Well that is one of their problems, there is no need to build cars 24/7 when you can't sell a 1/4 of them. The idea of over production to lower cost only works in the short term. Should go back to the old days where the dealer had maybe a dozen cars on the lot. You ordered and waited in most cases. Though they always did have a few you could take home right then if you want but most were for show. But the smart ones built their cars them self by options and waited. They should only run single shifts and work 5 days a week and go back to allot of hand assembly, painting and such to slow the machine down. No need for 100cars n hr rolling off a line. Go back to real craftsmenship.
I'm with you on that one. Quality over quantity. Go back to when manufacturers took pride in what they sold instead of sliding them off the cookie-cutter press and packing sales lots. -Josh
I just can't buy a car when the unit I'm inspecting at the dealership, the unit I will test drive, has body panel fit that implies the installer was a drunk 7 year old. Back to the drawing board Chrysler.
Y'all just made Henry Ford roll over in his grave. Fact is, an $85 Billion dollar bail-out will not do anything to spur the public to all the sudden buy a new car. Including me, who would love to buy an American hand-pride-built-brand-spanking-new Challenger for a daily driver this summer. It's just not in the cards with the uncertainty. How tough must it be to be on the line dropping the drivetrain into those cars and not have a prayer of being able to take one home?
I've never been a fan of Chrysler. Every one I've ridden in had stuff falling apart. Also, how many versions of that crappy jeep are they building now??? *Puke*
Jeep could save them, bring back a small CJ with a tiny motor with killer MPG and a low price. Doesn't have to be an off raod killer, a light trail only machine. Folks will buy for the styling ot have a tops down ride that holds 4 and is good on gas. Then let the aftermarket turn it into more of a real jeep with addons.
They can't build something like that anymore due to all the saftey requirements. High weight, average MPG, and high price.uzzled:
If you haven't driven a Chrysler product in the last 5 years or so, you shouldn't comment on quality. My wife has an SRT8 Charger for a DD, and it's an awesome car. It's our 2nd Charger, and the first one was just as good. Both had a leak in the xmsn that had a TSB issued to fix, otherwise no problems. Her Toyota Solara has had more problems. They have come along ways from a few years ago when they were tin can crap. They are actually building some good cars now. I would love to park a new Challenger in the garage, but the $$ is just not quite there. I hope they can turn things around.
Gotta tell ya. There is a black SRT8 that I pass sometimes on the commute to work. Its all vanilla, vanilla, vanilla....then that thing pops up! I love the looks of that car. Looks mean! The fact that it was 2003 before they made decent stuff, as you say, is a big issue. They seem to be hell-bent on muscle and performance, but the average guy buys an Accord or Camry. Muscle gives the thrills, but don't pay the bills. Speaking of bills, I hope the blue collar guys get back to work asap so they can pay them. It is a shame the bottom worker will hurt the most.
This is not good news, folks. I sell new and used Mopars for a living, so I have a real good view of this issue. I have said it before, and I will say it again. The problem with the auto industry right now is NOT PRODUCT RELATED! Chrysler , Ford, and GM have made many poor choices in the past, for sure. However, the trouble right now is the lack of available CREDIT to the average buyer. I have customers trying to buy what I am selling daily. So far this week, I have put 2 new Sprinter vans on the road, and sold a new Grand Cherokee, too. I missed a deal on a program Magnum, because of the credit market. These folks would have been driving the Magnum home six months ago, but not now. Decent credit scores, decent income. No dice. Even my good customers with 700-800 credit scores are having to prove income, resiedency, etc. to get bought. Across the industry, all are having the same problem. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and the Europeans, too. Their sales are in the dumps over the last months. The shortcomings of domestic vechicles, whether real or imaginary, are just window dressing for the media types to point to. Make no mistake, this credit crunch is going to hurt each and every one of us if it is not handled soon. Like a giant Python, it is slowing choking the world's economy. Thanks, Rudy E.
I can't wait to see what the summer shutdown will be like. Not that it will matter if I'm not working by then! Most Tier 1 suppliers follow the shutdown schedules for obvious reasons. Mine's just been longer than the more fortunate. Devon
Rudy, you are right. The issue right now is not product related....right now. It just appears that the domestics are hurting the most, by far. The fact that you sell these cars is an eye opener for me. It flat out sucks right now. Chrysler pulling thier lease program was a warning shot too. I just don't want to even read the news anymore. It is easy to say that the automotive industry should have expected this, but as a dealership employee for 18 years I can say nobody I know expected it to be this bad.
volvo shuts down every august. this was their thinking to a constant production line, if they could build more they could sell more. more quantity and the quality goes down, familiar saying but really think about it and the mess they are in makes sense. they just wanted to get bigger and bigger and get richer. we all want to make money but they got carried away. the uaw screwed it up to but they origanally had good intentions, just went too far. we could go on and on about the whole thing, but i am going to bed now.
rudy has hit the nail right on the head! it is now not about quality, but about credit! the banks got quad zillion loans/gifts/bailouts from the fed not to cover their losses but to also provide credit for people. it appears that they have looked after themselves but have not kept credit end of the bargain.
Sounds right to me - I've bought new Chrysler products every other year for 7 years and they have all been excellent. Chrysler estimated they have lost 25% of their sales due to a lack of credit. Remember, most manufactures need to shut down their plants for maintenance and cleaning at least once a year anyway. - Bill
Hang on to your wallets. It's going to get much worse unless the banks start loaning money again. It's a catch 22. If you were a bank. Would you loan money to an auto industry worker right now? Sure the interest rate dropped but if you go to re-fi your mortgage, guess what your house appraises for now? If you bought in the last 5 years or so, you are probably upside down on your loan to start with and don't qualify. The Feds in all their bailout wisdom need to force the banks to start releasing the money.
