Chrysler already offers $1k back on '07 Sebring

[Flybrian]

Chrysler: $1,000 for your sedan

Bonus is designed to lure drivers who lease midsize cars from Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan.

Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News

Link to Original Article @ DetNews

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is so sure its redesigned Chrysler Sebring sedan can hold its own in the tough midsize sedan market that it will give $1,000 in cash to any shopper who trades in a Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima or Ford Fusion for a 2007 Sebring.

The offer is available through Nov. 30 to customers who are currently leasing the rival sedans, according to several Chrysler dealers.

Chrysler is counting on the made-over Sebring to attract new buyers as the automaker tries to bolster sales and restore profits. But the sedan is rolling into a midsize segment that has been dominated by foreign models -- the Camry is the best-selling car in America -- and also faces competition from the Fusion, which has been a hit for Ford Motor Co.

Separately, Chrysler also extended five-year, zero-percent financing offers until the end of the month for 2006 cars and trucks and is increasing rebates as much as $1,000 on most 2006 vehicles.

Chrysler is trying to shrink its stockpile of unsold models after sluggish summer sales resulted in big inventories that are dragging down profits. Chrysler lost $1.5 billion in the third quarter.

Chrysler is also offering rebates of up to $4,000 on certain 2007 models, including the Chrysler 300C sedan, the Dodge Magnum wagon, Charger sedan, minivans and the Dodge Ram pickup.

"We're moving into the end of the year's selling season and what we like to do is really close out the year strong," said Chrysler spokesman Kevin McCormick.

McCormick confirmed Chrysler's plan for the Sebring promotion. Analysts say an incentive program that targets specific competing models is not unprecedented, but it is rare. And they're not sure it will work.

"It's really difficult to get people from their Camrys or Accord back to the Big Three because there's a reason why they shifted into those vehicles in the first place," said Erich Merkel, an automotive analyst with Grand Rapids-based IRN Inc.

It may be easier for Chrysler to grab buyers from Ford's Fusion than the Camry and Accord -- which are perennial top sellers, said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with Edmunds.com, a research Web site for car buyers.

"In other words, it'll be easier to get people from the Ford Fusion than the Camry because of brand loyalty and brand perception," Toprak said.

Not so fast, said Ford spokesman Jim Cain.

"All I can say is good luck because they're going to need it," Cain said. "Fusion customers are very satisfied with their product in terms of performance and quality. And then there are improvements on the 2007 Fusion, like all-wheel-drive, that they can't get on a Sebring. They remain a step behind."

Last week at a Sebring marketing event, Chrysler executives said the redesigned car will attract buyers in the intensely competitive segment because of its contemporary design and such high-tech features as cupholders that heat and cool beverages. The Sebring, which arrived on the market in 1995, hit an all-time sales high of 118,459 units in 2001 for the convertible, coupe and sedan versions combined. By 2005, sales had dropped 24 percent to about 90,000 units.

Brian Ackerman, sales manager at Mike Riehl's Roseville Chrysler Jeep, said he thinks the cash offer could attract some lease owners away from the competition.

"We usually don't see that type of competitive rebate," he said.

Dealer Alan Helfman of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston was happy when he learned of the Sebring offering and the discounts on 2006 and 2007 models.

"They're sweet," Helfman said. "We'll take all we can get."

[SableStyle]

so is chrysler in trouble, or what?

[Drew Dowdell]

"All I can say is good luck because they're going to need it," Cain said. "Fusion customers are very satisfied with their product in terms of performance and quality. And then there are improvements on the 2007 Fusion, like all-wheel-drive, that they can't get on a Sebring. They remain a step behind."

When Ford can point at you and say "HA HA" in a Nelson voice, you know you're f@#ked.

[big blue]

When Ford can point at you and say "HA HA" in a Nelson voice, you know you're f@#ked.

212999[/snapback]

That's so bad yet so true.

[CaddyRich]

The dealers probably need something they can sell on their used lots, lol....The buying public's hardly clamoring for the used Neons, Sebrings and Intrepids, I'm sure...

[pow]

When Ford can point at you and say "HA HA" in a Nelson voice, you know you're f@#ked.

212999[/snapback]

'07 Fusion AWDs have $1,000 cash, too. Why don't they price them properly to begin with?

[Drew Dowdell]

'07 Fusion AWDs have $1,000 cash, too. Why don't they price them properly to begin with?

213028[/snapback]

Oh I agree, I just still think it's funny that that Ford is even taking shots at the Sebring.

