Germans at Mercedes.
4) Perhaps more important, these commercials again insinuate that Germans are better than Americans in the country where most Americans live.
5) And of course it implies that anyone who bought an American Chrysler got some sort of inferior rubbish without German technology.
Nothing like insulting your customers. Again.
Look for someone to be fired after sales fall yet again.
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