Chrysler unveils new lineup

No doubt that there will be (or have been?) other press stories posted
regarding Chrysler's stunt today. This is the first I've come across:
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/7285888.htm

Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003
Chrysler unveils new lineup
JOHN PORRETTO
Associated Press

DETROIT - DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group will spend an extra $250
million to promote nine new or redesigned vehicles next year, a
product offensive the automaker hopes will reverse slumping sales and
declining U.S. market share, Chrysler chief Dieter Zetsche said
Monday.

Chrysler used Cobo Arena, site of the annual North American
International Auto Show, for the debut of several new products to hit
showrooms next year, including a Chrysler Crossfire roadster, a larger
Jeep Wrangler and a redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The smallest of Detroit's Big Three automakers also showed off three
concept vehicles, two from Jeep and one from Dodge, that could become
production models in coming years. Analysts and even some dealers
have said Chrysler has paid the price in recent years for an aging
lineup, while Asian and European companies have pursued business with
a variety of new products.

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Yea, well Chrysler was showing concept models in '2000 that could have
become production models in 2001. I wonder where those went...
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Zetsche acknowledged Monday to a group of automotive journalists that
the company has acted defensively in the midst of increasing
competition, cutting material costs by 15 percent and improving
quality by 30 percent in the past few years. "Now it's time to go on
the offensive," he said. "Now we start to harvest."

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How quaint Dieter. "Now we start to harvest". This is why Chrysler
needs an American (or CDN) at the helm. They would say "Now we start
to kick ass". A European in charge of Chrysler just won't cut it.
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To help spread the word, Zetsche said Chrysler has increased its
marketing budget by $250 million, but he wouldn't disclose the amount
of the original budget. Chrysler's U.S. market share has fallen from
16.1 percent shortly before its merger with Daimler-Benz in 1998 to
roughly 13 percent today.

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Apparently Daimler doesn't know how to advertize Chrysler in North
America - heck they don't know how to (or maybe they don't want to)
sell Chrysler in Europe. Why don't we ever here about that side of
the equation?
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Already this year, with U.S. sales down nearly 5 percent, Chrysler has
started production of a redesigned and larger Dodge Durango sport
utility vehicle, which the company hopes will reclaim business in the
profitable light truck segment.

Among the new vehicles scheduled for launch next year: the Chrysler
300C sedan, which Zetsche called the brand's flagship [how 'bout
battle-ship?]; a convertible version of the PT Cruiser; the Jeep
Wrangler Unlimited, which is 15 inches longer than the current model;
the Jeep Liberty Renegade, whose diesel engine will increase fuel
efficiency by 25 to 30 percent; and a redesigned Dodge Dakota pickup.

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Fisher Price Tonka-toys all of them. That's the future of Chrysler
under Daimler. You want a sedan? Merc will have them.
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Longer-range plans call for 25 new or redesigned vehicles over the
next 36 months. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its
long-term ratings on DaimlerChrysler debt Oct. 21, citing "difficult
competitive conditions plus costs associated with the large number of
new products" at the Chrysler Group.

Dealers say they're just ready to see some new vehicles and increase
traffic in showrooms. Zetsche and other Chrysler executives have spent
the past week providing product previews to roughly 5,000 dealers,
managers and sales people across the country.

Mike Johnson, general manager of Mike Finnin Chrysler-Jeep in Dubuque,
Iowa, took in the roadshow last week in Chicago and came away
impressed. Johnson said he likes Chrysler's trend to more upscale,
stylish vehicles, which he thinks can be successful because of the
automaker's improving quality. "When reliability is there, people
don't mind spending a little bit more," Johnson said. "The resale
value is going to be there too. That's why Toyota's been so successful
for so many years."

 

Why are those bozos admitting they are throwing even more money at
advertising?
That's just saying that you know that what you have is dog food so your
going to
advertise the piss out of it.

They should be boasting that their new vehicles are so fantastic that they
are going to
be selling themselves without hardly any advertising.

Freudian slip, that was. He obviously thinks Chrysler is some kind of farm
equipment manufacturer. Hence the emphasis on trucks and the pissing away
of the rest of the business.

You would think a Chrysler dealer would go on record against the new
Chrysler models? Yah, right.

Ted

 

I hate those germans...many do not bathe and permeate the air with a body
odor reminiscent of limburger cheese.