March 1st, 2010 • by David Zatz
Olivier Francois today announced his new vision for the Dealer of the Future.
“The new dealership will be solid, strong, unique,” he said. “In an era of flash, it will stand out. A cozy, intimate, inviting place which serves as an office and meeting spot for representatives and customers, without the clutter of cars that can’t be driven.”
Signage will be clarified with dealership services being featured alongside the brand names, in new, easily recognized block lettering.
Along with the new Project Deuteronomy dealerships, Chrysler will debut its new “Floating Air Power” styling, to be implemented across all product lines, and its new, simplified lineup. “We have too many brands,” said CEO Sergio Marchionne. “Henceforth, Ram trucks will be moved out to separate dealerships where possible, and the core Dodge brand will be cars-only.”
Cars are to be made in shades of gray and black, with offerings including Brilliant Black, Antique Silver, Dark Titanium, Silver Steel, Dark Charcoal, Graphite Metallic, Mineral Gray, Dark Graystone, and Extremely Dark White.
“One color is good enough for Steve Jobs and Sergio Marchionne,” Ralph Gilles pointed out. “What’s more, Ford became highly successful selling cars largely made by the Dodge Brothers, all painted black.”
Olivier added, “The Chrysler brand has been irrevocably tainted. When customers try to show off their new Chrysler, neighbors invariably whine about bailouts or Fiat parts. We have decided to do the ultimate retro step and bring Chrysler back to its roots. This will also end the confusion about Chrysler-the-company versus Chrysler-the-brand, and allow us to tap many beloved heritage names, such as Barracuda, Valiant, and Volare. We are bringing back Plymouth, and to minimize costs, it will simply replace the Chrysler brand.”
The phase in will take several years, during which cars will be called Chrysler Plymouth, Chrysler, and Plymouth. The VIN code will not change. The Chrysler Town & Country will be renamed Plymouth Voyager, the 300C will become the Fury, and the Sebring will become the Valiant. In its final months, the PT Cruiser will be officially re-acronymed to Plymouth Truck Cruiser.
Editor’s note: There is a reason this story is on the weblogs, not the news page… it’s being posted a month early.
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July 31st, 2009 • by David Zatz
It’s time for Chrysler to address the dealer cuts.
General Motors has already done so. They watched Chrysler’s high-handed, arrogant dismissal of 789 dealerships, then told the world what criteria they were using, gave their dealers lots of time to wind down operations, and had an appeals process.
Chrysler had no appeals process.
Chrysler did not make their criteria public until days after they announced the cuts.
Chrysler has made some individual decisions that appear to be indefensible, and has not defended them.
Many examples have been aired, but I’ll point to VerHage Chrysler. The Holland, MI-based family began selling Chryslers four generations ago in Hudsonville, Michigan – in 1925. Their market has 86,000 people, who will no longer have a dealership. That’s not a huge issue, perhaps, in Michigan, but one must still ask how this dealership got onto the list. We’re told they have a good reputation for sales and service; and certainly they help Chrysler by sponsoring the Annual All Mopar Show & Shine (in its 15th year).
So what’s the deal, Chrysler?
At this point, I firmly believe two things need to happen. First, Chrysler must be willing to provide real data to those who question particular dealership closings. Explain why one or the other had to go. If there’s no good explanation, the dealer should be given a new franchise. By “a good explanation” I’m excluding the reason I suspect many were dropped – because at some point the owner got into an argument with one of the dealer relations people.
I know many dealerships were bad and needed to be jettisoned. Some bad dealerships are still around poisoning the well, but many are gone. Many of the dealerships that went deserved to go. But with some, it’s hard to believe.
The second move Chrysler needs to make is an appeals process, and it needs to happen post-haste. Let the dealers who feel they were dropped wrongly appeal to a higher authority. Let them make their case. I suspect some would quickly be reinstated.
If Chrysler doesn’t move, and move quickly, it will not only solidify the arguments for the wing-nut conspiracy theorists, but it will feed fuel to the flame in Congress to reinstate ALL 789 dealers. That would be a disaster for Chrysler, not to mention General Motors, which would be forced to take back its bad dealers, too.
The time to move was last month, but since Chrysler was busy showing an unwarranted arrogance, the time to move is now.
