Eight vehicles that could make or break Chrysler

We have watched the past few years with great interest wondering what car companies would survive, who would become the most profitable and who would step up and turn their company around. Ford has been on track all along (F150, Edge, Focus, Explorer, EcoBoost, Mustang) without needing a bailout and GM actually has some bad ass cars (ZR1, CTS-V) as well as fuel efficient cars (Volt, Cruze) and the typical crossover SUV market. Chrysler, on the other hand stands out as the furthest behind. I have owned Dodge Dakotas, Dodge Rams, a 2008 Challenger, a 2001 Viper and I have shopped for, rented and test driven many of their other vehicles so I am curious as to how this will all pan out.

Where Chrysler went wrong was almost where Chrysler went right, “That thing got a Hemi?” was a household expression just a short few years ago. It was so cool it almost brought the mullet back in style! As commercials go, only a few companies enjoy that sort of successful marketing. The commercials were fun; the Hemi engine was awesome and when the gas prices went through the roof, Chrysler was left standing there with a huge fleet of huge cars with huge engines. Even the “smaller” cars were heavy and poorly built. All Chrysler really had going for them was the Jeep line and that also had similar problems when they expanded the lineup with non-trail rated vehicles. They seemed to have sold a lot of them but I think any Jeep lover would agree that a non-trail rated vehicle should not get the Jeep badge.

With Ford and GM grabbing a lot of the press, Chrysler is really the last one to the dance, but with many refreshed and redesigned cars in the pipeline. They might be down, but they are not even close to out. As they continue to sell the Hemi and work on the next generation Viper, they also have some small cars in the pipeline, thanks to the alliance with Fiat. It could just be the perfect storm brewing…

Dodge Ram:

People need trucks, it goes without saying and truck sales seem to constantly rebound. Ford, Chevy and Toyota seem to have done well but everyone else has had some difficulties including the Ram based Nissan Titan. I never understood the latest redesign, with the nose leaning forward as if to attempt to get worse gas mileage by fighting with the oncoming breeze. I have owned a few of these and they were good trucks but frankly the Ford and Chevy versions are better all around. I am not sure what is missing here with the Dodge trucks, as far as I can remember they have been the underdog. This seems like a good time to try and figure out why. I would have liked to include the new Dodge Dakota, but it has been discontinued. That’s a real shame as a smaller version (something rarely in the Chrysler vocabulary) could have made this a hot seller at a time when trucks sales are up and your main choices are the Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma. The Dakota was always close in size and price to the Ram making it a confusing choice.

Dodge Viper:

American super car or American muscle car? Call it what you want, but this is another one of those cars in the Dodge lineup you always admire. Pure horsepower and no fancy electronics to assist you while driving. It is you, the car, a 4 leaf clover or rabbit’s foot and hope for the best. I have driven a Dodge Viper as well as a Corvette ZR1 with all the electronics and believe me, the Viper can be terrifying in a way that some cars can not. We thought the Viper was dead following the government bailouts but at a dealer conference on September 14, 2010 in Orlando, Florida, Chrysler Group and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne concluded his remarks by unveiling a rolling 2012 Dodge Viper prototype to dealer applause. There would be no 2011 Vipers, instead rebooting the brand in model year 2012. There is speculation that there will be some similarities to the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione supercar, however, no official photos or details have been released yet from the company. We are hoping the curves come back as the last generation Viper really didn’t do it for us. With all the new regulations, odds are Dodge is not going to be able to keep the car as it is; it will most likely need some sort of traction control at the least. That would be ok with us; these cars should be test beds for pushing the limits and trying new technology that can make it into other cars over the years. That is why the Viper is actually on this list. We will have to wait for official words and at least a year before we see a 2012 model. Fingers crossed.

Dodge Durango:

The last version of the Dodge Durango looked like a bloated SUV and certainly nothing like the original. The original was a good looking truck in its day, so we don’t know who thought the last generation was a good idea. Chevy has a great line-up with the Tahoe\Yukon\Escalade and they are not alone. Having owned some full sized SUV’s myself, the Durango never even came into consideration. All that could change with the 2011 redesign. To me it looks part Journey and part Grand Cherokee and it’s not bad at all. This time around the Durango gets a lot of attention starting with a stiffer unibody, suspension and a ton of options found in higher end SUV’s. The list of changes and features to the Durango would be longer than this entire article. Obviously Chrysler was listening to feedback, so how will this redesigned SUV do against the competition?

