August 16th, 2011 • by David Zatz
Dear Mr. Ranieri,
As one who reads lots of Chrysler Group press releases on a daily basis, I would like to make a few comments and a suggestion.
The spelling of “Fiat” in all capital letters may be trendy, but it’s incorrect. We know that Fiat was originally an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino” or “Italian Automobile Factory in Turin.” In the early days, the company used to spell that out on the badging. However, Fiat S.p.A. hasn’t used all capital letters in referring to its cars since 1906, and stopped using them for the company name in 1918.
Perhaps I am a creature of habit, but 93 years seems to me to be adequate to establish proper usage.
In addition, “iconic” has become “le mot du jour” or “la parola del giorno,” if you prefer. Iconic is a dandy word, but It is terribly overused in modern media and media relations: it has even been used to describe Spongebob Squarepants. When everything is iconic, nothing is truly an icon.
While a complete prohibition of the word might cause severe internal distress, a gradual reduction might work. I suggest that you start by restricting the use of “iconic” to only one time in any given press release; then only once per person per day and then down to once per person per week. Buy new thesauruses for the PR staff to aid in the transition.
Not only will this end the “iconic” overflow, it will inspire fresh creativity in those who write Chrysler’s press releases as they discover new adjectives and adjectival phrases.
Best regards,
Bill Cawthon
February 21st, 2011 • by Bill C
Olivier Francois
President and Chief Executive Officer – Chrysler Brand
Chrysler Group LLC
1000 Chrysler Drive
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766
Dear Mr. Francois:
The Imperial has been gone since 1983, but there now might be a window of opportunity for a profitable rebirth of Chrysler’s once-flagship marque.
With the end of the traditional rear-wheel-drive Town Car on the Panther platform coming in August of this year, Ford will no longer have a vehicle suitable for executive car or limousine use. Yesterday, Ford announced it would offer two livery versions of its slow-selling MKT, which is an upcontented version of the slow-selling Ford Flex, in the second quarter of 2012. The new vehicles will bear the Town Car badge. In other words, Ford will replace the traditional luxury sedan with a chauffeur-driven station wagon.
Reaction to the announcement was less than enthusiastic: the industry buzz is that livery fleet owners will begin looking elsewhere when it’s time to replace their existing Town Cars.
How about giving them a reason to look at Chrysler? The 300 has already been offered in a stretched version as the Executive Series. Some tweaked sheet metal or a new grille, extra space and amenities (like heated seats) in the rear passenger compartment and the beefed-up suspension and column shifter from the Charger police car. Ideally, there would be front and rear bench seats.
A clean diesel version should be able to meet New York City’s tough new mileage requirements and Chrysler just happens to have a source for diesels for the 300. Outside of New York, Chrysler’s standard engines would fill the bill nicely.
The result? The 2012 Chrysler Imperial executive car/limousine. It would make a much better impression on the clientele than a wagon with a driver. To top it off, the Chrysler Imperial could have a favorable price point compared to the foreseeable competition.
Is there a market? Ford sold 11,264 Lincoln Town Cars in 2010. Chrysler sold 37,116 300s and a total of 149,304 LX platform cars. New York City alone has more than 10,000 regulated “black cars” and that’s just one market. Los Angeles is another where a low-emissions, high EPA mileage vehicle could be attractive to livery service operators.
While it probably wouldn’t be a viable standalone brand, the Imperial as a prestige model would make a nice addition to the Chrysler brand and fit in well with the company’s desire to position Chrysler as a premium marque.
I realize there are many other issues that would need to be addressed to determine the feasibility and business case for a new model, but I think the circumstances make it worthy of consideration.
Best regards,
Bill Cawthon
Associate Editor
Allpar.com
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