Comments on: Chrysler’s woes masked by Toyota recalls

By: elmdodge

elmdodge — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:52:11 +0000

Thank god Steve Rattner saved Chrysler and the state of michigan . Now we can all see how govt intervention in the free market saves jobs . This is just a warmed over chrysler leftover with the same make believe managers. As a taxpayer and stockhoder I would say steve should try another line of work , oh thats right he did

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:49:23 +0000

New cars are like newborn babies. They may come out fine, but there’s no telling how they will turn out – even with the best care. Is there a higher probability that foreign cars have lett problems then American cars? That is inconclusive.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:31:39 +0000

That’s crazy Jake… I noticed a white Commander in the rental parking spaces at work this morning. I’d give you $20k for a new one no matter what the trim level.

By: JakeK66

JakeK66 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:22:45 +0000

Funny – I saw what rental paid for a new Jeep Commander. Let’s just say it’s well under $20,000.

By: Wawa

Wawa — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:13:51 +0000

Chuck – the sprinter was a rebadged benz – not the 300. I have owned 3 Chryslers. 94 Minivan which ate 3 trannys, 1998 Ram which ate one tranny and left me stranded in Florida with a trailer and two kids for 14 days waiting for the replacement which was eventually pulled from Warren Truck Plant line and air freighted to the dealer in Inverness Florida – Dodge dealer installed it on a Saturday night. Covered my rental for a trip to Key West and the entire cost of the camp ground for two weeks……..So I bought the third one – a Status which gave me no issues at all.

I have seen the new products in the Jeep line – WK Grand Cherokee and JK Wrangler – they will sell well. Cant get used to seeing those funny little Italian cars at Chrysler Tech Center. Dont think they will sell.

By: TomF

TomF — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:23:23 +0000

This LLN story is an uncredited rewrite of a CNN Money story that appeared online yesterday. I’d like to know how many LLN news stories fall into this category.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:18:05 +0000

The 300 may have the underpinnings of an E-Class, but I’d hardley call it a rebadged Benz. Side-by-side comparison, there is no resemblance – insed or out.

Re the minivans, they are still sales leaders in there own class, and innovation wise, none of their competitors offers the versatility and features. For a company that has been picked over and bankrupt by their former owners, their are doing what they can with what they have. Fiat is taking a sincere interest in developing this company to the company that it should be and we should be gratefull that there aren’t thousands more people heading towards the unemployment line.

By: Long Dong Auto

Long Dong Auto — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:09:51 +0000

Rkelly, all I can say is that you guys are mighty rough on cars. I had an 03 T&C , traded it at 192,000 miles with original trans. serviced once at 102,000 miles. The only thing done to the car were tires, brakes, oil changes, a couple of rusted cooling lines and a water pump. Also a couple of bulbs burned out in the climate controls on the dash. Other than that an outstanding trouble free vehicle.

By: 85ZingoGTR

85ZingoGTR — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:15:00 +0000

jayjc08 – Oh no I agree. They just been talking and not showing. GM atleast is showing their ideas. But time will tell.

By: RKelly14626

RKelly14626 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:55:38 +0000

yup. I walked riiiiiiiiiiiiight into that one. IT and I use that loosely, was 3 years old. I wanna say 38K miles… I dunno. Just remember it being towed away after we forced Chrysler to take it back in court and pay punitive damages. The neighbors laughed in disbelief… now they all have Toyotas… serves em right for laughing! Ha!

By: Blakkarr

Blakkarr — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:51:18 +0000

Marchionne, hurry up with those new cars already!

By: jayjc08

jayjc08 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:20:17 +0000

I’ll wait a few months, and reserve my judgement on Chrysler… They have a lot of new products that are going to come out in the next few years…

By: 85ZingoGTR

85ZingoGTR — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:43:23 +0000

300C was their their ONLY good car along with the Wrangler and the Sprinter (which is a rebadged Benz). Its pretty pathetic when Chrysler’s only revolutionizing model is their minivans, which are becoming less popular thanks to three row crossover SUVs which are more fuel efficient and lighter. Just not as roomy and comfy. I can understand my tax money going to help out GM because GM has their positive notes. But I don’t see anything positive about Chrysler. Knowing my money is going to this waste of a car company. The only relief I get is that I know my money is going to help fellow americans stay employed while Chrysler’s trash cans roll off their assembly line. They have a long road ahead of them to reach the level of their competition. a REALLY LONG road ahead of them. As in a complete overhaul of their entire lineup for all three of their brands.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:30:36 +0000

Borat, I’ll bet she’s had more fleet sales than even Chrysler.

By: 85ZingoGTR

85ZingoGTR — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:25:09 +0000

Chrysler = Automotive FAIL!

