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I'm no fan of closing threads. I like hands off moderation where adults steer a conversation to an organic conclusion. That said this subject is becoming the dead horse.
I actually HATE closed threads, but when the subject turns from reasoned discussion to personal digs, it's no longer accomplishing anything.
My objective was not to close the thread, but to return the dialog to the issue and it looks like that has been accomplished. ;)

As far as a conclusion, it's way too early to find one. None of us here are privy to what went into the decision and I think a lot of it comes down to supporting the creation of the new Brand.
If that is the correct conclusion, then we will see a lot of great things out of SRT. If I'm off base, then we will see simply more of the same at a greatly increased price.
 
Before any comments are made about my response, I'll mention that I read every single post before writing.

First, I disagree that it is price gouging. I disagree because i don't really know why the price is changing, and there is obviously a reason, we just don't know enough to arrive at a conclusion. Is the 2012 GC worth that much more than a 2011? That is decided upon between a potential buyer and the company that makes this vehicle available.

My opinion is that SRT looking ahead has two goals to meet.
1)SRT has to prove itself as a viable asset to CDJR. It cant survive on the profits of the other brands and the reason is coming up next
2) A brand that is solely for performance will wreak havoc on fleet fuel economy, and with increased cafe numbers looming, SRT cannot maintain itself as a mainstream brand as an "uncontrolled" (read out of control) number of sales may cause chrysler-fiat to have no success in meeting the new standards.


As Moparnorm mentioned, the SRT could have possibly been on the cut list and RG volunteered to keep this program running.

Alos, It's called capitalism. The price is set based on what a consumer is willing to pay. This product may only be viable at the new price point. If tht is the case, just like the Challenger making it's debut, we are lucky to have the option of purchasing these products in this era of high fuel economy requirements and other regulations.


The fact of the matter is WE DON'T KNOW.
 
Yea, I just got done ranting about Chrysler's Proprietary Policies of lock-up all access to the electronics on the vehicle, forcing people unecessarily into the dealerships for thing they should never have to go.

BUT, I got to agree, as disappointing it is to see price increases on cars we all want, its still what Chrysler sees as necessary to stay a profitable company. Chrysler is far from the only one that doesn't set every price based off actual cost, it is very much a game of pricing to pull in the most money possible. They sell some things at a lose, others at insane profit to make it all even out.

Yes, I'm sure they are aware of the potential they have to price themselves out of their market, raising prices never results in more sales, I'm sure they are riding the line to produce the best business as possible. About the only thing we can do to get Chrysler to change is to walk away and NOT purchase the vehicles, if they have allowed their costs to go so high or raised their level of technology/quality to the point that their customer base can NO longer afford their cars, then they'll have to find a new customer base.

Personally, I can't imagine paying $62k for a vehicle, to find out afterwards that I only get a virtual lease arrangement for most of the Service/Repair and Modification of the vehicle. No, technically its NOT a lease, but the way they have leveraged the proprietary access to all the electronics, that is virtually what you end up with; for all but the most simpliest Service/Repair/Modification you can only practically take it to the dealer to be done how Chrysler wants it, by who Chrysler wants to do it. If a spare key for a base model Commander is $450 after materials and service, I can't imagine what it costs for a $62k SRT GC?
 
Yes, I'm sure they are aware of the potential they have to price themselves out of their market, raising prices never results in more sales, I'm sure they are riding the line to produce the best business as possible. About the only thing we can do to get Chrysler to change is to walk away and NOT purchase the vehicles, if they have allowed their costs to go so high or raised their level of technology/quality to the point that their customer base can NO longer afford their cars, then they'll have to find a new customer base.
Most companies prefer customers with money.

Seriously... there is no money to be made by NA or EU based companies at the low end.

If a spare key for a base model Commander is $450 after materials and service, I can't imagine what it costs for a $62k SRT GC?
I don't expect the key to be one of the things changed from the base model, but I would not be surprized. Back in the day "Viper" replacemen keys were quite popular with the Neon crowd.
 