[Ravenfreak13]

The dealers probably need something they can sell on their used lots, lol....The buying public's hardly clamoring for the used Neons, Sebrings and Intrepids, I'm sure...

213014[/snapback]

funny....my parents are pretty sure that they are buying a 2006 sebring convert and sedan...used. lol

[Cory Wolfe]

When Ford can point at you and say "HA HA" in a Nelson voice, you know you're f@#ked.

212999[/snapback]

[caddycruiser]

This is dumb, but I guess they had to make a story out of something (even if it is a rebate). MAYBE will get a few to give it a look in person, but once they do, I have a feeling they'll turn the other way and buy something else.

Between the mixed good & bad look, the low-rent (not as much so as some Chryslers like the Compass or Caliber, but still not good) interior, and the marginal powertrains in most, it might even do worse than the old one, but we'll see.

I want to like it, but the more I look into them, the more I just can't see it working. One things for sure--put a Sebring and an Aura next to one another, and which to choose isn't even a question.

Here's some idea of the more "typical" ones you'll see...ugh...

http://www.manassaschrysler.com/Chrysler/index.html#sebring

The proportions are SO bad, some of the trim just weird, ugly wheels, low buck interior...not good.

Edited November 7, 2006 by caddycruiser

[MrRogers]

I sat in one at the Tampa International Auto Show this past weekend, and all I can say is that the Sebring doesn't even have a chance. Its' proportions are very odd, and the size of the car looks smaller than it's competitors. The interior is astonishingly cheap, with nothing but hard plastics and painted trim pieces. The Aura in comparision had a much higher quality interior, with better styling and soft touch surfaces. The Sebring's interior is comparible to that of an 05' Neon, at best. Overall, there is nothing about this car that would make me choose it over anything else in the midsize market.

Edited November 7, 2006 by MrRogers

[Flybrian]

I sat in one at the Tampa International Auto Show this past weekend...

213080[/snapback]

Ditto! When were you there?

[caddycruiser]

I sat in one at the Tampa International Auto Show this past weekend, and all I can say is that the Sebring doesn't even have a chance.  Its' proportions are very odd, and the size of the car looks smaller than it's competitors.  The interior is astonishingly cheap, with nothing but hard plastics and painted trim pieces.  The Aura in comparision had a much higher quality interior, with better styling and soft touch surfaces.  The Sebring's interior is comparible to that of an 05' Neon, at best.  Overall, there is nothing about this car that would make me choose it over anything else in the midsize market.

213080[/snapback]

Well that pretty much backs up the reaction I've had from even looking at pictures. I really want to like DCX, but it very much seems like they got the LX cars done and out there, and then...plunk...just a bunch of poorly executed crap flooding the rest of the lot around those cars. Some of the remaining vehicles are still nice--Durango/Aspen, Ram, minivans, etc--but with each redesign or new intro, they seem to go to a stranger styling realm and step down another grade in material quality. Almost like they just don't care anymore.

That, or maybe it's just GM now getting all the good designers and buying up all the nice materials...haha...

Edited November 8, 2006 by caddycruiser

[BrewSwillis]

The Sebring's interior is comparible to that of an 05' Neon, at best. 

213080[/snapback]

Neon:

2007 Sebring:

Yep.....almost the same.

[Cory Wolfe]

Yep.....almost the same. 

213421[/snapback]

Considering he was talking about materials... I'd have to agree.

[mustang84]

I'm not a fan of the new Sebring either...Chrysler went in the wrong direction after the success of the 300. There are so many things wrong with this car:

1) Who ever thought that fake blacked-out C-pillar piece would look good? It just screams of cost-cutting. If that part of it was fixed, the car would look 50% better.

2) Door cut lines...who approved this?? Just look at it...that back is terrible.

3) Why don't the backup lights on the taillights line up? Right now, it looks like two pieces that were randomly just stuck on there. Also, the taillights are too big and Chrysler completely ignored the details...the corner of the taillight should have lined up with that character line that runs along the doors. Details, Chrysler...details!

4) The entire rear end is not graceful. It reminds me a lot of the old K-car Chrysler New Yorkers with the formal roofline and short deck, especially when you see it from the front end.

5) The Crossfire creases on the hood are completely unnecessary.

6) The headlights are too big and cartoonish.

Basically, this looks like a clown car.

[MrRogers]

I was there this past sunday between the hours of 12:30 and 3:30. I will post some pics when I get some time later today. And yes, I was referring to the interior materials of the Neon compared to the Sebring.

