Four Simple Steps to Success for Detroit
I’ve been watching for “Domestics” here in Jersey for a bit. I see a lot of trucks/SUVs. A lot of minivans. Cars? Not as much. The lot at work is full of Acuras, Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, BMWs…
I don’t think Jersey is alone. “Detroit” has lost generations of car buyers, and they need to take them back. Here’s an action plan:
1. It’s the Product, Stupid.
Pick a market, any market. If you’re going to compete in it, your offering has to better the best in the field (let’s just go with generic consumer opinion and call this company Honyota). If you feel your car is the best in the market niche, you’ll do stuff like pull Honyotas into your showroom and dare people to compare. That is the true sort of bold move it will take; not a marketing slogan, not a ‘tough’ image. Tell people “We benchmarked the Honyota Camcord, and after we matched it, we bettered it. Our car is the new benchmark.
2. Marketing your way out of the cellar
Show people, specifically, why your car is better. Not “a great value”. Not “$3,000 less than a Camcord”. Better. Period, End of message. You’ll have to mention promotions and such of course, but the unmistakable message has to be “our car is better”. Because it is (see number #1).
3. Fix the dealer body.
Now it gets tricky. Customers think they’ve been screwed by the dealer, the dealer thinks they’ve been screwed by Corporate, and everyone thinks Corporate doesn’t give a toss.
This is not a position of strength. Some progess was made with the ‘customer one’ program, but that’s probably all been flushed. I don’t know if anyone takes the Five Star system seriously. I hear many complaints about Five Star dealers, yet there’s a reason why my small town dealer has gotten our families’ business since 1980 - and the existence or lack of a ‘Five Star’ banner has nothing to do with it. They’re a small outfit, with a small lot and without the gleaming new corporate building. We have however gotten fair deals on the cars that have been bought there new and used (86 New Yorker, 87 Horizon, 89 Lebaron, 90 Imperial, 92 5th Ave, 04 PT, 05 PT) and when they need service they’re reliably fixed the first time. Maybe a good start would be to retool the Five Star program to reward the dealers with the happiest customers, and to actually help the dealers make and keep people happy. Again, “spy” on the industry leader, and better that experience.
None of the above is optional, and none of it is enough either. There are a lot of people singing “Won’t get fooled again” as they drive by Big Three dealers, so the most herculean task will be:
4. Convince people you really, really mean it this time. Really.
GM has several deep home runs out there now, and they’re having a bit of trouble with #4. The key here is you don’t want to beg, it shows weakness. From #1 to #3 the key has been acting from a position of well earned strength. Don’t muck it up now with test drive vouchers for HOnyota owners or such. Stay on message, bring back the “If you can find a better car, buy it” because, now, you do have the better product - no qualifiers needed. This is where Detroit needs to go for the Grand Slam, because it’s possibly the last pitched battle for Chrysler and Ford especially.
Oh, and you can’t screw up. No grenading transmissions, no popping head gaskets, no jerking around owners, no ignition fires…..again this is not optional. Sure, things slip through, but the A604 style disasters are simply a death knell at this point. Head gasket problem? Fix it fast, fix it right, kiss the….feet….of affected owners. But avoiding the problem is #1 on the list, and avoiding the PR nightmare is the new #1 if something slips through (and it will, even on Honyotas)
In a sentence, Detroit simply has to be better than the competition. I don’t think “competitive” is going to cut it.
I think they can do it. However, if they haven’t already instituted the above mindset, they may already be too late (barring some huge quality gaffes by the competition).
There are three things that most people say are important in their purchases and that is price, quality and service. Price is usually the thing that makes the sale the first time, but quality and service is what keeps the customer coming back. I just wish that there was less game playing in the car business, after all our vehicle purchases are our second most costly purchase as a consumer.
In my not so humble opinion, a great part of “Detroit’s” bad rap comes from the bluff and bluster of totally ignorant fools in the mass media who totally overlook the faults of ANY foreign automobile and nit pick to death anything wrong with Detroit Iron.
