How would you save Dodge?

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Slick

Slick

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There is all kinds of talk these days about Chrysler's fate.

The new boss is announcing the "new plan" in November. Until then what are your thoughts on how Chrysler/Dodge could turn the ship around?


Here's mine:

I think all of the big 3 companies should use their recent pony car revival as a stepping stone. There is no question that SO MANY people love these retro styled cars but the same mistakes have been repeated. The cars are way too big, use way too much gas and the high end performers cost WAY too much money. With the recent state of the world I can't see any of these cars surviving.

Nevertheless, when the original "pony car wars" began, weren't the cars called "pony" because they were smaller?

Why can't a Challenger, Camaro, or Mustang be built 2/3rd scale or even half scale? Why can't they make them a mid-size or even compact??? Keep the exact same great looks and styling but make them smaller to compete with the sporty import market. (Sure, it would be weird seeing a mini-challenger driving around but why the hell not?? Even if it is a 2 seater.) It would look great and if it could perform and handle as well as many of the sporty imports it would be a HUGE hit. Build them light, fuel efficient and with really good quality. Most importantly, offer them for a price that beats all the competition.

I can never understand the logic of car companies pricing their favourite models too high. Isn't the idea to sell lots of cars and be the best seller?

Anyhow I think it is inevitable that all car companies are going to have to focus on smaller more efficient vehicles in the near future. I know we love our american cars for their muscle and their size but I've met a lot of really tough little guys out there in my life. :) There's nothing wrong with being small if you can back it up with strength.

I want to see a cool, tough, small car come out of Dodge. I think it would be a huge hit with the young market. The older guys would enjoy them too for their retro spirit and tribute to the cars of their youth. These companies need a car that is going to be a BIG hit with the people. They need it right now!

I know I'd buy one! 8)
 
They Have Had Several Great Small Cars Before. Valiant, Dart, Duster, Shadow, & Neon.
 
Price $$
Why does my 2500 4x4 crewcab 5.7 v-8 , 5sp auto, 4.11 posi , full framed, 2 drive axles,trans case, drive shafts, truck cost less than a unibody, 2 dr, 2wheel drive, 5.7 v-8, 5sp auto, Challenger.

Drop the silly price tag on a Challenger v-8 and you will sell a bunch.
 
Cut the prices in half for cars and trucks to make them affordable.
 
bring back the neon, daytona, intrepid, aries, and the lebaron then get rid of the caliper, avenger, nitro and compass. get rid of the unions, introduce the phoneix engins now! not later. upgrade all cars to standard 5 or 6 speed automatics, stop mass produceing cars and let people actually be able to custom order their car the way they want rather than build all high end cars and wait for someone to buy it. let fiat introduce a good 4 cylinder engine for the neon,aries, lebaron, and daytona as base engines and have the optional phoniex v6 engine be availible.
 
Hire talented people who are interested in creating a new, great Chrysler/Dodge instead of worrying about when their private jet is taking them to some meeting in a board room filled with overpayed suits who only give a crap about tee times, strippers and bottles of Petrus. Let me rethink the strippers, ok, tee times, bottles of Petrus and Bahamas vacations. Who doesn't like strippers?
 
6770Dartman said:
Hire talented people who are interested in creating a new, great Chrysler/Dodge instead of worrying about when their private jet is taking them to some meeting in a board room filled with overpayed suits who only give a crap about tee times, strippers and bottles of Petrus. Let me rethink the strippers, ok, tee times, bottles of Petrus and Bahamas vacations. Who doesn't like strippers?
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ME i don't like paying for something i cant touch
 
I agree with you slick, but put a hemi in every thing! You know Don Carlton put a hemi in a colt, neat car but it killed him.
 
They need to get some people that actually enjoy cars to be in charge of making what people want. I have been in the car industry (supplier engineering and quality management) for 20 years and can count on one hand people that worked at customers or suppliers that are actually car people. Most are only in it for the money. I got in it because I love cars old and new. They are my life but being in the industry there are very few that do. The only ones that do are usually in maintenance or working the lines and look at Management as clueless. I think for the most part they are right. Look how successful cars like the PT Cruiser were when they came out....I know today they are getting a bit old but when they first came out they got people buying them because they reminded people about what they loved about cars.....Bet that designer was a car guy! My two cents!
 
build good looking cars for a change and an affordable coupe. if they came out with something like the mustang but an old mopar name like the dart or duster and it actually resembled it, they would sell big time
 
There is no way it will happen this way but since you asked......

