Latest Chrysler press release, kissing up to the FEDS

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:48 pm

http://www.chryslerllc.com/en/news/

vtdog · **Joined:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:27 am **Posts:** 640

I believe the expression is "whistling past the graveyard"

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:21 pm

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090218/D96DLP7O0.html

The Aspen and Durango, both large sport utility vehicles, recently have been among the worst-selling vehicles in the company's lineup. The PT Cruiser, which was released to much fanfare in 2000 due to its funky styling, has also seen its sales slump.

Bye bye Aspen, Durango, & PT :?:

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:24 pm

couple of the lots here were giving away free pt cruisers if you bought a new whatever vehicle lol

butcher_block · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:03 am

im a dodge guy but come on.

think about it you can have any car or truck you want so long as it gets 20-30MPG and costs 22-35K (all you have to do is pick a color

)
hell my shelby charger was an 87 and got 27mpg as was a pile of fun to drive

gone is the 40MPG neon (had a 98R/T )
gone is the great "little" dakota (had a 92 std cab short bed 4X4)
i love dodge but even i cant find anything in my price range that i care about
what do i want

an M80 with ram box
2.8CRD or a new MB diesel 4
5/6 speed man. with a nv242
just rhino line the cab and put a pair of seats in it

as it is tho i have to hunt a CRD front clip and swap to a older dak and that's as close as i can get
BTW i work at home so MPG is not really a huge deal but i still know i want it. a baby farm truck would work just fine for me

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:13 am

Well the PT is gone for sure, same with the commander. But the durango will stay as it will share the same plat form as the GC and a benz. I see either the patriot or the compass taking a bow and as a wild car either the sebring, journey, or the avenger. And we may even see the viper go if it isn't bought from them

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:16 am

you think theyed axe the sebring or avenger? they had lots of gov contracts for avengers and sebrings here always sold well

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:18 am

The axing will be fun to watch……………. :lol:

Maybe they will start focusing on a few good quality vehicles instead of a bunch of mediocre vehicles. I hope they ax away, reorganize, and merge with Mahindra. :wink:

retmil46 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:52 pm

So they're going to meet improved fuel economy requirements by developing 24 new models, and spending huge sums to develop electric/hybrid vehicles?

Did it occur to any of these geniuses that it might be cheaper to just take the diesel version of some of their existing models already selling in Europe and meeting Euro 4 standards, and make them meet US 2010 emissions?

Oh wait, the new powers that be in Washington, controlling the strings on the bailout money, think diesels are nasty and want them to build electrics and hybrids.

Guess I was badmouthing the wrong set of "geniuses".

nescosmo · **Joined:** Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:17 pm **Posts:** 202

retmil46 wrote:

So they're going to meet improved fuel economy requirements by developing 24 new models, and spending huge sums to develop electric/hybrid vehicles?

Did it occur to any of these geniuses that it might be cheaper to just take the diesel version of some of their existing models already selling in Europe and meeting Euro 4 standards, and make them meet US 2010 emissions?

Oh wait, the new powers that be in Washington, controlling the strings on the bailout money, think diesels are nasty and want them to build electrics and hybrids.

Guess I was badmouthing the wrong set of "geniuses".

I like you you are great.,,,,, :lol:

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:33 pm

I drove a Durango for a week while they were working on a company car I had. I hated it

Saterday I did my part to stimulate the economy

I bought another Chrysler product :shock:

A brand new to me 00 Cherokee Classic. The EVIC said I was getting 32 mpg at 60 mph this morning. My crd has never seen better then the one time 25 average

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:28 pm

Joe Romas wrote:

I drove a Durango for a week while they were working on a company car I had. I hated it

Saterday I did my part to stimulate the economy

I bought another Chrysler product :shock:

A brand new to me 00 Cherokee Classic. The EVIC said I was getting 32 mpg at 60 mph this morning. My crd has never seen better then the one time 25 average

Thats instantaneous MPG, get the right hill and you can hit 99 mpg.

you need to look at the avg economy:

jinstall · **Posted:** Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:50 pm

remember 99% of everything Chrysler makes in Europe has a diesel option so the cars are there.

danoid · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:55 pm

retmil46 wrote:

So they're going to meet improved fuel economy requirements by developing 24 new models, and spending huge sums to develop electric/hybrid vehicles?

