Making cars nobody wants
Chrysler’s minivans get the best mileage of any minivans available in North America – if you get the big 4-liter V6. That will improve next year with “decel fuel cutoff.”
The Dodge Challenger is hot, and remains a top package. If you want usable back seats, it’s the muscle car of choice. With the V6, its balance is impeccable; and its appearance is still top of the class, possibly the most attractive car available anywhere, from anyone.
The Jeep Patriot has impressive off-road capabilities, yet is economical and pleasant on-road. Its space utilization is almost amazing. Reviews have generally been positive – even more so since the interior was redesigned.
People who are not “into cars” and have not yet heard that they are supposed to hate it, tend to really like the Chrysler Sebring, especially before they find out that it is a Chrysler. (After they learn that, of course, their interest usually fades.)
The Dodge Charger remains the squad car of choice, by a huge margin. It easily outperforms the Ford Crown Victoria on any criterion except price, and even there it’s close.
The 2009 Dodge Ram has swept the board clean of truck awards, beating the newer Ford F-150 in comparisons and impressing journalists left and right. It is hard to find a valid criticism of the pickup.
The Dodge Ram chassis cabs are exceptional in every way, including brake life around triple that of the Ford trucks in the same category, and of course Cummins turbodiesels.
Coming up in the near future are the Phoenix engines that Fiat has been lusting after, the 200C that made journalists gasp and run to the stage when it was unveiled, electric cars of all types, the revised LX platform that Fiat is going to use, a much-improved Grand Cherokee, a 6.4 liter SRT-8 Hemi with cylinder deactivation and (presumably) variable valve timing, and much more.
So who decided that Chrysler is making cars nobody wants?
“So who decided that Chrysler is making cars nobody wants?”
Daimler.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist the first comment. In all seriousness, you forgot to mention the Wrangler’s current recession defying sales figures. There is also Doug Betts leading the complete transformation of quality management and how it shows in the products. The head of Zipcar auto sharing services said on CNBC last month that not one of its customers has ever requested a Chrysler or GM product. I think Chrysler’s problem with that has been simply listening to the wrong marketing gurus.
My suggestion for Chrysler would be fast track Fiat’s 5 speed Duo-Logic transmission to replace the current 4 speed auto, which is used with the 2.4 world engine in the Sebring and Avenger. Tighten the suspension and improve the brakes on the base models and then they would be building a car I want. On second thought, how about a Duo-Logic equipped PT Cruiser?
Chrysler needs to get some good advertising out there! Ford touts its SYNC in all there models. Why doesnt Chrysler brag about there MYGIG radios which are almoast identical? Chryslers minivans have the best milage, they have u-connect internet connections, sat TV, etc. But you dont here about these at all? Where did the Ram pick up comercials go. All I see is Ford and Chevy on TV. Chrysler seems to be ashamed of there cars. They should be bragging about the awards the Ram has, the retro styling of the Challanger, PT Cruiser (my God ill bet most people think that was dropped!), the Minivans, Jeep Wranglers etc!
For years there advertising has sucked period! They should do some teaser commercials about the new Grand Cherokee, Fiat, Pentastar engines etc. Show people that there is life back in the company.
How about the Washington Post? I’m a bit tired of Warren Brown telling the world that Chrysler vehicles stink. The biggest complaint is about the interiors – as expected – but does seem to like the newer minivans. Warren is fairly typical in that the imports always seem to get more praise than the domestic brands.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011702310.html
Very true, there has always been a disconnect between engineering and marketing that dates back to the 70’s. Damlier had much to do with it (Dodge Nitro-bleh!)- sad to see how quickly they lost the design leadership from 2001-present. Anyway, Mopar fans can only hope the great technology carries them through into the new Fiat era–look how Jaguar resurrected their public image, Chrysler could do it (again)…
Agreed, Maxwedgesteve, if Ford can do it then Chrysler can. Look at for just a few years ago, with the Exploder tire issue, bland cars etc. Chrysler has to start going out there and do some good PR and start now!
Chrysler advertising was the worst under Daimler. It was then simply goofy when Cerebus took over. Where do I start? Blowing up a very successful past product, a Dodge Spirit which was mocked on the Nitro commercial. Those Caliber ads were anything but cute to Neon owners. A lot of people say they never saw the Magnum advertised, which is fortunate. The Magnum monkey ad mocked millions of minivan buyers who were Chrysler’s best customers.