Bring out a somewhat sporty compact (similar in size and price to the Civic) that the younger crowd can modify and call it the "Dart" . They have the SRT 4 motor to make a Dart Sport!!

For a midsize car I would release a car the similar to an Accord size (not style). Make it modern looking not retro. For the people that don't want a retro car.

Full size car...Take the Charger platform and make the 71 Road Runner concept drawing that is floating around. That is a COOL updated car yet with the retro look... I would call it the "GTX" sounds better than Dodge Road Runner.

Challenger.. If anything else maybe build a RT/SE model. 5.7 Hemi, 5 SPEED MANUAL with no other option other than A/C and power windows!! Of course on the RT/SE models give a large color choice of all the popular retro colors and new colors.. Heck paint is cheap! Anyway, price it about $25k and watch them fly off the lots!!!!!


Truck.....they pretty much have that sorted out in my opinion! Dodge trucks look the best of them!

Just my ideas anyway, cause if there is one thing that offshore car companies can not compete with, HERITAGE!!!
 
joe440 said:
build good looking cars for a change and an affordable coupe. if they came out with something like the mustang but an old mopar name like the dart or duster and it actually resembled it, they would sell big time
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Yes exactly my line of thinking too.
 
simple plan MOVE SOUTH right to work states to start with
and then a product line that PEOPLE WANT
not engineers and bean counters
they need a line that brings people to the Lot even if it is not an attainable car like viper or what ever it is
I am only 29 and I can remember when cruising by the dealership was a good way to spend an afternoon
 
I would like to know what happened to 20 pluss years of technology. I have an 86 Toyota PU, that has over 300,000 miles on it, without out major repairs. It gets about 23 mpg average city and hywy, about 25-26 all hywy, and 18-19 towing my 5,000 lb racecar trailer. The only trucks made today that can match that are diesels. Priced one of them, lately? My Toyota is a 1 ton truck with a 4 cyl, 5 speed manual OD. It has a 2,200 payload capacity and a 5,500 towing capacity.

All the car companies as we have known them are dead. With all the government reg/requirements, on the cars, there will be no more auto mechanics. There will be Automotive Maintainence Engineers. Or there will be just parts changers, to replace the parts the vehicle itself says to change.

How many of you are aware, that any new car sold in the USA (I think 2012) must have stability control?
 
cudaspaz said:
Ask them to grow a set of balls and make some quality procucts.
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Yeap. I second that. Big small or whatever, cheap doesn't mean better. Cheap will not save Chrysler.

I would build more cars around the same LX platform. Just like Ford should do with the Mustang. Build around your success not failures.

Dump the crap, Make Dodge the truck and Muscle car hot rod division, Jeep the SUV and Off-road division and Chrysler the luxury division. F the cheap crap and build quality reliable and get the consumer to buy again.

Look at Honda, Toyota and BMW loyalty reins supreme.

If you want cheap buy a Kia...
 
Lower the prices on a bunch of cars. Change up the look of ther cars...the Ram/cross hair grille looks stupid on everything except Rams.
 
heres some of my ideas...

1) they have to revamp the dealer network.. the dealers need to be trained and be more people friendly and the dealers should have to answer to chrysler itself. right now if you call chrysler about a dealer they will call and try to talk to the dealer but really can't do anything for ya. they need to be able to pull the name from the dealer if there are too many complaints. i'll tell ya that at toyota or honda if you fill in anything negative on those surveys they send you'll get a call from the head of the dealer asking what the problem was and how they can fix it. the japs take customer serious. chrysler needs to do that.

2) they really need a cheap realiable great on has (40+ mpg) car. yea we like our muscle cars that arte gas hogs but really, look around at whats really out on the road. i know i see tons of small toyota's, honda's, kia's, hyundai's etc...etc...etc... chrysler needs to get into that market and fast. i know you can get a new yaris for like $15k, they need something to compete with that.

3) they have to make people want to buy a chrysler and feel comfortable about it.. they need big warranty's. they need to get those people back that they have lost over the tears because of the junk they were selling...


thats all i can think of off the top of my head. i'm sure i'll think of more...
 
rednesss said:
Get rid of the unions.
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yea its all the unions fault... get real man.. the union doesn't make the poor decisions that were made about what to build and sell and what to do with any profits that may be made. they need to start getting rid of people at the top that make all the poor decisions.
 
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