I believe it was Car&Driver who wrote about the Dodge Stratus, when it first came out with the 5-speed, 4 cylinder. Although they would have liked more power, they said something along the lines of “If this car had a Honda badge, you couldn’t keep them on the lots.” However, the regular mass media generally pans American cars and never notices the secret recalls of Nissan, Toyota and Honda.
I recently sold my wife’s 1999 Stratus (when I found her a cream puff 2000 Concorde) to our veterinarian. Her husband is a very knowledgeable VW freak. He has a GTI, a Passat and a Golf, all in various conditions from excellent to fair. Now, she literally has to fight with him to get the Stratus away from him. That’s testimony to how a devoted VW lover was brought around to “seeing the light.”
But the general press still thinks the sun rises and sets on “furrin cars” despite Mopars beating the crap out of Mercedes in J. D. Powers initial quality reports, recently.
That’s a definite bias. Not sure how to fight that one, unless by spending more ad dollars than the competition.
Was my comment deleted?
Quick update. Mercedes dominated JD Powers this year moving up 20 plus spots to number 5 overall. It also won and placed 2nd in serveral luxury/sport catergories. The new S-Class was the best car period for the American survey. The brand did quite well across the pond to cap it off. So relax and get over it being a partnership still seems to be in place to assist both companies.
Quick reality check. Mercedes dominated the 90-DAY JD Power test which means that they stepped up their inspections, but little else. When they do well on a long-term test, I’ll start to think something important might have changed.
“Was my comment deleted?” No, we went to a backup database and it was lost.
Keep watching Dave it’s going to happen across the board.
Re-writing my lost comment:
Im also upset about the Media down here in Mexico: The day DCX annunced the sell of Chrysler to Cerberus, an absolut MORON (Pedro Ferris de Con) spoke out at one Nation Wide mayor radio station (again in Mexico) that Chrysler was Bancrupt (i´ve bet he does not even understand the concept of Bankrupcy) and that Building the CHARGER was the Mayor mistake of Chrysler, a car too american and that it didn´t sell at all, and we all know that in the U.S. the Charger has averaged 10,000 units per month, and even though the Mexican market is much smaller, the Charger and the 300 are the top sellers FUll size RWD sedans.
This kind of people can´t tell the diference between an intake and a tail pipe, weeks after they unloded all the crap they could to Chrysler, then they cloned Scott Burgess´s article about the Avenger, and even mentioned the BatMobile Joke, gave thumb´s up to the car with wisles and everything, and then they did what they do every day, claiming every time they can that the best thing you can do is buy a Lexus/Toyota or a Honda/Acura.
I Hate how the Media is at the Payroll, of HonYota.
“This is where Detroit needs to go for the Grand Slam, because it’s possibly the last pitched battle for Chrysler and Ford especially.”
Isnt the above saying that Chrysler is bankrupt? i dont get this post? I agree that the press is biased twards HonYota and how they cant build a head of crap! bull… the new Carmys interior is cheap plastic! and they bash the sebring for cheap plastic? wow… they need to pull there heads out of HonYotas wallet and come back to fair media>>>> that is why i no longer read Car and Driver, Motor Trend or any other car magizine/// the talk about the negitives at Chrysler, Ford, and GM and not how toyota and nissan not all their factarsy are union… and how non uaw nissan supported the new gas millage law that is gonna put gm chrysler and ford out of business… toyota and honda didnt even back it/.// this is weird? weres the gov’t bail outs when you need them? the legacy cost need to be the gov’ts responsibality! because they can bring us affordable health care! and as far as im concerened Ford is bankrupt…they are bleeding much more then gm and chrysler combinded! gosh? ignorance in the media?
small town boy
You’re absolutely spot on, Rich. The Detroit automakers have played to the lowest common denominator for so long, they have forgotten what made them the envy of the world 40 years ago, PRODUCT. Good points, all of them. Build a car people want, and they’ll line up to buy it.
Smalltownboy:
Yes, I’m saying it’s now or never for Chrysler. They face serious marketability issues, ever stronger competition, an extremley muddled image for the Chrysler brand itself, and all sorts of problems with the dealer network. There’s a lot going on in the pipeline, but the big picture encompasses a lot more than *just* the product. And I didn’t even touch on the UAW and fuel economy senarios - because we’re still in the spin zone on each.