Did it occur to any of these geniuses that it might be cheaper to just take the diesel version of some of their existing models already selling in Europe and meeting Euro 4 standards, and make them meet US 2010 emissions?

Oh wait, the new powers that be in Washington, controlling the strings on the bailout money, think diesels are nasty and want them to build electrics and hybrids.

Guess I was badmouthing the wrong set of "geniuses".

If it hasn't occurred to them I've reminded them more than once.

I work on hybrids to make a living to afford diesels...

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:06 pm

Sam.

That's about my average so far too. I like the instantanious one better as I can compare the roar of the I6 with single digits :roll:

It's going to be my wife's new "grandma mobile" after I deside it ok for her to drive :lol:

Have you found any addatives that will slow down the rear main seal leaks :?:

This one is not too bad but I would like to slow it down a little. I pulled a pan off of my 96 and it was not a fun thing to do so this one will continue to leak :wink:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:34 am

Did I hear this morning that GM is planning to lay off 20,000 more people? Was I still asleep? Did I hear this wrong? After I heard that, I was wide awake. :shock:

Plus, GM said they can't make it unless they have more federal money. :shock:

We might be seeing GM going to their own funeral.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:42 am

dieselenthusiast wrote:

Did I hear this morning that GM is planning to lay off 20,000 more people? Was I still asleep? Did I hear this wrong? After I heard that, I was wide awake. :shock:

Plus, GM said they can't make it unless they have more federal money. :shock:

We might be seeing GM going to their own funeral.

Nope, you heard right - closing 5 more plants and laying off 20,000 more people.

I voiced this opinion once before - all we're doing is giving them our tax money to finance the costs of closing down more plants and laying off more workers in this country so they can finish outsourcing most of their manufacturing overseas - because they couldn't secure private financing.

Just gotta love it - they beg and plead for billions of dollars to ostensibly save U.S. jobs and the economy - and after they get it they close down even more plants and fire tens of thousands more workers.

At least we're not alone in this - in what I consider to be poetic justice considering what Daimler has done with Freightliner, Ford recently browbeat their Mexican plants into taking a pay cut from $5/hour to $1.50/hour - telling them if they didn't Ford would be forced to move those plants to China with it's much lower labor costs "to be able to compete in the world market".

Beginning to sound as if the ideal labor situation from a corporate standpoint would be to reinstitute slavery. But even then, I imagine they'd still be asking for tax credits and bailouts to compensate them for the care and feeding of their "property".

I've had quite enough of "free" trade thank you - I'd like to see some FAIR trade for once.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2009 3:00 am

It’s not looking good retmil46, it ain’t lookin’ good at all………. Especially when GM publicly comes out and admits that they’re done if they don’t receive a substantial amount of money from the Feds. It’s like we’re trying to buy time until we fall flat on our face. Perhaps some of the economic financial experts were right, we should have let the economy run it’s course rather than trying to prolong the wreck.

chadhargis · **Posted:** Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:01 pm

I don't know why auto manufacturers can't figure out something they teach in basic marketing classes.

Seems to me that Chrysler, with it's former ties to MB and now it's marriage to Fiat, would have lots of inroads to excellent diesel technology.

They should start putting diesels in everything. Run an ad campaign similar to the one BMW used back when gas was high. You know, the one that said, "High gas prices are not new to us", but focus on how the rest of the world deals with high fuel cost.

Become innovators. Lead, versus try to play catch up.

If they want to follow the electric car fad, then do it with hydrogen fuel cell technology, not batteries. Either that, or make a diesel electric car that uses the same technology used by locomotives for years.

If you find yourself in a hole, first thing you need to do is stop digging, and axing their failing models is a good start, but now they need to leverage their international connections and make something unique.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:15 pm

I don't think it's that they want to follow the electric/hybrid car fad, it's that they're being told they have to follow it if they want the bailout money.

What Congress and most people in this country don't realize - if the Japanese government hadn't picked up all the development costs for the Toyota and Honda hybrids, they would never have seen the light of day - or at the least, their price tag would make the 40K bandied about for the Chevy Volt look like a bargain. The battery packs alone would cost more retail than what some brand new cars do.

IMHO everyone that drives a hybrid should send a thank-you note to the Japanese taxpayers for subsidizing the cost of their vehicle.

Latest Chrysler press release, kissing up to the FEDS

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