Most companies prefer customers with money. Seriously... there is no money to be made by NA or EU based companies at the low end. I don't expect the key to be one of the things changed from the base model, but I would not be surprized.
Wouldn't that be "ALL" companies prefer customers with money, well, except maybe banks looking to make loans? Companies often find a market niche they fit, and then can move to a new niche, which means losing customers and gaining new ones.

Or it could just be the economy, the march of progress, etc... Chrysler has to raise prices on their vehicles, and like all the manufacturers, they are trying to maximize the price structure to get more money but keep the highest sales. Logically, you can do that by offering base models at the lowest price possible and try to make the low profit or loss with greater profit on the high end vehicles. No one likes it, but you have to admitt, thats life and reality.

"NA or EU"? I'm guessing EU means Europe, but what is NA? North Asia, that doesn't make sense to me, its more East Asia or NorthEast Asia.

The Toyota Torcell has been the most popular selling car in America, that is NOT exactly high end, nor is it the very low end either. I "think" its assembled in America, maybe that changes what you're saying.

Everytime there is a gas crunch, Asian and European manufacturers have fresher, small economical car models available, that often can be used for the U.S. market. Thats more politics, where those countries politics keep the price of fuel much higher than in the U.S., so they are better equipped to respond to a gas price fluactions than U.S. manufacturers.
Back in the day "Viper" replacemen keys were quite popular with the Neon crowd.
:woot: Yea, I couldn't resist sniping about another frustation I have with new Chrysler Vehicles. I hate being that "guy" on the forum, that is always a downer, making negative comments in the posts, etc.... I've just found myself incredibly frustrated with my new Chrysler, and NOT with the Vehicle, but the Corporate Policies that result in some really unfair things IMO, I can't help myself and let that frustration bleed over. Like $450 for a spare key, unless you jump through hoops to find some alternative source that is total PIA to get a hold of over weeks. Or everythig I've done other than drain and refill a fluid, has required me to bring the vehicle back to the dealer and pay them to wait in their waiting room for an hour and half, just for them to get to the 5 minutes to hook up the starscan and press a button. Luckily, my closest dealer switched management and is being run better, in the past, just to pull the vehicle into the service bay was at least $100, now I can get simple starscan done for $50, and hour and half of my time wasted, which is still $50 too much and none of my time should be wasted.
 
NA is North America.
OK, thanks, I see what Jeff was saying now, only the Asia manufacturers are making money selling low end vehicles in bulk, the rest sell low end models for nearly a loss, making it up with higher prices for the high end models and versions of the low end vehicles.
 
re: chipped keys in general

They only work if they are difficult to clone.

Here in Manitoba if you have a car that is on the government-owned insurance company's "easy to steal" list, they require you to install an immobilizer (they pay for it!).

If there is a problem with it, only 1 shop is certified to work on it.
 
re: chipped keys in general They only work if they are difficult to clone. Here in Manitoba if you have a car that is on the government-owned insurance company's "easy to steal" list, they require you to install an immobilizer (they pay for it!). If there is a problem with it, only 1 shop is certified to work on it.
Difficult for the crook to clone does NOT mean it has to be difficult for the owner to clone.

What little I've gathered, Chrysler is paying $8-$11 a unit from the vendor for the Chipped Keys, listing them as much as $350 at the Dealers parts counter, thats 3200% profit on the keys? That's just to deter theft? The reason they removed Customer Self-Programming Feature starting in 2009 and completed with all vehicles by 2010, was because a couple dealers had employees using that feature to make secret copies to be used for stealing the vehicles later. So their remedy was to punish the customers and reward the dealerships for the Dealerships negligence. Take it with a grain of salt, these are pieces of information I've gotten from people on forums that sound informed, they could be wrong. I'm pretty confident the system can be improved, be more customer friendly without making it easier to steal the vehicle.

I just don't accept that an effective theft deterrent is to charge the customer ~$500 per key, so it makes it too expensive for the crook to buy one.

Like I said in my letter to Chrysler Customer Service, it will be a few years before I'm looking to buy a new car, when I do, I will be looking at the key system, as well as how much of the servicing/repair/modification is locked up with proprietary measures. If Chrysler hasn't fixed the problems, and they have a couple of years to do it, I'll be looking elsewhere and it will be the first time in my life I will purchased a brand other than Chrysler.
 
