May1
As is the theme of the day, Chrysler announced on Thursday that its April sales were way off the mark. Chrysler’s April sales slipped 18 percent, totaling just 147,751 units. The Michigan-based automaker largely blamed its fuel-thirsty truck and SUV lineup for the sales dip.
But despite the company’s full-size trucks and SUVs dragging down its April results, Chrysler did have a few bright spots. The Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot – some of Chrysler’s most economical vehicles — saw record April sales numbers. Sales of the three models totaled 17,977 units, a 16 percent increase from April 2007.
Surprisingly, Chrysler’s much criticized Sebring Convertible and larger Dodge Charger did very well last month. 2,827 buyers caught Spring fever with Chrysler’s ope-air offering, a 95 percent increase over last April’s 1,447 sales. Charger sales grew to 13,021, a 29 percent increase over April 2007.
Shocking
i think i saw some pigs fly
Encouraging. Throw in a new small car from the Nissan deal and a decent midsize sedan to replace the Sebring/Avenger and they might have a solid platform on which to grow. Don’t forget the Demon roadster is coming as well.
never really felt good on the Demon since it’s fwd- didn’t they have a Copperhead? i know thats was a while back, but that looked wayyy better
I think it depends a lot on its pricepoint. If it significantly undercuts the MX-5 and Sky/Solstice it has a good chance.
most of the mommys who just want a convertible couldnt give two ****s if its FWD or RWD. Yes, we might, but they wont.
The niche Challenger is the only Chrysler product worth buying.
the charger isn’t bad. the patriot is good looking - from the outside.
every other vehicle mentioned needs to die.
Johnny, you are right. Demon will bring crowd into showroom, but Chrysler needs fuel efficient cars, trucks, vans and jeeps. In their original market segment efficiency will be the key now. Chrysler never was white collar car (maybe Cordoba) but always beautiful and quite reliable among US cars. Slant six was a legend in 70’s and 80s. With price of gas as it is and rising their demographic is hurting the most. I see a lot of converts to Chrysler now that it is struggling: it is American tradition to go for underdog. But if efficiency will not come soon enough - how long Cerberus will keep pouring cash in? After all they are capitalists not mother Theresa.
If Chrysler dropped off from the face of the earth, would anybody notice?
autonut: funny you should mention Cordoba and slant six because I had a 1980 with the ‘Super 6′. And that was during college days or about as far from white collar as you can get. More like purple haze.
^^ utter hogwash… as long as they still make Dodge pickups and Jeeps, Chrysler won’t be going anywhere for a while.
damnit canuck… that was meant for the xile-troll
Sorry AMGoff. I was trying to ignore him.
And these sales dips, rightly so. What the **** is Chrysler doing, sitting on half of these abominations like the Sebring and long-in-the-tooth 300C? Redesign them already, and do something about the ****ing 3.8L V6 they throw into every ****ing vehicle. It gets worse mileage than a tank going uphill, towing a battleship.
I can’t think of one Chrysler product I would want.
muscle car -> Camaro.
performance car -> Corvette.
family hauler -> maybe a Ford Fairlane
luxury sedan -> Cadillac CTS
suv -> acadia/outlook/vue
pickup -> one of the gm trucks
The list goes on and on and that doesn’t even count the imports.
Good luck to Chrysler … they’ll need tons of it to survive. But then again, there are so many better choices out there that, like I said, nobody will notice.
^ if u want a Jeep, it’s Chrysler
Xile, I am sure that Stephen Feinberg read your suggestion and already instituted immediate changes in line up.
The Sebring convertibles have always done amazingly well dispite bland styling and mediocre performance. I don’t know what it is… but something about the car really hits home with a lot of buyers. Maybe it is the fact that the Sebring is the only convertible on the market that is not trying to be a sports car. Some people just want a drop-top without all the sporting flair. It is large enough to carry passengers and luggage without being super cramped… I see a lot of them as daily drivers, and with the hard-top option it is only easier to live with in the winter months. A lot of folks who can’t afford to have an extra car but still want a weekend toy are attracted to them.
I honestly don’t see a reason to get rid of it.
Same type of people whom buy Sebring convertible also buy the equally bland and uglier Solara convertible.
If Chrysler wants to do something about fuel economy… they need to bring back the Turbo engine. Little 4-banger running on 5-10PSI. Adequate power… more importantly plenty of torque… excellent reliability… good fuel economy. A solid little motor to slap in any car… from Calibur to Sebring… Charger… even in a van or a Jeep.
I’ve got a ‘89 Daytona with the 2.5L turbo motor in it. 130,000+ miles and running strong. Gets me back and forth to work every day. 25MPG. Still has plenty of passing-lane power & will dust the doors right off of any base model Civic, Corolla, Rabbit, Aveo, Cobalt, Fit, or SX-4.
I’m sure with today’s technological advances they could get 30MPG out of it no problem.
“whom buy” When has that ever been correct grammar?