[TexasBill]

Guys, read the July Perspectives. Honda fixed some problems with the Civic and it had its best monthly sales in ages: 29% growth in a high-volume car adds up to a lot of units.

Chrysler car sales slumped as they seem to do every July. In fact, combined 200/Avenger sales were down slightly from last July. The Charger's huge June-July nosedive and continuing soft 300 sales also made a difference.

Yes, the Cherokee might have salvaged the month, but it's hard to tell; first-month sales of even heavily-promoted new Chrysler products tend to start slow.

Chrysler's big Achille's Heel under Marchionne's leadership seems to be product launches: Darts with only manual transmissions; delayed Fiat dealership openings; delayed product in the case of the Cherokee. Early on, Marchionne said he could probably get away with screwing up one new vehicle launch; from where I sit, he's three for three.

I think Chrysler will be outselling Honda again by the end of September, but Honda has been tough to call since the earthquake/tsunami a couple of years ago. They botched the Civic refresh, but now seem to be recovering. And, don't forget, Honda had a very good month for light truck sales.

 

[jerseyjoe]

Another friend ditched his Sebring cause the dealer could not find the reason for the check engine light. Got to be too time consumeing and expensive to meet emission requirements. He bought a Honda HFE, very quick and quiet. While there is no suspension travel and the wheels feel like they spend some time in the air, even so it tracks extremely well. Its much tighter than a Mercedes suspension and I feel the motion is difficult to deal with. I wonder how it will be 3 years, more rattles than a K car?

 

[dana44]

Talking about advertising, what is up with the new summer's end commercial? Talk about something that should be put on Youtube and left there, it is horrible. You never see a car for more than a second, and 90 percent of the advertisement is cheap entertainment, nothing else. No names, shapes, brands, nothing. This has got to stop. No wonder they can't sell cars as well as the competition.

 

[unverferth]

Talking about advertising, what is up with the new summer's end commercial? Talk about something that should be put on Youtube and left there, it is horrible. You never see a car for more than a second, and 90 percent of the advertisement is cheap entertainment, nothing else. No names, shapes, brands, nothing. This has got to stop. No wonder they can't sell cars as well as the competition.

I saw it too.....horrible.
Who ARE these people ??

 

[GuidoFL]

Chrysler TV ads remind me of the movie: " The gang that couldn't shoot straight" .

Chrysler sales dipping because the hottest segment is the mid sized vehicles. In that important segment Chrysler has 2 out dated entries that corral sales with astounding low prices. The way I see it Chrysler is overly dependent on PU trucks and SUV's ...... again for profits.
This focus drags down the CAFE numbers as well as public image of Chrysler being only interested in those vehicles along with mini vans. Hopefully this business model will end soon as vehicle sales slow down and gas prices remain high.

 

[MoparNorm]

The problem isn't Chrysler not building enough cars, the "problem" is, Chrysler builds the best trucks and SUV's, as determined by the marketplace.
Yes it hurts CAFE, but so does Challenger, Viper, Charger and 300. All,great cars with great engines. The 8 speed and diesels will help tremendously and I'd suspect the change in mix is what forced Chrysler to rethink the minivan spare tire, they are literally that close to the CAFE line.
It's not Chrysler's fault the marketplace loves their products it means profit.

 

[james.mooney.]

The problem isn't Chrysler not building enough cars, the "problem" is, Chrysler builds the best trucks and SUV's, as determined by the marketplace.
Yes it hurts CAFE, but so does Challenger, Viper, Charger and 300. All,great cars with great engines. The 8 speed and diesels will help tremendously and I'd suspect the change in mix is what forced Chrysler to rethink the minivan spare tire, they are literally that close to the CAFE line.
It's not Chrysler's fault the marketplace loves their products it means profit.

+1, Norm.

Also, Chrysler is addressing their dependency on trucks, SUVs, and minivans. The first three all-new vehicles launched under new management were a class-leading A-segment hatchback, a competitive C-segment sedan, and a fuel-efficient midsize CUV. The new midsize sedan is less than a year away.

It takes time. They can't change their product line up overnight. Improving the reputations of their smaller cars will take a while. And they shouldn't give up the successful products they already have in the meantime.

 

[dana44]

I agree with both, but look at the advertising and what the competition says and what Dodge says. Other than the Dodge Ram getting the best mileage, you can't tell for squat what else is available out there, be it mileage, looks, innovations, availability, nothing. Some of the Chrysler 300 commercials are neat and well done, but there still isn't any vehicle information, period. I have yet to see an Avenger commercial, Dart commercials were cool, but are now overboard. It has some reputation built, so expand on it and give the public some information about it. Having a dirt racer run a Dart is good for the dirt racers, but that is as small a volume as ALMS racers out there, appeal to the masses the way the competition does. They have to do better than this.