Chrysler cuts 12,000 jobs and kills 4 models

[Destinova403]

unfortunately... the magnum was one of them... honestly i really liked that car

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/11/01/chryslercuts.html

[heavyD]

Boy Ontario is getting hit hard with all the automobile industry layoffs.

[JRSC00LUDE]

But don't blame it on the unions dammit, they had nothing to do with it. :devil:

[sputnik]

I think I was one of the rare few that actually liked the Crossfire.

I've been tempted to bring one up from the US.

[Antonito]

Thank god the PT Cruiser convertible is gone. That thing was an embarrasment. I've never seen an automaker actually just chop the top off and not at least try to make aesthetic allowances

[Xtrema]

Pacifica - I actually liked it when I rented one by accident. But it's appeal is very limited.

Crossfire - Rebadge old SLK. Now the relationship is cut, may as well kill it. It's ugly anyway.

PT Crusier - Thank god. Why is this piece is still on the road and people are buying it.

Magnum - The only one I'm sad to see it go.


Well, sounds like high loonie has claimed the first casualty.

[tentacles]

I think I was one of the rare few that actually liked the Crossfire.

Wow, I never even knew they still made that thing. I bet you can get a 2006 with 0kms for $12k now.

Then you and the 3 other guys who bought it can start a club! :rofl:

I keed, I keed....

[suen_boi]

i wonder how many more hits the auto industry in ontario is going to take.
loonie slipped a little today, but it doesn't look like it's going to slow down soon

[Destinova403]

Originally posted by Antonito
Thank god the PT Cruiser convertible is gone. That thing was an embarrasment. I've never seen an automaker actually just chop the top off and not at least try to make aesthetic allowances

new mini convertable...?

new beetle convertable...?

[Eleanor]

yay, no more pt cruiser convertible! :clap: :clap:

[01RedDX]

.

[ninjak84]

Damn ... Harsh move! I didn't think things were going as bad for Chrysler as they appear to be ...


Originally posted by tentacles
Then you and the 3 other guys who bought it can start a club! :rofl:

haha

[smontyLS1]

they have a model called the aspen?

[Zephyr]

dam they should of kept the magnum

[Destinova403]

Originally posted by smontyLS1
they have a model called the aspen?

http://www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/firstdrive/2007/chrysler.aspen/07.chrysler.aspen.340.jpg

[A790]

Brutal. I know a few people out here who aren't very happy at the moment...

[Pahnda]

Too bad they didn't just phase out all of Dodge instead. Seriously, I don't know anyone that likes dodge except for someone from a cattle farm. :\

[Supa Dexta]

This likely has more to do with a revised business plan with the new owners then the dollar..

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I suspect this has more to do with hurting the union than anything else.

[TegLover]

all 4 of those models suck, especially the magnum i hate that thing it's hideous.

[treg50]

It was on the wall, Mercedez-Benz (Daimler whatever) didn't drop Chrysler for no reason. The new owner of Chrysler is trying to stop the bleeding. The dollar provides the perfect reason to give the union a little bashing. All 4 models were good cuts and hideous.

[TorqueDog]

Here's my take:

Vehicles they're cutting:
Pacifica = Nice vehicle, but answers a question that nobody asked. Ill-timed release in the market and high price makes the vehicle unattractive.
Magnum = Very 'niche' vehicle. It made the wagon cool again, but once the 300C/Magnum hype died down, so did its sales. Lackluster interior made it a tough sell.
Crossfire = Should have been killed a long time ago. Based off the Mercedes SLK320, but costs $10,000 less... but feels like it should have been in the same price range as a Mazda Miata or Pontiac Solstice.
PT Convertible = Again, very 'niche' vehicle. Not a big seller, and for the money, most would rather opt for the more spacious Sebring convertible.

Can't say I disagree with any of those decisions.

HOWEVER, they missed a few:
Durango = Just let it die. The facelift was a welcomed change, but it still looks like crap. Kill it already, or design it properly. I miss the 98-03 body style.
Caliber/Compass = Compass was the most idiotic idea they've ever put into production... "Let's create an ugly, front wheel drive-based Jeep!" *bzzt* Wrong answer, Chrysler. And the Caliber would be a much nicer vehicle if they didn't cut costs by making the interior out of recycled Barbie Corvettes. The idea could have been executed MUCH better.

Vehicles that shouldn't have been killed off:
SX 2.0 = "Are you serious? You're going to defend the Neon?" Yes, yes I am. For what it's worth, it was the only vehicle in the C/D/J lineup that could compete in the same segment as Corolla, Civic, and Mazda 3 in price and size... a segment that has a LOT of volume associated with it. While the existing model had numerous changes that needed to be made, it could have been a good seller with a proper freshening up (and I mean proper, unlike the 06 to current model Sebring 'refresh').



And all of this is coming from someone who did the Chrysler thing for two years.

[modded46]

All this means is that there will be more employees for Alberta.... and people were worried about the economy here?? :drama:

[blownz]

Originally posted by BerserkerCatSplat
I suspect this has more to do with hurting the union than anything else.

You are probably right. Reducing shifts at plants have nothing to do with slow sales of the vehicles manufactured in those plants...

[4doorj]

i also heard on the news yesterday
one of the head guys put some blame on the asian manufacturers :dunno:

and yes i also agree some of it was to hurt the union too

[Mr_ET]

My take on this is that chrystler has way too many models and they actually compete against themselves.

They are also having trouble getting repeat customers as their vehicules don't have good reputations for build quality and reliability.

I say reduce the lineup offering, raise the quality of the products offered and wait about 10 years for this to pay off...

the sx 2.0 was dropped and changed for the caliber because the neam sucked and people didn't want to buy them and then the sx 2.0 wasn't much better and people didin't want to buy them.

the caliber will eventually be dropped because it also sucks and when a car sucks this much it's hard to build on that and offer subsequent generations of it.


Start with a good offering, update it a bit after 2 years and then do a generation change every 4-5 years.

There is a reason Toyota is doing so well!

How many generations of the corolla and camry have we seen?

The have pretty much always looked aweful and bland but are still seen as "good reliable cars" so people still buy them.

same for the honda civic...

[Redlyne_mr2]

Yah when I was with DaimlerChrysler all of those models werent moving at all.. I drove all of them as company cars because there was such a massive surplus of them sitting in storage compoungs all over Ontario. They were supposed to revamp the Pacifica... theyve cancelled that. The Chargers, 300s, and Magnums arent selling well at all and the Crossfire was/is a piece of shit. Neon convertible was ok but way too much money and super gay.

[pinoyhero]

Down with the union, chrysler can't modify employee pay to reflect the market so they are left either loosing money or chopping jobs, well done buzz!

[Antonito]

Originally posted by Destinova403


new mini convertable...?

new beetle convertable...?

Those 2 had the benefit of having body lines that were a natural place to cut at. The PT convertible looks like a bathtub with a front end attached.

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by TorqueDog

Vehicles that shouldn't have been killed off:
SX 2.0 = "Are you serious? You're going to defend the Neon?" Yes, yes I am. For what it's worth, it was the only vehicle in the C/D/J lineup that could compete in the same segment as Corolla, Civic, and Mazda 3 in price and size... a segment that has a LOT of volume associated with it. While the existing model had numerous changes that needed to be made, it could have been a good seller with a proper freshening up (and I mean proper, unlike the 06 to current model Sebring 'refresh').


Sadly i agree with this, it was clearly their best seller (as you used to see TONS of newer neons around) but hey, way to shoot themselves in the foot :dunno: