Comments on: The speed (or sloth) of private equity

By: DaveAdmin

DaveAdmin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:15:28 +0000

Looks like I was wrong about the minivans being completely unchanged - they raised the mileage.

By: Scott Koprowski

Scott Koprowski — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:19:38 +0000

Did they reprogram the CVT at all for the small cars? I have not driven a 2009 Caliber yet but I would have thought that they would have been able to squeeze a little more mpg with a CVT retuning. I still can’t understand how Nissan can make such pleasant to drive small cars (Sentra) using the same CVT transmission. I was hoping the CVT would have been drastically improved for 2009. All I have read so far is about better sound insulation-no one has mentioned anything about improvements in the CVT transmission. IMHO it is the CVT that is the achillies heel to the Caliber/Compass. Has anyone drove a 2009 Caliber yet and noticed any improvements?

By: Chryco fan

Chryco fan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:43:32 +0000

Every best seller eventually gets to the point where its sales decline. Not all that long ago VW beetle held the top spot for imports, Oldsmobile held best seller for family cars around the same time, then Honda Accord a bit later, then Ford Taurus. It is now Camry, made the best seller because of the baby boom generation. But its day will end–is Cerberus studying that? What will Gen Xers or Yers want in a family vehicle when they get to be 35, 45, 50 years old? Is Cerberus going to abandon that next generation to Toyota because “sales don’t matter”? Lay the foundation now. Same with Luxury cars–the top selling ES350 is today’s equivalent of the sedan de ville, popular now but the next generation will not want it. Is Cerberus doing anything to think about what comes next? They need durable entry level cars and desirable high end models. Chrysler is not countering the message that is being heard by yet another generation–that Corolla is good, Civic is good, American cars uncool, no good. Alot of college kids rent cars–when they end up with a Sebring does that make them want to buy a Chrysler product when they have the means to do so? Chrysler may have some ENVI models coming around 2011. Hopefully they won’t be too late to do some good. Cerberus has the money to tackle those things and make alot of money if they figure it out.

By: Chryco fan

Chryco fan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:48:25 +0000

They do seem to be making an effort in quality though. I think that is equally important as the perception of fuel economy–see article below, warranty claims down 29%.

http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2008/09/freep-chrysler-slashing-problems/

There is still much to be done. I would have more confidence if they were showing off some of their upcoming designs, as Ford is with the Fiesta, Taurus to some extent, GM is with the Cruze, Orlando.

Is it possible that people like the more elegant styling on the T&C better, and there is really no price advantage to go with a Caravan, so T&C is getting better numbers? Perhaps a Caravan with a taller final drive and reduced price would spark interest in the model.

They need to care about sales. If they can’t compete with Toyota and Honda in sales numbers in key segments what is the purpoe of the company? They aren’t Rolls Royce that can sell 1500 cars a year and call that a success. They need to start putting up a real fight–we’re stuck with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but Americans will soon tire of bailing out industries to the tune of billions of dollars while the executives that ran the companies into the ground walk away with millions. Chrysler should defintely not be an American Subaru–it should be an American equivalent of Honda or BMW. Chrysler can be that successful–most likely that success would be in spite of government policies rather than because of them, even anything positive McCain or Obama might talk about doing to level the playing field or create incentives–if they will put some money into quality, better design, and better marketing of the Chrysler brand itself.