Recent advertising has singing wildlife selling Jeeps and Dodge Rams driving through exploding buildings. Before the media respects Chrysler’s vehicles, the marketing department at Chrysler should show respect to them as well.
Agreed!!! Chrysler has had problems with that since the time when it was a Corporation. I do not recall ANY really good Chrysler commercials – aside from Jeep, before the Jeep ad agency was consolidated with the others.
One has to question whether the ‘new’ Chrysler or GM is new enough. Altho GM is now 50% smaller than before, it has only reduced it’s management by 30%; not sure about Chrysler’s reduction, but I assume its similar. Have they been scared enough to break out of old patterns and habits? Is there anyone with enough sense at either company to realize they need a COMPLETE change from the old ways. I’d love to see Chrysler put out a commercial that tells us something about the vehicle and the technology, but apparently we are just too stupid to understand technical jargon. I squirmed with embarrassment every time I saw a Compass commercial and the blowing skirts on the Sebring ad made the car look like it would fall apart. I hope the new board will dump the old ad agency and insist on some real creativity with their new ads.
Hate to say it but they need to take a advertising direction like Hyundai, or evan Suburu. Look at the Suburu commercials about how people love the boxter engine. Why dosent Chrysler to that with Jeep, or Dodge. Look at all the loyalists and how people love there mopars! Make the Chrysler commercials look rich,enviting, warm and show the value in the vehicles like the lifetime warranty. Use a one voice like Lexus does for there ads. Pay someone like George Clooney to do voice overs(he did a good job with Budweiser and Richard Dryfus does voice overs for Honda commercials) Make Jeep and Dodge commercials about heritage and loyalty, my God no one has the loyality like Jeep owners! WAKE UP Chrysler!!! Now is the time that you can make a great comeback! Maybe they should hire me for ideas, cand to worse than there ad agencey and I work cheap!
I have full confidence in Fritz Henderson. You can’t scale down management in a linear fashion; GM is losing Opel and will need to take on more engineering domestically because of that.
I have to disagree that Chrysler never made a good commercial. I think the mid-nineties Dodge Ram commercials with Edward Hermann narating while a Ram drops from the ceiling are memorable, even though we didn’t get much detail about how the Ram was superior in many ways. Hermann, by the way, does a lot of narration for documentaries on the History and Science channels. A marketing guy here once told me that Mr. Hermann is very well respected, quite sought after and very selective about what he does and who he represents. Although my memory is a little vague, I seem to recall some of the late fifties and early sixties commercials were fairly well done.
Those weren’t bad but as you said, “we didn’t get much detail about how the Ram was superior” at a time when the Ram was quite clearly VERY superior.
I would not remember commercials made before the 1990s… obviously the Iacocca commercials stand out as excellent.
I should of said recent commercials, ( compass bobblehead comercials?). The old Rams dropping where great, why not bring something like those back or even Edward Herrman? They need to talk about toughness and superior trucks with Dodge; luxury and value with Chrysler, and loyalty and history with Jeep.
I remember the Magnum TV ads with the guy pulling up next to some Euro-exotic at a stop sign. “What have you got in that?” asks the exotic driver. The Magnum driver then describes all the cargo he’s hauling, steps on the gas and roars away. They used that one for a couple of years, since the Magnum didn’t change in appearance until ‘08.
Less impressive was the early Caliber ad that had the V8 engine sound dubbed in for this 4-cylinder car.
Other, older ones that stick out in my memory were the ‘87 LeBaron ads with the track footage (and that pointed out that you could “choose precision five-speed”), the ‘84 Turismo Duster ad with the Cyndi-Lauper-sounding jingle and the early Omni ads: “Dodge has put it all together/Omni’s got it all/The new Dodge Omni does it all!” Oh, and the ‘87 Shadow ad set in the abandoned factory, where a ‘64 Dart morphs into a Shadow.
I have to agree with scrimping on the advertising is “not” a good thing. I don’t see any good commercials out there for Chrysler/Dodge or Jeep. What the heck is going on with these guys? Do you think they know this? I am starting to wonder whats going on? Its pretty bad when the consumer is complaining that there are no commercials/advertisements from a particular company. Whats the hold up? Do they have any advertising/ promo people left? I am sure I could come up with a great commercial for them, and so could probably most of the people writing on this post. I mean, I am no ad wizard but, hell I can tell them what people want in a commercial.
I see alot of four banger imports using Americana as the basis for their commercials. We hear familier rock tunes that we love, open roads, burning rubber, and high performance driving.