It’s nice that you (through the government) want to pay the legacy costs that Detroit saddled themselves with, but I’d rather not. My taxes are high enough, thanks…
Rich,
You are right that it is now or never for Chrysler. Of course, it has always been like that. Sooner or later this “boom and bust” cycle will kill it, so if they don’t change it, Chrysler will be gone.
I’m not a betting man, but it would not surprise me to see Chrysler bow out sometime in the next 20 years. One massive screwup could send this company to its grave because it has had way too many chances already to get it right. The American public is forgiving, but to a point. I just have to wonder if the public just doesn’t care anumore if Chrysler makes it or not. There are so many other choices for people to choose from.
“It’s nice that you (through the government) want to pay the legacy costs that Detroit saddled themselves with, but I’d rather not. My taxes are high enough, thanks”
Hmm I think the solution here is to make the healthcare system public, not only for the sake of the american auto industry, but for any industry in the US. Also I think it’s only normal for the wealthiest country in the world to pay the health bill of its citizens.
Also the “my taxes are high enough, thanks”… I believe the US governement wastes so much money on the Iraq War that paying universal health care system would be nothing compared to it.
Chrysler’s problem ATM is mostly their products. The Caliber isn’t competitive, the Sebring/Avenger neither, the LX are getting old, and the SUV market is shrinking. Design can sale, but there is a limit. Chrysler should have KNOWN that their V-6 engines were getting dated. Now, for 2-3 years, they are trying to sell “old” 2007 stuff.
I haven’t test driven the Sebring, however comparing ot the 2007, it’s even LESS competitive. Uglier styling, less room inside.. so on and so far.. The only advantage I see from the 2007 version is that you can get 1000$ back in Canada because the 2.7L uses flex fuel and the interior is also better. But don’t get me wrong, if I had to buy a mid-size (which I won’t because my Cirrus is still running great), I wouldn’t even consider the Avenger.. I would go for the Aura or the Fusion.. much better products.
Dont be fooled by the number of sales.. apart from the fact most of them goes to fleet sales, also consider that when you go to a Chrysler dealership, you can decrease the price by a few thousands, simply because even the dealer knows his product simply can’t compete with the others. The minivan still sells because it is a few thousands below it’s cheapest competition.
All of this agressive price politics hurt the profit margin. Chrysler needs better prdocuts, I always ask myself “What were they thinking??” when it comes to the Caliber or Sebring. The caliber doesn’t replace the neon at all. The sebring is worst than the one before it (on some points). Why can’t they make a compact car? a new Neon? This time, PLEASE with a manual transmission.
I seriously don’t understand Chrysler’s decisions. There’s huge sign of incompetence in it’s management. A total lack of vision. Don’t get me wrong, I am biaised towards Chrysler. However, as time passes, I think GM will get a sale from me.
Patate,
I fully agree with your analysis of Chrysler.
You think your taxes are high now. Where so you think the money for socialized medicine will come from? BTW… the Impala outsold the Accord for the first time in May.
GM is aiming for success, their plan to get back number 1 title is on the way. It isn’t just a restructuring plan (close plants, fire people). That only helps in short term. GM is changing their mentality in term of products and quality. Their approch on global thinking will save them. Pontiac is going RWD and Buick is going upscale.. people now compares the Buick Enclave to the Lexus RX or even LX. Super Buicks are imitating the 300C’s principle and it WILL sell.
GM KNOWS what they are doing. New ads are excellent, products are very attractive: the mentality is changing for GM.
Now Ford… Ford is the american car company that is going the least well, from an administration/buisness point of view. Billions of loss, plants closing, etc.. However their turn towards QUALITY is evident, the Fusion/Focus/Taurus can now easily compete/beat the imports big names (Camry, accord, Maxima, Civic). In terms of sale, I am realist.. I know Ford wont get back the car market as easily, because their name reminds of the Contour.. Tempo.. etc.. However, if they can keep the profitable truck market to them (Expedition sales UP hehe), it can financialy help them to improve their entire line-up that I consider VERY GOOD. However, they should really concentrate on reviving the Lincoln brand instead of just redbadging Fords. I think Mercury should be rebadged Fords with the same luxury level than the actual Lincolns.
