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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Etc. The North American International Auto Show is by far the largest auto show in North America, but the small, aging facility that houses the new car party is prompting automakers to ditch the event all-together. In response to news that Suzuki has joined Porsche in bowing out of the 2009 show, the city of Detroit is rushing a $90M plan to increase floor space by 80,000 sq. ft. The move is seen as a stop-gap measure, with other more grand plans still on the way at a later date. With far superior facilities in New York, Chicago, and LA, Detroit may not have long to act. For people in the Detroit area, the Cobo expansion has been a hot topic of conversation, but one that typically doesn't get beyond the talking stage. If area executives continue to try to one-up each other, argue and get nothing done, more automakers are likely to bow out in the future. [Source: Detroit News ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Minivans/MPVs , Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge Click the image above for a high-res view. An eagle-eyed reader has spotted a hybrid Dodge Caravan in the Chicago, Illinois area. Don't get your panties in a bunch, though, as this hybrid is not the sort consumers have come to know and love as of late. This Caravan has no electrical propulsion system, but rather two front ends. Before Honda and Toyota forever tied the hybrid term to gasoline-electric drivetrains, it was used to describe vehicles constructed out of various donor parts, such as this one. After all, no one has yet marketed a better name for dual front fascia automobiles. Now obviously this Caravan looks nothing like the one in which your mom carpooled you to soccer practice. Especially since hers probably had a rear end. However, that might be where the differences end, at least from what we can tell. Besides the obvious exterior alterations, there are no hints at what other tricks the minivan might have up its sleeve...
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Filed under: Etc. , Chrysler Lee Iacocca is a smart man. Father of both the Mustang and the minivan, the well revered auto exec was Chrysler's savior in the '80s. As such, the current Chrysler LLC will be holding a rally to honor its former patriarch on June 26th at its headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI. The rally will be attended by employees and Iacocca himself (no word on whether his BFF Snoop Dogg will make an appearance). Today's Chrysler, of course, bears little resemblance to the strong automaker helmed by Iacocca in the '80s. During the '90s, Chrysler followed its Big 3 brothers down a path of big pickups and SUVs for which now they are all paying dearly, and Iacocca made no bones about his feelings toward Daimler after the German automaker cut and ran away from their "merger of equals", saying in an interview with BusinessWeek last year that " Daimler screwed Chrysler royally ." We can't help but wonder how the 84-year-old would run his...
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Filed under: Etc. , Chrysler Chrysler LLC chief Bob Nardelli is back to work after being laid up with a bad back the past couple of weeks, and here we didn't even know he was hurt. Some bloggers we are. Nardelli's injury didn't require surgery, and the Chrysler CEO worked from home while getting the rest needed to tend to Chrysler's turnaround plan. A Chrysler spokesperson didn't disclose how the injury occurred, but we're guessing the massive weight of the Pentastar's problems would be a hefty strain on anyone's back. [Source: Freep] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Etc. , Chrysler When the Chrysler 300 dropped on an unsuspecting public in 2004, it was all crisp edges and upright stance, with a bulldog face to help drive home the message of urgent thrust delivered by a reborn Hemi V8. Chrysler's got a refreshing in the pipeline for the 300, and that's giving designers fits. It's akin to sophomore album syndrome - when the original is a huge hit, how, exactly, do you follow it up? Chrysler designers are invoking the Porsche philosophy used to update its 911 through the generations as a roadmap for the 300's body changes, so don't expect anything too dramatic on the outside. Inside, however, will be where the real action occurs. While not the worst interior Chrysler puts out, it's certainly got room for improvement. Cerberus chairman Steven Feinburg is reportedly passionate about improving the quality of Chrysler's offerings, and the lower quality materials we have today are being jettisoned in...
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Filed under: Etc. , Plants/Manufacturing , Chrysler Chrysler's turning up the heat on its suppliers to reduce the cost of parts by 25 percent over the next three years. That's not just new parts, either, but everything. A widget that hasn't changed in any way must drop in price by 25 percent in three years time. The automaker's also making changes to its own operations to help with the effort and save money on components. Sharing common pieces over a larger range of models will help, as will reducing expensive late engineering tweaks. Chrysler is also sharing its production schedule with suppliers to smooth out planning and reduce overtime and raw material costs for suppliers. It should come as little surprise given the big-box provenance of Bob Nardelli, but Chrysler is pushing its suppliers to match the bargain prices from suppliers in countries like China, India and Mexico. The cost reduction stiff arm will likely lead to further investment in low-cost countries, and...
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Filed under: Coupes , Etc. , Government/Legal , Chrysler , Dodge Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Border_Guards_Halt_Traffic_to_Check_Out_Challenger'; If any of you were stuck in traffic trying to get through the Detroit Windsor tunnel late last week, we may now know why. There was no major international incident or terrorist crackdown happening. Apparently, Chrysler Canada CEO Reid Bigland grabbed a fresh-off-the-line Dodge Challenger SRT8 and headed over to Detroit from his office in Windsor, Ontario. Agents of the Customs and Border Protection Service decided they wanted to check out Chrysler's new muscle car. Several agents spent time going over the new Challenger and asking questions about it rather than processing travelers through the downtown Detroit border crossing point. Traffic quickly got backed up and according to Bigland there was about an hour delay by the time the agents let him proceed...
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Filed under: Time Warp , Minivans/MPVs , Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge Think of what the automotive landscape looked like nigh on 25 years ago. Mentioning "family car" in 1983 would have conjured a station wagon. Some of us dig wagons, while others think we're daft because of the stigma they still carry. There's no denying that a wagon is an excellent way to transport kids and stuff, but those beasts of yesteryear often led to yearnings for an alternative. We all remember getting carsick while sitting in the rear-facing third row torture chamber, cut off from the rest of the family and their future-looking vantage point. The tailgunner position was a great way to test out new hand gestures on following motorists, though. When the Chrysler minivans were revealed to the world in 1983 as 1984 models, they were a revelation. The Caravan and Voyager were not the first vans based on compact chassis, but they were such a successful combination of the elements that sales took off and...
