Chrysler won't trim marques, but may dump models

[Flybrian]

Nardelli: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep brands here to stay

Josee Valcourt | Link to Original Article @ The Detroit News

Chrysler LLC CEO Robert Nardelli said today that the automaker has no plans to drop any of the Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep brands, but hinted that some individual vehicles could be vulnerable. He didn't name specific models.

Nardelli also said that parent company Cerberus Capital Management LLP will not be involved in the ongoing labor negotiations with the United Auto Workers.

His comments came in a speech to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit, his first major public appearance since being named chairman and CEO of Chrysler early last month.

Bargaining is underway over UAW contracts that expire next week. Chrysler previously has indicated that vice chairman and president Tom LaSorda will continue his lead role in the union negotiations. Jim Press, Toyota's former North American chief who was hired away from the Japanese auto maker yesterday, will bear the same titles as LaSorda but focus on sales and marketing strategy.

Nardelli, the former Home Depot CEO, today outlined a five-point plan to improve Chrysler, which became private Aug. 3 when Cerberus closed on its $7.4 billion deal for an 80.1 percent stake in the floundering automaker.

The initiatives he outlined are dubbed "Customer First," "QualityPeriod," "Going Global," "Be Green" and "Powered by Great People."

The CEO, who said he feels "excited", "privileged" and "humbled" about his new job, called the Chrysler workforce "men and women that really know what they're talking about," and "people who are absolutely passionate and committed."

"I've never seen an organization that's more willing to play for the brand on the jersey than the name on the back of the jersey," Nardelli said.

[vonVeezelsnider]

IMO:

Aspen

Magnum

Nitro

Patriot

Commander

RIP

[Intrepidation]

IMO:

Aspen

Magnum

Nitro

Patriot

Commander

RIP

Aspen (but put its interior in the Durango)

Compass (the Patriot is more Jeep than the Compass, why would you want to dump it?)

Commander (A real Jeep but just doesn't have a place in the market)

Nitro I'm uncertain of

Magnum doesn't really cost extra to build since it's a 300 Touring in other countries, plus the plant is flexible. The Magnum is unique in a sea of SUVs and CUVs and I'm glad we have it

[vonVeezelsnider]

Aspen (but put its interior in the Durango)

Compass (the Patriot is more Jeep than the Compass, why would you want to dump it?)

Commander (A real Jeep but just doesn't have a place in the market)

Nitro I'm uncertain of

Magnum doesn't really cost extra to build since it's a 300 Touring in other countries, plus the plant is flexible. The Magnum is unique in a sea of SUVs and CUVs and I'm glad we have it

At least where I live, the Compass is hugely outselling the Patriot... even though I agree that the Patriot is more of a Jeep.

I like the Magnum too...

[VenSeattle]

With Mercedes out of the picture, Jeep now has justification for a product like Commander. Keep the model and turn it into a true rugged luxury SUV going up against Land Cruiser and the LR2.

[CanadianJeepYJ]

IMO:

Aspen

Magnum

Nitro

Patriot

Commander

RIP

Funny list

No, I can see the Commander and Grand Cherokee becoming one vehicle. So yes, RIP Commander.

Why does the Commander get all of the bad press??? Month after month it OUTSELLS BOTH the Durango and the Aspen. I don't get it????

Next Gen Durango will be based on the Grand Cherokee. So will the Aspen make the grade???? Too early to tell.

Patriot??? Are you serious? 5k units sold last month, it is a vehicle being built in China for China and is a big seller in Europe.

And the Nitro is not going.....Unless the current Liberty beings selling at over 20k units a month. They need the volume from the factory and last month the Nitro sold close to 7k units. One of the better seller for Chrysler.

Magnum....ya it will go or it will change into a REAL station wagon when the LY platform hits.