GM and Ford’s priority must be to keep their customers and win back the ones that already got screwed. If they can live long enough, they might just do that. Best of luck to them
But Chrysler…. you know a year ago I used to say (on weblogs or on the forums) that Chrysler was going the best between the Big Three. However times change. Chrysler are a few years late on all the other automakers.
Why did we need the Aspen? Why the Commander? Why do all new products are heavier than before? Most people care about mileage now (whether it is for environmental or financial reasons), so why do you need those luxury SUVs? You needed an Aspen back in 2000 to compete with the Navigator and Escalade, NOW IT IS TOO LATE. Now the most economical car of the Chrysler’s lineup is the Caliber. Are you kidding me? What can Chrysler offer to a 18-25 year old person that needs a compact and economical car? an used neon? Why is it that hard to make a compact or subcompact car? Ford has the focus and GM the cobalt, why not a compact from Chrysler? It is one of the most popular segment anyway, and it certainly isn’t shrinking in sales. Isn’t there anyone in Chrysler that thought: “hey maybe we should make a subcompact or a compact… our best one gets 30 mpg on the highway”. Isn’t there anyone that thought that making the compass was a bad idea? It is almost the SAME CAR than the caliber. I know I know, some people bought the compass because it was a Jeep product. BUT A JEEP PRODUCT IS AN OFF-ROAD BRAND. It’s little decisions like this that screws a brand image… think Cadillac with the Cimarron. Oh yeah I almost forgot the decision to have Chery as a partner.. oh wow great idea. I’ll send in a link just to prove how of a great idea it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kQGAK550LE
Now Caravans are going to be less profitable because of the Canadian currency, so Chrysler must start thinking about good ideas to actually survive. A brand that counts on it’s Ram and Caravan sales wont live long.
Now what’s happening with the Dakota? why not a hybrid version with the updated 4.7L? you want to compete with the Tacoma, now here’s a way to totally own it. Now I know that some of my ideas have some financial or technical issue, but Chrysler is speeding up to nowhere at the moment. I have no idea what they’re thinking.
And By the way, the comment about taxes that I made earlier wasn’t very clear.. maybe. But what I meant is that the US governement uses the tax payer’s money to finance a stupid war, while they could use just a small portion of it to give universal healthcare to its citizen. Now what is a better choice for a society? Healthcare insurance costs kill manufacturing companies in the US. Don’t blame the unions, since they protect their worker’s quality of life. Too many people blame the UAW for GM and Ford’s problems.. while it is an evident weight, it is for the people’s good. However the problems are much more complex than this. For a while, Detroit’s products were of bad quality, it is time that they change their mentality. 2 of those corporations already did, now what is Chrysler waiting? Cerberus can provide the money, however it must go somewhere useful.
I mostly agree with you, but I think you’re overestimating Ford’s quality changes - I recall they had a good rep thanks to “Job One” ads even as they sold Tempos and Escorts that could last maybe 80,000 miles…
Want more PURE proof of ABSOLUTE bias?
Try what I pulled of MSN as of 6/30/2007 regarding “experts” rating used cars and the 2000 Chrysler Concorde, specifically.
I picked that one since it’s my wife’s car.
Ratings by the “Experts” (Remember EX=a has been and a SPURT is a drip under pressure) rate the car at 7.0.
Now that’s VERRRRY INTERESTING ! The owners, when polled call it EIGHT POINT SEVEN!!!!!!!!!
And it’s the owners who live with the car 24/7 and who pay the bills, not the lard bottom EX-SPURTS.
And it goes downhill from there, believe it or not.
In the reliability ratings, the geniuses say the big problem with the motor is:
(fanfare please)
“an occasional problem with the timing chain and guides which may prevent the vehicle from starting.”
Sonofagun! These jerks somehow forgot about all the dither about the coking up of the oils and consequent starvation and engine seizure. I guess the publicity never made it to the “experts.”
