AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Chrysler to Cut Three Products - Maybe More
Are the Craptastic Sebring and Avenger Safe For Now?

According to the Detroit News, the Chrysler, LLC board, in its first meeting under CEO Bob Nardelli, plans to cut at least three slow selling models. On the chopping block are the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler PT Cruiser and Dodge Magnum. The Jeep Commander, a mega-SUV, may also be cut. Cutting the Pacifica, Magnum and PT Cruiser won't likely result in shut down of UAW final assembly plants because the Pacifica and Magnum are assembled in Canada, and the PT Cruiser is assembled in Mexico.

It is also expected that the board will spend time on the harsh critical reviews and lackluster public acceptance that greeted the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger midsized models. How ugly is the Chrysler Sebring? 35,600 Google hits and counting, up from 18,300 in August 2006As to the reviews: Here's what "Pulitzer Prize Winning" auto columnist Dan Neil had to say about the Chrysler Sebring Convertible in the L.A. Times:

Not just bad, but a veritable chalice of wretchedness, a rattling, thumping, lolling tragedy of a car, a summary indictment of Chrysler's recent management and its self-eradicating product planning, all cast in plastic worthy of a Chinese water pistol. The Sebring drop top does something I thought impossible: It makes me long for the exquisite craftsmanship of the Pontiac flipping G6.

Oh, and the Sebring Convertible is homely, too.

The Dodge Avenger has fared a little better, but not much. USA Today's car guy, James Healey found so many flaws in the test Avengers that he was provided, that Dodge was given unprecedented "equal time" to state what they have done to address the problems.

In the short term, it's not clear what can be done to address the Sebring and Avenger. Chrysler can't afford to drop them. They have nothing to replace them, unless they cut a deal with Mitsubishi to private-lable sell the Galant, but the Galant isn't really a class leader itself. What kills me about the Chrysler Sebring is that it's not even a good rental car. It only has a 13.6 cubic foot trunk. The Chrysler Sebring is a near-lock to be the top votegetter in thetruthaboutcars.com's "Ten Worst Automobiles 2008" competition. (The competition used to be the Ten Worst Automobiles Today, but there was big hairy uproar over the acronym, TWAT. Did they intend the controversy? You be the judge.)

IMHO, it was the Chrysler Sebring that convinced Daimler execs that Chrysler had to go at all costs. Daimler did not want to fund new product development at Chrysler, and Chrysler needed a lot of new product. Chrysler has no cars smaller than mid-size. The Dodge Caliber replaced the Neon, but the Caliber is the size and weight of a midsized car, and it needs a trick CVT transmission to get the MPG of a midsized car. For all the talk about selling Chinese Chery small cars as Dodges, there has been no commitment to a final design, and it remains to be seen if a Chinese manufacturer can build a car to American safety and quality standards, and if the cars can be built, whether American consumers will buy enough of them to constitute a profitable business. As far as SUVs and trucks are concerned, Chrysler's once-strong lineup is looking long in the tooth as other carmakers have targeted these areas and now have younger, fresher line-ups.

It's a true shame about the Sebring and Avenger, as UAW-Assembled midsized cars, they are two of a very few models that we can drive to work. The Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan have a reputation of being two reliable, well-performing midsizers, but both are currently assembled in Mexico. For us, that leaves the Saturn Aura, Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6, and (surprisingly) the Mitsubishi Galant and Mazda6. I'm thinking about reviewing "cars we can drive to work" since more and more of us are facing extended commuting time as we are transferred to out-of-the way offices and work from multiple locations, and many of us need to shift to more economical transportation.