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Filed under: Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep Chrysler's over-sized dealer-body has been struggling with the Pentastar's shrinking market share, but that's not stopping Chrysler brass from asking them for donations for the newly non-profit Walter P. Chrysler museum. Dealers are being asked to contribute $5,000 apiece to help keep the museum up and running, and in turn Chrysler is changing the museum's name to the Walter P. Chrysler Founding Dealers Society. Dealers that participate in the program will get their name added to the Founding Dealers Society Donor Wall. While it's well-known that Chrysler is working hard to shrink non-core costs, the 70-vehicle museum only has six full-time employees, which doesn't meaningfully impact the bottom-line. The program is strictly voluntary as well, so no dealers will be unwillingly hurt during the funding of this museum. [Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge , Jeep If you have a Dodge Ram in the driveway and someone claiming to be Jim Press calls you asking if you're satisfied with your truck, it just might be him. Chrysler recognizes that it has a customer service problem, and the Pentastar is going to extraordinary lengths to correct it. Its top 300 executives and directors are participating in a program called "Customer First" that puts a priority on -- you guessed it -- the customer. The executives, even guys named Nardelli, Press, and LaSorda, are responsible for at least one customer call per day, and all execs will man at least one shift at Chrysler's customer call center. The Pentastar elite are also partaking in a three month competition to see who can generate the most sales. We don't know what the prize is for the winner, but whomever claims top sales should get something really, really good. Like a lifetime supply of Chrysler Sebrings. [Source: Detroit Free...
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Filed under: Tuners , Etc. , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Misc. Auto Shows The Woodward Dream Cruise is one of the biggest events in Michigan all year, with 1.2 million people attending and over 40,000 hot rods, exotics, antiques and oddities coming from near and far to one of the world's most storied roads. Yet each year businesses on the cruise route complain that the annual event actually hurts their bottom line. It isn't so much the weekend that kills profits as it is the fact that cruisers plug up Woodward for the entire week before the big cruise on Saturday. Organizers of the big event may have helped these businesses by transforming the Woodward-centric cruise into a nine day mega-event that spans into the city of Detroit and other surrounding areas. Some of the new events includes a low-rider competition to kick off the event on August 8 to an AutoblogGreen-friendly green car show, motorcycle show, and a Model T event. Sprinkling cruise events around southeast Michigan will give...
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Filed under: Tuners , Auction Action , Etc. , Chevrolet , Chrysler When offering an item for sale, a fuzzy key selling point like "may be legal in some states already" might not be the deal clincher you'd hoped. On today's episode of "Fun With Centers of Gravity" we have the delightful union of the neuter-car PT Cruiser with the greasy unmentionables of a 29 year old Chevy Blazer. It may very well be legal in some states, but it'll still be unholy everywhere it goes. Build quality appears on par with a dollar store habachi - are those pop rivets on the fender liners? The battery sitting on a folded back seat is the crowning feature of the interior and there's also no heat or air conditioning, making this a fun year-round ride. The zip-ties and extra-fun spark plug wire routing in the engine bay dress up the 350, and the seller believes so much in this powertrain that there's a warranty to sweeten the pot. Let's ignore the fact that the nearly...
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Filed under: Etc. , Chrysler , Dodge The recent decision by Chrysler to give employees a mandatory, unpaid two week vacation has workers peeved, and it's tough to blame them. Many long-time workers have already planned and paid for vacations that land outside of July 7-21, so those employees will have to cancel their plans or risk going unpaid for two weeks. It's very public news that Chrysler isn't exactly rolling in fortunes, and employees know that sacrifices being made, but as the Freep points out, Chrysler management really botched this one. The problem lies with the absence of communication regarding vacation time until less than four months before the scheduled time off, when many plans are already set, and some vacation is already taken. Then there's the fact that some of the product development is being shuttered for two whole weeks when Chrysler is already behind the competition and can't afford to take half a month off. Cerberus may be new to the auto industry...
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Filed under: Etc. , Tech , Chrysler , Dodge Chrysler may be struggling with vehicle styling and interior quality, but the gang in Auburn Hills sure does love the gadgetry. Sirius satellite TV, heated and cooled cupholders, and Swivel-N-Go seating will soon be joined by in-car Internet access. The Washington Post reports Chrysler will utilize cell tower signals and a mobile phone account to make the radio a WiFi port, giving passengers access to the web. The technology will be offered as a dealer add-on for existing models later this year, and it will be available as a factory option at some point after that. With Chrysler bringing web connectivity to cars and trucks this year and Ford following suit in mid-2009, it looks like access to Autoblog will soon be available everywhere. [Source: The Washington Post ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Etc. , Chrysler Cerberus Capital Management shot off a nine-page letter to investors outlining ways that Chrysler could sink, while also pointing out that they believe Chrysler's on the track for success. Some of the possible failure scenarios include a nasty recession, an extreme slowdown in the car market, or a further credit downturn. Credit is already looking green around the gills, and the potential for a widespread domino effect that starts with an implosion of the teetering mortgage business would be catastrophic for Chrysler Financial and GMAC, of which Cerberus owns 51 percent. As easy mortgages and equity go, so goes willy-nilly new car purchasing, and we're probably already seeing the results of that adjustment. Cerberus believes that it can weather a mild credit downturn, and even a mild recession, just fine. One way to attain success is to declare it, and changing the definition doesn't hurt, either. Cerberus optimistically declares that there's...
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