View Full Version : Which vehicles will Chrysler Kill-off?
Chrysler LLC's "Project Genesis" includes an aggressive plan to reduce the size of its Dealer Network. Part of the plan includes slashing 50% of the current product offerings - essentially forcing a single point store to consolidate to have access to a complete line of vehicles.
How do you slash 50% of your product line? There have been reports that Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge will be "re-branded:"
Chrysler = Car Franchise
Jeep = SUV Franchise
Dodge = Truck FranchiseIf you accept this premise it's pretty easy to kill-off 50% of the current product line.
The only problem with this premise is Dodge's strength as a high-performance car brand. Could you sell a Chrysler Charger or a Chrysler Challenger?
If the Management Team at Chrysler is looking for vehicles to kill-off, I for one hope that they start here:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2hzmkh.jpg
I'll never understand what Chrysler was thinking of when they released this vehicle. When they added the Patriot to the line-up, I was even more confused.
Thankfully, I think the days for the Jeep Compass are numbered. :)
I remember reading Dealer Council Meeting Minutes from the Jeep Dealers dating back to 1993 requesting a Jeep vehicle with two rear seats.
After 13 years of waiting, this is what they got:
http://i31.tinypic.com/2wmfm1c.jpg
In fairness, it's a very capable vehicle. (But a bit thirsty for fuel. :() It's too bad the styling had to be so objectionable.
I'd be willing to bet with almost 100% certainty that the Jeep Commander is history at the end of the 2008 or 2009 model year.
Rod Barajas
02-26-2008, 02:13 PM
If the Management Team at Chrysler is looking for vehicles to kill-off, I for one hope that they start here:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2hzmkh.jpg
I'll never understand what Chrysler was thinking of when they released this vehicle. When they added the Patriot to the line-up, I was even more confused.
Thankfully, I think the days for the Jeep Compass are numbered. :)
OMG It's my old kitchen egg timer with wheels!
OMG It's my old kitchen egg timer with wheels!
That's so sad, but true. :(
The irony is that Jeep built a Concept Car like the Compass in 2002 and the public hated it. Why they decided to build one after such a poor public response is beyond me?
To add insult to injury they released the Patriot a year later. Now as a Jeep Dealer you have to add vehicles that are essentially identical to your floorline in an effort to have full coverage - it's insane. :mad:
If you're a true Chrysler Person and you spend any amount of time on the Internet, you've probably been to the Allpar.com website. It may not be a flashy/high-tech site, but it tends to have some great information.
Here's a link that provides their thoughts on which vehicles Chrysler will kill off: http://www.allpar.com/weblogs/2008/02/08/what-will-stay-and-what-will-go/
In a nutshell, their theory is based on Cerberus' desire to close plants and lay-off workers. Consistent with that theory they think the following vehicles are likely to be eliminated:
Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen
Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot and Dodge Caliber
Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Dodge DakotaThey envision that a small car would be acquired from another manufacturer to fill the hole left by the Patriot and Caliber.
Only a "bean-counter" would have the gall to kill this car:
http://i27.tinypic.com/oko8si.jpg
That said, I've read a number of different stories that suggest that the days might be numbered for the mighty Dodge Viper.
There are reported to be several reasons why it may be on the chopping block:
Chrysler loses money on the Viper Program when all costs are factored in.
Upcoming CAFE requirements make it difficult to keep a vehicle like this in the line-up.
Cerberus is really focused on closing plants and laying off workers - Viper has its own assembly plant.
It's too expensive to win the "super-car wars" now that Chevrolet has released their new Corvette.
The Dodge Challenger could be substituted as the brand's "Halo Car."
Most of the reports I've read suggest that the Viper will live until 2010 or 2011 and then be phased out. :(
bruce350
03-05-2008, 04:20 PM
I agree that many of the vehicles you mentioned should be and probably are headed for the chopping block. It's the problem with not having all of the stores selling all of the products. Aspen for the Chrysler or Chrysler Jeep stores, because they can't sell Durangos. That list goes on and on. But the question is:
What will be left to sell?
I agree that many of the vehicles you mentioned should be and probably are headed for the chopping block. It's the problem with not having all of the stores selling all of the products. Aspen for the Chrysler or Chrysler Jeep stores, because they can't sell Durangos. That list goes on and on. But the question is:
What will be left to sell?
I think that's why some single point Metro dealerships really fear Project Genesis. If you don't have the three brands under one roof in four years you'll be starved for product.
And yet, given all the uncertainty with Cerberus and the overall economy, do you really want to write a big check to buy out your neighboring dealer?
The Jeep Commander is back in the news and it appears that it's on the short-timers list.
Current news reports suggest that the Commander will be eliminated in mid-2009. Based on current sales rates the Commander is likely to sell only 36,000 units this year.
goodone414
04-18-2008, 01:28 PM
The Commander may very well be the most Awesome vehicle we sell. Very quite, comfortable, drives like a 300 and the Hemi gets 17 MPG everyday. I hate to see it go, but I understand and even agree wuth the decision. It just doesn't sell. Chrysler didn't do a very good job marketing the it and it's just not a 7 passenger vehicle. In Chrysler's defense they had no way of know gas would be a kazillion dollars a gallon when they first developed the Commander. Still there is a lot of quality in the Commander and if a true prospect drives one they almost always buy it. Just not enogh true prospects. We have 11 SUV's and some 33 different vehicles total. Way to many !!!