At least the “experts” said the costs for the timing chain et al would be around $1,000.00 plus rather than the 8 large for a long block which is thrown around for a replacement motor regarding the 2.7 Mitsu with the alleged oil problem.
By the way, that same article gives Kelley Blue Book prices for the Concorde in the range of $6,975.00 to $8,075.00.
Egad!
Little did I know how great a bargain I just picked up!
MSN as a reliable source… interesting thought. That said - 2.7 is not a Mitsu; you’re thinking of the 2.5 and 3.0.
The 2.7’s loudly touted problems have been of great interest to me and Dr. Dave’s revelation is a bombshell to me since I’ve been laboring under the delusion that the 2.7 was a Mitsu motor ever since we got that Concorde. Worse, that impression was backed up by no less than 3 DEALERS (!) and FOUR remanufacturers. (Names upon request)
Hoo Boy!
I guess there’s a ton of misinformation out there, just as I noted some so-called “highly-respected” outfits keep tripping over their shoes when reporting about cars, generally (see my post, above, about the Concorde)
the 2.7 v6 in the concorde, interpid, sebring, startus, avenger, magnum, charger, 300 is not a mitsu engine! its a chrysler engine! its based on the 3.5 and 3.2 yes the 3.2 is also a chrysler not a mercedes! these engines were engneered before the german take over at aburn hills! haha. chrysler hasnt used mitsu engines sense the 2.5 in the avenger and sebing coupes in 2000, and the 3.0 in the staratus and sebring coupes 01-05 and these cars were built my mitsiubishi! not chrysler for some odd reason! again if the government wants better fuel economy then they should fund it… and not the car companys… the auto companys agree about the enviroment… but you can teach an old dog new tricks.
small town boy
oh i have somting to add to my above coment. pull out of this war and then there will be no tax difference if the govt finaces the big 3! duh. its only logical! a useless war on and ideal topic that kills countless americans a year… or invest in auto companys that are very important to our economy? wow. the bush adminsitratinons prioritites are very weird…
small town boy…
o and if you have any thing to say in response to this i would be glad to hear from you. so coment away…
i just discovered somthing! allpar is very hypercritical…. go check out this site!
http://www.toyoland.com
and if you look it says that it is ran by Allpar LCC.! i suppose you run a site for GM and Ford also? wow. i cant beleve you! and you are doggin on Chrysler Corp.! wow… i doont like that very much…. your just like the rest of the auotmotivie media… very bias to the forgien makes!
verry upset
small town boy
I don’t think it’s at all hypocritical. I have pointed out many times that I felt Toyota is the inheritor of the 1930s Plymouth mentality. Plain-looking, ordinary cars with strong engineering and reliability - and in many cases, American engineering, at least in the chassis and body. Of all the foreign automakers, Toyota tries hardest to treat its people well and to use their intelligence, works hardest to localize engineering and production, and has been best at achieving real economy for its owners.
If you read the toyoland site you will notice positive references to Chrysler sprinkled throughout. It’s probably the only foreign-car-oriented site that does that.
No GM or Ford sites.
Toyoland is in the process of being transferred to a new maintainer.
I can tell you how it came about - one word - Daimler. Chrysler has not been domestic since 1998, and at the times when the future seemed darkest, I took refuge. Unlike many, though, I do not own anything BUT Chrysler.
well Dave here I do not agree at all. Toyota is the Wal-Mart of the auto industry.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070611/NEWS01/706110367/1001/BIZ
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Toyota
A few weeks (maybe months) ago, I had a great link on the workers condition in Toyota City (Japan). Believe me, they’re that bad.
In Dave’s defense, he never made it a secret that he had the Toyota site. I also find nothing hypocritical about his running sites for two different automotive groups. It’s called diversifying. Something many companies have done and continue to do. In Dave’s case, the business is creating automotive communities to those of shared interest.
It’s funny, because right now Hyundai is doing exactly the steps listed here. Their current ad campaign literally and directly compares one of their cars to a BMW and the Santa Fe SUV to a Land Rover. The ads list off all the things that their car did better, and admits that the only thing the luxury car/SUV had was “a few more cupholders”. Then the ads tell you how the Hyundai costs over $20000 less. Hyundai going after BMW and Land Rover? Who would have thought we’d ever see the day? But they are. They are using a high end vehicle and showing how they beat them. Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t, but it’s a hell of a campaign and it is EXACTLY what Rich says the big three should be doing.
