Re: Fiat CEO: Chrysler worse than we thought

#1

MoPar Man wrote:

Quote:

Why not at least mention the Caliber?

Because its kinda an embarrassment. What brain-dead manager decided to
replace the company's ONE compact economy car (the Neon) with an
underpowered (except for the SRT version) thing that looks more like a
crossover SUV?

Quote:

BRING BACK THE LH PLATFORM YOU ITALIAN WHACK JOBS !!!!

Will you give that a rest? The LH was a fine vehicle and one of the
best I ever owned... but that was nearly 20 years ago. And the quality
of the LX has proven much better, whether or not you personally like it.

#2

Steve wrote:

Quote:

MoPar Man wrote:

Why not at least mention the Caliber?

Because its kinda an embarrassment. What brain-dead manager decided to
replace the company's ONE compact economy car (the Neon) with an
underpowered (except for the SRT version) thing that looks more like a
crossover SUV?
Steve,

We have had this discussion before. I agree with you that Chrysler
should have kept the two and four door Neon, but the Caliber is a good
car, kind of like the Lancer/LeBaron of the late '80's. I call it a
five door hatchback sedan, which to me, it is. Very comfortable, with
the CRT/2.0 very good mileage.

#3

In article <4AB249EE.CC208D02 (AT) Man (DOT) com>, MoPar Man <MoPar (AT) Man (DOT) com>
wrote:

Quote:

http://www.newcharger.org/specs/00300NSpecs.html

That's what Chrysler would have been selling in 2003 or 2004 had they
not been acquired and gutted by Daimler. Cars based on the LH
platform. Cars with V8, RWD, Convertible as options. The replacement
for the 300m.

I love my 300M, but I would NEVER be interested in that 300N.

#4

In article <BWDsm.15796$vi1.14429 (AT) en-nntp-02 (DOT) dc1.easynews.com>,
Bob Grimes <bobgrimes (AT) MonsterChillerHorrorTheater (DOT) com> wrote:

Quote:

Steve,
We have had this discussion before. I agree with you that Chrysler
should have kept the two and four door Neon, but the Caliber is a good
car, kind of like the Lancer/LeBaron of the late '80's. I call it a
five door hatchback sedan, which to me, it is. Very comfortable, with
the CRT/2.0 very good mileage.

I like the mechanicals of the Caliber, but I'm not interested in driving
it in that thing of a body.

#5

In article
<cPednffqt8Am2CzXnZ2dnUVZ_hydnZ2d (AT) posted (DOT) eaglecomputertechnology>,
Jim Higgins <gordian238 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Quote:

More likely, Turner said, Marchionne is laying the groundwork for
drastic actions that will be announced in November but may have been
planned all along.

"That is that Chrysler is over, basically," he said of Chrysler's
flagship car brand. "Within five years, you're going to see nothing."

How unfortunate, but I expected it with Cerbus's stripping of Chrysler.

#6

Josh S wrote:

Quote:

http://www.newcharger.org/specs/00300NSpecs.html

I love my 300M, but I would NEVER be interested in that 300N.

Imagine the hard-top version, with 2 and 4 doors.

I like my 300m too, but that 300n is an extremely good looking car. You
should see the front pictures (I'm having a hard time trying to find
working links to more pictures of that car, and for some reason
allpar.com doesn't mention it in their chrysler concept car section).

Ok, here, check this out:

http://www.netcarshow.com/chrysler/2000-300_hemi_c_convertible_concept/

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z256/Chrysler-300-Hemi-C.aspx

==================
http://www.autointell.com/nao_companies/daimlerchrysler/daimler57.htm

CHRYSLER 300 HEMI? C Concept Car

Return of the All-American V-8, Rear-Wheel Drive Luxury Performance
Convertible

DaimlerChrysler will unveil the Chrysler 300 Hemi? C concept car, a
four-passenger V-8 rear-wheel drive convertible, Sunday, January 9, 12
noon, at the Chrysler stand at the North American International Auto
Show in Detroit. The quintessential Chrysler, this concept combines
contemporary design, elegance, luxury and legendary Hemi-power. "This
vehicle explores a direction we might take if we were to return to an
all-American V-8, rear-wheel drive luxury performance car such as the
famed '57 Chrysler 300 C convertible," said Tom Gale, Executive Vice
President Product Development and Design.
=====================

