Yes, I know I’ve been blogging about cars a lot lately. Too bad. I like cars, I was raised in a Dodge family, and there’s a lot going on. According to the New York Times, Chrysler is shedding 11,000 jobs and discontinuing the PT Cruiser convertible, Magnum, Pacifica, and Crossfire.

None of this is terribly surprising.

I never understood the Magnum - a V-8 station wagon in the 21st century? It was an interesting idea, but not one that I saw a whole lot of people jumping on. I do think a station wagon can still do well in the American market, but it needs to be a little more practical. The Crossfire has never reviewed well and was just a little too flashy for its own good. As for the Pacifica… I’m actually mildly surprised by that one. I’ve seen a fair number of them on the road, and they cut the price of them substantially compared to when they first came out. I must’ve missed something thing.

Things I’d like to see Chrysler do now:

1. Get a real small car. This means getting rid of the bulky and ugly Caliber and actually finding a decent replacement for the Neon.
2. Enough crossovers. Build something that people actually want. I’ve yet to meet anyone that says, “Wow, you know what I want? A crossover!” I’m sure they’re out there, but I don’t think they’re anywhere near as many as Detroit thinks.
3. Bring back the Ram 50 and give it a diesel. Oooh… that’d be nice. A small truck with a diesel - I bet it’d sell better than people think, and it’d be profitable to boot.

I think #1 is the biggest issue - they’re going to lose an entire generation of buyers if they don’t get an entry level product that young people actually want to be caught dead in.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS