Autoblog

Sales of Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehciles are down a scary 36 percent year over year, which means even the somewhat interesting marketing gimmick of the $2.99 gas guarantee isn't working very well. Unfortunately, gas for just under $3 is all Chrysler, LLC had up its sleeve this summer, as the Pentastar has extended the deal through July 31. We'd reported earlier that only 5-10 percent of all Chrysler product buyers were opting for the seemingly attractive promotion, which leads us to believe that the deal isn't much of a deal after all. Maybe Chrysler can borrow the tried and true "Do you have a job? Do you have $199?" from Kia, because the Korean automaker's sales are up 21%.

[Source: Chrysler]

Click above high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT

Now that General Motors and Ford have completely abandoned the minivan market for good, the American originator of the species faces only Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Kia and soon Volkswagen as manufacturers that also offer competitive choices. Perhaps you'd think that Chrysler would be benefiting as the only domestic automaker currently playing in the segment, but it seems that sales are down this year by 13 percent for the Chrysler Town and Country while the Dodge Grand Caravan is down an alarming 35 percent. High gas prices are the obvious reason why the minivan market is seeing such a harsh downward trend, and likely the culprit behind Chrysler's impending move to idle its St. Louis South minivan plant as early as December, which would leave some 1,500 employees jobless.

Utility vehicles have been the biggest gas-price casualties, and slow sales are said to be forcing the Jefferson Avenue assembly plant in Detroit where the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander are assembled and the Toledo, Ohio North assembly plant which builds the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro into extended shut-downs, as well.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Now that the newly-designed Wrangler has gained an optional extra set of doors, those wanting a little extra passenger-carrying capability with their off-road ready rough-and-tumble ride have been able to get it in the Unlimited model. Of course, there has been an important unanswered question looming ever since: how many people can fit inside comfortably? Sure, the standard answer might be four, with five being the limit in an absolute pinch, but some enterprising people in Poland had a bit more ambitious ideas in mind. In fact, a total of thirty-two intrepid souls upped the ante by cramming themselves inside a green Jeepie Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, setting some sort of offbeat Polish record in the process. While thirty-two people in any vehicle is impressive, it pales in comparison to what's been done in the lowly Beetle, not that we recommend trying to replicate any of these stunts yourself.


[Source: Inside Line]

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 Press]

With Project Genesis in full swing, new revelations from Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president for North American Sales, have shed some more light on the corporate strategy to trim waste and turn the company around. As of now, dealers are under the belief that the automaker intends to cut its lineup by one-third to one-half. Supporting that assumption, Landry told a crowd at Northwood University that "twins" -- vehicles built on the same platform yet are sold under different brand names -- are out (think Jeep Liberty / Dodge Nitro). As Chrysler has more than a handful of twins, sold under several different brands, their dilemma will be in choosing which twin gets the axe, and which gets to survive.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

According to Bloomberg, the demise of the Jeep Commander is but a year away. Anonymous sources inside Chrysler told the news service that with a 43-percent decline this year, which follows declines every year since its first full year on the market, the Commander is surrendering its command.

The SUV's end was claimed to be due to gas prices, since a V8 Commander averages about 17 MPG. However, exorbitant (for America) gas prices haven't killed a number of other vehicles that don't even do that well, so that reasoning makes us wonder. What makes more sense is that in addition to the sales plunge, the Commander was stealing an unexpectedly high number of sales from the Grand Cherokee. In a cozy pool, every little bit of water counts.

If it's true, we have to admit we're sorry the Commander is going away. Some people have taken its boxy simplicity for blah-what-boredom, but it was just the kind of Jeep we like: straightforward, capable, roomy (no, we never put seven people in it), and a solid driver. Obviously we don't speak for the masses, but Commander, you will be missed.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Click above to view the video

When a 50-ton semi needs to be towed out of a snow bank, it's a good idea to call on a very big tow truck. If you're in the South during a snow storm, however, your best bet just may be the super 'necks. After the jump is video of a Jeep, Silverado and Ford Bronco working in tandem to pull a stranded 18-wheeler out of the snowy muck. We think the heroes of the video are a gaggle of youngins, but with all the camouflage, we couldn't tell you for sure. The video is fun to watch, but when the camera operator says, "This s#%t is going on YouTube," that's just icing on the cake. Kidding aside, it's nice to see a group of kids actually helping someone in need. Nice job guys. Hit the jump for one of the funnier videos we've seen lately, it'll be worth your two minutes.

[Source: Streetfire]

UPDATE: Back by popular demand, direct download of the podcast has been added as a link below.

The biggest news of the past week: the suckfest that was the Knight Rider movie. Alex liveblogged it so that we didn't have to watch. Sure it was crap, but was it really that bad? The original was a clunker, too, remember. There's car stuff going on, too, and we move on to covering what's in our respective Autoblog Garages. Keep an eye out for some new reviews, and John has a podcast-exclusive announcement, too.

We spin off into a small car smackdown, postulate on who should buy Jaguar if Tata flips them, and boomerang back to our MINI vs. Aveo sales number deathmatch. In this week's installment of "Fords We Don't Get," there's a new Austrailian Falcon that is available in full-on sinister. It's badass in FPV trim, not available here, and Alan Mullaly wants one, too. One Ford we are getting is the Fiesta (Verve) and that's something to actually be excited about. That's about it, thanks to Adam Curry for the plug, it's 52 minutes of fun this week.

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Mopar has been selling products for Jeep vehicles for a while, but in an announcement at the NADA show, it's finally decided to move beyond bike racks and vinyl care products.

Chrysler's performance parts division will begin offering the equipment buyers normally purchase through aftermarket firms soon after they leave the dealership. While the first run of parts – everything from carbon fiber appliqués to stereo systems – aren't what you'd call Rubicon-rated, Mopar will also be offering heavy-duty bumpers equipped with winches, lifted suspension setups and other off-road ready kit.

In addition to the product push, dealers and owners can sit down in front of the new Electronic Accessory System – dubbed EASy – where they can customize their ride as they see fit. The system is only available at dealers right now, but Mopar will be launching an online site on March 31st so potential mud-pluggers can soup-up their rides from the comfort of their couch.

All the equipment can be installed by dealers, something that's key to the product's success, since most owners buy accessories for their Jeeps within the first 90 days of rolling off the lot.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Chrysler's previous consolidation strategy, dubbed "Project Alpha," was implemented in 2004 to trim and combine dealers. All told, Chrysler was able to cut its dealer network down from 4,000 to 3,600. Not nearly enough to get outlets on par with demand. So Chrysler's co-pres, Jim Press, announced today that Project Alpha is out and Project Genesis is on the way in.

According to Automotive News, as you read this, business teams are fanning out across the U.S. to negotiate with dealerships to either buy other outlets or sell their own in an effort to pair down Chrysler's bloated sales network. The plan is to get all three of the automaker's brands – Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep – under one roof, with the possibility of creating satellite dealerships and service-only facilities in outlying areas.

But if all of Chrysler's wares are in plain sight of the public, won't that confuse consumers with all the product overlap between brands? Yes. And that's why Chrysler is looking to nix models that are badge-engineered duplicates of other vehicles offered by the automaker. So in addition to killing off the PT Cruiser, Pacifica, Crossfire and Magnum, more models are about to be cut out of the line up. We'd mention a few suggestions here, but we're sure you can come up with some of your own.

However, it's not all about the cuts. Press went on to say that Chrysler would develop new models to compete in segments that the automaker previously hasn't pursued and that even though sales outlets are going to be consolidated, Chrysler doesn't have the ability to hand out massive checks to dealerships on the chopping block.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]