[Chrysler300] Any Future for Chrysler?

[Bruce Paul <b_paul_ncp@xxxxxxxxx>]

Eric's Autos: Will Chrysler Soon Sleep With the
Fishes? 
Eric Peters 


Chrysler recently announced it's going to be dropping
roughly half its entire passenger car lineup - PT
Cruiser convertible, Magnum Wagon, Pacifica and
Crossfire. That doesn't leave much beyond minivans and
big SUVs - and leaves Chrysler, for the first time, a
less than-full-line automaker. The private equity
company - Cerberus - that now owns what remains of
Chrysler is taking a meat ax to the product portfolio.


So what's left? There's the 300. But one wonders how
long that can last given the shared platforms with now
ex-partner Daimler AG, parent company of
Mercedes-Benz. The 300 is sheetmetal cousin of the
E-Class, just as the Crossfire is a re-skinned SLK.
The 300 does have its own Detroit-sourced powertrains
- unlike the Crossfire, which is powered by a Benz
V-6. But still. It's like shared custody after a
divorce. Messy, unpleasant - and often filled with
hate on both sides. So Chrysler becomes a brand that
sells ... what, exactly? 

The Town & Country minivan - By no means a bad
vehicle; it's just that traditional minivans appear to
be headed the way of the Dodo. Ford and GM have
already dumped theirs. So-called crossovers -
basically, large wagons that offer a degree of
sportiness and driving fun along with family-friendly
utility - are the new in thing. Understandably. The
minivan has probably more than run its course. So how
come Chrysler's keeping the T&C? Hard to say - unless
the idea is that with the Ford and GM vans out of the
way, Chrysler will be the only game in town. If
anyone's still interested, that is. 

Sebring - A real bargain (especially the convertible)
but also a staple of airport rental car fleets. It's
not a car that gets a lot of press. Too soft to be
sporty; too demure to be high-end, where does it fit?
What is the Sebring's market? It also enters 2008 as a
carryover - with minimal changes from the '07s. That
leaves us with a competent but forgettable car that's
already getting a little stale. 

300 - This hunky-looking lug of a sedan made a big
impression when it first appeared a few years back. It
offered two things that had almost disappeared from
the marketplace - rear-wheel-drive and a mighty V-8
engine. It's a great rig, especially for those who
like old-school highway rollers with booming power and
lots of curb appeal. But the 300's pretty much the
same for '08 as it was for '07. And for that matter,
for '06 (and '05) too. Chrysler has added some bells
and whistles - mostly in the form of in-car
electronics and entertainment systems - but the basic
car hasn't changed a great deal since that inaugural
year of 2005. But what has changed is the cost of fuel
- now seemingly headed toward $4 per gallon. That -
and the internecine squabbling between the remains of
Chrysler and former paramour Daimler-Benz - don't bode
well for the 300's future. 

Challenger - The revived muscle car looks great but
could not have worse timing; the prospect of $4 per
gallon fuel and a looming recession could prove as
lethal to the '08 Challenger as these same forces
proved to the "all new" 1970 Challenger - which got
cancelled after the '74 model year when it was clear
almost no one wanted (or could afford) a 15 mpg V-8
muscle car. 

What's striking about events at Chrysler is that
rather than gently retire or update the product
portfolio, the muckety-mucks just decided to cut bait
- but with nothing on deck to replace the nixed
models. That leaves Chrysler with two problems at
least. One is that with such a limited lineup, people
are going to shop elsewhere. Two, those who do shop
elsewhere will be hard to lure back a year (or three)
from now, when Chrysler gets its new models into play.
Repeat buys are a big part of the business. But when
people who bought Chryslers a few year ago bring in
their old car only to find there's not much in the way
of new - Chrysler-wise, anyhow - the cord of
continuity will be cut. And once these folks develop
an affection for whatever brand they end up replacing
their old Chrysler with, it will be damn difficult to
reel them back in again. 

But the larger problem is that these massive and very
public cutbacks leave Chrysler looking like a loser.
And that can be even more lethal than slumping sales
and dated models. Cars are about image more than just
about any consumer item you can name. People invest
emotionally in their vehicles - and they want to look
and feel like winners when they're behind the wheel.
No one wants to drive a car that's the object of pity
- or worse, derision. 

Chrysler (well, Cerberus) probably has no more than
two years to turn it all around. If major progress
hasn't been made in that time, a venerable nameplate
may end up sleeping with the fishes. And we'll all be
the poorer for it. 



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