Chrysler 200:

The Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger seem to have a good following. People who own them seem to like them. They seem like safe bets, but Dodge is bringing us a reworked Chrysler 200 for 2011. I like the front and rear of the car, but the middle to rear c pillar area looks like a weird humpback. Once again this would have been awesome if they shrunk the 300, otherwise all I see here is more brand and model confusion. Imagine a baby 300! There is a lot riding on this car as Fiat was tasked with getting it done. Olivier François, the man sent by Fiat to oversee the Chrysler brand as its president and CEO, says engineers actually worked up a plan to completely rebody the car in 12 months, including changing vital hard points such as the roofline and doors. If they drop the ball here (or on the Fiat 500) the whole Fiat\Chrysler honeymoon could be short lived.

PT Cruiser

Before you laugh at me understand that the PT Cruiser almost missed the list because it’s being ignored by Chrysler while everything else is getting updated. It sold almost 50,910 units in the last year with no advertising, down from its peak of 144,717 in 2001. It's not going to make OR break Chrysler like this. I owned one in 2000 and it was a good car. Affordable, fun, retro, roomy, good fuel economy, good build quality and never gave me any trouble. It was killed and resurrected from the dead but it did not get what every other model is getting. A refresh. It’s been on the market over 10 years and still looks the same. As crossovers and retro cars become all the rage, the PT Cruiser has been waiting for its moment to shine. Refresh the PT Cruiser and do some marketing Chrysler! Think about it; an affordable, retro crossover! It might not make or break you this year, but how about 2012?

Dodge Caravan:

The minivan was Chrysler’s baby. They were there first and they have done it well. The last generation Dodge Caravan looked a lot like a toaster to me. In the meantime, everyone else seems to have redesigned their minivans and made them look cool. Well, at least as cool as possible. Like many of their other vehicles this one has a new fascia, tailgate, lights, suspension, V6 engine and more. While I am not jumping up and down with excitement I think they did a good job without touching the sheet metal. The pressure has always been on Dodge in this arena and they need to be an innovator again. Hopefully they did enough to drive sales and keep them ahead of the competition. The 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan will be available in four configurations including the Express, Mainstreet, Crew, and arriving in spring 2011, the Dodge Grand Caravan R/T. Here’s hoping people still like it.

Fiat 500

The Fiat brand marked its return to the North American market with the reveal of the 2012 Fiat 500 at the Los Angeles International Auto Show recently. The biggest hurdle would be that in America we are not familiar with the Fiat brand. Perhaps the fact that it is an Italian car will seem sexy to people, I think it will to the average consumer. We are expecting 3 models with 14 exterior and exterior colors. A 1.4 liter engine should get great fuel economy and a 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty should put the consumer at ease. Base price will be $15,500 and you can configure your Fiat today at www.fiatusa.com. Chrysler has so many vehicles with the Hemi engine available that the Fiat might just be the 360 degree turn around they need on their lots. At the time this article was being written, the Fiat 500 Special Edition was selling out in Canada within 12 hours.

Jeep Grand Cherokee:

The always popular Jeep Grand Cherokee has been redesigned for 2011 like most Chrysler products. The Grand Cherokee has an advantage. It’s a pretty damn good SUV and the redesign is perfect. Messing with a top seller is always a risk, but Chrysler has hit a home run here. SUV sales are back up and the Grand Cherokee should be able to take a small portion of those sales. Those who find it too pricey and big can look at the redesigned Liberty. The press has been good and the reviews as well. The SRT-8 version has been spotted and Chrysler heard the complaints about not being able to tow with it. I see a lot of car companies cloning and shrinking their SUV line and I think Chrysler should have done that with the Grand Cherokee. A smaller version of this could sell like hotcakes. They could have easily done this with the Jeep Patriot. Now, if only they would toss out that Compass looking thing. We promise to pretend it never happened, ok?