Maybe they should raise the price of the GC SRT-8 to $80k, so they can truly compete with the Porsche and BMW...

My first SRT-4 stickered at $19,995, and my SRT-8 started at under $36,000, and even fully loaded with every factory option it was under $44,000. Now the base price to get the least expensive SRT is over $46,000, that's just astounding.
 
The "Build Your Own" section for 2012 Grand Cherokee is up now, and the base price for the SRT-8 isn't the $61,780 quoted here, it's $54,470.
 
The "Build Your Own" section for 2012 Grand Cherokee is up now, and the base price for the SRT-8 isn't the $61,780 quoted here, it's $54,470.
...so 500 posts in 3 threads about...nothing?
 
Moving upscale does have its disadvantages.
 
Moving upscale does have its disadvantages.
$54.470,isn't that much more than the Overland. A pretty good deal considering the features of the SRT.
 
The "Build Your Own" section for 2012 Grand Cherokee is up now, and the base price for the SRT-8 isn't the $61,780 quoted here, it's $54,470.
...so 500 posts in 3 threads about...nothing?
Is this a Supply vs Demand of new "Instant Classics" vehicles?

i.e. The list price for the new SRT-8 GC is ~$55k, but since its the first new SRT-8 in a while and of the new GC Generation, there is more demand than supply of vehicles and Dealers are jacking the price up another $7k, because they will get people who will pay it?

Look what went on with the first Challengers sold, and the first SRT-8's for those, supply vs demand, its natural the price would get jacked up if you've got people fighting over getting the first cars.

Although it seems like a lot, the difference is only 13%, could this be the old Dealer Tricks and Transportation, with piling on destination fees, advertising fees, this charge, that charge to tac on an additional 13%?
 
Ok, so you will buy a 300S at a slight permium instead of the SRT at a large one, right?

That is fine from the company's point of view... you are still upsold.

The S might even have a higher margin than the SRT, so those price points might be by design.

Unless they are going for "best under $x" advertizing (think Neon SRT4) it does not hurt them to keep it out of the working man's reach.
It`s all price gouging,simple as that. Chrysler is charging 24k for a 6 cyl charger,36 for a r/t and 48 for a SRT. Crazy thing is an 8 cyl motor doesn`t cost 24k more to produce than a 6 cyl. Sometimes it cost the same or cheaper depending on the quanity produced of the motor. Yes you can argue everything on the car cost more ,but really it doesn`t cost but a few dollars more per option not 100`s or 1000`s. I know certain luxury SUv`s that are priced at 60k for their cheap end cost them 20k to make and their top brand costs 22k to produce but is sold for up to $125k. Nothing but price gouging.
 
"Gouging" is not really a word that you can use for a luxury purchase.

The price is what the buyer and seller agree on... if the seller has exessive advantage over the buyer in a transaction for nessecities, THAT is gouging (think the "company store", or bottled water at an outdoor concert).

If you can decide that you don't need it, or that you can get it elsewhere at a better price... it is not gouging.
 
It`s all price gouging,simple as that. Chrysler is charging 24k for a 6 cyl charger,36 for a r/t and 48 for a SRT. Crazy thing is an 8 cyl motor doesn`t cost 24k more to produce than a 6 cyl. Sometimes it cost the same or cheaper depending on the quanity produced of the motor. Yes you can argue everything on the car cost more ,but really it doesn`t cost but a few dollars more per option not 100`s or 1000`s. I know certain luxury SUv`s that are priced at 60k for their cheap end cost them 20k to make and their top brand costs 22k to produce but is sold for up to $125k. Nothing but price gouging.
This is a year old thread and we have talked the subject to it's conclusion, however what you should know is this: SRT is now it's own brand and must stand alone on profit/loss. If SRT loses money, we won't have SRT. It's simple really.

Compare the SRT competition, from $80,000 to $120,000 when it comes to the SRT8 Grand Cherokee competition.
SRT has it's own employees, it's own programs and a limited production number to cover all of that. It buys it's base vehicles from Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, it's not cheap and it's not "a few dollars more". THAT is reality. ;)
 
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