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Old 08-26-2011, 06:03 AM   #1
The StraightShooter
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Default Chrysler to end Caliber Model in November

http://http://www.autoevolution.com/news/chrysler-to-stop-caliber-production-november-38268.html
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Old 08-26-2011, 10:19 AM   #2
XDCX
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Default Does the Patriot and Compass survive?

While I never liked the Caliber and thought it was a poor replacement for the Neon I'm also concerned that the dealers need something to sell in that segment.

I read the story in your link - it was unclear to me what the future was for the Jeep Compass and Patriot? I'm assuming they'll survive and if that's the case the loss of the Caliber will most likely not be a big deal for most CJDR dealers.

I have to wonder, however, how much money does Chrysler save by killing off the Caliber and keeping the Compass and Patriot?
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Old 08-26-2011, 11:24 AM   #3
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While I never liked the Caliber and thought it was a poor replacement for the Neon I'm also concerned that the dealers need something to sell in that segment.

I read the story in your link - it was unclear to me what the future was for the Jeep Compass and Patriot? I'm assuming they'll survive and if that's the case the loss of the Caliber will most likely not be a big deal for most CJDR dealers.

I have to wonder, however, how much money does Chrysler save by killing off the Caliber and keeping the Compass and Patriot?
I am hearing we could see the Caliber replacement as early as Feb '12.
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Old 08-26-2011, 01:15 PM   #4
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I am hearing we could see the Caliber replacement as early as Feb '12.
Thanks for the information - February's not too far away and the Chrysler dealers certainly deserve something new and exciting in the way of a small car.

I've been wanting to start a thread about Chrysler's product pipeline but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Based on what I read in Automotive News I get the impression there's one new small car coming and then nothing new for another year.
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Old 08-29-2011, 07:52 AM   #5
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How excited can the dealer's be about a replacement model that will only carry a margin of $200-$400 based on current models?
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Old 08-29-2011, 11:49 AM   #6
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How excited can the dealer's be about a replacement model that will only carry a margin of $200-$400 based on current models?
That's true but then again almost any vehicle will be more competitive than the Caliber. If the dealers are going to get stuck with some low margin vehicles let's at least hope they've vehicles that can be sold in volume and attract new customers to the dealership.

I understand the issue of low margins has been a Chrysler Dealer Council issue but I don't know if there's a resolution in sight.
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Old 08-30-2011, 04:18 AM   #7
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There is no resolution in sight for the margins, because Chrysler doesn't care about the Dealer margins. Dealer Council?, what a joke. It's almost embarrasing to act like there is a Dealer Council.
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Old 08-30-2011, 08:37 AM   #8
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There is no resolution in sight for the margins, because Chrysler doesn't care about the Dealer margins. Dealer Council?, what a joke. It's almost embarrasing to act like there is a Dealer Council.
It was interesting to see in the thread concerning the Ford Fiesta that low margins tend to be an issue for a lot of the OEMs.

Sadly, I think that's the direction the car business is headed. The margin between Invoice and MSRP will decrease because dealers have a tough time holding gross now that the majority of their customers use the Internet to price shop before going to the dealership.

The OEMs will shift money away from the Invoice/MSRP margin and create more Dealer Cash programs. While that's not a bad thing in my opinion, my bet is most OEMs will come up with programs like Ford's Blue Oval and Chrysler's Dealer Standards that force dealers to meet a set of criteria to earn the maximum level of payment.
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Old 08-30-2011, 08:45 AM   #9
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Dealer Council?, what a joke. It's almost embarrasing to act like there is a Dealer Council.
One of my goals when I get the forum to the next level is to commission a study of the Dealer Councils for the various OEMs. I think it would be interesting to know how the OEMs rate among their dealers as it concerns the effectiveness of their Dealer Councils.
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Old 08-30-2011, 09:33 AM   #10
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over the last 10 years i've had more than one council member tell me they didnt know why they even bothered to serve. the business centers sent nothing up of a serious or contoversial nature, and the auburn hills crowd took everything that slipped through under advisement. no one cares what we think and they would prefer that we dont question anything. it could be soooo simple and mutually beneficial if anyone had a clue.
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Old 08-31-2011, 10:08 AM   #11
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no one cares what we think and they would prefer that we dont question anything. it could be soooo simple and mutually beneficial if anyone had a clue.
I agree and I think most Chrysler dealers would share your opinion. It's hard to point to any major changes Auburn Hills has made that were favorable to the dealers that originated from a concern expressed at Dealer Council.

That's the main reason I'd love to do a study of all the OEM Dealer Councils - I wonder if there's a group of dealers who really feels their OEM responds to Dealer Council concerns? (I do remember reading that the Penske/Saturn deal unwound at the last minute because of strong objections received by the Nissan Dealer Council - so maybe there are OEMs who listen to dealer input.)
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Old 09-01-2011, 08:09 AM   #12
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There is no resolution in sight for the margins, because Chrysler doesn't care about the Dealer margins. Dealer Council?, what a joke. It's almost embarrasing to act like there is a Dealer Council.
Possum is dead on the money on both statements. The manufacturers only concern in pricing is that the MSRP is priced at a "sellable" number for advertising purposes...they make THEIR margin on every one of them they ship to the dealers. They have made it abundantly clear over the years that the only reason they want the dealers is to provide service and parts facilities for THEIR customers, and to handle the trade-ins. They have always believed that THEY know more about selling cars than the dealers...despite the overwhelming evidence that they couldn't sell ice water in the desert. Every time they have set up a factory store (and I'm including ALL the brands) they have lost their asses. The last big effort being "The Ford Collection" which cost them close to a billion over a 5 year period as I recall. If they can ever figure out a way to handle trade-ins, and the hassle of providing service themselves, they will move to eliminate the franchised dealers in a heartbeat.

The Dealer Council is useless and has been for many years. For the most part, the factory handpicks who they want on the Council...dealers they know they can control and count on to push the factory's agenda to the dealer body. The election process means nothing--the factory counts the votes. Those dealers are more interested in trying to curry favor with management that they believe will help them gain an advantage over the other dealers. I'm not saying that ALL of them fit that profile, but the one I know personally wrote the book on "brown-nosing". As a group, I can't think of a single dealer issue that was presented to the Council in 25 years that resulted in any favorable response from Chrysler...it was always: "We share the dealer's concerns over this issue, and it is being taken under advisement, but at this time, no action can be taken due to factors which we cannot divulge publicly."
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Old 09-01-2011, 08:59 AM   #13
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Dealer Ex speaks the truth on all counts, thats not an anti-factory stance ,, its just the r eality. which mfgr. wants to break out of the rut and build an unbeatable, unstoppable, super profitable TEAM??
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Old 09-19-2011, 12:31 PM   #14
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Better order all the calibers you can because the fiat based replacement will be allocated by caliber sales and the replacement will be hot because it will be new
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Old 09-19-2011, 01:52 PM   #15
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Better order all the calibers you can because the fiat based replacement will be allocated by caliber sales and the replacement will be hot because it will be new
Not that I want to second guess you, but is it confirmed that allocations for the Caliber's replacement will be based off of Caliber sales or is it speculation?

In the old days I remember Chrysler did a good job of taking care of the dealers who stepped up and supported the model that was going out of production but I thought I'd heard where Chrysler now incorporates other variables when determining the allocation of a new model. As an example, I remember when the first SRT-4s were allocated back in 2003 the majority went to Florida and California because those were the markets Chrysler targeted based on competitive sales analysis.
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