I’m with you PTM - and I’ll add that Hyundai, since it doesn’t have a corporate luxury division, can feel free to make their cars look as luxurious as they want, without risk of hurting their luxury car division’s image or “stepping over the line.” Man, the Elantra has just become an amazing vehicle - you have to drive an ‘07 to believe how far they’ve come. Hyundai is moving fast - Chrysler has moved just as fast in the past and they need to do the same now, if they can. I’m a bit concerned with the brain drain and all the downsizings that they might not be able to recover - but they’ve done impossible things before.
I have to agree about the Hyundai thing. Even though the last one I drove was 05 Elantra. They have totally changed around their image from about 15 years or so ago. We had the Hyundai franchise from 1991 to 1994 when they were just terrible. I wish we could have kept it to have seen it turn around but it was more of a case of sell a Hyundai, lose a customer. But Hyundai is a good example for Chrysler to look at. They prove that you can change your image around if you just have the dedication to do it.
i am justifiying my opinon on the hypocracy. read this.
“In 2006, Toyota beat Dodge to be the new #3 brand in America, and is on its way to become America’s favorite single brand as Ford and Chrysler’s cost-cutting binges catch up with them.”
Allpar knows that it wasnt chryslers cost cutting its DAIMLERS cost cutting at there abused american arm.
i also do agree that Toyota is the Wal-Mart of the auto industry. There evil…
upset.
small town boy.
oooo and i DONT blame the UAW and CAW for the legacy cost at GM, Ford, and Chrysler… i blame the government. I support unions! and i dispise walmart and toyota! i have nothing but chryslers… you could put it “i bleed mopar blue” always have/// and always will….
small town boy
why did you put your tail between your legs and run off to toyota like a coward in 1998? afraid that daimler was gonna get you? toyota is just as bad… you talk so much smack about daimler…. i wouldnt be suprised if u ran a DAIMLER site….
small town boy
Well, when you have your own Chrysler enthusiast site with over 1000 pages on vehicles from the beginning to not-even-for-sale yet, and a vibrant forum community, you can talk. Until then, you’re just increasing the noise level.
On Hyundai: They are an excellent example of reversing a rep that was dirt in relatively short order. They’re also proving that you can keep an eye on price without being a bottom feeder.
I hope Chrysler can pull this off…
okay… but one last question…. why toyota?
they have to many ties to GM for me… the Pontiac Vibe is made by toyota same as corolla matrix… the Geo/Chevy Prizm was made my toyota and identical to the corolla.///
now do u get were i comin from? if you were gonna take shelter…. why not in honda? they had ties to chrysler in japan….
small town boy
You don’t like Toyota because they have ties to GM? GM, which IS an American automaker?
Quite a few people at allpar have complained about cost-cutting at Chrysler - imposed by Daimler though it might be. Hopefully that’ll change.
What’s up with those hostile posts small town boy?
Who cares if Dave likes Toyotas as well? You act as if it was inadmissible (is that a word in English?).
Everyone who knows cars just a little are biaised to some and hate others.
Dave likes Toyotas and Chryslers, and hate Mercedes and Ford. Deal with it ;)
I love American cars and I totally despise imports. I prefer to call Domestics cars: ” North American ” cars. Since Mexico and Canada also appreciate those 3 companies economical benefices. I personally think that since domestics have served our nations (economically), by especially hiring employees with very high salaries), we should support them, to the end.
Gotta jump in here.
I’m from a pretty small town, too. Eleven hundred folks, to be exact. Then got swept up to other places, sat for the boards to get those funny letters after my name, was a safety engineer, and when I was a rebel in a big corporation and stepped on too many toes, went consulting on my own. Did some writing, too, for magazines in the marine field which I love since I had boats. Wrote for Power&Motoryacht, PowerBoatingCanada and Professional Boatbuilder.