Why is Chrysler not doing this? I think this lack of advertising greatness was their number one problem all along. They never got out there enough. Some of their print ads in the past were awesome, but TV ads mostly sucked. Like Iacocca once exclaimed, “Fire the damned speech writers!”
I think most people think Chrysler is still dead. Because they never hear from the company. Little to no commercials. I am still waiting for the “new ” commercials.
Has anyone ever seen a Challenger commercial? I haven’t. The longest run of a commercial I remember is the Dodge SX 2.0, with that tapping foot and “Born to be alive” playing. I remember everybody at work and home was humming that song for awhile.
I think somebody needs to contact them and tell them they need to advertise. Seriously.
There was a commercial I saw from 84 and I wish there was something similar to come out right now. If there’s any time to revive this commercial now would be the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nppKMomMP-4
If asked about the best all-time and most memorable, I suppose Dinah Shore’s rendition of “See the USA…” would be on top or very near it. Although I haven’t heard it in a while, people use to mimic Recardo Monteban’s “rich corrinthian leather” phrase once in a while (Cordoba ads).
It’d be nice (and I know this is self-serving) for them to restart their Google ad campaigns.
I think the Jeep liberty commercial where a volcano spit it out, and then the Jeep heads right back towards the volcano was a really good one, that one was copied in a way by a couple other car companies. I agree that most of the commercials have just plain sucked over the years, Jeep clearly has superior prowess over any of its comp, but they never show it, why?
Hemihead, I thought I read that the government car czar had told Chrysler to cut its advertising budget by half, or something. Maybe that’s why we’re not seeing much.
Has anyone seen the three-part Dodge Ram commercials that do the ride (I think), speed, and towing comparisons to Chevy and Ford? they were on the Dodge site for a while and I thought they were spectacular!
The czar’s order came during the bankruptcy AFAIK and probably no longer applies. I could be wrong. However, their ad budget was very high and had some poorly developed ads thanking the American public, which overwhelmingly thought Chrysler and GM should be allowed to die. Not something we can’t live without.
Now, if this was Ford, there would be Google ads EVERYWHERE saying, “Chrysler is alive! Come and see what the future holds!”
I think they should bring back the Mudds!
(Yes, I am joking)
The one that stands out for me is the Neon ad where they try to sell an R/T based on rear seat room…by having a guy act like a dog in the back seat.
Then there’s the whole Dr Z thing.
The rednecks selling Rams.
This must be what happens when you have too many folks at the agency watching too many bad sitcoms.
Rich, I think your redneck comment was referring to the ads were two guys in a Duster pull up to a Hemi Ram? I thought they contained some “cute” but were kind of lame otherwise. That kind of ad smacks of demographic targeting, something ad agencies just love to do. Personnaly I respond to a much more intelligently present ad, like the one’s I referred to in my earlier post. They’re all facts presented by a person that comes across as a regular type of fellow, and use the vehicle comparison action to provide most of the visual stimulation.
I’ve never seen these ads on TV, but a co-worker apparently has. He was mumbling derrogatories with another office worker and I don’t think they liked the fact that Dodge made their favorite metal look less triumphant.
Match it! If you can! (1984-85 Plymouth)
An American Revolution! (1984 Dodge)..(Sorry Chevy…)
America’s Not going to be pushed around anymore! (1981 Dodge Aries K)
The American Way to Get your Moneysworth (1983 Plymouth)
The Best Built,Best backed American Cars. (1984 Plymouth)
Its gotta be a Dodge! (1987 Dodge)
Great stuff,when Chrysler was at its best.
I think some FIAT execs need to view some 80s ads….
and BRING BACK IACOCCA TO CHRYSLER ADS.
Make him seem like he’s still running the company.
He’s still got some usable trust in the people.
Ironically, the guy in the Duster with the speaking part is a professional comedian. My sister saw him in Atlanta, GA a few years ago. He tells how they did the screen test (imagine three guys sitting on chairs pretending to be driving/riding two vehicles).
Bring back the “Ram Tough” ad with the Ram dropping from the sky like the old days. Perfect ad for the 2010 Power Wagon.
Unless its a Caravan/T&C or a RAM nothing is advertised! Like others have said, its almost like Chrysler is ashamed if their vehicles. You can’t sell a vehicle nobody knows about. When is the last time you saw a Dodge Caliber commercial? When gas $4/gal it would have been a great time to push the Caliber, but no…continued to push the RAM with the HEMI V8 instead. I know Chrysler probably makes the most money off the RAM, but if you spread your advertising around a little you may start getting people interested in buying Chrysler vehicles without giving them a $4 or 5,000 rebate.
