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 Post subject: I hope there is some truth to :
PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:09 pm 
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Read the above a while ago.

Got this from a Chrysler dealer principal :

FORBES

Against The Odds, Chrysler Goes “From Third World To World Class”

Jan. 17 2011 -

By JOANN MULLER



I noticed something different about Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA, as soon as he walked in to our interview during last week’s preview of the Detroit auto show, running now until Jan. 23. He was wearing his signature black sweater and dark slacks, but he was noticeably slimmer, disclosing later that he had recently lost 30 pounds.



I had the same feeling on the show floor when I wandered through the Chrysler Group exhibit: something had changed. Instead of the smoke and mirrors I had seen last year at this time — nothing fresh except a few fancy paint jobs on “special edition” models — the exhibit was packed with some really appealing new vehicles.



I already knew the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee was a hit; it was selling briskly in dealerships, fueling a surprising spurt in market share for Chrysler, and earning honors as a finalist for North American Truck of the Year.



But that wasn’t all that caught my eye: the redesigned Dodge Durango was noticeably larger, with three rows of seats. Instead of a pickup truck frame, it’s now based on the same Mercedes Benz M-class SUV platform as the Grand Cherokee, giving it better ride and handling, and, just as important, better fuel economy. It was loaded with safety technology too: blind spot monitoring, rear cross path detection, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control and active head restraints. The interior was decidedly more upscale than its predecessor, which was discontinued in 2009, when Chrysler was struggling through bankruptcy. I sat in the driver’s seat for a while, just running my fingers over the leather-wrapped steering wheel, padded arm rests, and distinctive two-tone dash. What happened to all the plastic?



I turned to my right and saw the 2011 Dodge Journey parked nearby. I had always thought it was a nice-looking crossover, but the interior was so cheap-looking I’d never buy one. I hopped out of the Durango and into the Journey and found myself surprised again. Although it looked mostly the same on the outside, the inside was so remarkably improved, I wondered whether I was still in the Dodge display. The instrument panel was lovely, with a large, full-color display screen, backlit in soft red lights, in the center of the gauges. Together with more comfortable seats and a bigger, softer armrest in the center console, the package made me feel like I was in an airplane cockpit. Is this really Dodge, I thought?



I hurried over to the Chrysler brand display, where the fully redesigned Chrysler 300 sedan, the brand’s flagship, had just been unveiled. Introduced in 2004, the 300 was a big hit back in 2005 and 2006 (even dubbed the “Baby Bentley”) but sales had all but collapsed in recent years. The new 300 was still distinctively styled, with a long hood, muscular shoulders and large wheels, but it no longer had that cartoonish “gangsta” look. From the looks of it, Chrysler was deadly serious about reclaiming the 300’s past glory.



Everywhere I looked, the makeover of Chrysler’s tired lineup was evident: the Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans had been revamped, the awful Chrysler Sebring was gone, replaced by the Chrysler 200, a subsantially overhauled family car; the little Jeep Compass, criticized in the past for not being a “real Jeep,” had a larger grille and a much tougher suspension for off-roading. In all, I saw 16 all-new or significantly refreshed models.



Then there was the newcomer, the cute little Fiat 500, which goes on sale in February at 130 Chrysler dealerships in selected cities. Seven inches shorter than a Mini, it’s already a proven success in Europe, and can be customized with a variety of colors and interiors.



Everyone was buzzing about Chrysler’s turnaround. I bumped into Mike Jackson, chief executive of the country’s largest publicly traded dealer network, AutoNation, who never minces words about what’s wrong with the companies that make the vehicles he sells. “It’s the most remarkable transformation of an existing production run I’ve ever seen in the history of this business,” he marveled. “They’ve gone from Third World quality to world class in 18 months.”



It wasn’t about putting lipstick on a pig, said Jackson. “It was to transform the pig into a handsome prince. And they did it!” The transformation, he said, “took an attention to detail on the engineering side that you can’t fake. I have nothing but admiration for Sergio for unleashing it, and for his team for executing it.”



Indeed, nobody, except maybe Marchionne himself, believed Chrysler could redo its product line so dramatically in 18 months. “They just accomplished a tremendous amount of work in a short time, and with limited resources,” said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive, who admits she was an early doubter. “What I find so really incredible is that they did it under the radar.” Marchionne and his team, some imported from Fiat, laid out their ambitious five-year plan in November 2009 and then said nothing more until the cars could speak for themselves.



Chrysler employees I’ve talked to said they’ve been working harder than they have in their lives — Marchionne is known for his long hours, and he expects everyone else to work just as long — but they’re not griping about it. In fact, they seem to have a sense of satisfaction, a feeling that under Marchionne, they finally had the freedom to just do their jobs.



Of course, there is still much work to do. Last year every single vehicle in Chrysler’s lineup scored below average on Consumer Reports’ annual reliability survey. It will take a while for Chrysler to earn back consumers’ trust.



Marchionne has a lot on his plate: He is CEO of both Chrysler and Fiat Auto, and is chairman of Fiat Industrial, the heavy truck and farm equipment company recently spun off of Fiat. Later this year, he’s planning an initial public offering of Chrysler stock, the first step in unwinding its post-bankruptcy ownership structure, which includes the United Auto Workers health care trust and the U.S. and Canadian governments. He expects Chrysler to break even this year and post a profit in 2012, assuming the market continues to recover.



But he’s already planning new products for the U.S. market. Chrysler is barely a year into a five-year, $30 billion product development plan, and has invested $3 billion in new factories since emerging from bankruptcy. A slew of new small cars based on Fiat technology is coming, beginning next year. He’s also talking about reintroducing the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and a Jeep pickup truck, and he’s given the go-ahead to a Maserati SUV that would share the same platform as the Grand Cherokee and be mostly exported. Instead of two similarly sized minivans from Dodge and Chrysler, he’s planning one traditional van, plus a smaller, all-wheel-drive van to give consumers more choice.



Marchionne understands that a product-led recovery is the answer to Chrysler’s woes, and against the odds, it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening.



(ENDS)

_________________
2008 GC Limited 'S' CRD
(sold) 2006 VW Jetta TDI Package 3 5 speed


Last edited by dayne66 on Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: I hope there is some truth to :
PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 2:16 pm 
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Interesting to say the least...

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