Chryslers last stand

10811 Views 218 Replies 37 Participants Last post by 1116Arthur, 1 mo ago

voiceofstl

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

The coming few years will tell us if Chrysler will still be around.
The replacment of the 300 has to be a winner.
Its time to make the decision. Chryler will be the People mover and have cars to compete with toyota.
They have to have more then 2 models, they need a small suv and a midsize suv.

Reactions: 1

21 - 40 of 219 Posts

npaladin2000

· #21 · 3 mo ago

NiharM33 said:
And Dodge should handle Tesla.

I'm trying to decide whether I should have you comitted or ask you to pass it over. 🤣 🤣

Reactions: 1

NiharM33

· #22 · 3 mo ago

All brands should be EVs with an emphasis on something different:

Dodge - speed and power
Chrysler - luxury and range
Jeep- off road capability

Otherwise each brand has no clear direction.

Reactions: 5

saltony

· #23 · 3 mo ago

My feeling is that the Chrysler and Dodge brand will go away. Jeep makes up 46% of sales follow by Ram which is 38%. In ten years time when the brass at Stellantis sits down and look at the ROI, Some brands will be trimed. Has to be because 14 brand names is a lot to take care of. When Fiat and Chrysler merged and came up with the name FCA, I bet they had second thoughts because if the brass came up with another name, Chrysler and Dodge would have been dropped.

Reactions: 1

NiharM33

· #24 · 3 mo ago

Honestly, if Chrysler just mirrored Dodge and added extra range and luxury features - if they get the quality right, I wouldn't mind.

Reactions: 1

Adventurer55

· #25 · 3 mo ago

ImperialCrown said:
We aren't going to & shouldn't try to compete against Toyota. Their ballpark is not our ballpark. After 18 years of a successful 300, maybe it's time for another benchmark?
Chrysler's past home runs have been done by vehicles that no one else had at the time. The turbine evaluation car, the minivan, the PT, the Hemi, the re-introduction of the convertible, etc.

The Airflow II is a worthy concept car. A little nostalgia, a lot of technology, prudent utility & common sense.

We got 10 years to prove that we belong in the Stellantis portfolio. We have a lot of brands under one roof. Some may go away.
Chrysler has had its share of ups & downs, it would be a shame if it got cancelled for lack of interest. Not everything can or should be a Jeep or a Ram. I still enjoy a sensible 'luxury/prestige/comfort' sedan as a daily driver.

So, when does the 10 years start? In 2025? Or was it a year or so ago? The reason I ask is, by the time the Airflow or whatever it'll be called is launched, they will be almost half way through their allocated time if it was 2022. It'll take them at least three years after that to launch another vehicle.10 years doesn't seem like enough time for Auburn Hills.

Reactions: 1

npaladin2000

· #26 · 3 mo ago

saltony said:
My feeling is that the Chrysler and Dodge brand will go away. Jeep makes up 46% of sales follow by Ram which is 38%. In ten years time when the brass at Stellantis sits down and look at the ROI, Some brands will be trimed. Has to be because 14 brand names is a lot to take care of. When Fiat and Chrysler merged and came up with the name FCA, I bet they had second thoughts because if the brass came up with another name, Chrysler and Dodge would have been dropped.

Stellantis bought FCA to get Jeep. FCA bought Chrysler LLC to get Jeep. Daimler bought Chrysler to get Jeep. Chrysler bought AMC to get Jeep. AMC bought Kaiser to get...Jeep. Kaiser bought Willys Overland to get...wait for it...Jeep. No one wants the brands that own Jeep, they just want Jeep.

I tend to agree that Chrysler and Dodge may be dropped. I hope not, but it's still looking that way to me. At least Dodge is trying to go out with less of a whimper than Chrysler right now, unless Fuell can come up with something.

Reactions: 2

aldo90731

· #27 · 3 mo ago

npaladin2000 said:
Right now Chrysler is a blank slate. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though there are people who can't let go of the various pasts. WIth the 300 gone, Chrysler is not a luxury or premium car maker. It makes minivans. And...hybrid minivans. And FCAllantis needs a volume brand in the US. The platforms exist to provide Chrysler with a decent lineup: rework the Compass into a 2WD compact crossover, maybe a resyled Giulia and/or Stelvio, might be a little expensive but that's got to be amortized by now from a research and design perspective. Keep them all 2WD so they don't compete with Jeep (with Jeep getting expensive, cheaper 2WD options would probably be welcome anyway). Maybe even finally make a (long overdue) passenger version of the ProMaster and sell it as a Chrysler maxivan.

Chrysler is NOT a blank slate. For better or worse it has been around for 99 years.

The way to succeed forward is to take the path of least resistance on the market. The way to do that is to bring back those things that people remember Chrysler did well, but in a way that is relevant in the 21st century.

This is what 2005 Chrysler 300 did so well: the imposing styling, the HEMI power, the RWD setup, the roomy interiors, the overall size, reminded people of the best of Chrysler’s past but wrapped in a package that was impactful in its modern day.

But it took a man of incredible vision and drive like Tom Gale to bring all these elements together.

Is there someone at Chrysler with similar vision and energy to repeat a similar feat? I don’t know. I haven’t seen him/her so far.

Reactions: 5

valiant67

· #28 · 3 mo ago

This much is obvious, judging by timing throughout Chrysler’s history regardless of ownership.
The day they drop Chrysler and Dodge will mark the point where the auto market returns with a vengeance to passenger cars.

