Chrysler: "Basically they're done"
Is Chrysler a lost cause?
Excerpt:
Things were so bad last year that a single Toyota model, the Camry/Solara midsize car, outsold the entire fleet of Chrysler LLC's passenger cars.
"Basically they're done," said Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst with the consulting company IHS Global Insight in Troy, Mich. "There is no real possibility of turning this thing around as an independent company in my opinion."
Comment: My Dad - dead for 9 years - would have never believed it
That would be a shame. I'm no fan of Chrysler powertrains, but they've got some of the very few people in Detroit (or elsewhere for that matter) actually doing anything interesting with sheet metal. If they could only put the HHR powertrain in a PT Cruiser and have the GM guys redo the safety equipment and crash cage....
ReplyDelete(my trouble with Chrysler powertrains; economy and reliability. Otherwise they're fine)
I have some Dodge and Plymouth stories. My Dad was a Dodge / Plymouth man for years. We had a '61 Dodge Polara wagon (very cool with A/C!!).
ReplyDeleteMy brother's 2nd car (after his Chevy Vega (need I say more ... !!!)) was a Plymouth Volare. (I think this was about 1976 or so). This thing rusted as fast as it went!
I had a '77 Plymouth Volare for a company car. The paint began pealing off from that after just a couple of months.
After that the Peet boys swore off Chrysler.
I've always strongly preferred Chrysler products over GM or Ford, but that's not saying a whole lot, given my low opinions of those two. My first "real" purchase (other than junkers in high school) was a 95 Dakota pickup. I bought it with 28,000 miles, and sold it 8 years later with 180,000. Would have run it into the ground, but sold it when I moved overseas. Other than the Chrysler-typical low gas mileage for a 3.9 liter engine, I loved that truck.
ReplyDeleteI'm all but sure though that if I were buying a car today, it would be either Toyota or Honda...which it sounds like a lot of people are doing.
What's a powertrain? Isn't that basically the heart and basic epitome of a vehicle: engine, transmission, driveshaft?
ReplyDeleteSo you like Chrysler for things like style and design only?
Yup, Chysler Sucks!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: you pretty much nailed it. Since the mid-1990s, Chrysler has put the other carmakers, often including the Europeans, to shame in terms of styling for many models. However, I've been prevented from buying them because I didn't want to pay that much for gas and repairs.
ReplyDelete