THE "DUMBING DOWN" OF CHRYSLER

A Personal Editorial and Observation

I'll apologize to begin with on this lengthy semi-editorial and any grammar errors you may see.  Many of the views you read here are not necessarily mine but shared by many.

I was accepted and part of the "Chrysler Advisory Board".  A moderator driven board posing questions and polls in a forums based website.  Maybe 50 people are part of this board and are able to give thoughts and ideas about Chrysler who is reading and supposedly taking in the thoughts and ideas that are being discussed.  The board has been up for about 7 weeks now so hundreds of posts have been made.  Many redundant but all valid in their own eyes.

Such subjects are:  Brand Identity; Current Chrysler Cars; Current Dodge Cars; Current Jeep vehicles; Dream Cars; Ideal Features; Older Chrysler Product Cars; Eco-Conscience; Online Shopping; Safety & Security and Technology.  The moderator, who is a Chrysler employee poses questions and the board responds.

Below, in no particular order or heading are some of the thoughts from the board postings: (and more below on the PT)

- Daimler did more damage to Chrysler in the few years they owned them than Chrysler could have done to themselves had they remained independent.  People think that Daimler "dumbed down" Chrysler so that Chrysler would not compete with the various Mercedes products.

- Chrysler was not allowed to market and advertise certain products properly.  Why?  Have no idea except possibly for the reason mentioned above.

- The number one complaint are the cheap interiors.  They all look the same, they all use that same dark gray hard plastic, all are basically laid out the same, all extremely cheap looking. 

- Everyone agrees that the Chrysler brand should stand for upscale luxury.  But the lines are so blurred between all the ChryCo models that they all look the same.  Dodge should stand for every day cars and performance.  Jeep should be rugged off road vehicles.

- The 300 base model is cheaper than the mid-model Charger.  It shouldn't be,  Nor should it be offered with the tiny 2.7 V6.  The 300 should be offered as several models including a coupe and a Magnum wagon version (the Magnum was sold in Europe as a 300 Touring, it had the 300 dash and front end).  The 300 should move much more upscale.  A higher end Imperial should be offered that competes with Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes.

- The Chrysler Sebring sedan should either be deep sixed or completely redone.  Busy body lines, a busy and cheap interior, no power are just a few of the complaints.

- The Dodge Avenger should not look like a Charger wanna-be.  It should be a stand alone car and needs to be redone top to bottom to compete with the Camry's, Accord's, Malibu's.

- Apparently there is a clean-burn bio-diesel engine being used by Chrysler in Europe that gets better fuel mileage than hybrids and puts out less carbons and pollutants.  And is quick compared to the current V6's offered in the US.  Bring it here as an option.  No smoke, no diesel rattle.

- Hybrids possibly pose a greater risk and cost down the road than gas engines.  Battery replacement will cost thousands per car and then of course the land fills will fill up with hazardous batteries.  Hybrids are supposedly just a quick fix for right now that again could pose more issues in the future.

- Two cars that were killed should have never been.  The Magnum and Pacifica were cancelled.  The Magnum, mentioned above should have been sold as a Chrysler.  The Pacifica was one of the nicest vehicles Chrysler had.  It had a unique and classy interior totally unlike anything else Chrysler had.  It was the crossover Chrysler should have advertised and pushed.

- The Caliber should have never happened as should the Chrysler Aspen, Jeep Compass and the remodel of the Durango/Dakota.  The Caliber is NOT a replacement for the Neon even though Chrysler thought it would be.  The Jeep Compass is a Caliber is Jeep's clothing.  The Aspen is the answer to a question never asked.  The Durango/Dakota are ugly, boxy replacements for what once was a decent looking vehicle.  (these are not necessarily my thoughts but the general consensus of the board).  The Dakota pickup which was once advertised as a "mid-size" pickup is now larger than the Ford F-150 was just 7 years ago.  Ditto on the Durango.  The Aspen shouldn't have happened, Chrysler should have kept and pushed the Pacifica as their SUV crossover.

- Quite a few people think the Plymouth name should be brought back and let it be the low cost offerings.  Let Dodge be the performance brand and Chrysler the up market version.

- Almost everyone agrees that Chrysler, somewhere in some division needs entry level gas sippers like the Aveo, Yaris, Versa, etc.

Now onto the PT.......

- Most people on the board think the PT should be axed.  Best case they think it should change and be sold as a Dodge.  They don't think the PT falls in line with where they think Chrysler itself should be headed.  Unless it had a complete change and went upscale, Chrysler should drop it.

- A few like myself disagree and have posted reasons why. 

- Chrysler (or maybe Daimler) dumbed down the PT excessively.  As many of you know who have 2001 or 2002 Limited Edition PT's, the current models don't hold a candle to it.  We have items on our PT's that came standard equipment that you can't even get as options now.  It should have only gotten better than worse. 

- Why in the world would a special edition PT be built off the base model?  Why would hot rod type editions such as the Route 66, Pacific Coast Highway or Sunset Strip edition not even have fog lights as an option?   The turbo lite offering?  Makes no sense. 

- Why was the GT dropped?  Even Chevy is hot rodding the HHR and offering sedan delivery versions...something PT people for years have been begging for.  Chrysler not listening is one of the reasons it's in the shape it is.  How many years and how many millions of dollars is it going to take to reverse peoples perception of Chrysler?  Can Cerebus handle this?

I could ramble on more and more about what all is being said in the Advisory Board.  Some is totally unrealistic, much repeated over and over by many people.  It boils down to Chrysler overall having poor quality and poor offering of vehicles.  Too much over lapping of products and parts.  Too cheap looking.  Way too much redundancy between their line up.  Many perceive Chrysler as being on their way out.

I would like to see that changed.  Not sure if this Advisory Board will amount to any more than someplace for a few to vent.  Will Chrysler listen?  Do they have the means to make the changes?  Will they make the changes?  Only time will tell.

Rick