Reactions: 5

Elroy the Brave

· #29 · 3 mo ago

NiharM33 said:
Chrysler should be positioned against Buick and Lincoln

Disagree. No one views Chrysler as a luxury brand.

Reactions: 2

valiant67

· #30 · 3 mo ago

aldo90731 said:
Chrysler is NOT a blank slate. For better or worse it has been around for 99 years.

The way to succeed forward is to take the path of least resistance on the market. The way to do that is to bring back those things that people remember Chrysler did well, but in a way that is relevant in the 21st century.

This is what 2005 Chrysler 300 did so well: the imposing styling, the HEMI power, the RWD setup, the roomy interiors, the overall size, reminded people of the best of Chrysler’s past but wrapped in a package that was impactful in its modern day.

But it took a man of incredible vision and drive like Tom Gale to bring all these elements together.

Is there someone at Chrysler with similar vision and energy to repeat a similar feat? I don’t know. I haven’t seen one so far.

But the Airflow has bronze accents! BRONZE!
That seem to be the major CF spent time on when I watched her presentation a few months back.

Reactions: 3

Bob Lincoln

· #31 · 3 mo ago

Elroy the Brave said:
Disagree. No one views Chrysler as a luxury brand.

But, as said, they have a clean slate. Most people I know think Chrysler hasn't existed for several years.
And when I was a kid, Chrysler WAS perceived as a luxury brand.

Reactions: 5

aldo90731

· #32 · 3 mo ago

valiant67 said:
But the Airflow has bronze accents! BRONZE!
That seem to be the major CF spent time on when I watched her presentation a few months back.

Again, not sure I should laugh or cry...

Reactions: 3

Cleffy

· #33 · 3 mo ago

Chrysler is positioned where Plymouth was. There is no excitement for the brand outside of loyalists. The Airflow is not going to bridge that gap. It just lacks character.

Reactions: 2

valiant67

· #34 · 3 mo ago

Bob Lincoln said:
But, as said, they have a clean slate. Most people I know think Chrysler hasn't existed for several years.
And when I was a kid, Chrysler WAS perceived as a luxury brand.

At least 10 years ago, someone was discussing the Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible they had just inherited. One person said they bet it was worth something because they hadn’t made Chryslers in a long time.

Reactions: 4

aldo90731

· #35 · 3 mo ago

Bob Lincoln said:
But, as said, they have a clean slate. Most people I know think Chrysler hasn't existed for several years.
And when I was a kid, Chrysler WAS perceived as a luxury brand.

Fiat 500 and Chrysler 300 are proof that the “blank slate” approach is a myth.

People do REMEMBER.

No matter how deep those memories sit, the job of a good brand manager and designer is to bring the good memories and feelings back, and keep them alive.

Unfortunately, in North America, part of the Fiat memories were FIX IT AGAIN, TONY, and Fiat USA simply ignored it.

Reactions: 5

valiant67

· #36 · 3 mo ago

aldo90731 said:
Again, not sure I should laugh or cry...

It reminded me in a sad way of “American Auto” and their clueless CEO.

Reactions: 3

npaladin2000

· #37 · 3 mo ago

Bob Lincoln said:
But, as said, they have a clean slate. Most people I know think Chrysler hasn't existed for several years.
And when I was a kid, Chrysler WAS perceived as a luxury brand.

When you were a kid, weren't round wheels a newfangled thing? 🤣 🤣

We're not dealing with "then." We're at now now. We can't go back to then, we passed, it just now. When will then be now? Not soon. And yes, you're surrounded by A-holes.

These days Chrysler is not percieved as a luxury brand. Chrysler is barely percieved at all in fact, as you pointed out. But the other problem is that Ma Stella has plans for Alfa and Maserati, and they don't want Chrysler mucking things up by trying to compete with them. If Chrysler tries to be premium, they will get smacked down.

Reactions: 3

valiant67

· #38 · 3 mo ago

npaladin2000 said:
These days Chrysler is not percieved as a luxury brand. Chrysler is barely percieved at all in fact, as you pointed out. But the other problem is that Ma Stella has plans for Alfa and Maserati, and they don't want Chrysler mucking things up by trying to compete with them. If Chrysler tries to be premium, they will get smacked down.

This just shows a lack of brand understanding and development. If Alfa and Maserati were strong, well defined brands Stellantis would not have to protect them from encroachment by Chrysler.
Sure it is different in other parts of the world. But holding Chrysler down isn’t going to strengthen Alfa or Maserati in North America. All this type of thinking does (not blaming the poster, but the planners within the corporation) is show they can’t manage brands.

Reactions: 5

aldo90731

· #39 · 3 mo ago

Elroy the Brave said:
Disagree. No one views Chrysler as a luxury brand.

No one views Jeep as a luxury brand either, but this hasn’t stopped FCA/Stellantis either...

Reactions: 5

Bob Lincoln

· #40 · 3 mo ago

aldo90731 said:
Fiat 500 and Chrysler 300 are proof that the “blank slate” approach is a myth.

People do REMEMBER.

No matter how deep those memories sit, the job of a good brand manager and designer is to bring the good memories and feelings back, and keep them alive.

Unfortunately, in North America, part of the Fiat memories were FIX IT AGAIN, TONY, and Fiat USA simply ignored it.

Only current Chrysler owners remember. People outside the brand won't and often don't.

Reactions: 2

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