[ocnblu]

Two things on my wish list for the New Chrysler: make the Challenger more accessible to more buyers by specing it closer to its Chevy and Ford rivals. Give us a 4.0L base car, a midlevel V8 (4.7L twin-spark) car, and a convertible available with all powertrain options. And bring back the Dakota regular cab, it made a heck of a sport truck.

[pow]

Jeep - decent image

Chrysler - stuck between premium (300C) and mainstream ($13K PT?)

Dodge - mainstream, but with a serious image problem

Since "four-door coupes" are all the rage, how about a CLS-like LX? Rebody the 300C, charge more for it, and call it the Concorde or whatever.

Dodge needs to dump their "bold" trashy campaigns and be more normal.

Edited September 7, 2007 by empowah

[Intrepidation]

Funny list

No, I can see the Commander and Grand Cherokee becoming one vehicle. So yes, RIP Commander.

Why does the Commander get all of the bad press??? Month after month it OUTSELLS BOTH the Durango and the Aspen. I don't get it????

Next Gen Durango will be based on the Grand Cherokee. So will the Aspen make the grade???? Too early to tell.

Patriot??? Are you serious? 5k units sold last month, it is a vehicle being built in China for China and is a big seller in Europe.

And the Nitro is not going.....Unless the current Liberty beings selling at over 20k units a month. They need the volume from the factory and last month the Nitro sold close to 7k units. One of the better seller for Chrysler.

Magnum....ya it will go or it will change into a REAL station wagon when the LY platform hits.

How is it not a real station wagon?

[Robert Hall]

How is it not a real station wagon?

needs a taller roof, longer rear, fake wood paneling on the sides..

[cire]

Good luck to Cerberus and Chrysler LLC. Daimler left you with quite a hideous mess. I hope you can restore this once proud American car corporation back to its former glory.

I think a lot of tweaking needs to be done to all three brands' product portfolios to properly define and position each brand. I think all three brands have lost their focus and are offering products that are out of step with the intent and purpose of the brand.

The brands should have products that represent their images:

* Dodge: affordable, sporty mainstream brand.

* Jeep: true off road vehicle niche brand.

* Chrysler: true near luxury niche brand.

I think Chrysler is probably the brand with the most damaged and derailed image.

[CanadianJeepYJ]

How is it not a real station wagon?

What moltar said (excpet for the wood)

needs a taller roof, longer rear, fake wood paneling on the sides..

The styling did it in. Look at most of the Subies and other stations wagons out there. The grill is very truck like and the rear hatch is too low. Not saying that it doesn't look good, just saying that people in the market for a station wagon would really like their space.

The new front clip, a la 08 model, will help in some of the styling department. The rest maybe fixed when the LY's come in 09.

[ZL-1]

needs a taller roof, longer rear, fake wood paneling on the sides..

you forgot whitewall tires and fake wire wheels Edited September 8, 2007 by ZL-1

[CMG]

I just bought a Magnum, and there is no intention of "dumping" it. It would be like dumping the new Camaro a couple years in. There is a LARGE Magnum enthusiasts group, and for good reason.

The Aspen is a very nice SUV. I would rather see the "new" Durango dumped if anything needs to go. Or combine the two into one vehicle, take the Durango name and stick it on an improved Aspen.

The Compass needs a facelift, the vehicle isn't the problem, it's the LOOKS imo.

These kind of lists are easy to toss out, like saying the whole Buick/Pontiac brands should be dumped, and the Solstice, Malibu, Hummer, Cobalt etc should be dumped.

Easy to toss names and "dumping" ideas out there, but in the long run it doesn't mean much and makes little sense...

:wink:

[CMG]

you forgot whitewall tires and fake wire wheels

Those will be on an HHR in the near future I bet...

[CaddyXLR-V]

I just bought a Magnum, and there is no intention of "dumping" it. It would be like dumping the new Camaro a couple years in. There is a LARGE Magnum enthusiasts group, and for good reason.

The Aspen is a very nice SUV. I would rather see the "new" Durango dumped if anything needs to go. Or combine the two into one vehicle, take the Durango name and stick it on an improved Aspen.