By: BuyUSA

BuyUSA — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:24:51 +0000

Good choice Chuck, 300C is a great car!

By: Borat

Borat — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:23:59 +0000

Johnny, based on your comments beloved Pamela Anderson may still appear in Canadian Playboy addition, after all those years and silicon fixes.

By: BuyUSA

BuyUSA — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:18:38 +0000

No fuel efficient models? Last time I checked, the 4 cyl. Avenger, Caliber, PT Cruiser, Patriot and Compass got near or over 30 mpg.

Less than one year from now, even their full-size lineup (Charger, 300) will be getting close to 30 mpg with the Pentastar V-6 and MDS and/or Multi-Air. I suspect the Fiat 500 will come in around the 40 mpg mark.

Be patient. They are overhauling 15 different models for the 2011 model year and their engineers are working overtime right now.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:44:37 +0000

Last autumn, I traded a ’02 BMW 525i for a 300C and have never regretted doing so. Fit and finish are on the level of the BMW and the fun to drive factor is great – and I love to drive.

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:39:38 +0000

I loved my PT Cruiser, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I had a lot of fun in that car.

By: howsmydriving

howsmydriving — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:25:39 +0000

You can bash PT Cruiser all you want. The reality is that PT Cruiser has sold 1.4 million units, which makes it one of Chrysler’s few success stories. The sad part is that Chrysler didn’t have the confidence in the car to take it to its next level.

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:25:02 +0000

I had a PT Cruiser. Bought it with only 6 miles on it, and ran it through 90,000 more in just a few years. I had a problem with the multifunction switch, but nothing else. It wasn’t a race car, but it was faster than the Celica was to 60mph. It had terrible gas mileage. But it sure was fun for road trips, and I miss it even today. I took it up to 125mph, and it felt just fine.

My mother-in-law has one, now. She loves it. She has all the nice interior amenities with a sunroof and everything. It’s considerably heavier than mine was, and therefore it’s slower than mine was, but the only problem she has ever had with it is that it has the overheating problem that Snoogah mentioned. It’s just a thermostat that needs to be replaced. I’ve already ordered the part, and now I just need to find a Saturday when I can replace it.

By: howsmydriving

howsmydriving — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:23:42 +0000

RKelly’s parents must have been irresponsible, giving a car, as they did, to a 3-year old child. His parents should be reported to Child Social Services.

By: teahead

teahead — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:08:55 +0000

I had a Toyota Corolla go through 2 engines. Did not want to pay for a 3rd. Of course out of warranty.

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:01:28 +0000

RKelly, you got a new car when you were 3? No wonder it went through so many transmissions!

By: snoogah

snoogah — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:44:36 +0000

i drove a 2002 pt cruiser for a year. it had about 68,000 miles on it when i started driving it, and about 85,000 when i finally traded it in. first of all… PT CRUISERS LOOK RIDICULOUS I DONT KNOW WHY THEY SELL THAT SHITWAGON. It always had some weird thing wrong with it, in fact one time i the mechanic couldnt tell me why the engine would randomly start overheating after driving for a whopping 5 minutes. drove like shit. slow as shit. gas mileage SUCKED for only having 150hp. started to shake on the highway at around 75mph. theres some other things too.

overall based on that experience i will never ever own a chrysler ever again.

By: RKelly14626

RKelly14626 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:34:40 +0000

Parents gave me a 97 Chrysler Town and Country as my first car… 3 years old, and had gone through 3 new tranny’s and a rebuild by the time I got it. One year later it had gone through a complete total of 5… Yes, 5. After winning our lemmon law suit THAT last day- we never looked back and never will.

By: beatusmongous

beatusmongous — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:07:24 +0000

Even news about Chrysler talks about Toyota. It’s everywhere now!

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:57:19 +0000

I still say they make it, but they’re going to get one shot and one shot only to make things right. Funny thing is they still do very well up here… not quite sure what that says about the Canadian psyche other than we’ve always been a sucker for hard luck cases. It’s just too bad we’re a few hundred million people short of being able to help more.

By: splunked

splunked — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:50:15 +0000

Well I sorta think their next batch of cars will be somewhat sucessful… they just have to stay alive

By: teahead

teahead — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:48:20 +0000

2010 has no new models.

They have no fuel efficient models.

Their interiors suck until new models come around.

Poor marketing. One superbowl ad does not make good marketing.

Trucks/SUVs only money maker for them. Construction is way down, hence poor truck sales.

Pretty sad I must say. 2011 will be better.

By: A4

A4 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:21:28 +0000

Do they have trade-us-your-gay-Toyota incentives like the other domestics?