[CDJSalesPro]

I have been in the auto industry now for 25+years. I wonder if the current delays regarding the launches of certain product is as unprecedented as we seem to think. Or has our perception been altered,and amplified by our new awareness of said launch dates thanks to the internet. If I go back 10+ years, I don’t recall ever actually knowing “launch dates”. We just knew that the new cars and Jeeps would show up in the summertime. However now with everyone being so connected to the Internet, it seems like there is this need and desire to know everything the second it is available and if by chance that information changes it is someone’s fault…… I just wonder if things are actually as dysfunctional as some here would like us to think. Or is it simply that we all desire to know too much too soon ……..

 

[MoparStu]

I have to agree. Although the internet has allowed me to be more of an enthusiast. I am more tuned into the happenings of Chrysler now than Ive ever been.

 

[patfromigh]

In the Seventies they had that sales bank. I'd keep checking the lots for something in production for a couple of months and the sales staff would just shrug their shoulders. After I bought something else, a week later, dozen of a vehicle I asked about would show up.

 

[Erik Latranyi]

We do not know the cause of the delays, so a diagnosis is difficult to make.

We do know that a one-year plus delay for the Dart R/T is unacceptable.

 

[JoshMHam]

Erik Latranyi, on 03 Jun 2013 - 12:37 PM, said:
We do not know the cause of the delays, so a diagnosis is difficult to make.

CJD isn't trying to diagnose the delays, or determine the causes. He is just curious if there are more actual delays now than there were 10+ years ago, or if the intenet has just made it more apparent when a delay happens.

I think it is a little bit of both. The launches are so close together, that a slight delay in one pulls resources from the next, and so on. But the internet makes it much easier for people to follow the press releases from the manufacturers.

 

[Erik Latranyi]

Delays in manufacturing is common, even on new projects. Acceptable delays of a month or two are inconsequential.....delays measured in quarters are not.

Press releases have been aroundlong before the internet. So, anyone paying attention would notice the delays. Investors are very sensitive to delays as it is an impediment to profits.

Allpar has been around for quite a few launches. Delays were the exception. Today, we are seeing delays as the norm.

 

[TripleT]

There is a focus on quality like never before......

Sending products out when they are mostly ready is no longer acceptable in anyway. That with the wide spread information.

 

[Erik Latranyi]

There is a focus on quality like never before......

Sending products out when they are mostly ready is no longer acceptable in anyway. That with the wide spread information.

Do you know the delays are over quality concerns?

 

[Dave Z]

Yes, the delays are over quality concerns for Dart GT and some others.

Think of the alternative. Experienced Chrysler people don't need to read more than this:

1957.
Volare.


... some delays are probably not due to quality concerns but just not being happy with what's presented.

Overall, most informed commenters think it's foolishly optimistic scheduling.

 

[larryv]

I think what's probably going on in many of these instances is the result of a very aggressive launch schedule.
I've heard a similar story several times from different people. Some supplier or Chrysler employee will report to Marchionne that a job can be accomplished in 24 months. He gives them 12 months to finish. It eventually gets done in 18 months.
When the job is done, it is actually six months later than what Marchionne demanded, but six months earlier than what the supplier/employee said could be accomplished.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is a glass that is half-filled with water, where the subjective opinion of the observer determines its volume.

** Note, you beat me to it, Dave.

 

[TripleT]

Clearly getting the product right is a priority over getting the product out on a schedule.

Not even just quality issues but make sure there isn't in the future.

Obviously there are a few critical path items that are hold up a whole host of products.

 

[paullybob]

Delays in manufacturing is common, even on new projects. Acceptable delays of a month or two are inconsequential.....delays measured in quarters are not.

Press releases have been aroundlong before the internet. So, anyone paying attention would notice the delays. Investors are very sensitive to delays as it is an impediment to profits.

Allpar has been around for quite a few launches. Delays were the exception. Today, we are seeing delays as the norm.

This is the key issue with ALL global manufacturing today...investors demand profits and are pushing hard on manufacturers for timelines and holding them to those estimates.

In reality, who here hasn't told their significant other that a job would take 5 days knowing full well it could be done in 3 but getting screwed over cause a supplier couldn't deliver on a required/promised product. We all need to stop speculating and promising and just breathe...No one knows what tomorrow brings.

 

[Dave Z]

Investors are very sensitive to delays as it is an impediment to profits.

Hmmm. Are you talking about particular huge investors or ordinary stock buyers? Because the latter seem to be very sensitive to whatever inane coverage or rumor or prognostication is popular at the moment, not to anything in reality itself. (Did Apple really become half as valuable in a couple of weeks? Back in '92 or '93, did Chrysler really quadruple in value due to a NY Times story about cars that many people already knew about — even me?)

 

[68RT]

Hmmm. Are you talking about particular huge investors or ordinary stock buyers? Because the latter seem to be very sensitive to whatever inane coverage or rumor or prognostication is popular at the moment, not to anything in reality itself. (Did Apple really become half as valuable in a couple of weeks? Back in '92 or '93, did Chrysler really quadruple in value due to a NY Times story about cars that many people already knew about — even me?)

The simplification of that answer comes down to this: On wall street there are only two emotions controlling it GREED OR PANIC. Seldom does real value meet the actual bid value.

 

[Stratuscaster]

QUESTION: Have any other automakers ever experienced similar issues? Are they experiencing such issues now, as Chrysler is?

I don't frequent the sites and forums focusing on other automakers, so I honestly don't know.

 

[TripleT]

QUESTION: Have any other automakers ever experienced similar issues? Are they experiencing such issues now, as Chrysler is?

I don't frequent the sites and forums focusing on other automakers, so I honestly don't know.

YES!!!!

http://www.carscoops.com/2013/04/lincoln-may-re-launch-2013-mkz-after.html

 

[Dave Z]

Toyota has had some pushbacks over the years. Toyota is not followed with nearly the same enthusiasm so most people don't notice it.

Thing is, most automakers don't seem to give production start dates. Or they don't leak out.

 

[Lampredi]

Some supplier or Chrysler employee will report to Marchionne that a job can be accomplished in 24 months. He gives them 12 months to finish.

So next time, they'll just double the estimate

 

[superduckie5000]

What is the Reason for "Delays"?

Quality.

Quality is not Something that can Be Poured over a Product at the End of the Assembly Line.

It Goes in all Along.

Or Else It Does Not Have It. Period!

TMD

 

[Paul J. Reed]

Toyota has had some pushbacks over the years. Toyota is not followed with nearly the same enthusiasm so most people don't notice it.

Thing is, most automakers don't seem to give production start dates. Or they don't leak out.

Exactly... knowing if a Toyota is delayed would be like following when Hamilton-Beach is late releasing a toaster...