It's a Chrysler kind of news day... and this story is more than just a business piece. This is about cars. If people don't buy Chrysler, it won't matter how much money Cerberus pays, or how many concessions they get from unions. Are you a convertible fan, a van fan, a something else fan? Let us know what your favorite Chrysler car is, or what kind of car you think they need to make to save themselves.
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Why doesn't Chrysler take advantage of the environmental crisis with which we are currently faced and focus on building hybrid and/or high efficiency vehicles. Think of the positive PR for an American car company, taking on the tough issue of global warming. It may not pay off in the short term, but wouldn't this be a great American competitor to Honda and Toyota when it comes to hybrid and fuel efficient cars?
Please have a show on the documentary film "Who Killed the Electric Car" US companies basically invented a sophisticated Electric Vehicle (EV) in the 90's. The Bush Administration participated in a suit of CA to stop their zero emmisions initiative.
I grew up in a small rural town where everyone under 25 had a Muscle Car with a big engine. One of my favorites was a 1970 Dodge Charger with a 426 Cubic Inch Hemi with dual four barrel carburators. It was a great time that is long past and for many reasons we can no longer afford. I have been driving Hondas for almost 20 years now [CRX HF (48 MPG) from '88 to '99 and a Civic EX since '99. If all American car manufacturers would have had a good quality small car in the market dealers could have had a chance to keep the SUV customer with the same American brand instead of losing the customer to Honda, Toyota or other non-traditional American brand name [remember, the "foriegn" brand names build many cars in the US so they are not that "foreign" any more].
I say it's time for them to rethink the mini-van, and hybrid/high mileage might be one good direction to go. Chrysler was first, and in my opinion, best in the mini van boom, but the venerable van has fallen into disfavor now, succumbing to the thundering hordes of SUV's. I don't really understand why. Apart from being more "kewl" and trendy than the van, they have generally less internal space, higher price, and comparable to lower gas mileage. These are weaknesses that a company willing to re-invent the van from the tires up can exploit.
Thos
I'd really like to see Chrysler step up and build an AWD turbo compact car to compete with the legendary Mitsubishi Evolutions and Subaru STi's from Japan. I really believe that Chrysler is in the best position to compete in that market, due to their past experiences in the "DSM" days and their current partnership with Mitsubishi.
Questions, questions, questions about the American auto industry. What I tend to look for in times of more questions than answers are items which appear purely coincedental. It borderlines on conjecture, but then again, that's what us "down here" are relegated to do. Coincidence #1: Environmentalism and fuel effeciency in US cars have seen a coincidence between the lowest MPG autos (SUVs) and the highest cost of petro. Hmmm.... Coincedence #2: Health care and US auto liabilities (retirees & dependents) is now showing the responsibility to their liabilities at an all-time high due to Health coverage costs. Would a nationalized health care system solve the problems of the BIG 3 in terms of their present Achilles Heel? My thought is this: While potential solutions for each are imminentet, both special interests (Oil, Health Care) groups in each of the coincidences profit off of US auto industry----like pipelines at the bottom of Lake Michigan, until reserves get too low. At which time, the blame for the problem will rest likely with those at the bottom, ie Unions....coinicidence?
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