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/00q1/chrysler_300_hemi_c_concept-auto_shows

The four-seat 300 Hemi C is Chrysler's modern-day version of the classic
rear-wheel drive American luxury performance convertible, the 1957 300
C. This 300 Hemi C concept car has a 5.7-liter V-8 engine with an
estimated 353 horsepower and a four-speed automatic transmission.
Chrysler estimated its 0-60 time at 5.9 seconds. In the flesh, the 300
Hemi C looks like a two-door 300M with its top chopped off, but in a
nice sort of way.

#7

Steve wrote:

Quote:

Why not at least mention the Caliber?

Because its kinda an embarrassment. What brain-dead manager
decided to replace the company's ONE compact economy car (the
Neon) with an underpowered (except for the SRT version) thing
that looks more like a crossover SUV?

The Caliber sells well and that's what counts.

Quote:

And the quality of the LX has proven much better, whether
or not you personally like it.

The interior quality, design and materials of the LX-300 is for shit
compared to the 300m.

Build quality might be the same - I don't know. I'm very happy with the
build quality of my 300m - even for a 10 year old car. The mechanical
quality is certainly outstanding.

And the 300n would have taken that to the next level.

#8

Jim Higgins wrote:

Quote:

Fiat CEO: Chrysler worse than we thought

Reminiscent of Lee Iaccoca's comment on arriving...

#9

Josh S wrote:

Quote:

In article <BWDsm.15796$vi1.14429 (AT) en-nntp-02 (DOT) dc1.easynews.com>,
Bob Grimes <bobgrimes (AT) MonsterChillerHorrorTheater (DOT) com> wrote:

Steve,
We have had this discussion before. I agree with you that Chrysler
should have kept the two and four door Neon, but the Caliber is a good
car, kind of like the Lancer/LeBaron of the late '80's. I call it a
five door hatchback sedan, which to me, it is. Very comfortable, with
the CRT/2.0 very good mileage.

I like the mechanicals of the Caliber, but I'm not interested in driving
it in that thing of a body.
It's all in the eye! I, personally hate the style of the Fit, and told

a Honda dealer that. Also, my friend is a die-hard prewar Ford Fan:
Model A and especially the '40 Ford. I took him for a ride in my 1941
Chrysler Windsor, he drove it, and he says that it is a beautiful car.
He also chided me for having Fluid Drive instead of wanting a "real"
automatic, but after showing him how to drive it, he admitted it was a
smooth advance over the old Ford manual and even GM's first HydraMatic.
There are several cars that I would consider "that thing of a body":
the new Mercedes sedan body(the one that crashes through the glass in
the commercial), the Honda Fit/Element, that Toyota that looks like it
is a wannabe old school Land Rover, Cadillac CTS(horrible front end),
and there are others. But for my not liking them, their are others that
think they are great.

#10

Bob Grimes wrote:

Quote:

Steve wrote:
MoPar Man wrote:

Why not at least mention the Caliber?

Because its kinda an embarrassment. What brain-dead manager decided to
replace the company's ONE compact economy car (the Neon) with an
underpowered (except for the SRT version) thing that looks more like a
crossover SUV?
Steve,
We have had this discussion before. I agree with you that Chrysler
should have kept the two and four door Neon, but the Caliber is a good
car, kind of like the Lancer/LeBaron of the late '80's. I call it a
five door hatchback sedan, which to me, it is. Very comfortable, with
the CRT/2.0 very good mileage.

My point is not that the Caliber is necessarily a bad car (although I
still say the low-trim versions that I've had as rentals are pretty
shamefully appointed) but that it was a bad decision to use it to both
replace the Neon *and* cover an up-class niche too.

The Caliber is what it is... and that's a small-to-midsize
crossover/wagon/hatchback (however you want to visualize it). Its not an
economy car that can compete with Civics, Cobalts, Focuses (Foci?),
Scions, etc, let alone the new craze for Yaris/Fit sized things (which I
would *never* buy personally, but for which there is a growing market).
There's a big hole in the Chrysler lineup in that size vehicle and it
all goes back to not replacing the Neon.