[ponchoman49]

What a sad looking odd duck of a car. I really expected better from Chrysler. I predict sales will be even lower than the current Sebring. And to show how poor Chrysler quality control is, I just checked one out at a local dealer in Upstate, NY. The drivers side had a bodyside molding and the passenger side did not! This was a brand spanking new car fresh off the truck with pastic on the seats! How in the world did this thing get past inspection with this gaffe?

[DetroitNut90]

I find the Sebring LX to be hilariously hideous...

Chrysler might have had some inspiration in the design of this car, but it came from all of the wrong places.

[FAPTurbo]

I find the Sebring LX to be hilariously hideous...

213912[/snapback]

The Compass in the background makes the Sebring look gorgeous.

[DetroitNut90]

And if I didn't know this was a Chrysler dealer, I'd swear the white Sebring next to the blue one was a Corolla...

[MyerShift]

Being a Chrysler fan (and a tough critic) the new Sebring is a rather odd hash off all things Chrysler.

I heard that the guy who came up with this mess had three years.

God, I could do better with no training in one week.

But, the interior is better assesmbled with better materials than the last Sebring, but what wouldn't be?

Why is Chrysler's design slipping so much?

They have led the industry with exterior styling for the past twelve years.

This latest year shows that something has gone horrible wrong though.

It's sad really.

Chrysler must be nuts to have come up with this incentive. It will never work.

Edited November 10, 2006 by MyerShift

[BrewSwillis]

Why is Chrysler's design slipping so much?

They have led the industry with exterior styling for the past twelve years.

This latest year shows that something has gone horrible wrong though.

It's sad really.

Chrysler must be nuts to have come up with this incentive. It will never work.

214323[/snapback]

It's called "Love It or Hate It", and it's what they are aiming for. They can't compete with Camcords by making a vanilla vehicle. They make a vehicle that polarizes, and the people that like it might actually want one, with little to no discounts.....and the people that don't like it wouldn't buy it anyway.

[Cory Wolfe]

I'm sorry, but that's not love it or hate it styling the Sebring has... It's called "a mess."

[BrewSwillis]

I'm sorry, but that's not love it or hate it styling the Sebring has... It's called "a mess."

214474[/snapback]

So, you fall into the "hate it" group?

[Cory Wolfe]

I don't hate it... It's just a mess. I may not be much of a fan of the 300's styling (though as I've said before, I like the Charger's), but atleast it wasn't a mess. This is just a poor design no matter how you put it. I understand that you, being a DCX humper and all, may not be able to see this, but there's no denying that this design could have been 100 times better and still maintain a "love it or hate it" look. It's a mess, nothing else.

[VenSeattle]

Remember what we were teased with:

BUT styling isn't the only factor. I doubt many will have to form an opinion on styling before it's crossed of the list.

- It has a top-of-the-line 3.5l 235hp V6 in a class that has 268hp V6s and 303hp V8s for similar (or less) money.

- It has the same level of interior material quality as the current Chevy Malibu, only with a better design. (That could really be said for most of Chrysler's recent debuts.)

- Then you have to anticipate that most people who come in for a 300 but can't afford it (hard to believe with $4K off at the moment) won't settle for a FWD smallish midsize with a 4or6cyl. They'll head to Dodge.

I think Chrysler has a flop on its hands. It's hard to imagine this thing surpassing sales of the previous generation without heavy fleeting... Practically all the competition is better (except the Malibu, which gets remodeled next year.)

The pending convertible... that's another story.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Remember what we were teased with:

Just as the Sebring was starting to grow on me, I see this post and go back to hating it again.

The designer who molested the Airflite concept to make the Sebring, well, I'd like to stab him with the pencil he used to do that deed with, to say the least.

Note to DCX: There's edgy design with grace and edgy design with pitfalls. Save for the Challenger concept and it's inevitable production version, you've been doing too much of the latter. The Sebring, Compass, and, to a slight extent, the Avenger insults my eyes. (Not to mention the whole idea of the Compass insults my intelligence. And, by the way, is the reason why the guy at the gas station in the recent slew of Compass commercials frowning because Jeep has decided to take one up the ass from German management and build a compact car?) You had better try to find salvation with the next generation of cars if you want any sense of redemption.

[aaaantoine]

No one ever bought the Sebring sedan, anyway.

I would like to see how they could pull off making this car into a convertible.

[DetroitNut90]

Remember what we were teased with:

Hmm...I never found the Aiflite to be much of a looker, either. Although I didn't fall out of my chair laughing at it like I did with the Sebring.