The Compass needs a facelift, the vehicle isn't the problem, it's the LOOKS imo.

These kind of lists are easy to toss out, like saying the whole Buick/Pontiac brands should be dumped, and the Solstice, Malibu, Hummer, Cobalt etc should be dumped.

Easy to toss names and "dumping" ideas out there, but in the long run it doesn't mean much and makes little sense...

:wink:

Hopefully the reliability is better than my brothers 3.5L Charger. It's been back to the dealer twice for lifter issues. Not to mention it dropped in value $5,000 in 6 months. Me and him bought are cars at the same time. Mine is still worth what I paid for it, his dropped $5,000.

He just wants to get out of it before the warranty is up.

[CMG]

Mine is still worth what I paid for it, his dropped $5,000.

Congrats!

You are the ONLY person on the planet with a brand new car with NO depreciation!

If your brother REALLY owns a Magnum, give him the LXforums.com website link.

http://www.lxforums.com/board/index.php?

[CMG]

Hopefully the reliability is better than my brothers 3.5L Charger.

Hopefully you don't have the overheating issue on your XLR-V. There is a TSB on it. (Overheating on a $75,000 car???)

And it even overheats.

We thought it was just us, but with a little digging we found a Technical Service Bulletin regarding this problem, courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – so buyers beware

From https://www.car.com/content/shared/articles...cle_id_int/2055

[CMG]

OUCH!

After digging a little more I see the overheating problems with the XLR-V are pretty common. Autobytel even says the car is ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, and they had overheating problems during their testing! OUCH!!!!!!

And, like the STS-V, we had an overheating problem while running this supercharged Caddy through the mountains east of San Diego. Were it my $100,000 that just bought this performance luxury convertible,I’d be boiling over right along with my radiator.

From http://www.autobytel.com/content/shared/ar...cle_id_int/2055

I guess NO car is "perfect"..?

:wink:

[CaddyXLR-V]

Congrats!

You are the ONLY person on the planet with a brand new car with NO depreciation!

If your brother REALLY owns a Magnum, give him the LXforums.com website link.

http://www.lxforums.com/board/index.php?

My GTO wasn't brand new, it was a 2 years old with 13,000 miles. My brothers Charger wasn't brand new either. Sorry for not going around preaching how great Chrysler is. Needless to say, my brother isn't buying another Chrysler. The only thing that drew him in was the styling, and it being RWD.

The best part is, his is a 250hp V6, mine is a 400hp V8, and he can only get 2 mpg better than I can, even though our cars have identical weights.

[haypops]

Those will be on an HHR in the near future I bet...

Something like this?

[haypops]

There is a LARGE Magnum enthusiasts group, and for good reason.

Ok what is the good reason?

Just kidding.

[CMG]

My GTO wasn't brand new, it was a 2 years old with 13,000 miles. My brothers Charger wasn't brand new either. Sorry for not going around preaching how great Chrysler is. Needless to say, my brother isn't buying another Chrysler. The only thing that drew him in was the styling, and it being RWD.

The best part is, his is a 250hp V6, mine is a 400hp V8, and he can only get 2 mpg better than I can, even though our cars have identical weights.

LOL

Ok, you are talking about..... USED CAR PRICES?

Used car prices mean very little as far as "mine vs his- resale". I assume you know that.

The Holden GTOs could be bought for a song. Even the new ones on the lots were being blown out at ridiculous prices. There isn't really a comparison there at all.

Your brother should have bought a Magnum R/T- it's not even comparable power wise to his V6, and it also not only gets better MPG than his 3.5 V6, it's also rated better on the highway.

[CMG]

Something like this?

Hahahaha

Egads!!!!!

[CMG]

Ok what is the good reason?

Just kidding.

Why, my wife bought one. THAT's the good reason!

:wink:

LOL

Now lift that banner!