Also, when is the last time you saw a Dodge Avenger or Chrysler Sebring commercial? Hell, why aren’t they advertising the Challenger? I think its kind of sad when GM can sell 9,000 Camaros yet Chrysler can only crank out around 3,000 Challenger sales.
Advertising is Chrysler’s biggest downfall. They need to start advertising all of their vehicles and continue advertising them, not just when its a totally brand new vehicle. Hopefully the new Chrysler will see the value in advertising.
I thought the whole “DODGE Different” ad campaign was a good one. The resurrection of the “Cab forward” idea during that time worked well, in my opinion.
All that’s advertised down here in Texas are the Rams. Literally. Occasionally when the local dealers have a special going they’ll toss in a few model names & that’s about it. These guys have got to push all the vehicles in their stable. The Challenger sells but it’s not their bread ‘n butter that will eventually turn a profit. It’s stuff like the Minivans, Sebring, Caliber, Journey & yes, the trucks, that’s going to make or break them in the long run. And when they advertise, be aggressive dammit! Lee & the humble K-Car showed it can be done. The domestics have pretty much lost an entire generation to the Accord, Civic, Camry & Corolla; they’ve got to pull these people in & keep the ones they have. But what do I know? I’m just some dumb consumer.
I usually cringe when a Chrysler add comes on,although a very,very rare occurence.I did not like the redneck guys advertising the Rams either,they were even mocking the Duster,bad,bad idea..I own a Ram and wear a suit and tie to work as a $43,000 truck is not used to haul empty beer cans nor drive to an $4/hour job as many bloggers/import car owners/journelists tend to believe.Now is the time to really wake up and change things for the better,show the top model versions of your products with flattering view shots,talk,brag about the good.I also agree with your Sebring assessment, it is spot on.I love MotorTrend (I believe)they tested a New Accord sedan saying its so fast/powerful 7.2 0-60 and they tested a Sebring sedan 6.7 0-60 and saying how sluggish it felt,media bias is alive and well unfortunately.
Iacocca said he wanted to help the resurgence, let him do the ads. He has always been a well respected spokes person for Chrysler. It would give back some much needed creditability after both Daimler & Cerberus.
I must say I like Patfromigh’s idea of building the PT Cruiser with an updated transmission technology. Build a 2005 PT with some technology from this decade and they will sell. The concept was always sound, but it was cheapened like every other Chrysler Daimler got involved with.
The Sebring, Avenger and Caliber aren’t bad cars, but it looks like designs from the 80s. Compared to the new Taurus & Malibu, they would be a hard sell. The 200C could be a great jump off point for some new models.
I always like Iacocca’s slogan, “In the car business, you either have to Lead, Follow, or get out of the way.”
Actually, I have kind of made that slogan my mantra, so if you see a red Chrysler 300 coming up on your tail in the left lane and you’re going less than the speed limit, you better start moving over- ASAP. :-)
I think Chrysler would do well to pick up that line, or similar, and take an aggressive advertising stance to let the world know they’re back and they have the product to prove it.
Chrysler needs to recognize its own mistakes first.
When the Avenger first came out the interior plastics had different shades to them.
Stop putting that satin silver plastic in every car they make, it clashes with the beige interiors. Doesn’t anyone actually look at these cars before they decide to sell them?
Stop putting 4 speed autos in economy cars; it hurts their economy! They can’t compete with the competition on fuel mileage.
Offer more and better exterior color options. How about a Ram in green? They even restrict certain models of a vehicle to certain colors. Stupid! Offer every color you use on the Ram on every model Ram.
They need to stop building what they want to build and start building what people want to buy.
“Stop putting 4 speed autos in economy cars; it hurts their economy! They can’t compete with the competition on fuel mileage.”
Until of course you actually compare them to the competition, apples to apples. Then suddenly they compete.
“Stop putting that satin silver plastic in every car they make, it clashes with the beige interiors. Doesn’t anyone actually look at these cars before they decide to sell them?”
Beg to differ.
Hey Dave, I think you hit the nail on the head here without even trying. Of course, apples to apples Chrysler products compare quite well to the competition, but that’s not good enough! What Chrysler has to do is blow the competition away! When a company is in the rebuilding role they have to prove themselves all over again. This means providing more, being better, offering more and performing better then everyone in every way. Tough to do.