Yeah, I been around the block once or twice. Got a coupl’a trophies in a box from my days of stupidity from racing stock (never made a first, but some 2s and 3s), so I kind of have a handle on motors and I LOVE DETROIT IRON!
One of the articles I wrote for Power&Motoryacht was about Crusader Marine Engines, a UAW union shop.
At the time, their shop steward was the grandson of the fellow who led the sit-down at GM back in the 30s. Now, that’s RABID unionism.
But Crusader had such a sterling reputation for PERFECTION that YAMAHA was buying their engines for their sterndrives!!!
Part of the reason was that if any little thing was seen by anybody, something like Staple’s EASY button - spaced out along the assembly line - could be pushed, bringing the entire shop to a standstill.
That emptied the entire engineering office down to the shop floor where everybody parleyed to find out the trouble. It was then fixed and the line started once more. But NOTHING WENT OUT THE DOOR WITHOUT BEING AS GOOD AS THE AMERICAN - UNION WORKER - COULD POSSIBLY MAKE IT.
Yeah.
Been there.
Seen it.
here in New Jersey I see a lot of foriegn cars. A lot of people here say that american cars are trash. all of our mopars have lastes a long time. everywhere i look there are forign cars. a lot of peopple i know swear by them. what chryslen needs is good advertising to match the good product.
Dealers and the service that they provide are also key. my family have been going to the same small famly owned dealership in belle mead since the 1940s, yes we have bought cars at other dealerships but we keep buying cars from them because of their service and how they treat their customers. both of these factors should be adressed by chrysler so that they can be successfull again.
Hyundai ran ads about a year or 2 ago that touted its improved quality and had a slogan that basically asked people to reconsider its old low-quality image. But then again, you can only do that if you truly have turned around in that dept.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned down a Taurus at the rental car counter in favor of a Hyundai… They actually are great cars to drive!
As far as product goes: The Americans have always had the better product (LH, Neon, Taurus, Caravan to name a few) but the execution was not up to par. Japanese reliability and quality is nothing new so I can’t really back the Big 3 up after at least 20 years of building cars that have problems. Granted, most American cars are very reliable now, however, John Q Public doesn’t know about it because the media is so blinded by those silvery H’s and T’s that they can’t get over older cars problems. The Big 3 are to blame too, they need to report that their cars have improved. The Big 3 should take examples from Honda and Toyota however; having fewer platforms and having engines that can go from a mid size to a minivan to a crossover. Fewer engines means they can spend more money and time developing reliable engines.
As far as dealers go, I have never had a problem with a 5 Star Dealer, every time I bring one of my cars to the dealer (three different dealers) I am treated respectfully and they are always honest.
As far as Toyota goes, I am so sick of seeing them. They aren’t very attractive and they have no personality or soul. But John Q Public doesn’t buy cars for soul or personality, only car guys do that. No, John Q Public works hard for his money and needs a car that will not let him down. The funny thing is though, foreign or domestic, the average American doesn’t keep their cars for more then 5 years anymore, so why is everyone so hung up about that? Yes, it is important, but it is a broken record.
For the most part, Honda and Toyota deserve the recognition they are getting the Big 3 seemed to ignore them in 1980’s and again in 1990’s when they waved the white flag on cars and decided to build more SUV’s and trucks. History repeats gentlemen. In the 1970’s Americans drove the Japanese crap hatchbacks and noticed the quality and reliability, but in the 80’s after oil crisis was over people went back to their Chevy’s Fords and Chryslers. Now that the oil prices are back up, people are again going back to the Japanese who manage to build larger cars with better economy. Big 3 are not innocent, however, the media has taken the opportunity to further dig their graves.
Popular Mechanics has a fascinating article, this month, by Lee Iacocca. He pulls no punches and sheds enough tears about putting Eaton in place to soak a whole box of Kleenex.
Moparnut,
I saw a similiar article with Iacocca in the new Motor Trend that just came out. I had to grin at some of the statements because it was exactly how some of us figured it would play out. He was right on saying that it was the Big 2 since Chrysler, at the time, could no longer be counted as a member of the Big 3. I enjoyed reading the article. I just wish Iacocca would have had the vision to pick Robert Lutz over Bob Eaton. Things might have been very different today.
