Chryslers last stand

The 200 was a vestige of the Sebring. The Avenger did better, but was arguably a better money value than the Dart. The buzz was that Avenger was going away as it was eating potential Dart sales & the JS platform was an aging leftover from the Daimler days. It was based on a Mitsubishi Galant platform. The 'triplets' were also derived from this, as the Caliber, Compass & Patriot.
Successful, but not Stellar.

The UF-body was short-lived. It's main reason may have been a test-bed for the Pacifica (RU) launch. A lot of hardware designs & build methods for the Pacifica came from the 200. It was mainly thought of as a rental/lease car, not necessarily something that you would go to a showroom to consider buying.
My 200 test drive was a 3-day rental car while the Caliber was getting fixed. I was impressed as soon as I opened the door & saw chrome bezels with stitched upholstery. The 2.4L MultiAir was adequate & the 9-speed was already in 3rd gear when crossing an intersection. Fuel economy was better than the 2.0L/CVT in the Caliber. I liked this car & considered something like this as a future consideration. It felt European & had Alfa-Romeo DNA built into an American car.
I liked the 1998 V6 Sebring convertible as it was 'right-sized' for me, was reasonably comfortable, economical & was a hoot to drive on a nice day. It was beginning to get a bit 'ratty', but still drove nice.

The Sterling Heights assembly was needed for the Ram 1500. I won't argue with Chrysler money decisions. You have got to build & sell what moves. It was trucks at the time.

The 3 Chrysler LH models were well-spaced, each had an appropriate spot in the hierarchy. The Concorde was a good value as an entry-level Chrysler, like a Newport. The NYer/LHS was a more formal package with awesome styling like the C-pillar curl and tail lamps reminiscent of tail fins.
The 300m was a hit from day one. Reviews were positive & sales were good. Chrysler was looking at ways to tweak the assembly line for more of them in place of Intrepids.
The formal, rear-drive 300C was another smash hit, but very different style than the swoopy 300m. A baby Bentley. Again I heard that Chrysler was trying to shift the LX production line to more 300 cars in lieu of Chargers & Magnums.

A future technology sedan is going to need the attributes of the past & present. A model spread will help define a hierarchy & pricing strategy. Gasoline V8s may be ending soon for passenger cars. A sprinkling of Alfa-Romeo road-dynamics would please me.

Chrysler has that certain 'underdog' appeal. 😉 Our family, more or less has been driving Chrysler products for 70 years. It just works.
I don't support GM or Ford because they are too big & arrogant. They don't have as big a vested interest in your satisfaction and continued allegiance as the little guy does. I think that the main Chrysler issue is 'perceived quality', oh yes I hear the horror stories too.

Brand loyalty is very strong with truck owners. Maybe not so much with passenger car owners. My barber gets a great deal on leasing Toyotas. He isn't averse to owning any other brands, just that Toyota leasing works for him. He doesn't take long trips. The scheduled maintenance is free. His car never gets 'old'. For the daily point 'A' to point 'B' the car meets his needs. He likes other cars, but is 'stuck' in the lease cycle. There has always been a Corolla or a Corolla-equivalent waiting for him.
The 'Drive Chrysler' marketing campaign of the 1990's needs dusting off, revamping & updating for re-introduction.

I don't know if using the Dakota as an example is fair to Sergio. The decline of the Dakota began long before he got there or could do anything about it. He had to stop the bleeding in a depressed market first. He had his hands full.

I think that the idea of a smaller pick-up truck is great. Dakota had lost its advantage. Fuel economy was about the same as a Ram.
Sergio may have made some mistakes, but he was a car-guy from Toronto. The American market has different needs than the European market.

Compared to where Chrysler was, who ran it before & where it was headed, Sergio was Golden, IMHO.

If you want to target old people who have the money, bring back woodgrain wagons like Buick.
Chrysler has been trying to lower their buyer's median age for decades.

The Dart & 2nd gen 200 were loosely Alfa-based. As was the Cherokee & Pacifica.
French engineering gives me the willies. 😬

Bruce Wayne, Britt Reid & Mr. & Mrs. Eisenhower drove Imperial.
They were ranked pretty much last in resale value year after year, but that didn't matter at all once you had one...my good man.