Edited November 11, 2006 by DetroitNut90

[Cadillacfan]

Chrysler is in such a sad state. I'd say that the company is currently in the postion GM was 3-5 years ago before Lutz started making changes.

The American DCX brands are plauged with unattractive styling, sub-par interior materials, some of the worst average fuel economy in the biz, and no clear design direction for each brand. It's clear that the 300C, Magnum, and Charger were flukes because the company has yet to produce vehicles as visually appealing since then.

GM does still have a lot of issues and Ford is in pretty bad shape too but they're not as bad as Chrysler.

[Flybrian]

The biggest deviations from the Airflite concept are that goofy quarter-quarter window piece and the head/taillamps, three easily fixable things that could go a long, long way to making this car physically attractive.

[cletus8269]

generally when you look at cars that have had several model years you can look at them and see how they evolved from the last... unfortunately this aint the case... makes me think the last sebring screwed a neon and this came out.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

The biggest deviations from the Airflite concept are that goofy quarter-quarter window piece and the head/taillamps, three easily fixable things that could go a long, long way to making this car physically attractive.

Let's also not forget that the greenhouse looks way too tall. What happened Chrysler? I though that a short greenhouse look was a "Chrysler sedan trademark?"

[MyerShift]

If Chrysler had made the new Sebring cohesive, I'd like it more. Especially if it bore NO resemblance at all to the Airflite, and then Chrysler made THE Airflite.

Now that's what Chrysler should have done. Made the real Airflite itself in addition to a very different Sebring.

[BrewSwillis]

Yeah, it's different from the concept.....but it's also pretty close. You have to remember, the concept design was pretty "out there" also.

From: http://stratusphere.net/forums/index.php?act=home

[Cory Wolfe]

Pretty close? The G6 production and concept are closer than that and one of its bigger styling complaints is how the production version doesnt look enough like the concept. In the case of the Sebring... It took a radical, but good looking design and muffled it into this half-assed mess of a design.

Edited November 13, 2006 by blackviper8891

[VenSeattle]

Yeah, it's different from the concept.....but it's also pretty close.

215108[/snapback]

NO! IT'S NOT! The only thing that's close in that pic is the body color!

[turbo200]

Hmm...I never found the Aiflite to be much of a looker, either. Although I didn't fall out of my chair laughing at it like I did with the Sebring.

214684[/snapback]

I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at that statement. you're right, the sebring is a pretty hilarious car.

[turbo200]

there are two character lines on the side, the fender flares, the exaggerated wedge shape, and the overall profile of the roofline that translated from the concept to production. other than that, chrysler took a classy, art deco-ish design and spit all over it with putric acid, then beat it with an ugly stick, and finally drew mean eyes to show just how frustrated owners of this car must be to pick up the sebring.

yuck yuck yuck, what were they smoking? this is the most discombobulated car to come out since the aztek.

[Cory Wolfe]

this is the most discombobulated car to come out since the aztek.

215206[/snapback]

You mean the Compass.

[turbo200]

oh yeah, isn't the first paragraph of that article really ironic? Chrysler is sure it's going to compete well, so they are giving you money to trade your car in for it? If it's going to compete so well, shouldn't I want it without any incentive?

[turbo200]

You mean the Compass.

215207[/snapback]

i forgot about that geometrical shapes project gone awry

[ehaase]

Chrysler would have been better off just making this look like a little 300C, which is the only Chrysler product I really like.

[Ravenfreak13]

The last sebring looks so much better then this thing

[MyerShift]

You know Raven, the amazing thing is that you're right.

Journalists complained that the last Sebring was "boring".

I didn't think so. It was quite attractive (especially before the facelift).

It was mainly the interior that let it down. The (relatively) low rear seat, but especially the interior materials. Not much better to possibly worse than the Cirrus/Stratus/Breeze triplets. The worse aspect of it for me were the plain door panels, hard, hollow sounding dash, and the way there was no effort to make the front door panels' design align and integrate with that of the dash itself.

One of the things I definitely perferred in the first generation was the firmer ride along with the much weightier steering.

I have driven both, and aside from great NVH in the first generation, I prefer them over the second generation cars.

The convertible should prove to be interesting.

This pastiche of design cues, and the choices of hard and soft tops, yikes. It may be quite frightening.

[Ravenfreak13]

To me, the last gen was so classy, simple and elegant. The inside wasn't the best but it was about the same as the previous gen in most cases.