There have been several news reports indicating that Chrysler will kill either the Jeep Liberty or the Dodge Nitro for 2012.
In some ways it's a tough choice. The Nitro has been a sales disaster from day one and would hardly be missed. The Liberty, by contrast, has had a following but it competes almost directly with the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot - a product decision that I'll never understand.
Which one do you think should die for 2012?
http://i6.tinypic.com/6glbp92.jpg
Will the Dodge Nitro live or die?
goodone414
09-20-2008, 08:26 AM
I think the Nitro is Gone. I would prefer they keep the Liberty and kill the Nitro and Patriot. Maybe rename the Liberty. How about coming back with the Cherokee badge for the Liberty?
I think the Nitro is Gone. I would prefer they keep the Liberty and kill the Nitro and Patriot. Maybe rename the Liberty. How about coming back with the Cherokee badge for the Liberty?
I agree about killing off the Nitro but question killing off the Patriot. I've hated the Jeep Compass from day one and would much rather have that vehicle sent to the scrap heap.
Concerning renaming the Liberty to Cherokee, I agree 100%. In fact, I think the export version of the Liberty is named Cherokee in Europe.
Concerning the Liberty, Compass and Patriot, I would have loved to be in the executive meeting where they decided that having three competing vehicles on the same showroom was a good idea. :confused:
I just surfed the Internet and found Jeep's website for the UK - it was pretty interesting.
The Jeep Liberty is indeed called the Jeep Cherokee in Europe.
It was interesting to see that the only engine available for the Jeep Cherokee is the 2.8 liter diesel - there's no gas engine available. Even the Wrangler has a diesel engine option.
The Jeep Cherokee looked good - it just seemed like the steering wheel was on the wrong side. :)
Here's a link to the Jeep UK website: http://www.jeep.co.uk/cherokee/index.html
If the Management Team at Chrysler is looking for vehicles to kill-off, I for one hope that they start here:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2hzmkh.jpg
I'll never understand what Chrysler was thinking of when they released this vehicle. When they added the Patriot to the line-up, I was even more confused.
Thankfully, I think the days for the Jeep Compass are numbered. :)
This post may be seven months old but I'm happy to hear the Chrysler has finally decided that the Jeep Compass will be killed.
I've hated this vehicle from day one - it's the Pontiac Aztec of the Jeep line. Not only is it a stone cold unit, it detracts from the image of the brand.
Hopefully every executive that gave this vehicle the "thumbs-up" while it was being developed has been identified and fired. :)
Given the sales volume and the market's reaction to the Chrysler Sebring Sedan I doubt that too many Chrysler Dealers will be sad to see that it's going away.
http://i38.tinypic.com/33jjw3r.jpg
That said, if you're a single point Chrysler Dealer you're really limited when it comes to vehicles that you can order and sell:
PT Cruiser
Sebring Convertible
300 Sedan
Town and Country Minivan
Aspen SUV
Chrysler didn't do a very good job marketing the it
That statement right there sums up the problem with almost every car mentioned except that god awful compass.
If the GM deal comes together the question will have to be changed to "What Brands are they going to kill off?"
Yesterday Chrysler announced that they will be closing their Newark plant where the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen are manufactured at the end of this year. The original plan was to close the plant at the end of 2009.
http://i36.tinypic.com/2cqiluw.jpg
It seems strange to me that Chrysler would spend all of the development funds on the new Hybrid System and then announce that they're killing off the product line before the first vehicles even reach the market.
Heaven help the single point Chrysler dealers. Their product line-up is now reduced to:
Chrysler 300
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Chrysler Town and Country
Chrysler Sebring ConvertibleNone of those vehicles is a "volume" piece and the Sebring Convertible sadly holds the distinction finishing dead last in the most recent Consumer Reports survey. :(
dafuzz1956
10-24-2008, 12:13 PM
Yo X-MAN, Do you have anything positive to say to us poor single point dlrs out here ???
Yo X-MAN, Do you have anything positive to say to us poor single point dlrs out here ???
I agree with you - I hate what we're going through right now. It seems like a never ending stream of bad news. :(
Chrysler dealers have been through bad times before, but it "feels" different this time. In the 80s we had Lee Iacocca leading the charge and in the 90s we had Bob Lutz - two men that knew the car business and had the dealers' interest at heart.
I'd argue that Chrysler's current management doesn't know the car business and could care less if many dealers live or die. Hell, Landry actually celebrates the death of dealerships as a savings for Chrysler. :mad:
I'll be happy to report some good news when I find it, but there's no sense in lying to ourselves in the mean time.
The L.A. Times just released a story where they commented on the irony that Chrysler has announced the pending death of their Hybrid vehicles before the first ones even arrive on the lot.
Here's a link to the news report: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-speedblog29-2008oct29,0,2009775.story
I read another story that reported the assembly plant where the Aspen and Durango are built was down for nine weeks for re-tooling so they could start building the Hybrid versions. They'll only get about four months worth of production before the plant is closed down.
What a waste. :(
Please refer to my picture of homer simpson....:D:D
Please refer to my picture of homer simpson....:D:D
While I'm not certain that "The end is near" it is frustrating to watch what's happening to Chrysler.
The only thing that can explain all of Chrysler's actions over the past several weeks is that they KNOW that they're going to do a deal with GM.
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