“The funny thing is though, foreign or domestic, the average American doesn’t keep their cars for more then 5 years anymore, so why is everyone so hung up about that?”
The thing is, if people keeps their car for a while, then a Domestic is the best choice. If they sell it after 5 years, they’re better off with an import. example the Corolla has a great resale value. My 2000 cirrus is now worth perhaps 4000$, while a 2000 corolla… well maybe around 6000$?
Unfortunately…many people don’t seem to. Me, resale has never mattered ’cause I always go in on the 7-10 year plan.
The Iaccoca excerpts were a good read, Makes you wonder if he’s got an Eaton photo on a dartboard in his den….
The last time I knew I’d only want a car for a couple of years, I had to figure that into the price. I was commuting 60 miles each way and I wanted the best possible gas mileage and reliability, but didn’t think I’d have the job too long. I ended up with a Corolla because the Neon - much as I loved it - was noisier and couldn’t match the real-life 38 mpg at 75 mph. When I sold it, I had only lost a couple of thousand dollars. Resale value is a huge issue for Detroit. If you keep your car until it dies, or for ten years, I think Detroit has a real advantage, partly because the parts cost much less. But I was looking at the same price for Corolla vs Neon (both assembled in the US!) and a resale price that was thousands of dollars different. That was my one Japanese car, and I must say it went into the shop just as often as the Neon had while under warranty. (That was also in 1999, and the Daimler **** was just starting to hit the fan, so my loyalty to Chrysler was not at an all-time high. See, I’m brutally honest. I did think about GM’s Cavalier but the dealers, for some reason, weren’t dealing. Nice car but the Corolla’s soft ride and quiet interior, and gas mileage!, were big factors too.)
I figure we’ll have the 300M until 2009 or so and the PT until they make something better, so those pay off for us.
One exception in resale value: Wranglers. Sadly minivans used to have HUGE resale value but now that’s gone.
One thing that hurts resale is program cars. These are the cars that the rental fleets turn back in. There are also some lower mileage company cars that go through these sales. For about 3 years I was the buyer for our dealership. I could go to a Chrysler factory sale and pick up that current year model Neons for about $7500. Minivans were going for about $3000 back of invoice after rebates. It was a rare occasion that Chrysler would no sale a vehicle.
Yeah, the fleet sales are a double edged knife though. They are both keeping The Big 3 afloat (especially Chrysler) but also hurting perception and resale. I read an article on AOL early last week about how almost 75% or more (forgive me for not having the correct #’s but it was very high) of Dodge Avengers are being sold directly to fleet. Unfortunatly, it looks like Chrysler is going to have to shrink before it can start to grow again. IMHO though, the Avenger and Sebring are downright ugly, I don’t know who designed them but he/she should be worried about their job security; the rental car companies are the only people who seem to want to buy either of those vehicles.
Personally I like the look of both and think the real problem is in powertrain. The base engine is tuned for high paper numbers but for most drivers feels sluggish; the 3.5 sucks down fuel and doesn’t come close to Camry or several other competitors. Marketing has been minimal on both as far as I can tell. The 2.7 seems nice but again, gas mileage and acceleration are middle of the pack, and nothing distinguishes the cars other than styling. The Sonata is much nicer in ride and feel…the Camry in acceleration…
I just can’t get over the styling, doesn’t sit well. The Sebring convertible looks great, but not the sedan. Chrysler just really needs a breakthrough product and those are not it. Hyundai was able to do it with the Sonota and Ford is winning alot of praise for the Fusion. Another thing about those cars, the interior materials are so cut rate it looks like it will fall apart at any moment. Screw lighted cupholders and cooled gloveboxes. I want soft touch materials and dials/knobs that sound like they will last forever.
Unfortunately, the Fusion is not selling all that well, so I don’t think it is that break through product that Ford thought it would be. But I do agree about the interiors of the Chrysler products. With the Ram I can let it go because it is a truck, I could care less, but the 300 is priced almost entry luxury, why does it have worse interior materials than a Kia?