| DealerEx |
06-04-2018 11:01 PM |
With only two Chrysler brand offerings it's not hard to see the logic, but it will be a sad day when it happens. Since the "merger of equals" there has been very little effort to establish viable models for Chrysler. The Aspen version of the Durango was never a big seller ( of course the Durango itself fell off the cliff after the first re-design and never recovered). The 300 was a good product when it was introduced but it was allowed to age itself out of the volume segment with no updates. The Pacifica has never been a volume product.
The market has fundamentally changed over the last 10 years and the market for cars is just not there in the volume needed to sustain a brand any longer. Ford is dropping all passenger car production except the Mustang and a crossover SUV based on the Focus chassis. The Lincoln brand has been on life support for several years. 15 years ago no one would have envisioned the demise of the Crown Vic or the Caprice Classic as a fleet staple.
As a long time former CPDJ dealer I hate to see it happen, but i think it's inevitable at this point. Pontiac and Oldsmobile were top brands in the 60's and on into the mid 80's but couldn't survive as passenger car only stand alones. I think Buick wouldnt be here still if they hadn't turned the brand into SUV crossovers, and I doubt the viability of it as a stand alone brand over the next 10 years. When it costs you $5-10 million + to build a new car dealership facility, you can't make it selling 50 cars a month and there used to be a lot of dealerships that thrived at that level for years. Low margins and high expenses are not a good recipe and require the dealers to try and make their money on the back end pushing F&I products and pre-loading inventory with added aftermarket items and an "Addendum Sticker".
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